Impact exerted by mining practices on urban areas nearby open pits and tailings ponds calls for the geological appraisal of the components of natural environment toward pollution monitoring. To that end, the chemical composition of the soil cover in the Sibai city area in the Republic of Bashkortostan was analyzed. The test area occurs within the limits of the Krasnouralsk-Sibai-Gai copper ore province, which conditions accumulation of heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb) in soil. With a view to finding the soil cover pollution degree and heavy metal migration paths, the scope of sampling embraced soil, plants of the type of species-indicator Populus nigra L. and snow cover. The analysis shows that the soil cover in the test city areas features a high total content of Cu, Zn, Fe, Ni, Mn and their mobile forms. The samples of Populus nigra L. accumulate the most of the test heavy metals and have a higher abundance ratio as compared with other plants by V.V. Dobrovolsky, except for Mn and Pb. All elements in the test samples have low intensity of biological uptake. The ratio of mobile heavy metals in soil and in Populus nigra L. samples differ on different test sites. The concentrations of heavy metals in snow in the test area agree with the drinkable water standards. The chemical composition of soil changes depending on the content of heavy metals which enter soil in the spring-summer period within a shorter time span than in winter. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.