The failure of the Mount Polley tailings storage facility (TSF) in August 2014 was one of the largest magnitude failures on record, and released approximately 25 Mm³ of material, including c. 7.3 Mm³ of tailings into Hazeltine Creek, part of the Quesnel River watershed. This study evaluates the impact of the spill on the geochemistry of river channel and floodplain sediments and utilizes Pb isotope ratios and a multi-variate mixing model to establish sediment provenance. In comparison to sediment quality guidelines and background concentrations, Cu and V were found to be most elevated. Copper in river channel sediments ranged from 88 to 800 mg kg⁻¹, with concentrations in sand-rich and clay/silt-rich sediments being statistically significantly different. Concentrations in river channel were believed to be influenced by hydraulic sorting during the rising and falling limbs of the flood wave caused by the tailings spill. Results highlight the importance of erosive processes, instigated by the failure, in incorporating soils and sediments into the sediment load transported and deposited within Hazeltine Creek. In this instance, these processes diluted tailings with relatively clean material that reduced metal concentrations away from the TSF failure. This does however, highlight environmental risks in similar catchments downstream of TSFs that contain metal-rich sediment within river channels and floodplain that have been contaminated by historical mining.

2014 年 8 月，Mount Polley 尾矿储存设施 (TSF) 发生故障是有记录以来最严重的故障之一，释放了大约 25 毫米³的材料，包括 c。7.3 毫米³的尾矿进入 Hazeltine Creek，Quesnel 河分水岭的一部分。本研究评估了泄漏对河道和漫滩沉积物地球化学的影响，并利用 Pb 同位素比和多变量混合模型来建立沉积物来源。与沉积物质量指南和背景浓度相比，发现 Cu 和 V 升高最多。河道沉积物中的铜含量为 88 至 800 mg kg ^-1，富含沙子和富含粘土/淤泥的沉积物的浓度在统计上有显着差异。河道中的浓度被认为是由尾矿溢漏引起的洪水波浪上升和下降分支期间水力分选的影响。结果强调了由失败引发的侵蚀过程的重要性，将土壤和沉积物纳入 Hazeltine Creek 内运输和沉积的沉积物负荷中。在这种情况下，这些工艺使用相对清洁的材料稀释尾矿，从而降低金属浓度，避免 TSF 失效。然而，这确实突出了 TSF 下游类似流域的环境风险，这些流域在河道和洪泛区中含有富含金属的沉积物，这些沉积物已被历史采矿污染。