Investigation of Environmental Impacts of Gold and Silver Mineral Production from Ore
Trend and Advanced Studies in Engineering, Umut ÖZKAYA, Editör, All Sciences Academy, Manisa, ss.129-150, 2026
- Yayın Türü: Kitapta Bölüm / Mesleki Kitap
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Yayınevi: All Sciences Academy
- Basıldığı Şehir: Manisa
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.129-150
- Editörler: Umut ÖZKAYA, Editör
- Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
- Manisa Celal Bayar Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
The this study aims to comprehensively examine the environmental impacts arising from gold and silver production processes. The research primarily focuses on the environmental risks associated with ore beneficiation, flotation, chemical leaching operations, concentrate storage, and waste management stages. The main motivation of the study is the increasing environmental concern posed by the widespread use of chemicals such as cyanide and mercury in precious metal production, particularly due to their adverse effects on water resources, soils, and ecosystems. Within this scope, scientific studies published in the Web of Science database between 2015 and 2024 were analyzed using the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) methodology. Based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 264 original research articles were included in the final literature corpus. Bibliometric analyses were conducted to examine publication trends, country-based distributions, author collaborations, citation networks, and keyword clustering patterns. Co-authorship and cocitation analyses performed using the VOSviewer software revealed that specific research groups and geographical regions play a dominant role in shaping the literature. The findings indicate that the environmental impacts of gold and silver mining are not limited to direct pollution mechanisms but also manifest through indirect pathways such as soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and socio-environmental effects. In particular, mercury contamination associated with artisanal and small-scale mining activities emerges as the most prominent research theme in the literature. Overall, this study contributes to the systematic classification of environmental impacts in precious metal production and provides a structured framework to support the development of more sustainable and environmentally responsible mining practices.