LAUSR

Abstract. Waste quantities, which were left over after smelting, have a wide spread distribution and threaten soils, vegetation, and above all human health. The analysis of the spectral behavior of mine wastes using reflectance spectroscopy is an alternative approach to traditional methods. It provides information about targets between visible and near-infrared and shortwave infrared (SWIR) (400 to 2500 nm) wavelengths. The spectral behavior of soils in the SWIR region using hyperspectral reflectance spectroscopy supported by ground-truth-based x-ray diffraction is analyzed, and the performance of the continuum removal (CR) method for carbonate mineral (XCO3) content estimation around mine wastes is examined. The method has been used to correlate spectral absorption band centered at 2338 nm with calcium carbonate calcite (CaCO3) concentrations in the presence of different carbonate minerals, dolomite (CaMgCO3), cerusite (PbCO3), within soil samples. The method was carried out on hyperspectral reflectance measurements collected around the mine site of Jebel Ressas in the North of Tunisia. The results show that the performance of the CR method is dependent on the spectral feature of carbonate minerals. Particularly, the CR2338   nm was found to be interesting for carbonate content prediction in presence of calcium carbonate.