Mobilisation of large volumes of bedrock, regolith and soil has long been a characteristic feature of metal mining. Before the 20th century this was most efficiently achieved through harnessing the motive power of water. Large‐scale water use in mining produced waste sands, gravels and silts that were flushed downstream, triggering changes in stream and floodplain morphology and function. During the 19th century the shift from artisanal to industrialised mining resulted in a rapid increase in the scale and extent of environmental change. This paper presents results from a multidisciplinary research programme investigating the environmental effects of 19th‐century gold mining on waterways in south‐eastern Australia. Archaeological and geospatial landscape survey are combined with historical data modelling and geomorphological analysis to examine the extractive processes that produced sediment in headwater regions and how this influenced fluvial processes operating on downstream waterways and floodplains. Our case study of the Three Mile‐Hodgson Creek system on the Ovens (Beechworth) goldfield in north‐east Victoria indicates that miners mobilised up to 7.3 million m³ of sediment in this small catchment alone. Results of the research suggest that tailings dams and sludge channels in this catchment are important archaeological evidence for early attempts to manage industrial waste.

中文翻译：

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河流系统的采矿改造：以澳大利亚淘金热为例

长期以来，动员大量基岩，碎屑岩和土壤一直是金属开采的特征。在20世纪之前，这是通过利用水的动力最有效地实现的。采矿过程中大量用水导致产生的废砂，砾石和淤泥在下游被冲刷，从而触发河流和洪泛区的形态和功能的变化。在19世纪，从手工采矿向工业化采矿的转变导致环境变化的规模和程度迅速增加。本文介绍了一项跨学科研究计划的结果，该计划研究了19世纪金矿开采对澳大利亚东南部水道的环境影响。考古和地理空间景观调查与历史数据建模和地貌分析相结合，以检查在上游水源地区产生沉积物的提取过程，以及这如何影响下游水道和洪泛区的河流过程。我们对维多利亚州东北部烤箱（Beechworth）金矿上的3 Mile-Hodgson Creek系统的案例研究表明，矿工动员了730万米仅此小流域就有³个沉积物。研究结果表明，该流域的尾矿坝和污泥通道是早期管理工业废物的重要考古证据。