Experimental Investigation of Brine-Rock Interactions for Groundwater Quality Predictions in Mine Areas

The study of brine-rock interactions was carried out with the purpose of determining parameters for geomigration models used to predict groundwater contamination in mine areas. Comprehensive tests of clay fraction mineralogical composition, microstructure, salinity, exchange capacity and exchanged cation contents of rocks, as well as updating of experimental laboratory techniques for brine–rock interactions in static and dynamic conditions were carried out. Data obtained from experimental laboratory tests permitted us to determine the specificities of cation exchange in the system brine-rock, to define the kinds of exchange “two-stage” isotherms, to estimate the cation exchange parameters, and to establish the possibility of brine chemical composition change when filtering through the rocks.