Dr. Emil Pučko received his PhD with the title An integrated approach to distinguishing natural and anthropogenic geochemical anomalies in soils in mining areas under the mentorship of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gorazd Žibret from the Geological Survey of Slovenia.

One of the key problems in geochemical soil investigations in abandoned mining areas is to determine the origin of geochemical anomalies. It is important to distinguish whether geochemical anomalies are the result of anthropogenic contamination from mining and metallurgical activities, or whether they originate from natural soil enrichment processes. The study tested different methodological approaches to determine the origin of the enrichment at three test sites, i.e. the areas of the three most important abandoned mines in Slovenia: Mežica, Idrija and Lithija. The results of elemental analysis of soil samples (by ICP-MS) from control profiles enriched exclusively in particles from the smelters showed a general decrease in the concentrations of selected metals with depth. In contrast, in the profiles overlying the mines, no decrease in the concentrations of the selected metals with depth was observed, and geogenic processes were identified as the cause of the geochemical enrichment in the lower soil layers. To confirm these findings, soil samples were further analysed by the following methods: X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) and isotopic analysis. The combination of methods used proved to be effective in distinguishing between natural and anthropogenic origins of geochemical anomalies in mining areas.

The doctoral dissertation is available at here.