Friday, September 24, 2010

Undergraduate visit to the River Avoca and the mines

The new Junior Sophister (third year) students in Environmental Science and Botany explored the abandoned Cu-S mines just outside Avoca.

They experienced at first hand the historical importance of the site as well as the environmental damage that the site causes.


In the afternoon they had a brief look at the impact acid mine drainage is having on the river.  Macro-invertebrate sampling revealed that it supports a wide range of species at Avoca Bridge just 2.4 km downstream of the mines, confirming that the river has recovered significantly since the 1990’s due to the reduction in the strength of the metals being discharged from the mine drainage.


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