Heavy Metal Concentrations of Soil, Rock, and Coal Gangue in the Geological Profile of a Large Open-Pit Coal Mine in China

Risk assessment related to heavy metals in mining areas is crucial to ensuring the sustainable development of regional ecosystems and protecting human health. However, almost all research on the impact of mining activities on environmental quality entails field monitoring of surface soils or soil profiles. Here, to compare the variety of heavy metal concentrations in the geological profile, 39 samples (including soil, rock, and coal gangue) were collected and analyzed from hundreds of meters underground in the Pingshuo coal mine (Anjialing coal mine, Antaibao coal mine, and Donglutian coal mine), which is the largest open-pit coal mine in China. The mean heavy metal concentrations of Cd, Hg, As, Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, and Ni in soils were 0.15 mg/kg, 0.02 mg/kg, 13.70 mg/kg, 27.12 mg/kg, 70.89 mg/kg, 26.10 mg/kg, 79.88 mg/kg, and 37.68 mg/kg, respectively; most of these metals were more concentrated in the soil samples than in the rock and coal gangue samples. A potential ecological risk assessment indicated that As, Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, and Ni in all samples showed low risk, while the ecological risk degrees of Cd and Hg were higher and contributed most to the total risk index ( RI ). The highest E_r^i value (92.94) for Cd was found in rock samples, contributing to approximately 55.18% of the to tal RI . For Hg, four rock sampling sites had the highest E_r^i values (427.70, 270.78, 198.96, and 188.70), contributing approximately 68.36–88.07% of the total RI . Ranked after soil (0.15 mg/kg), limestone and shale showed high mean Cd concentrations (both 0.13 mg/kg). The highest mean concentration was found in coal gangue samples (0.1 mg/kg). Compared with the other types of samples, the mean concentrations of Cr, Cu, and Ni in soils, limestone, and mudstone were relatively higher. At different sites, heavy metal concentrations varied greatly at different depths, owing to diverse sample types and rock types. Correlations between heavy metals and soil nutrients indicated that N and P were closely correlated with heavy metals. Comparing the proportions of different heavy metals in various types of samples showed that heavy metals in soils were extremely similar to those in limestone, mudstone, and shale, implying that soils might indirectly inherit their features from their parent material.