Hydro-geochemistry of deep aquifers in coal mines in northern Anhui Province, China: implications for water rock interaction and water source discrimination

Thirty-eight groundwater samples from three deep seated aquifers (the Quaternary, the Coal bearing and the Taiyuan Fm aquifers) had been collected from three coal mines in northern Anhui Province, China for analyzing their major ions, and the statistical methods (correlation, cluster and discriminant analysis) had been processed for evaluating the source of ions and relationship between aquifers. The results suggest that: (1) the chemical signatures of the groundwater are mainly controlled by dissolution of plagioclase, K-feldspar and calcite; (2) the aquifers had been mixed with each other, especially the mixing between the Quaternary aquifer and the Taiyuan Fm aquifer. Discriminant analysis has produced two functions and a diagram, which can be used for water source discrimination.