ABSTRACT: Groundwater contamination by potentially harmful elements (PHEs) originating from the weathering of granitic and gneissic rock dissolution poses a public health concern worldwide. This study investigated physicochemical variables and PHEs in the groundwater system and mine water of the Adenzai flood plain region, in Pakistan, emphasizing the fate distribution, source provenance, chemical speciation, and health hazard using the human health risk assessment HHRA-model. The average concentrations of the PHEs, viz., Ni, Mn, Cr, Cu, Cd, Pb, Co, Fe, and Zn 0.23, were 0.27, 0.07, 0.30, 0.07, 0.06, 0.08, 0.68, and 0.23 mg/L, respectively. The average values of chemical species in the groundwater system, viz., H+, OH−, Ni2+, Mn2+, Mn3+, Cr3+, Cr6+, Cu+, Cu2+, Cd2+, Pb2+, Pb4+, Co2+, Co3+, Fe2+, Fe3
