Mine waters of the flooded Příbram uranium deposit

Abstract

From the Příbram deposit, which was the largest exploited uranium deposit in the Czech Republic, mine water has been drained under controlled conditions, treated and discharged into the Kocába River since the flooding of the deposit in October 2005. The amount of water drained in this way is determined at any particular moment by the volume of seepage from precipitation and surface water into the underground mine cavities. The draining of overbalance mine waters is carried out at two points through the shafts No. 19 and No. 11A, which have not yet been decommissioned by backfilling. The pumped water is piped to the mine water treatment plants ČDV Příbram I and ČDV Příbram II, where contaminants are removed. The contribution presents ongoing changes in mine water chemistry after the deposit was flooded.