Rainwater characteristics over an old sulphide mine refuse in Sha, Cyprus

Rainwater characteristics over an old mining area have been investigated on the basis of long-term sample collection and determination of physical parameters and chemical composition. The experimental data, which were compared to the respective data of rainwater samples collected at a mountainous and a coastal area of the island, clearly show that rainwater over the old mine area is characterised by significantly lower pH values and increased sulphate concentrations. This indicates that wet precipitation over the sampling site is strongly affected by the presence of the sulphide mine refuse.