Mineralogical and geochemical spatial analyses of a waste-rock dump at the Libiola Fe–Cu sulphide mine (Eastern Liguria,Italy) |
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Authors: | Pietro Marescotti Eva Azzali Diego Servida Cristina Carbone Giovanni Grieco Luisa De Capitani Gabriella Lucchetti |
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Institution: | 1.Dipartimento per lo Studio del Territorio e delle sue Risorse (DIPTERIS),Università di Genova,Genoa,Italy;2.Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra “Ardito Desio”,Università di Milano,Milan,Italy |
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Abstract: | In this work, we investigated a 3 ha sulphide-bearing waste-rock dump (Libiola Mine, Italy) using mineralogical, geochemical,
and geostatistical analyses. The dumped materials were highly heterogeneous in grain size and lithology and varied both laterally
and vertically. Other than the host rock of the ore, basalts and serpentinites, the dumped materials contained high amounts
of low-grade chalcopyrite- and pyrite-rich mineralisations. Due to these characteristics and to the absence of minerals able
to neutralise acidity, this waste-rock dump can be classified as an acid mine drainage (AMD) producer. The study confirms
that AMD is still active and, in the best scenario, can persist for up to 6.17 × 103 years. The consequences of this process are of serious environmental concern as it involves strong acidification of the circulating
waters, the release of potentially toxic metals into the soil, streams and rivers and the precipitation of huge quantities
of secondary Fe-oxides and Fe-oxyhydroxides. |
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