In recent years, several CO2+O2 in-situ leaching uranium mines in China have been facing final mining closure and decommissioning. Natural attenuation technology is an economically effective solution, and its feasibility has been demonstrated by multiple remediation cases of in-situ leaching uranium mines abroad. However, a systematic understanding of the natural attenuation patterns of groundwater uranium at in-situ leaching uranium mines has not yet been established. This study focuses on a typical post-mining area of a CO2+O2 in-situ leaching uranium mine in China. Based on field investigation and sampling, hydrochemical analysis and multivariate statistical methods were employed to determine the distribution characteristics and natural attenuation patterns of U in groundwater. The results show that the hydrochemical types of groundwater in the post-mining area has shifted to HCO3·SO4-Na type and multi-anion-Na type. The concentrations of groundwater U in the post-mining area are 0.11-7.99 mg/L and exhibit weak correlations with other major components. Natural attenuation of U concentrations is observed in 69% of the groundwater samples, with attenuation ratios ranging from 4.82% to 77.14% and attenuation rates ranging from 0.112 and 10.227 mg/(L·a). The research results demonstrate that this CO2+O2 in-situ leaching uranium mine possesses natural attenuation capacity, and natural attenuation technology can serve as a remediation scheme for groundwater in post-mining areas of in-situ leaching sites.
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |