ARSF project MC04/30: Geoenvironmental mineral deposit modelling using airborne spectral data. PI: Jonathan Naden. Site: Troodos.

Mitigating the impact of mining activity is a significant challenge for environmental management. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002), European directives on soils and water and related British legislation demand improvements in this process. New approaches are required based on sound science and environmental information from in-situ, airborne and satellite observations. Geo-environmental mineral deposit modelling (GEM) is one such approach. The principle is that all mineral deposits can be characterised on the basis of geologic, geophysical, geochemical characteristics and processes - the mineral deposit model. We proposed to extend this approach to assess, predict and evaluate their environmental impact - the geo-environmental mineral deposit model. The ARSF data was used to characterise three parts of the model; carbonates that buffer acids; clays, that do not; and a surface model. A site was proposed in Cyprus, parts of which have been heavily mined and parts of which give an unexploited baseline. Collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Cyprus provided site access, maps and geophysical data. The study will improve the models and hence our understanding of both natural and anthropogenic pollution associated with mineral deposits and their exploitation.