Probably Contamination Seepage Through Abutment of the Tailing Dam of Sungun Cu-Mo Mine Using of Geotechnical Characteristics and Groundwater Hydrogeochemical Evidences

Pollution of groundwater from the sources such as waste disposal sites, is a worldwide problem. Mining of mineral ores and disposal of resulting waste pose a significant risk to ground water. Sungun copper mine tailings dams in East Azarbaijan province is located in basin Zarnekab (a brunch of Ahar chay main basin). This tailing dam supply storage of 270 million cubic meters for semi-solid waste. With a final height of 186 meters. This dam is a kind of upward tailings dam with clay core and current height of 115 meters. Any leak from tailing dams can be an environmental hazard specially if there is a main river like Aras is in the downstream. This is an investigation on the probable leak from abutments of Sungun tailing dam using geotechniques and hydrochemical evidences, which the latter rarely used for such investigations.