Influence of Drainage with High Levels of Water-Soluble Salts on the Environment in the Verhnekamskoe Potash Deposit,Russia

Saline drainage from slurry storage facilities can deteriorate the properties of clay barriers in the beds of embankment dams and slurry ponds and cause saline drainage to infiltrate into groundwater. The chemistry of slurry material, drainage, springs, surface water, and soils was studied near the slurry storage facility of the Verhnekamskoe potash mine (Russia). Our study showed that the Na–Cl type mine drainage water, with high amounts of nitrogen compounds, increased the salinity of the groundwater and surface water, and the river valley ecosystems. As a result of ion exchange and leaching, the soil, groundwater, and surface water have elevated levels of \({\text{C}}{{\text{a}}^{2+}}\), \({\text{M}}{{\text{g}}^{2+}}\), \({\text{SO}}_{4}^{{2 - }},\) and \({\text{F}}{{\text{e}}_{{\text{total}}}}\), and extremely high \({\text{~N}}{{\text{a}}^+}\) and \({\text{C}}{{\text{l}}^ - }{\text{~}}\) values. Iron-rich precipitates and hydrogen sulfide tend to form down-gradient in the saline, water-logged seepage areas.