ASSESSMENT OF SOIL CONTAMINATION IN CALETA VITOR AND SURROUNDING AREAS, NORTHERN CHILE, DUE TO HEAVY METAL ENRICHMENT CAUSED BY AN ABANDONED COPPER MINE

This work offers a vision of physicochemical properties of the soils of Caleta Vitor, Northern Chile, such as: organic matter content, pH, porosity, apparent density, particle density and contamination by the presence of Cu, Pb and Zn in the soils where the abandoned mine Compania Minera San Carlos is located, areas surrounding the river and the beach. The environmental impact of this abandoned mine is analyzed by evaluating the enrichment factor of the metals and the corresponding geo-accumulation index. The information obtained in this study is compared with those reported by SERNAGEOMIN five years earlier. The results of the enrichment factors based on PEC reach values of up to 664 times above the probable effects of their concentration can be observed and, based on TEC, 3037 times above harmful effects due to the presence of Cu can be observed. The Igeo index calculation shows that the abandoned mine area and samples located in the river area and the beach closest to the mining area can be classed as extremely to highly contaminated with Cu and Pb, while they are not contaminated with Zn. It is also shown that almost all sites in the abandoned mining area have increased after five years their Cu concentration between 2 and 54 times; a similar situation is observed with Pb and to a lesser extent with Zn.