Evaluation of Environmental Impacts of Heavy Metals Released from the Porphyry Cu- Mo Deposit in Haftcheshmeh Area, North West of Varzaghan-East Azarbayjan

Haftcheshmeh Cu-Mo deposit is located in East Azerbaijan province, Iran, with 28 km distance in North west of Varzeghan Area. In order to evaluate the hydrogeochemical properties and concentrations of heavy metals in water resources of the studied area, 14 samples of groundwater (springs and the leakage levels) and 10 samples of surface water area were collected. Samples were analyzed for major anions and cations, anion and some heavy metals including Zn, Cu, Pb, and Mo and. This qualitative study showed that majority of samples collected from the range of deposit, under the impact of low pH, caused the release of elements of minerals and change water quality for drinking, agriculture and industry. But at farther distance deposits in the flow direction with decrease of contaminants the quality of water in these resources increased. Concentrations of Pb and Mo were higher than standard values in the sample near the deposit, whereas the concentrations of Cu and Zn were lower than standard values in all of the samples. Determination of “Heavy metal pollution index” (HPI) and “metal index” (MI) revealed that samples of groundwater and surface water near the deposit were not suitable for drinking and it could be harmful for the human health. Spearman correlation analysis of metals showed that the all elements except Mo were negatively correlated to pH, reflecting different geochemical behavior of Mo. The results of this research showed that it was necessary to be studied the environmental effects of this deposit before start of mining.