Sources and Flow System of Groundwater in the Shimokawa Mine, North Hokkaido, Using Geochemical method and Numerical Simulation

The understanding of source and flow path of the groundwater provides important strategy for the environmental management of mines. Thus, groundwater samples from the shaft and level in the Shimokawa mine and the surrounding river water samples were taken and the stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen and water quality of the samples were analyzed. The results indicate that shallow groundwater starts mainly from mountain-sides and passes through rocks above ore bodies. The simulation of groundwater flow was also conducted. The distribution of velocity vector of the simulated result showed that down streamlines which flows more than 2×10-3 m per day from mountain-sides to the ore bodies were observed. By considering the altitudes of mountain-sides range from 300 to 550 m, these results correspond well with the altitudes estimated from δD and δ18O values of samples.