The mercury mine in Idrija has a 500-year mining history, over which time it has positively impacted the economy but also brought many bad consequences for the environment. The aim of this diploma thesis is to determine the basic chemical characteristics of roadside sediments from this area. Using thermogravimetric analysis (TG analysis), I estimate that the samples contained a high proportion of carbonates and a relatively high proportion of organic matter (up to 10 %). The concentrations of the aqua regia soluble macroelements Ca, Mg, Fe and K were determined to seek correlations between the content of these elements and the content of other elements, carbonates and organic matter. No statistically high correlations were found between the element contents. The SEM/EDS analysis was used to observe the surface and elemental composition of the particles in sample RS11, which contains the highest concentrations of Hg. Mainly aluminosilicate particles containing Fe, Ca, Mg and K, along with dolomite particles, were observed. A particle with higher content of Hg and S was also noticed.
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