Geological, mineralogical, petrographic, hydrogeological, and environmental evaluation of a marble site: Could the water resource protection zone be damaged due to the site?

According to the legislation in Turkey, mining activities can be allowed outside the absolute and short-distance protection zones of water basins, at distances determined by considering certain conditions. However, these distances are not always compatible with the catchment areas of water dams. Furthermore, not all mining activities may have negative environmental impacts on water protection basins. At this point, it is very valuable to evaluate whether the geological orientation of the mineral deposits underground damages water resources and under which conditions mining can be conducted. In this study, whether a marble field in the Bursa City of Turkey harms the watersheds were determined by evaluating the orientation of the marble deposit, geological-structural, hydrogeological, mineralogical-petrographic, physico-mechanical, and chemical. It was also evaluated whether there is a feasible and technically appropriate marble operation. In addition, the relevant legislation on the conditions under which mining activities can be conducted in different protection zones of water basins was explained and it was determined whether the activities in the field comply with the legislation. The study is a reference for the mining & geology disciplines to demonstrate the feasibility of mining at medium and long distances other than absolute and short-distance water reservoir protection distances. The study provides practical solutions, especially for developing and underdeveloped countries, by determining whether there is a negative environmental impact of marble mining in water basins in a multidisciplinary manner.