Natural Attenuation of Aqueous Zinc in Shallow Soils over Permafrost Downslope of Galkeno 300 mine Adit, United Keno hill Mines, central yukon

This study investigated the natural attenuation of zinc in mine drainage at the Galkeno 300 mine site, located at the northern limit of the discontinuous permafrost zine in central Yukon Territory. The mine drainage contains ~150 mg/L Zn where it exits the mine; where these same waters enter the receiving environment of Christal Creek, the Zn concentrations have been reduced to ~2 mg/L. The research program examining this natural attenuation consisted of two phases. Phase 1 was comprised of a site investigation along with the collection of samples for chemical analyses and laboratory testing. Phase 2 consisted of laboratory characterisation and testing of samples collected during Phase 1. The Phase 1 site investigation was carried out during summer 2000. A climate station was established to monitor precipitation and temperature during the study period. Site water balance was monitored through the erection of two weirs; input exceeded outputs by and averages of 16%, indicating a minor degree of dilution. Water samples collected at sites along the longitudinal mine drainage flowpath showed no temporal trends, but clearly outlined a dramatic decrease in Zn concentrations with…

Publisher

Government of Yukon

Resources

3

Catalogue metadata updated

2026-08-26