Gold mining activities have raised several environmental and health concerns in the local communities in northeastern Thailand. Despite a long history of gold mining activities, there is still a lack of thorough investigation of mining wastes and their potential to produce acid mine drainage (AMD). The study area located in Wang Saphung, Loei province is covered by Permian Pha Dua Formation including siltstone, sandstone and intruded by Triassic granodiorite (Figure 1). Massive sulfide rocks are found; therefore, they may generate AMD. The AMD, which usually contains a high amount of hazardous materials such as arsenic, lead, zinc, cadmium and cyanide, is a serious threat to water resources and natural habitat. This study thus aims to characterize the mineralogy and geochemistry of tailings and waste rocks from the gold mine in northeastern Thailand by using advanced analytical techniques (EPMA, XRF and ICP-MS). The total digestion method using mixed acid of HF-HClO_4-HNO_3 was applied for ICP-MS analysis.
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