Investigation of heavy metal concentrations in groundwater by geostatistical method (Case study of Gol Gohar iron ore mine)

Simulation in groundwater flow is important for agricultural use and access to high quality groundwater.In many arid countries of the world, especially Iran, the main source of water supply is groundwater reserves.This study, using geostatistical analyzes, has investigated the environmental effects of heavy elements of Gol Gohar Goljan iron ore mine in Sirjan.For this purpose, heavy metal elements (iron, copper, chromium, cadmium, antimony, arsenic) were sampled from 115 groundwater samples.Then, by drawing a histogram, preliminary statistics and exploratory-spatial information obtained from the data of the study area were examined.The experimental half-change of each parameter was calculated using isatis software and fitted with Gaussian, spherical, linear and exponential models.After variography, Gaussian simulation in a block model prepared in the study area was performed 100 times and the map obtained from Gaussian simulation of each of the mentioned variables was prepared. In addition to examining the spatial coherence of the variables, the probability and uncertainty map was prepared according to the EPA drinking water standard and the points where the concentration of heavy metals was within the allowable drinking water limit or above the threshold were determined. The validation results were finally compared with the simulation results and the original values. The results of the studies showed that the highest risk of contamination of heavy metals iron, copper, arsenic and chromium, according to the EPA drinking water standard, is related to Gol Gohar iron ore mineral areas and long wells in Kefahnamak, Khairabad and Qatarbaneh area. Also, the results of studies on the element antimony showed that most of the groundwater resources in the study area are contaminated with this element and are not drinkable according to the EPA limit. Groundwater at points KH1, KH2, KH3 and CHD20 had the highest concentration of cadmium, and probability maps of each element were prepared.