Catena 183 (2019) 104229

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Catena
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/catena

Geo-ecological evaluation of mineral, major and trace elemental T

composition in waste rocks, soils and sediments of a gold mining area and
potential associated risks
Faradiella Mohd Kusina,b, , Nor Hayati Che Awanga, Sharifah Nur Munirah Syed Hasana,
⁎

Hairiyatul Aliah Abdul Rahima, Nurshazlin Azmina, Shamshuddin Jusopc, Kyoung-Woong Kimd
a
Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
b
Environmental Forensics Research Unit (ENFORCE), Faculty of Environmental Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
c
Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
d
School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju 61005, South Korea

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: An investigation has been undertaken on the distribution of mineral, major and trace elements in mine wastes of
Gold mine a gold mining area from geo-ecological perspective and its association with potential human health risks. Mine
Minerals waste samples consisting of waste rocks, soils and sediments (including borrow pit, waste dump, stockpile and
Metal(loid) tailings) were collected in the vicinity of Selinsing gold mine in Malaysia. Major elements in terms of their oxide
Geo-ecology
contents such as SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, K2O and MgO were mainly derived from their mineralogical compositions
Ecological risk
that were dominated by quartz and muscovite (in waste rocks), kaolinite and illite (in soils) and illite and
Human health risk
chlorite-serpentine (in mine tailings). Metallic elements (Al, Fe, Mn, Zn, Sr, Cr, Cd, Ni, Cu, Co, and Pb) were
found in the range of acceptable values except for metalloid arsenic. Arsenic was found in the range of
1.84–1915 mg/kg (the highest in the waste rocks of stockpile). Geochemical assessment indicated that some
locations were classified as extremely contaminated, highly enriched and having high contamination with re-
spect to arsenic according to geo-accumulation index, enrichment factor and contamination factor. In view of
ecological perspective, arsenic contamination was noticeable i.e. some samples were classified as having con-
siderable to high potential ecological risk with respect to arsenic, while contamination with regard to all other
metals were classified as having low risk. In terms of health aspect, the hazard index as indicated by the lifetime
cancer risk for arsenic was found in tolerable range for regulatory purposes. Other metals possess no significant
non-carcinogenic or carcinogenic risks both for adults and children. The arsenic concentrations were comparable
with other mining-related sites worldwide, e.g. Spain, China, South Korea, Poland and Mongolia among others.
Iron, As and Cd in the tailings and discharges from treatment facilities within the mine have been removed by
82.9–94.7%. Overall, this paper has highlighted the geo-ecological importance and implication of mining ex-
ploration to avoid ecological damages so as to sustain mining sector without inflicting the environment.

1. Introduction as > 74% of mining output comes from gold mining.

Malaysia's mineral resource industry remains important to the
country's economy as it continues to be playing an important role in
supplying basic raw materials to the manufacturing and construction
sectors. Metallic minerals such as tin, gold, iron ore, bauxite, ilmenite
and other associated mineral by-products remain important despite
having experienced some decline in production and falling demand in
global marketplace. Malaysia's gold production and output is on the rise
Major gold mines in Malaysia are located in the states of Pahang,
Kelantan and Terengganu (Majid et al., 2013). About 90% of the gold
mines are found in Pahang state, which are at Penjom, Raub and Se-
linsing. Selinsing gold mine located in Bukit Selinsing, Koyan is the
leading gold producer in Pahang that produced 1648 kg (52,982 troy
ounces) in 2013, an increase of about 19% from that of 2012 (Pui,
2013). As with new discoveries of several areas with anomalous gold in
the states of Johor, Kelantan, Pahang, Sabah and Sarawak, the country's

⁎
Corresponding author at: Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor,
Malaysia.
E-mail address: faradiella@upm.edu.my (F.M. Kusin).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2019.104229
Received 21 February 2019; Received in revised form 31 July 2019; Accepted 20 August 2019
Available online 26 August 2019
0341-8162/ © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
F.M. Kusin, et al.
gold industry is seen to have potential to sustain its production for
several years to come. From geological point of view, Peninsular Ma-
laysia is blessed with gold deposits that lies within four belts or zones,
which are Western Gold Belt, Berching-Raub-Bersawah Gold Belt
(Central Gold Belt), base-metal gold belt and Lubok Mandi-Mersing
gold belt (Yeap, 1993). Early years gold production in the country was
about 3000 kg and has increased to 4625 kg in 2012 (Majid et al.,
2013).
The gold ore is obtained using open pit mining strategy as it is
generally known that hard rocks mining for ores such as metal ores,
copper, gold, iron and aluminum are extensively extracted in open pit
mines (Snowden, 2016). During mining activities large quantities of
waste rocks are excavated and relocated, and hence gold mining tends
to have an effect on the environment through digging out a mine pit, to
disposal of chemicals and tailings (Lee et al., 2005; Ko et al., 2012; Ako
et al., 2014;). In Selinsing gold mine, mining activities have been car-
ried out since 2009 for mining oxide material generally above 0.5 g/t
Au through conventional open pit drill and blast, load and haul activ-
ities with stripping ratio of approximately 6. The mine deposits are
surface outcropping deposits with near surface oxide material. The
existing open pit workings include five open pits mainly for mining and
stockpiling low-grade oxide.
Landscape disturbance or destruction and surrounding ecosystem
damages have been associated even with acquisition of small amount of
gold (Abdul-Wahab and Marikar, 2012). Additionally, heavy metal
accumulation in soils and sediments for instance, is caused by the dis-
turbance and natural processes of geochemical cycle in the gold mine
(Kim et al., 1998; Kim et al., 2001; Inam et al., 2011). Open pit mines or
opencast mining may have direct effect on water table and thus the
water quality and possible impact of flooding. In addition, human ex-
posure to dust from open mine pits can be detrimental to health by
various means of exposure pathways.
Aside from contributing to the social and economic benefits to the
nation, mining activities may release contaminants into the environ-
ment mostly through water, sediment and soil contamination.
Drainages from mining activities often lead to a persistent problem
associated with acid mine drainage. The risk increases whenever acidic
water that runs over rocks strips out heavy metals. The heavy metals
can be transported, dispersed, and accumulated in plants and animals
and transferred to humans upon food consumption (Kim et al., 2001;
Abdul-Wahab and Marikar, 2012; Maanan et al., 2015). Many rivers
and streams have been reported to be contaminated with metals such as
arsenic, cadmium, lead and iron due to mining (Kusin et al., 2017). It
has been known that contamination of soils, sediments and water due to
mining results in metal toxicity, persistence and accumulation in food
chains (Jung and Thornton, 1996; Kim et al., 1998; Ko et al., 2003;
Donkor et al., 2005; Mamat et al., 2016). Earlier mineralogical studies
have found pyrite (FeS2), arsenophyrite (FeAsS), stibnite, albite, or-
thoclase and zircon in the sediments among others; pyrite existed in
arsenian form, carrying arsenic in the cyristal lattice (Makoundi et al.,
2014; Snowden, 2016). For instance, arsenic-bearing tailings, resulting
from gold mining activities, are often regarded as a potential source of
environmental contamination. Ko et al. (2003) believed that the ele-
vated concentration of As in surface waters and groundwater around
mine tailing dumps is due to dissolution of sulfide minerals such as
arsenopyrite.
Mining has also been associated with toxic waste releases that are
being dump into natural water bodies. Releases of toxic elements from
the wastes of mine and tailings can be related with a series of en-
vironmental pollution (Lee et al., 2006; Fashola et al., 2016). Moun-
tainous wastes are created from gold mine because of the nature and
quantities of chemicals used in gold processing (Lee et al., 2005; Lee
et al., 2008; Abdul-Wahab and Marikar, 2012). Consequently, long-
term exposure to metals may also induce health effects among humans
and derive potential ecological hazards (Lee et al., 2008; Luo et al.,
2012; Babalola et al., 2016; Diami et al., 2016; Carvalho et al., 2016;
2
Catena 183 (2019) 104229
Gałuszka et al., 2018). The aim of this study was to elucidate the geo-
ecological implication of a gold mining area with respect to its mi-
nerals, major and trace elemental compositions of waste rocks, soils and
sediments in relation to potential ecological and human health risks.
2. Material and methods
2.1. Site description and mine operation
Selinsing gold mine is located at Bukit Selising, Koyan, about 51 km
north of Raub in northwest Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia (N 4015′0″, E
101047′10′). The gold mine occupies about 776 ha of deep open pit
mine, which is situated at the Central Gold Belt of Peninsular Malaysia
(Hasan et al., 2018). Selinsing gold deposit is found within Permo-
Triassic sediments in close proximity to Post-Triassic granites and Pa-
hang volcanic series that composed of Carboniferous to Triassic tuf-
faceous rocks along the north-south trending terrain boundary in the
east of Bentong – Raub Suture zone (Makoundi et al., 2014; Pour and
Hashim, 2015). It is the most significant gold-producing area within
this belt with an estimated 1,000,000 troy ounces of gold bullion be-
tween 1889 and 1960s (Yeap, 1993). The belt also contains Triassic
limestone with intermediate to felsic volcanic rocks (Tan, 1984; Leman,
1994; Metcalfe, 2002). Geologically, the gold mineralization takes the
form of structurally controlled lodes, vein swarms and reefs in strongly
and moderately metamorphosed sediments believed to be from dis-
semination in carbonaceous slates and metamorphosed volcanic (Yeap,
1993; Ariffin and Hewson, 2007). The gold was derived from the lower
crust or oceanic lithosphere to be deposited in proximal type metal-
bearing sulfides. Minerals such as pyrite, arsenopyrite, galena, spha-
lerite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and gold are among major ore minerals
found in the gold mine (Makoundi et al., 2014).
Mining operation at Selinsing Gold Mine started in 2009 as an open
pit mine with a gold treatment plant for an average of 1200 tons of gold
per day (Snowden, 2016). The mine was originally developed for
treating oxide ore by means of conventional crushing and ball milling,
followed by gravity recovery of free gold. Within Selinsing Gold Mine,
there was a provision for processing plant sites and tailings storage
areas. The existing processing plant consists of three-stage crushing in
primary and secondary ball mills, followed by gravity separation and a
carbon-in-leach process, from which the tailings are discharged to a
tailings storage facility (TSF) and into a series of polishing ponds
(Snowden, 2019). During the operations of the plant, water from one
mining pit is used for internal usage from recovered water through a
process water tank. In the tailings reserve, mine tailings are processed
through the carbon-in-leach plant by which the treated tailings are
moved to reclaim pond and turned into slurry and then thicken. Treated
tailings are discharged to the TSF and retained in the retention pond
prior to final spillway.
2.2. Field sampling and sample preparation
Mine waste samples were collected from the Selinsing Gold Mine at
seven locations of the mine as shown in Fig. 1. The types of mine waste
samples collected were waste rocks, soils and sediments, which were
obtained from borrow pit, waste dump, stockpile that includes super
lower grade (SLG), lower grade (LG), and high grade (HG) and the mine
tailings. The SLG are characterized as having phyllite-type of meta-
morphic rocks and conglomerate-type of sedimentary rocks, LG that
contain mostly of phyllite and shale, while HG that are composed of
tuffs and shale (Hasan et al., 2019). The ore is stockpiled according to
the source and the oxidation state along with the gold grade, i.e. SLG
(0.30–0.65 g/t Au), LG (0.65–1.50 g/t Au) and HG (1.50–3.50 g/t Au),
the grades that are based on grade control estimates during mining
(Snowden, 2019).
The samples were collected using a stainless steel shovel and scoop
to a depth interval of 20–50 cm from surface area and were kept into zip
F.M. Kusin, et al.
Fig. 1. Locations of a) major gold mines in Peninsular Malaysia and b) sampling points in Selinsing Gold Mine.
locked bags and correctly labelled (Álvarez et al., 2018; Gałuszka et al.,
2018). Additionally, samples of water from within the treatment phase
were collected for evaluation of water quality level after mineral ex-
traction process prior to final discharge. Samples for water quality
analysis were collected in pre-washed polypropylene bottles (soaked
overnight in 10% by volume nitric acid (HNO3), washed three times
with tap-water, and three times with 18.2 Ω MilliQ deionized water).
3
Catena 183 (2019) 104229
Samples were collected in 125 mL bottles, filtered through a 0.2 μm
filter paper and acidified with 1% by volume concentrated HNO3 for
metal analysis.
Prior to analysis, waste rock samples were manually crushed,
grounded into fine particles and sieved to 1 mm size fraction using
particle sieves. The sieved samples were then grounded into very fine
powder form using a special mortar. Meanwhile, soil samples were air-
F.M. Kusin, et al.
dried at room temperature for 24 h, and sediment samples were oven-
dried at 70 °C for 24 h. The soil and sediment samples were then ground
into powder form using agate mortar and pestle and were then sieved to
2 mm size fraction using particle sieves to remove excess coarse parti-
cles and to homogenize the mixture for mineralogical analysis.
2.3. Mineralogical analysis
Powdered forms of the waste rock, soil and sediment samples (about
1 ± 0.5 g of fine powder samples) were subjected to mineralogical (X-
ray diffraction) analysis. The powder samples were analyzed using
Bruker AXS Germany D8 Advanced model of X-ray diffractometer
(XRD) instrument at the rate of 1°/min (0.025° step size) and counting
for 0.2 s per step over the 5–50° scattering angle range. Detection limit
was in the range of 1 to 2% (Hasan et al., 2018). Diffrac.EVA XRD
software (v.9.0) was adopted to determine integrated intensity of peak
areas from the single peak function and the d-spacing was identified
using OriginPro 8 software (Originlab Corporation, Northampton, UK).
2.4. Chemical analysis
Chemical analysis was performed using energy dispersive X-ray
(EDX) to identify (in %) the major elemental composition of the sam-
ples. The values obtained for Mg, Ca, Fe, Al, Si and K were then con-
verted in terms of their oxides correspondence, with 0.1% detection
limit. On the other hand, acid digestion was undertaken to extract
metallic elements in waste rock, soil and sediment samples. Preparation
of samples was performed according to the EPA method 3050B (USEPA,
1996) for metal analysis by means of aqua regia extraction method, and
in particular using hydrochloric and nitric acids (3:1 ratio). Approxi-
mately 1.0 g of the samples were weighed and placed in digestion tubes.
The samples were allowed to pre-digest for overnight. Samples were
then digested at 40o C for 1 h, then, the temperature was increased to
80o C for another hour, increased to 120o C for another hour, and lastly
to 140o C at total digestion time of 4 h. The suspensions were then
filtered using 0.45 μm membrane filter. Sample dilution was applied in
order to lower the concentration of analytes in the samples to the ap-
propriate range of detection limit. The samples were then analyzed
using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS,
Perkin Elmer ELAN DRC-e) for Al, Fe, Mn, Zn, Sr, As, Cr, Cd, Ni, Cu, Co,
and Pb. For quality assurance/quality check (QA/QC), analytical in-
strument was checked with standard reference material NIST, SRM
1646a with percentage recovery of 82.50–117.10%. The measured and
certified values, respectively of the SRM and % recovery of the elements
are as follows: Al (22,140 ± 160; 22,970 ± 180; 96.30%); Fe
(20,018 ± 395; 20,080 ± 390; 99.70%); Mn (192.42 ± 3.35;
234.50 ± 2.80; 82.50%); Zn (44.01 ± 1.65; 48.90 ± 1.60; 90.00%);
Sr (60.24 ± 1.26; 68*; 88.60%); As (5.75 ± 0.12; 6.23 ± 0.21;
92.40%); Cr (34.25 ± 1.24; 40.90 ± 1.90; 83.70%); Cd
(0.13 ± 0.01; 0.15 ± 0.01; 86.40%); Ni (20.83 ± 0.32; 23*;
90.10%); Cu (10.73 ± 0.34; 10.01 ± 0.34; 107.20%); Co
(4.26 ± 0.03; 5*; 85.10%); Pb (13.70 ± 0.25; 11.70 ± 1.20;
117.10%) where * indicates non-certified value (for information only).
All the laboratory apparatus and glassware used were cleansed with 5%
HNO3 and rinsed with Milli-Q deionized water and the reagents used
were of analytical grade. The elements in water were analyzed using a
Varian Vista MPX Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission
Spectrometer (ICP-OES). To ensure accuracy and precision of the ICP
performance, a series of standard solutions were prepared using the ICP
multi element stock solution for generating the standard calibration
curves. All tested samples were run in triplicate during the analysis and
the percentage of metal recoveries fell within the range of
87.60–109.30%.
4
Catena 183 (2019) 104229
2.5. Potential ecological risk index
Potential ecological risk index (PERI) was used to evaluate the po-
tential ecological risk due to the toxicological effect of the heavy metals
in samples. The potential ecological risk index of a single element (Eir)
and comprehensive potential ecological risk index (RI) were computed
using the following equations (Eqs. (1)–(3)) as introduced by Hakanson
(1980).
Cfi = CDi /Cri (1)
Eri = Cri × Tri (2)
m
PERI = Eri
i=1 (3)
i i
where, Cf is the contamination factor, CD is the mean concentration of
metal in samples and Cri is the pre-industrial reference value of the
metal; Eri is the potential risk of individual element, Tri is the toxic-
response factor of each metal. PERI is the sum of all the potential risk
factors by individual metal elements. Pre-industrial values of the metals
were referred to as the values documented in Hakanson (1980) as given
in Table 6. The toxic-response factors of metals were adopted from
Smith and Huyck (1999) and Zheng-Qi et al. (2008), after Hakanson
(1980) as follows: Pb (5), Cu (5), Zn (1), As (10), Cd (30), Cr (2), Ni (5)
and Co (5). The classification of the potential ecological risk for each
single element, Eir is given as: EiR < 40 low risk; 40 ≤ Eir < 80 mod-
erate risk; 80 ≤ Eir < 160 considerable risk; 160 ≤ Eir < 320 high risk.
PERI is classified into the followings: RI < 150 low risk; 150 ≤ RI <
300 moderate risk; 300 ≤ RI < 600 considerable risk; RI ≥ 600 high
risk.
2.6. Geochemical indices
Geochemical indices were computed for estimation of the degree of
pollution with respect to the metal(loid)s present in the area studied.
Three commonly used geochemical indices were quantified, i.e. geo-
accumulation index (Igeo), enrichment factor (EF) and contamination
factor (CF). Using these geochemical indices, the concentrations of
metal(loid)s (Pb, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Cr, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn and Sr) were
compared with pre-industrial level in the determination of pollution
level (Table 4). The geo-accumulation index that was first introduced
by Muller (1969) was used as follows:
Sample
Igeo = log2
1.5 × Background
in which Sample is concentration measured in the samples, Background
is the pre-industrial level as reported by Hakanson (1980) and 1.5 is the
coefficient factor of the background data due to lithogenic impacts.
Classification of the degree of pollution as introduced by Muller (1969)
is: Igeo < 0 uncontaminated; 0 ≤ Igeo < 1 uncontaminated to moder-
ately contaminated; 1 ≤ Igeo < 2 moderately contaminated;
2 ≤ Igeo < 3 moderately to strongly contaminated; 3 ≤ Igeo < 4
strongly contaminated; 4 ≤ Igeo < 5 strongly to extremely con-
taminated; Igeo≥ 6 extremely contaminated.
The level of metal enrichment in the samples was quantified using
enrichment factor (EF) as defined by Buat-Menerd and Chesselt (1979)
as follows:
EF =
( ) Sample
Me
Fe
( ) Background
Me
Fe
where ( ) Sample is the ratio of metal concentration relative to re-
Me
Fe
ference element (Fe) measured in sample, while ( ) Background is the
Me
Fe
ratio of pre-industrial level of these elements. Fe was used as the
F.M. Kusin, et al. Catena 183 (2019) 104229

normalizer to correct for differences in sediment grain and mineralogy
(Schi and Weisberg, 1999), as it is a natural element vastly dominated
in most soils or sediments (Baptista-Neto et al., 2000; Cevik et al., 2009;
Zhang et al., 2009). The enrichment factor was classified as follows
according to Sutherland (2000): EF < 1 no enrichment; EF < 3 minor
enrichment; 3 EF < 5 moderately enrichment; 5 ≤ EF < 10 moder-
ately to severe enrichment; 10 ≤ EF < 25 severe enrichment;
25 ≤ EF < 50 very severe enrichment; EF≥ 50 extremely enrichment.
Contamination factor was used to determine the contamination
status by single substances using the formula as introduced by
Hakanson (1980) as follows:
Sample
CF =
Background
where RfD (mg/kg/day) is the reference dose for each metal in the HRA
estimation according to USEPA (2012): Cu (0.0371); Co (0.02); Fe
(0.7); Pb (0.0035); Zn (0.3); Cr (0.003); Cd (0.001); Al (0.0004) and As
(0.0003). Based on the HI values, it is anticipated that there is no sig-
nificant non-carcinogenic risk when the value of HI is less than one
(HI < 1). Meanwhile, the HI value greater than one (HI > 1) indicates
that there is a possibility of non-carcinogenic risk, which appears to
increase with the increment of HI value (USEPA, 2002).
On the other hand, the carcinogenic health risk as expressed by the
lifetime cancer risk (LCR) was computed using Eq. (9).
Cancer risk = CDI × CSF Cancer Risk = LCR
= Cancer risking + Cancer riskinh + Cancer riskdermal (9)

where Sample is the measured concentration in sample relative to The cancer slope factor (CSF) values for Cd, Cr, Pb and As are 6.3,
Background (pre-industrial level). The contamination factor was clas- 0.5, 0.0085 and 1.5 mg/kg/day (USEPA, 2012). The acceptable
sified into the following categories: CF < 1 low contamination factor; threshold value of the cancer risk is 1.0E-04 while the tolerable LCR for
1 ≤ CF < 3 moderate contamination factor; 3 ≤ CF < 6 considerable regulatory purposes is in the range of 1.0E-06 – 1.0E-04 (USEPA, 2002).
contamination factor; CF ≥6 very high contamination factor.
3. Results and discussion
2.7. Potential human health risk
3.1. Major elements and mineralogical composition
Potential human health risk upon exposure to certain elements of
metals was estimated through health risk assessment (HA) including Chemical composition of the gold mine wastes presented in the form
hazard identification, exposure assessment, dose-response assessment, of SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, K2O and MgO as major oxide elements are shown
and risk characterization (Lee et al., 2006; Luo et al., 2012). Humans in Table 1. These elements are typically found in abundance in most
are exposed to potential effects of metals by means of direct oral in- soils and earth's crust and would compose of up to 95% in upper crust
gestion, inhalation through mouth and nose or dermal absorption on (Wedepohl, 1995; Smith and Huyck, 1999). The mineralogical com-
exposed skin (Lee et al., 2005; Lim et al., 2007; Khan et al., 2008; Li positions of the samples are given in Table 2. The portion of major
et al., 2014). For estimation of the health risk, chronic daily intake oxide component of SiO2 (quartz) in all samples ranges between 48.46
(CDI) was calculated for prediction of the hazard index (HI) following and 75.26% (Table 2), indicating the quartz-vein deposit that was
the equations below: found dominating in most waste rock samples of the stockpile, and
moderately found in the clay fraction of most soil samples. Relatively
Cme × IngR × EF × ED smaller amount of quartz would be anticipated in the clay fraction of
CDIingestion = × CF
BW × AT (4) soils compared to bulk soil sample and rocks (Gałuszka et al., 2018).
Al2O3 constitutes the second highest portion of major oxide in all
Cme . ×InhR × EF × ED
CDIinhalation =
(5) samples of between 14.44 and 29.93%. Apparently, the Al2O3 were
P EF × BW × AT
mostly originated from illite [(K,H3O)(Al,Mg,Fe)2(Si,Al)4O10[(OH)2,
Cme. × SA × AFs ABS × EF × ED (H2O)] and kaolinite [Al2Si2O5(OH)4], which were the dominant mi-
CDIdermal = × CF
BW × AT (6) nerals in the soils (clay fraction) of borrow pit, waste dump and
stockpile (Table 4). Fe2O3 was identified to be in the range of
in which, Cme is the concentration of metal in sample (mg/kg); IngR is
3.15–11.79% (in soils) and between 3.04 and 3.20% (in sediment). The
the ingestion rate of the soil/sediment (mg/day), EF is the exposure
presence of Fe2O3 in the soils was associated with mineral stilpnome-
frequency (days/year), ED is the exposure duration (years), BW is the
lane [Fe2Si3O9] in the stockpile, aerinite [(Fe+2,Fe+3,Al)
average body weight (kg), AT is the averaging time (days), CF is the
3Mg3(Ca,Na)4(Si13.5Al4.5O42)(OH)6]·11.3H2O in waste dump and illite in
conversion factor (kg/mg), the InhR is the inhalation rate (mg/cm2),
all soil samples. K2O was found to be in the range of 3.00–8.91% from
PEF is the particle emission factor (m3/kg), SA is the surface area of the
all the samples, which were mainly originated from illite (in soils) and
skin that is in contact with the soil/sediment (cm2), AFs is the skin
muscovite (in waste rocks). The presence of 2.72% MgO in the soils of
adherence factor for soil (mg/cm2), and ABS is the dermal absorption
factor. The exposure factors used were adapted from USEPA (2002) as
Table 1
follows: IngR [100 mg/day (adult), 200 mg/day (children)]; EF
Major oxide elements in waste rocks, soils and sediments of gold mining area.
[350 days]; ED [24 years (adult), 6 years (children)]; BW [70 kg (adult),
15 kg (children)]; AT [365 × ED adult/children]; CF [1 × 10−6 kg/ Samples Major oxides (%)
mg]; InhR [20 mg/cm2]; PEF [1.36 × 109 m3/kg]; SA [5700 cm2
SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 MgO K2O
event−1]; AFsoil [0.07 mg/cm2]; ABS [0.001].
Metal(loid)s Pb, Cu, Zn, Fe, As, Cd, Cr, Al and Co were estimated of S1- Borrow pit S
75.26 19.25 – – 4.11
their non-carcinogenic risk, while metal(loid) elements that were as- S2- Waste dumpS 59.53 29.93 3.60 – 6.36
S3- Stockpile SLGS 67.90 22.82 3.15 – 5.72
sociated with carcinogenic health risks included Cd, Cr, Pb and As as
S4- Stockpile SLGR 71.06 14.55 – – 4.85
defined by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC, S5- Stockpile LGS 48.46 20.18 11.79 2.72 7.24
2012). Subsequently, the HI, which quantifies cumulative non-carci- S6- Stockpile LGR 61.35 21.62 – – 8.91
nogenic risk was estimated as the summation of hazard quotients (HQ) S7- Stockpile HGS 65.61 25.84 – – 3.00
as the followings: S8- Stockpile HGR 70.17 24.17 – – 5.10
S9- Mine tailingsSD 60.39 18.22 3.20 1.74 7.06
CDI S10- Mine tailingsSD 64.70 14.60 3.04 – 6.63
HQ = +
Continental crust 61.5 15.1 6.28 3.7 2.4
RfD (7) +
Sedimentary rocks 52.4 13.7 6.4 3.3 2.14

HI = HQ = HQing + HQinh + HQdermal (8) +

Not detected; Wedepohl (1995); S-Soil; R-Rock; SD-sediment.

5
F.M. Kusin, et al. Catena 183 (2019) 104229

the stockpile was attributed to the presence of mineral sepiolite

(OH)2.6H2O
Mg4Si6O15
Sepiolite
[Mg4Si6O15(OH)2.6H2O] and illite, while 1.74% MgO in sediment was

−
−

−
−
+

−
found to be associated with chlorite-serpentine
[(Mg,Al)6(Si,Al)4O10(OH)8] in mine tailings. Despite the low percen-
tage of MgO in the samples, it has been known that this divalent cation
would be essential for mineral carbonation process that captures at-
Stilpnomel-

mospheric carbon dioxide as with the presence of silicate minerals, i.e.

Fe2Si3O9

−
−

−
−
+

−
illite, sepiolite and chlorite-serpentine to form stable carbonates (Hasan
ane

et al., 2018; Hasan and Kusin, 2018).

3.2. Metal and metalloid arsenic

[(Fe+2,Fe+3,Al)

(Si13.5Al4.5O42)
(OH)6]·11.3H2O
3Mg3(Ca,Na)4

−
−

−
+
−

−
Distributions of mean concentration of Al, Fe and As and other trace
Aerinite

elements (Mn, Zn, Sr, Cr, Cd, Ni, Cu, Co, Pb) are illustrated in Fig. 2 and
Fig. 3, respectively. The results obtained are presented in Table 3 by
comparing the values of the data according to the recommended
guideline values of e.g. Canadian Council of Ministers of the
[(OH)2,(H2O)
(Al,Mg,Fe)2
(Si,Al)4O10

+++
+++
+++

+++

Environment (2007), UK Environment Agency (2008), Australian

−
−
(K,H3O)

Department of Environment and Conservation (2010) and for metallic

Illite

content in soil and sediment, and crust average values from Wedepohl
(1995), Smith and Huyck (1999). These recommended guideline values
(Mg,Al)6(Si,A-

evaluated the degree to which the samples-associated chemical status

l)4O10(OH)8

+++

might contribute to potential ecological risk, and also to assist in the

serpentine
Chlorite-

−
−

−
−
−

interpretation of quality of rocks, soils and sediments. As noted in

Table 3, the mean concentration of elements in all samples were found
to be in the order of Fe > Al > As > Mn > Zn > Cu > Pb >
Ni > Cr > Sr > Co > Cd. Single elemental composition of Fe and
(Mg,Fe,Al)6(S-
i,Al)4O10(O-

Al indicated mean Fe concentration of 2406 mg/kg (the highest in soil

++
−

−
−
−

−
Chlorite

of stockpile) and mean Al content of 1342 mg/kg (the highest in soil of

H)8

waste dump). As explained earlier these metallic elements (Fe and Al)
were mainly associated with mineral illite, kaolinite, stilpnomelane and
aerinite in the samples. In mine waste deposits, the important sources of
Graphite

++
++

Fe are from several sulfide minerals such as phyrite (FeS2), chalcopyrite

−
−
−

(CuFeS2), arsenopyrite (FeAsA) and pyrrhotite (FeS) (Ko et al., 2003;

C

Lengke et al., 2009; Fashola et al., 2016). Other metal elements in-
cluded Mn, Zn, As, Cr, Cu, Cd, Ni, Co, Sr and Pb, which were all within
Al2Si2O5(OH)4

the permissible regulatory guideline values except for As.

+++
+++
+++
Kaolinite

−
+

The range of As found in this study is between 1.84 and

1915.49 mg/kg giving an average of 319.49 mg/kg As from the mining
site. Categorically, the As content in soils of the studied area is between
1.84 and 262.35 mg/kg, 182.21–282.48 mg/kg in sediments and
+++ Dominant; ++ Moderate; + Small; − Lack (identified from XRD analysis).
Mineralogical composition in waste rocks, soils and sediments of gold mining area.

52.08–1915.49 mg/kg in waste rocks. The As content in soils, except for

Siderite

++
FeCO3

−
−
−

soil of the borrow pit, exceeds the soil guideline values as re-
commended by the Canadian Ministry of Environment (11 mg/kg), UK
Environment Agency (43 mg/kg) and Australian Department of
Dolomite

Environment and Conservation (20 mg/kg). As in sediments of the mine

++
(CO3)2

+
+
+

−
CaMg

tailings exceeded the permissible guideline values of the Canadian

Council of Ministers of Environment, i.e. > 5.9 mg/kg. The documented
values of the upper and lower continental crust As content are between
1.3 and 2.0 mg/kg (Wedepohl, 1995). The highest As concentration was
+++
++
Calcite

CaCO3

+
+
+

found in the waste rocks of the stockpile, the fact that greater amount of
As was noticeable in waste rocks compared to soils and sediments of the
studied area because rocks are the parent materials of soils. At S6 for
instance, it is one of the important sites where ore is mostly stockpiled,
(AlSi3O10)
K(Mg,Fe)3
Muscovite

+++
++

i.e. in the form of oxide and sulfide ore, and is further classified ac-
−
−
−

−
(OH)2

cording to its grade. For sulfide ore, the stockpiles are further sub-
divided based on the leachability of the ore, which could be associated
with potential metal leaching including the arsenic.
+++
+++

Notwithstanding this, from worldwide mining perspective, the As

++

++
Quartz

+
+
SiO2

content was comparable to others' work relating to mining activities. It

has been reported from a copper mining district in Spain that As content
was in the range of 238–2569 mg/kg (spoil heap wastes) and between
Waste dump
Borrow pit

85 and 601 mg/kg (soils) (Álvarez et al., 2018). Gałuszka et al. (2018)
Stockpile

Stockpile
Main pit

Sediments
Tailings
Chemical

reported the concentration of As in a historic lead mining area in Po-

formula
Mineral
Table 2

Rocks

land of between 18 and 1314 mg/kg (rocks composed of galena, pyrite

Soils

and iron oxides) and in the range of 8–54 mg/kg (soils). López-Orenes

6
F.M. Kusin, et al.
4000
3500
3000
2500
Al, Fe and As (mg/kg)
2000
1500
1000
500
0
S1 S2
Fig. 2. Distribution of mean concentration of Al, Fe and As (mg/kg).
et al. (2018) have documented As in mining soils within a mining
district in Spain of between 18 and 800 mg/kg (rhizoshpere soil). In an
active antimony mining area in China, As content was reported to be in
the range of 12–236 mg/kg (soils) (Zhang et al., 2018). In Mongolia, it
has been documented that As contents ranged between 3917 and
4920 mg/kg (in tailing dam sediment), 3.4–9.0 mg/kg (tailing dam
soil), 8.6–261.4 mg/kg (heap leach area soil) and 6.3–9.9 mg/kg
(borehole area soil) in the vicinity of a gold mine area (Inam et al.,
2011). On the other hand, Ko et al. (2003) found that As within a gold
mine area in South Korea that were ranging between 2500 and
6420 mg/kg (in tailings), 241–506 mg/kg (sediments) and 80–137 mg/
kg (impacted soils). Lee et al. (2005) and Lee et al. (2008) reported the
mean As concentration in tailings and soils of a gold‑silver mine in
South Korea of 2383–24,070 mg/kg (tailings) and 72–230 mg/kg
(mine-impacted agricultural soils), respectively.
Greater amount of As was detected in the sediments of the mine
tailings compared to that of soils of the borrow pit, waste dump and
stockpile in the study area. In can be generally accepted that arseno-
pyrite mineralization in gold-bearing ore is one of the factors leading to
the increased level of As (Ahmad and Carboo, 2000; Ko et al., 2003;
Ahn et al., 2005). There were some sulfidic minerals that are re-
sponsible for the assimilation of As in mine tailings such as arsenates,
arsenian pyrite and arsenophyrite. Fashola et al. (2016) stated that
inorganic forms of As(III) and arsenate As(V) that were mainly from
mine tailings contain the highest toxicity level of As. Meanwhile, Fe
oxyhydroxides was known as one of the minerals that As was mostly
associated with in soils at mining area (Fashola et al., 2016). According
to Choudhury et al. (2011) one of the most toxic heavy metals of
worldwide environmental concern was As.
The associations among metal elements were evaluated using
Pearson's correlation coefficient as shown in Table 4. There were strong
associations between Fe-Mn; Fe-Zn; Mn-Zn; Zn-Cd; CdePb and NieCo (r
above 0.72; p < 0.01). The association of Fe, Zn and Pb can be at-
tributed to common source like sulfidic minerals already exist in most
soils such as pyrite (FeS2), sphalerite (ZnS) and galena (PbS) (Taylor,
1971; Wang et al., 2014; Gomez et al., 2016). It is reported that the gold
deposits in Selinsing gold mine is generally in fine-grained gold parti-
cles (< 20 μm) which is commonly associated with pyrite and arseno-
pyrite and rarely with chalcopyrite (Snowden, 2019). Fe and Mn are
mostly associated with silicate minerals as indicated by strong corre-
lations between silicates (SiO2) with Fe and Mn (r above 0.75;
p < 0.01) (Table 4).
3.3. Ecological risk assessment
The presence of metal(loid)s in the waste rocks, soils and sediments
such as Pb, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Cr, Ni and Co were evaluated for their
Catena 183 (2019) 104229
Al
Fe
As
S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10
potential ecological risk. The contributions of potential ecological risk
(Eri) by single elements to the total potential ecological risk index (RI)
are given in Table 5. Regardless of the types of samples, contribution
from As to the total RI was evident compared to other metal elements in
the samples. The results indicated that all samples were dominated by
As particularly in the rock sample from the stockpile (S6). As is known
as one of non-essential elements for living organisms and this metalloid
is found to be very toxic and might cause environmental pollution (Kim
et al., 2007; Babalola et al., 2016). The value of RI was the highest from
waste rocks in stockpile (1278.47) and was the lowest in soils of borrow
pit (1.49). Based on the classification of risk index of heavy metals
introduced by Hakanson (1980), the Eri values for As were considered
as having ‘considerable potential ecological risk’ for S9
(80 ≤ Eri < 160), ‘high potential ecological risk’ for S5, S8 and S10
(160 ≤ Eri < 320) and ‘very high ecological risk’ for S6 (Eri > 320).
For potential ecological risk index (PERI), the S1, S2, S3, S4 and S7
were classified as having ‘low ecological risk’ (RI ≤ 150); S5, S8, S9 and
S10 were classified as ‘moderate ecological risk’ (150 ≤ RI < 300);
while S6 was considered as having ‘very high ecological risk’ (RI ≥
600). Notably the contribution of As to the total RI was very evident,
suggesting the needs for appropriate treatment control for this me-
talloid in the mining area.
3.4. Geochemical indices
Geochemical indices of the studied area including geo-accumulation
index, enrichment factor and contamination factor are presented in
Table 6. Geo-accumulation index (Igeo) was calculated to assess the
levels of accumulation of various toxic metals in many soils and sedi-
ments (Ali et al., 2017). The presence of metal(loid)s in the waste rocks,
soils and sediments such as Pb, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Cr, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn and Sr
had been evaluated for their Igeo. All samples were found to be un-
contaminated with respect to metals except for As. All the metals except
for As have Igeo values below 0, indicating that the samples were un-
contaminated. Nonetheless, with respect to As, the Igeo values for S5,
S8, S9 and S10 were classified as strongly contaminated (4 ≤ Igeo < 5),
and for S6 (waste rocks of the low grade stockpile) it was classified as
extremely contaminated as the Igeo was 6.41 (Igeo ≥ 5).
The enrichment factor (EF) of all samples for most metals (Pb, Zn,
Cd, Ni, Mn and Sr) were classified as having deficiency to minimal
enrichment as EF ≤ 2. With respect to As, EF for S1 and S2 were clas-
sified as having very high enrichment (20 ≤ EF < 40), while S3-S10
were classified as having extremely high enrichment (EF ≥ 40). Some
samples were found to be moderately enriched with Cu (S1, S2, S7, S8),
Cr (S1), and Co (S4). Our earlier study at a bauxite mine-impacted area
found that several locations were classified as having moderate to se-
vere enrichment with As (Kusin et al., 2018).
7
F.M. Kusin, et al. Catena 183 (2019) 104229

S1
S6

S2 S7

S3 S8

S4 S9

Mn Zn

Sr Cr
S5 S10 Cd Ni

Cu Co

Pb

Fig. 3. Distribution of mean concentration of other trace elements (Mn, Zn, Sr, Cr, Cd, Ni, Cu, Co, Pb) (mg/kg) in samples (S1–S10).

With regard to contamination factor (CF), it was found that all
samples were categorized as having low contamination with respect to
all metals (Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, Cr, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn and Sr) except for As as
CF ≤ 1. S2 is classified as having moderate contamination of As as CF is
2.00 (1 ≤ CF < 3); S3, S4 and S7 were classified as having consider-
able contamination (3 ≤ CF < 6), while S5, S6, S8, S9 and S10 were
categorized as having very high contamination with As (CF ≥6).
Therefore, regardless of the types of samples whether in waste rocks,
soils or sediments of the gold mining area, the geochemical indices have
demonstrated generally low contamination level with respect to the
metals present, except for As. This is in line with earlier discussion that
most metals present in the samples were in concentrations below the
permissible regulatory guidelines, while that of As has exceeded most of
the recommended guideline values.
3.5. Health risk assessment
Human health risk assessment was performed to evaluate the po-
tential of health risk due to exposure to metal(loid)s within the sur-
roundings of the mining area. For estimation of the potential human
health risk, the portions of bioavailable concentration of metals were
extracted from previous related studies to avoid overestimation of the
health risk when using total metal concentration in the computation of
chronic daily intake and hazard index (Lee et al., 2008; Inam et al.,
2011; Diami et al., 2016; Halim et al., 2018). The cumulative hazard
index (HI) for non-carcinogenic risk and lifetime cancer risk (LCR) of

8
F.M. Kusin, et al. Catena 183 (2019) 104229

Table 3
Metal(loid) elements in waste rocks, soils and sediments of gold mining area.
Samples Al Fe Mn Zn Sr As Cr Cd Ni Cu Co Pb

(mg/kg)

S
S1- Borrow pit 2499.68 318.28 0.25 2.17 0.07 1.84 1.83 0.02 0.65 0.85 0.02 0.25
S2- Waste dumpS 3568.66 3368.33 71.39 12.9 0.87 29.97 1.25 0.03 1.39 8.69 1.1 6.38
S3- Stockpile SLGS 1044.32 2992.27 11.58 4.72 0.85 65.3 1.39 0.01 0.74 0.03 0.03 2.36
S4- Stockpile SLGR 1156.89 1174.09 6.08 3.43 0.14 52.08 0.96 0.01 1.99 3.43 2.31 0.93
S5- Stockpile LGS 449.29 3766.55 75.95 19.83 1.11 262.35 0.9 0.02 1.69 4.16 1.37 1.65
S6- Stockpile LGR 268.96 3264.77 3.67 12.6 0.38 1915.49 0.9 0.02 2.82 2.87 1.25 1.38
S7- Stockpile HGS 1127.85 1003.82 5.50 3.26 0.13 63.47 1.47 0.02 2.32 3.28 2.18 0.9
S8- Stockpile HGR 736.27 1742.44 0.59 1.93 0.13 339.75 1.23 0.01 0.87 5.64 0.37 0.46
S9- Mine tailingsSD 886.26 3190.55 57.48 9.60 4.65 182.21 1.9 0.02 1.51 3.38 1.07 2.19
S10- Mine tailingsSD 1687.97 3242.59 65.83 10.38 2.7 282.48 2.48 0.02 1.77 3.58 1.23 2.56
Mean 1342.62 2406.37 29.83 8.08 1.1 319.49 1.43 0.02 1.57 3.59 1.09 1.91
Standard deviation 1006.07 1222.76 33.03 5.95 1.48 573.25 0.51 0.01 0.7 2.39 0.79 1.76
Soil
Canadian Ministry of Environment (2009) ⁎⁎ ⁎⁎ ⁎⁎
290 ⁎⁎
11 64 1.4 37 63 40 45
UK Environment Agency (2009) ⁎⁎ ⁎⁎ ⁎⁎ ⁎⁎ ⁎⁎
43 ⁎⁎
1.8 230 ⁎⁎ ⁎⁎ ⁎⁎

Australian Dep. of Environment and Conservation (2010) ⁎⁎ ⁎⁎

500 200 ⁎⁎
20 400 3 60 100 50 600
Sediment
Threshold levela ⁎⁎ ⁎⁎ ⁎⁎
123 ⁎⁎ ⁎⁎
37.3 0.6 18 35.7 ⁎⁎
35
Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment ⁎⁎ ⁎⁎ ⁎⁎
123 ⁎⁎
5.9 37.3 0.6 ⁎⁎
35.7 ⁎⁎
35
Reference values
Pre-industrial levelb ⁎⁎ ⁎⁎ ⁎⁎
175 350 15 90 1 80 50 38 70
Crust averagec 77,440 30,890 527 52 316 2 35 0.102 18.6 4.3 11.6 17
Crust averagea 80,000 50,000 900 70 350 2 200 0.18 80 60 25 16

S-Soil; R-Rock; SD-sediment.

⁎⁎
Not specified.
a
Smith and Huyck (1999).
b
Hakanson (1980).
c
Wedepohl (1995).

metal(loid)s from three exposure pathways on adults and children (i.e.
via ingestion, inhalation and dermal contact) are given in Table 7.
For non-carcinogenic risk, generally the cumulative HI values of all
metal(loid)s were an order of magnitude higher for children compared
to adults. The HI values for adults was found to be in the range of
6.974E-07-1.878E-01, and the HIs for children were between 6.496E-
06-6.779E-01. It is apparent that the HI values were all below than 1
(HI < 1), suggesting that there is no significant non-carcinogenic risk
due to the metal(loid)s present. Regardless of the adults or children, the
HI values were found to be in the order of As > Cu > Co
> Cd > Cr > Fe > Pb > Zn > Al. Despite having insignificant
non-carcinogenic risk, As possesses higher potential health risk com-
pared to other metals. Lee et al. (2006) and Gałuszka et al. (2018) have
found that the non-carcinogenic risk due to As were > 1 (HI > 1),
indicating significant potential health risk in a gold mining area and
historic lead mining areas, respectively. Therefore, it can be anticipated
that health risk among the mineworkers appears to be minimal and may
not instantly induce non-cancerous health effect.
For total carcinogenic risk, the lifetime cancer risks (LCR) from
different exposure pathways were also an order of magnitude higher
among children compared to adults. The LCR for adults ranges between
2.97562E-09-3.86866E-05 and for children the LCR is between
1.38862E-08-9.30E-05. As has notably higher LCR values than other
metals following the order of As > Cr > Pb > Cd. Furthermore, the
LCR of As for both adults (3.86866E-05) and children (9.30E-05) fall
within the tolerable value for regulatory purposes (1.0E-
06 < LCR < 1.0E-04). This implies the necessity for monitoring this
metalloid element in the area studied. The LCRs for other metals (Pb, Cr
and Cd) were all below the acceptable threshold value, i.e. LCR < 1.0E-
04, indicating no significant carcinogenic risk with respect to these
metals. Likewise, higher level of carcinogenic risk due to As have also
been estimated in other mining-impacted soils (e.g. Lee et al., 2005;

Table 4
Association of elemental composition in waste rocks, soils and sediments.
SiO2 Al Fe As Mn Zn Sr Cr Cd Ni Cu Co Pb

SiO2 1.000
Al 0.221 1.000
Fe −0.798⁎⁎ −0.156 1.000
As −0.214 −0.473⁎ 0.327 1.000
Mn −0.757⁎⁎ 0.260 0.732 −0.208 1.000
Zn −0.936⁎⁎ −0.088 0.834⁎⁎ 0.324 0.788⁎⁎ 1.000
Sr −0.358 −0.072 0.522 −0.099 0.627⁎ 0.340 1.000
Cr 0.269 0.317 −0.053 −0.332 0.250 −0.195 0.585⁎ 1.000
Cd −0.757⁎⁎ 0.210 0.623⁎ 0.168 0.683⁎ 0.726⁎⁎ 0.212 −0.150 1.000
Ni −0.373 −0.377 0.195 0.616⁎ 0.025 0.359 −0.005 −0.272 0.549⁎ 1.000
Cu −0.386 0.391 0.297 −0.055 0.490⁎ 0.356 0.025 −0.204 0.679⁎ 0.132 1.000
Co −0.278 −0.178 −0.039 0.056 0.130 0.183 −0.009 −0.238 0.508⁎ 0.796⁎⁎ 0.287 1.000
Pb −0.414 0.632⁎ 0.597⁎ −0.141 0.668⁎ 0.474⁎ 0.270 0.057 0.723⁎⁎ −0.036 0.619 0.000 1.000

⁎
Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
⁎⁎
Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

9
F.M. Kusin, et al. Catena 183 (2019) 104229

Table 5
Potential ecological risk index for major and trace elements in the waste rocks, soils and sediments of Selinsing gold mining area.
Samples Ecological risk index for single element (Eir) Total ecological risk index (RI)

Pb Cu Zn As Cd Cr Ni Co RI

S1 0.02 0.08 0.01 1.23 0.06 0.04 0.04 0.00 1.49

S2 0.46 0.87 0.07 19.98 1.05 0.03 0.09 0.14 22.69
S3 0.17 0.00 0.03 43.53 0.27 0.03 0.05 0.00 44.08
S4 0.07 0.34 0.02 34.72 0.36 0.02 0.12 0.30 35.96
S5 0.12 0.42 0.11 174.90 0.75 0.02 0.11 0.18 176.60
S6 0.10 0.29 0.07 1276.99 0.66 0.02 0.18 0.16 1278.47
S7 0.06 0.33 0.02 42.31 0.69 0.03 0.15 0.29 43.88
S8 0.03 0.56 0.01 226.50 0.24 0.03 0.05 0.05 227.48
S9 0.16 0.34 0.05 121.47 0.54 0.04 0.09 0.14 122.84
S10 0.18 0.36 0.06 188.32 0.63 0.06 0.11 0.16 189.88

Gałuszka et al., 2018; Liao et al., 2016; Carvalho et al., 2016). The risks
were also associated with the impact on plant growth and aquatics
aside from human health. Zin et al. (2015) and Diami et al. (2016)
found that human health risks were relatively higher in active iron ore-
mining site compared to that of the abandoned mines. Irrespective of
non-carcinogenic or carcinogenic risk, the exposure to metal(loid) ele-
ments causing health effect appears to be more susceptible by means of
ingestion followed by dermal contact and inhalation.
3.6. Treatment control
It is worth noting again that there is provision of treatment facility
within this mining area such as the tailings storage facility and series of
retention (polishing) ponds. With regard to the As contamination that
has been noticed earlier, evaluation of this treatment facility has been
made as to measure the improvement in terms of metal reduction after
treatment. Data on heavy metal and metalloid reduction in the treat-
ment facility are given in Table 8. In the process tank, it is noticeable
that the concentrations of Fe, Al, As and Cd were rather high compared
to the guideline values. In the subsequent treatment, discharges from
gold mining extraction plant were then processed in tailing storage
facility. Likewise, in the tailing storage facility, Fe, As and Cd were still
present at concentrations higher than the recommended acceptable
values for untreated water of the Ministry of Health, i.e. 3.418 mg/L,
1.514 mg/L and 0.006 mg/L, respectively. Upon treatment in the re-
tention pond, these concentrations of metals have reduced markedly in
which Fe and Cd have met the regulatory requirements for these metals
into water body. As was still slightly above the guideline value
(0.01 mg/L), but has been removed by 94.7% (to 0.08 mg/L) in the final
retention pond. Both Cd and Fe have been removed by 83.33% (to

Table 6
Geochemical indices of the studied area including geo-accumulation index, enrichment factor and contamination factor.
Sample Pb Cu Zn As Cd Cr Ni Co Mn Sr

Geo-accumulation index (Igeo)

S1 −8.71 −6.46 −6.92 −3.61 −6.23 −6.20 −7.53 −11.48 −12.48 −12.87
S2 −4.04 −3.11 −4.35 0.41 −5.64 −6.75 −6.43 −5.70 −4.32 −9.24
S3 −5.48 −11.29 −5.80 1.54 −7.23 −6.60 −7.34 −10.89 −6.94 −9.27
S4 −6.82 −4.45 −6.26 1.21 −7.23 −7.14 −5.91 −4.62 −7.87 −11.87
S5 −5.99 −4.17 −3.73 3.54 −6.23 −7.23 −6.15 −5.38 −4.23 −8.89
S6 −6.25 −4.71 −4.38 6.41 −6.23 −7.23 −5.41 −5.51 −8.60 −10.43
S7 −6.87 −4.52 −6.33 1.50 −6.23 −6.52 −5.69 −4.71 −8.02 −11.98
S8 −7.83 −3.73 −7.09 3.92 −7.23 −6.78 −7.11 −7.27 −11.24 −11.98
S9 −5.58 −4.47 −4.77 3.02 −6.23 −6.15 −6.31 −5.74 −4.63 −6.82
S10 −5.36 −4.87 −4.66 3.65 −6.23 −5.77 −6.08 −5.53 −4.44 −7.60

Enrichment factor (EF)

S1 0.56 2.67 1.95 19.27 0.10 3.19 1.28 0.08 0.04 0.03
S2 1.35 2.58 1.09 29.66 0.01 0.21 0.26 0.43 1.12 0.04
S3 0.56 0.01 0.45 72.74 0.01 0.26 0.15 0.01 0.20 0.04
S4 0.57 2.92 0.83 147.86 0.01 0.45 1.06 2.59 0.27 0.02
S5 0.31 1.10 1.50 232.18 0.01 0.13 0.28 0.48 1.06 0.04
S6 0.30 0.88 1.10 1955.72 0.01 0.15 0.54 0.50 0.06 0.02
S7 0.64 3.27 0.93 210.76 0.03 0.81 1.44 2.86 0.29 0.02
S8 0.19 3.24 0.32 649.95 0.01 0.39 0.31 0.28 0.02 0.01
S9 0.49 1.06 0.86 190.36 0.01 0.33 0.30 0.44 0.95 0.21
S10 0.56 1.10 0.91 290.39 0.01 0.42 0.34 0.50 1.07 0.12

Contamination factor (CF)

S1 0.004 0.014 0.012 0.123 0.020 0.020 0.008 0.001 0.001 0.001
S2 0.091 0.174 0.074 1.998 0.030 0.014 0.017 0.029 0.075 0.002
S3 0.034 0.001 0.027 4.353 0.010 0.015 0.009 0.001 0.012 0.002
S4 0.013 0.069 0.020 3.472 0.010 0.011 0.025 0.061 0.006 0.001
S5 0.024 0.083 0.113 17.490 0.020 0.010 0.021 0.036 0.080 0.003
S6 0.020 0.057 0.072 127.699 0.020 0.010 0.035 0.033 0.004 0.001
S7 0.013 0.066 0.019 4.231 0.020 0.016 0.029 0.057 0.006 0.001
S8 0.007 0.113 0.011 22.650 0.010 0.014 0.011 0.010 0.001 0.000
S9 0.031 0.030 0.055 12.147 0.020 0.021 0.019 0.028 0.061 0.013
S10 0.037 0.072 0.059 18.832 0.020 0.028 0.022 0.032 0.069 0.008

10
F.M. Kusin, et al. Catena 183 (2019) 104229

Table 7
Cumulative hazard index (HI) and lifetime cancer risk (LCR) for elements of concern and exposure route.
Non-carcinogenic risk

Element CDIing CDIinh CDIderm HQing HQinh HQderm HI

Adults
Pb 4.901E-09 7.207E-13 1.955E-11 1.400E-06 2.059E-10 5.587E-09 1.406E-06
Cu 4.957E-07 7.290E-11 1.978E-09 1.713E-05 2.519E-09 6.834E-08 1.720E-05
Fe 2.113E-06 3.108E-10 8.432E-09 3.019E-06 4.440E-10 1.205E-08 3.031E-06
Zn 2.084E-07 3.064E-11 8.313E-10 6.945E-07 1.021E-10 2.771E-09 6.974E-07
Cd 4.315E-09 6.346E-13 1.722E-11 4.315E-06 6.346E-10 1.722E-09 4.317E-06
Cr 1.020E-08 1.500E-12 4.071E-11 3.401E-06 5.001E-10 1.357E-08 3.415E-06
Co 2.660E-07 3.912E-11 1.061E-09 1.330E-05 1.956E-09 5.307E-08 1.335E-05
As 5.610E-05 8.250E-09 2.238E-07 1.870E-01 2.750E-05 7.461E-04 1.878E-01
Al 2.135E-09 3.140E-13 8.520E-12 5.338E-07 7.850E-11 2.130E-09 5.360E-07

Children
Pb 4.574E-08 3.363E-12 9.125E-11 1.307E-05 9.609E-10 2.607E-08 1.310E-05
Cu 4.627E-06 3.402E-10 9.230E-09 1.599E-04 1.175E-08 3.189E-07 1.602E-04
Fe 1.972E-05 1.450E-09 3.935E-08 2.818E-05 2.072E-09 5.621E-08 2.823E-05
Zn 1.945E-06 1.430E-10 3.880E-09 6.482E-06 4.766E-10 1.293E-08 6.496E-06
Cd 4.027E-08 2.961E-12 8.035E-11 4.027E-05 2.961E-09 8.035E-09 4.028E-05
Cr 9.522E-08 7.001E-12 1.900E-10 3.174E-05 2.334E-09 6.332E-08 3.181E-05
Co 2.483E-06 1.825E-10 4.953E-09 1.241E-04 9.127E-09 2.476E-07 1.244E-04
As 5.236E-04 3.850E-08 1.045E-06 6.765E-01 4.974E-05 1.350E-03 6.779E-01
Al 1.993E-08 1.465E-12 3.976E-11 4.982E-06 3.663E-10 9.940E-09 4.993E-06

Carcinogenic risk

Element Adults Children

CRing CRinh CRderm LCR (HI) CRing CRinh CRderm LCR (HI)

Pb 3.5883E-09 1.33869E-15 1.26702E-11 3.60098E-09 1.57153E-08 5.8629E-15 5.54903E-11 1.57708E-08

Cd 2.96515E-09 9.95587E-16 1.04699E-11 2.97562E-09 1.38374E-08 5.1623E-15 4.88594E-11 1.38862E-08
Cr 7.01047E-09 2.61539E-15 2.47538E-11 7.03522E-09 3.27155E-08 1.22052E-14 1.15518E-10 3.2831E-08
As 3.85505E-05 1.4382E-11 1.36121E-07 3.86866E-05 9.26268E-05 3.45562E-11 3.27063E-07 9.30E-05

0.001 mg/L) and 82.9% (to 0.583 mg/L), respectively in the final re-
tention pond. This signifies the importance of having sufficient treat-
ment that could efficiently remediate metal(loid)s within this mining
extraction and processing premise. Metal contamination is obviously
inevitable in most mining sites; however, the impact could be sig-
nificantly taken care of through provision of properly managed pre-
mises. There has been intervention to upgrade the existing processing
plant for sulfide ore treatment (in addition to current treatment that is
mainly for oxide ore treatment) using flotation and bio-oxidation
leaching technologies alongside new waste dump design to cater for
potentially acid-forming waste rocks that has been identified (Snowden,
2019).
4. Conclusion
A geo-ecological evaluation of mine wastes of a gold mine area in
association with their potential ecological and human health risk
assessment has been performed. It has been noticeable that the major
oxides in the mine waste samples were derived mainly from the mi-
nerals present that were dominated by quartz and muscovite (in waste
rocks), kaolinite and illite (in soils) and illite and chlorite-serpentine (in
tailings). The concentrations of metals (Al, Fe, Mn, Zn, Sr, Cr, Cd, Ni,
Cu, Co, and Pb) were found within the acceptable values of the referred
guidelines, except for As. Metalloid As ranged between 1.84 and
1915.49 mg/kg (the highest was in the waste rocks sample of the
stockpile). However, the As concentrations were comparable to those
other mining-related sites worldwide, e.g. Spain, China, South Korea,
Poland, and Mongolia. From ecological point of view, As contamination
has been noticeable as indicated by the potential ecological risk index;
i.e. the mine waste samples were classified as having considerable to
high ecological risk with respect to As. Likewise, in view of the geo-
chemical classification, some locations were categorized as extremely
contaminated, highly enriched and having high contamination with
regard to As based on geo-accumulation index, enrichment factor and

Table 8
Mean metal(loid) elements of the waters.
Location Al Fe Mn Zn Sr As Cr Cd Ni Cu Co Pb

(mg/L)

S1- PWT 1.544 4.984 0.017 1.439 0.415 1.913 0.002 0.008 0.095 0.070 0.575 0.003
S2- TSF 0.105 3.418 0.087 0.409 0.294 1.514 0.008 0.006 0.011 0.014 0.300 < LOD
S3- RP 0.242 0.583 0.071 0.266 0.179 0.080 < LOD 0.001 0.002 0.004 0.001 < LOD
Guidelines
MOH (untreated raw water) ** 1.00 0.20 3.00 ** 0.01 0.05 0.003 ** 1.00 ** 0.05
MOH (treated water) 0.20 0.30 0.10 3.00 ** 0.01 0.05 0.003 ** 1.00 ** 0.01
WHO & USEPA 0.20 0.30 0.05 5.00 ** 0.01 0.05 0.01 0.02 1.00 ** 0.05
EU drinking water standards 98/83/EC 0.25 0.05 ** ** 0.01 0.05 0.005 0.02 2.00 ** 0.01

PWT – Process water tank; TSF – Tailing storage facility; RP – Retention pond; ** not specified; LOD – limit of detection.

11
F.M. Kusin, et al.
contamination factor. Other metal elements were in acceptable range
and possess low ecological risk. Additionally, from health perspective,
the lifetime cancer risk of As was found in tolerable range for regulatory
purpose, suggesting the needs for monitoring this metalloid element. As
with the provision of existing treatment facilities within this mine area,
the quality of the treated discharges following extraction process have
been evaluated. Apparently, some high concentrations of Fe, As and Cd
in the discharges have been removed up to 94.7%. With few re-
commended interventions in the near future, it is likely that the mining
operation would continue without causing undesirable impact on the
environment. It is worth noting that the gold mine is considered in rural
area of between 3.5 and 10 km from the process plant to nearby com-
munities, with around 4000 people residing in the areas who are mostly
Felda settlers. Therefore, both ecological and human risk assessments
are greatly important to ensure such mining operations would continue
without inflicting the surrounding environments and the human.
Findings from this study have demonstrated the impact of gold mining
activities on the environment, which could be of importance to the local
communities living nearby the area, people working in the mine, policy
makers in revising the existing laws and relevant authorities in for-
mulating future mitigation strategies.
Acknowledgements
This research was funded by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and
Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia through the IPS 9574900 and
FRGS 5524757 & 5540081 research grants. Special thanks are dedi-
cated to the staff of Selinsing Gold Mine for assistance during site visit
and sampling. The authors would like to thank the laboratory staff of
the Faculty of Environmental Studies and Faculty of Agriculture, UPM
for providing technical assistance during laboratory analysis. Thanks
are also due to the staff of the Centre for Research and Instrumentation
(CRIM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) for sample analysis.
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