The aim is to develop a quantitative biogeochemical budget for heavy metal fluxes in the highly-polluted Rio Tinto catchment by applying hyperspectral remote sensing data to establish a) the nature and distribution of the Fe speciation in water bodies; and b) the Fe-speciation, and hence, mineralogy of the Fe-soluble salt minerals. We will develop and test a methodology for remotely sensing metal storage and transport associated with acid mine waste. The application of hyperspectral remote sensing techniques to liquid phase samples and its potential to infer iron speciation, (and hence microbial activity) will be a major scientific contribution from this project. This will allow us, for the first time, to produce a catchment-wide speciation, mineralogical and water chemistry model of the Rio Tinto system which can be used to mitigate large-scale mining impacts.