Using stable Cu isotopes to trace contamination from historical mining sites in Norway

Project title

Using stable Cu isotopes to trace contamination from historical mining sites in Norway 

Supervisors

Desiree Roerdink, Eoghan Reeves

Project description

Historical mining sites are of environmental concern because they are potential sources of heavy metal contamination in local streams, rivers and lakes. Interaction of surface waters with the ore rock or mine tailings can result in significantly elevated Cu concentrations, which are toxic to fish and in extreme cases can affect human health. In order to assess effective remediation strategies, it is important to understand what causes the elevated concentrations; The source of Cu can be natural (the ore deposit) or anthropogenic (waste from mining activity). The aim of this project is to analyse stable copper isotopes from surface water samples from Løkken and Storwartz (Røros) to hopefully trace the source of the contamination. The analysis of the samples will be performed on MC-ICP-MS.