Geochemical constraints on the stability of zeolites and C-S-H in the high pH reaction of bentonite

Cement-bentonite interactions will occur in deep geological repositories for high level radioactive waste. We performed laboratory experiments in order to constrain some previous geochemical and mineralogical uncertainties in the formation of secondary minerals in the high pH reaction of FEBEX bentonite at moderate temperatures.The reactivity of a Mg-homoionic FEBEX bentonite was studied at 25, 60 and 90 °C in batch reactors using two solutions representative of short and long time evolution stages of cement degradation. These solutions were periodically renewed in order to maintain a constant pH regime for a period of almost 2 years.Chabazite and merlinoite were observed to be the main zeolites that formed at 60 °C, while merlinoite was the dominant zeolite formed at 90 °C with the hyperalkaline (K-Na-OH) solution. The alkaline experiments (Ca-OH solution) showed minor reactivity and negligible mineralogical alteration, but the overall results suggest that the reaction tends to equilibrium conditions between C-S-H and montmorillonite at high temperature and metastable conditions at low temperature. The montmorillonite dissolution rates were calculated for all experiments, showing good agreement with previous calculations.     

Caractérisation des chapeaux de fer en milieu latéritique cuirassé

The main discrimination criteria between the gossans and ferruginous laterites are the iron secondary minerals, well known as direct crystallization after weathering of the main sulphide minerals. The characteristics of these iron oxihydroxides and their association in supergene rocks affect all the physical, mineralogical, geochemical, and crystal-chemical aspects: morphology, facies, microfacies, mineralogical constitution, geochemical composition and iron oxide/hydroxide crystal chemistry give thus distinction criteria. In West Africa, where lateritic iron crusts are abundant, the research of the above characteristics could be an alternative method to the classical blind-soil and alluvial-sediment geochemical prospecting. To cite this article: A. Blot, C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).     

Spatial and compositional variations within finely laminated mineral crusts at Carpenter's Gap,an archaeological site in tropical Australia

Mineralogical and geochemical variations in ten rock surface crusts are described from a large rock shelter known as Carpenter's Gap 1 in the southern Kimberley, formed at the junction between a sandstone floor and an overlying limestone roof. The finely laminated crusts, containing quartz, clays, oxalate and phosphate minerals, and sulfate salts (bassanite, gypsum, epsomite), formed over quartz‐rich sandstones. Mineralogical analyses of crusts, determined by X‐ray diffraction, and major element geochemical trends, in the form of element maps of cross sections, show a complex distribution of hemi‐, mono‐, and dihydrated sulfate and oxalate minerals vertically and laterally within the shelter. These mineralogical changes have occurred under fluctuating moisture and temperature regimes, which follow a general drying trend spatially with distance from the back wall and temporally over a period of about 20,000 years. Documenting these mineralogical changes is a first step in understanding the nature of microclimatic controls on the formation of rock surface coatings in shelters and their implications for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions and for dating engravings covered by these crusts. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

云南牟定戌街地区铀矿化特征及成因探讨

云南牟定戌街1101铀矿区位于扬子地台西南缘,康滇地轴中南段,是我国西南地区产于元古界变质岩中的铀矿之一。通过对矿化区岩石及矿石的岩石学、矿物学、地球化学及年代学特征进行研究,分析了铀矿的形成条件,揭示了铀成矿规律。研究发现:①牟定戌街地区铀矿化赋存于斜长角闪岩、角闪斜长片麻岩和二云母石英片岩等变质混合岩中,主要铀矿物为晶质铀矿、钛铀矿及次生铀矿,含铀矿物有榍石、锆石,硫化物丰富,围岩蚀变主要为硅化、赤铁矿化、碱交代等;②牟定1101铀矿化地区混合岩化岩石的地球化学特征表现为高钾钙碱性-钙碱性系列岩石;③研究区混合岩形成于1 056 Ma左右,铀矿形成于845 Ma左右,为新元古代产物;④牟定1101地区铀成矿受构造、岩性控制,与混合岩化作用、构造热液活动及碱交代作用关系密切,属热液成因铀矿。     

Mineralogical attenuation for metallic remediation in a passive system for mine water treatment

Passive systems with constructed wetlands have been consistently used to treat mine water from abandoned mines. Long-term and cost-effective remediation is a crucial expectation for these water treatment facilities. To achieve that, a complex chain of physical, chemical, biological, and mineralogical mechanisms for pollutants removal must be designed to simulate natural attenuation processes. This paper aims to present geochemical and mineralogical data obtained in a recently constructed passive system (from an abandoned mine, Jales, Northern Portugal). It shows the role of different solid materials in the retention of metals and arsenic, observed during the start-up period of the treatment plant. The mineralogical study focused on two types of materials: (1) the ochre-precipitates, formed as waste products from the neutralization process, and (2) the fine-grained minerals contained in the soil of the wetlands. The ochre-precipitates demonstrated to be poorly ordered iron-rich material, which gave rise to hematite upon artificial heating. The heating experiments also provided mineralogical evidence for the presence of an associated amorphous arsenic-rich compound. Chemical analysis on the freshly ochre-precipitates revealed high concentrations of arsenic (51,867 ppm) and metals, such as zinc (1,213 ppm) and manganese (821 ppm), indicating strong enrichment factors relative to the water from which they precipitate. Mineralogical data obtained in the soil of the wetlands indicate that chlorite, illite, chlorite–vermiculite and mica–vermiculite mixed-layers, vermiculite, kaolinite and goethite are concentrated in the fine-grained fractions (<20 and <2 μm). The chemical analyses show that high levels of arsenic (up to 3%) and metals are also retained in these fractions, which may be enhanced by the low degree of order of the clay minerals as suggested by an XRD study. The obtained results suggest that, although the treatment plant has been receiving water only since 2006, future performance will be strongly dependent on these identified mineralogical pollutant hosts.     

GEOCHEMISTRY OF ANCIENT LANDSCAPES

The author of this article performed a combined mineralogical and radiological study of approximately 500 samples of clays and clayey fractions from 58 wells in the Carpathian foothills. As a result of this study, the author concludes that a combined mineralogical, geochemical, and radiological study of a complex of clayey authigenic and epigenetic minerals, as well as a study of the ions, organic matter, and water soluble salts absorbed by them, may provide an idea of the environmental conditions under which the rocks under study were formed.- -Scripta Technica, Inc.     

Reverse telescoping in a distal skarn system (Campiglia Marittima,Italy)

The Campiglia Marittima Fe-Cu-Zn-Pb(-Ag) skarn deposit has long been regarded as a reference example of an exoskarn showing a symmetric outward mineralogical zoning of both skarn and ore minerals with respect to an axial mafic porphyry dike. Detailed field and underground mapping, along with three-dimensional reconstruction of the geometries of skarn and magmatic bodies, integrated with new petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical data, argue against this model. The shapes of the skarn bodies and the growth versors of skarn minerals in particular, are ascribed to the focusing of metasomatic fluids in sigmoid-shaped volumes of fractured host marble. After skarn formation, a mafic magma was emplaced, forming dikelets and filling residual pockets in the skarn. Field evidence and geochemical data show that the “hot” mafic magma interacted with the previously formed Zn-Pb(-Ag) skarn, triggering textural reworking and chemical redistribution of Zn-Pb sulfides as well as contributing to a late Fe-Cu mineralization. Campiglia Marittima skarn-ore system behaved at odd: a telescoping process is recorded, yet in a reverse way.     

A new simple approach to evaluate pedogenic clay transformation in a Vertic Calcisol

The aim of this study is to characterize the pedogenic clay minerals by using simple approach: mixing mineralogical and geochemical findings.The fine clay fractions (< 0.1 μm) of a Vertic Cambisol profile were studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and cation exchange capacity (CEC).Qualitative and quantitative mineralogical compositions of the clay mixture were determined.Moreover, chemical equilibria and thermodynamic stabilities of minerals (calcite, gypsum, kaolinite, smectites and illites) were studied using results of ionic activities obtained from total concentration of various aqueous species in water extracts from soil-saturated pastes.XRD analysis shows a good homogeneity in the mineralogical composition of the soil material, with depth of soil profiles. The identified clay minerals are mainly illite–smectite mixed layers (I/S) and kaolinite. The chemical analysis of saturated paste extracts with clay minerals shows a slight undersaturation of the illitic phase while smectites and also calcite and gypsum reach the thermodynamic equilibrium along the soil profile.     

Chai Mat Kaolin–Bauxite Deposit (South Vietnam): Typomorphic Features of Kaolinite and Formation Mechanism of the Zonal Profile of the Bauxite-Bearing Weathering Crust of Granites

Analysis of the evolution of bauxite-bearing weathering crust in the geological history of Asia, as well as detailed mineralogical–geochemical and hydrogeochemical studies, has made it possible to consider supergene infiltration metasomatism as a single mechanism for the formation of the eluvial zonal profile, using the weathering crust of southern Vietnam weathering crust as an example. It is established that all weathering crust zones develop simultaneously throughout the existing fracturing as rocks interact with the solutions percolating through them. All supergene minerals are formed directly from original parent rock components rather than by staged development at each other’s expense. The resulting paragenetic assemblages of newly formed minerals result in zoning.

     

Use of fracture filling mineral assemblages for characterizing water-rock interactions during exhumation of an accretionary complex: An example from the Shimanto Belt,southern Kyushu Japan

Various fracture filling minerals and secondary minerals in fracture walls were formed by fluid-rock interaction during the exhumation of the Palaeogene Shimanto Belt of Kyushu, Japan, which is located in an accretionary complex. Each mineral formed under favourable geological conditions and can be used to estimate the conditions of accretion and formation of the related rock sequences. Petrographic observations, mineralogical and geochemical analyses were made on fracture filling minerals and secondary minerals from boreholes of ca. 140 m depth, drilled in the Shimanto Belt. Results reveal that the secondary minerals were formed in three major stages distinguished by the sequential textural relationships of the minerals and the interpreted environment of mineral formation. Filling mineral assemblages show that the studied rock formation has been subducted to a depth of several km and the temperature reached was ca. 200–300 °C. After the subduction, the rock formation was uplifted and surface acidic water penetrated up to 80 m beneath the present ground surface. The acid water dissolved calcite fracture filling minerals to form the present groundwater flow-paths, which allowed recent wall rock alteration to occur. The results shown here imply that filling mineral assemblages can be an effective tool to evaluate the environmental changes during exhumation of an accretionary complex.     

Ancient oxide- and sulphide-mineralization in the islands of Tenerife and La Gomera (Canary Archipelago, Spain)

The alkaline intrusive complexes of Tenerife and La Gomera (Canary Archipelago, Spain) are formed by nepheline syenites and alkali gabbroids, and represent part of the oldest magmatic episodes in both islands. This work presents new studies of the petrographic and geochemical features of these rocks, and offers the first data about their respective ore minerals (iron oxides and sulphides). Mineralization is represented in both complexes by iron-rich patches and veins displaying a simple paragenesis of magnetite, ilmenite, pyrite and pyrrhotite, in association with widespread chloritic alteration of the intrusive host rocks. The comparative study of the mineralogical, textural and chemical characteristics of the ore minerals allows a metallogenetic model to be proposed which comprises two stages (magmatic and hydrothermal) in La Gomera and only one (magmatic) in Tenerife. The migration of the sulphide-bearing hydrothermal fluids far from the intrusive complex in Tenerife, and/or possible re-melting process could explain the apparent absence of the later hydrothermal stage in Tenerife. Received: 29 January 1998 / Accepted: 1 April 1998     

Mineralogy, geochemistry, and palynology of modern and late Tertiary mangrove deposits in the Barreiras Formation of Mosqueiro Island, northeastern Pará state, eastern Amazonia

A coastal environment has been interpreted from 110 cm thick mudstone deposits found at the base of a 10 m immature laterite profile, which forms the modern coastal cliff on Mosqueiro Island in northeastern Pará state, northern Brazil. The late Tertiary sediment deposits of the Barreiras Formation are studied by multi-element geochemistry and pollen analyses. The mineralogical and geochemical results show that the gray, organic-rich deposits are composed of kaolinite, quartz, and illite/muscovite, as well as pyrite and anatase. They are rich in SiO₂, Al₂O₃, and some FeO. The composition is homogenous, indicating that the detritus source area is formed of lateritic soils derived from acid rock composition. Their chemical composition, including trace elements, is somewhat comparable to continental shale, and the values are below the upper continental Earth crust composition. The pollen analytical data document that the mudstone deposits were formed by an ancient mangrove ecosystem. Mineralogical, geochemical, and pollen analytical data obtained from late Tertiary mangrove deposits are compared with modern mangrove deposits from the Bragança Peninsula of the northeastern coast of Pará state. Although the pollen composition of the deposits is very similar to the modern one, the geochemical and mineralogical composition is different. Smectite was only found in the modern deposit; illite/mica occurs in the ancient deposit, along with Mg, K, and Na. The pollen signature and detrital minerals (kaolinite, quartz and anatase) found in both mangrove deposits show that during the Miocene, a humid tropical climate condition prevailed, similar to modern conditions.     

山西大同钾镁煌斑岩地质地球化学特征

根据饮牛沟钾镁煌斑岩的岩石学、岩石化学、矿物化学、微量及稀土元素地球化学特征,本文认为该岩体属钾镁煌斑岩,但在矿物成分及化学成分上与世界上典型的含金刚石的钾镁煌斑岩相比,相对贫钛和钾,未出现含Ｋ,Ｂａ,Ｔｉ,Ｚｒ的副矿物。该岩体的成因可能为母岩部分熔融后又经分离结晶作用而形成的,岩浆起源于贫钛的金云母二辉橄榄岩,形成深度１００ｋｍ左右。     

Mineralogical characterization of mine waste

The application of mineralogical characterization to mine waste has the potential to improve risk assessment, guide appropriate mine planning for planned and active mines and optimize remediation design at closed or abandoned mines. Characterization of minerals, especially sulphide and carbonate phases, is particularly important for predicting the potential for acidic drainage and metal(loid) leaching. Another valuable outcome from mineralogical studies of mine waste is an understanding of the stability of reactive and metal(loid)-bearing minerals under various redox conditions. This paper reviews analytical methods that have been used to study mine waste mineralogy, including conventional methods such as X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, and advanced methods such as synchrotron-based microanalysis and automated mineralogy. We recommend direct collaboration between researchers and mining companies to choose the optimal mineralogical techniques to solve complex problems, to co-publish the results, and to ensure that mineralogical knowledge is used to inform mine waste management at all stages of the mining life cycle. A case study of arsenic-bearing gold mine tailings from Nova Scotia is presented to demonstrate the application of mineralogical techniques to improve human health risk assessment and the long-term management of historical mine wastes.     

The number of minerals of different chemical elements: Statistics 2007

About 300 new minerals (Kudryashova and Smol’yaninova, 2002–2007) were described after the previously published mineral statistics (Yaroshevsky, 2003), the database having increased by more than 7%. Calculation results based on new information show that the geochemical tendencies established in 2003 are quite valid and, like the symmetry statistics of minerals (Shafranovsky, 1983; Urusov, 2006), may be regarded as important and persistent mineralogical characteristics.     

Geological controls on soil parent material geochemistry along a northern Manitoba–North Dakota transect

As a pilot study for mapping the geochemistry of North American soils, samples were collected along two continental transects extending east–west from Virginia to California, and north–south from northern Manitoba to the US–Mexican border and subjected to geochemical and mineralogical analyses. For the northern Manitoba–North Dakota segment of the north–south transect, X-ray diffraction analysis and bivariate relations indicate that geochemical properties of soil parent materials may be interpreted in terms of minerals derived from Shield and clastic sedimentary bedrock, and carbonate sedimentary bedrock terranes. The elements Cu, Zn, Ni, Cr and Ti occur primarily in silicate minerals decomposed by aqua regia, likely phyllosilicates, that preferentially concentrate in clay-sized fractions; Cr and Ti also occur in minerals decomposed only by stronger acid. Physical glacial processes affecting the distribution and concentration of carbonate minerals are significant controls on the variation of trace metal background concentrations.     

A method to calculate the neutralization potential of mining wastes

 The determination of neutralization potential (NP) of mining wastes is an essential part of waste characterization for acid rock drainage (ARD) prediction. Interpretation of NP values requires consideration of the mineralogical composition of the waste. Different minerals can neutralize acid drainage at different rates and in different pH ranges. The test conditions of widely used laboratory procedures to determine NP do not distinguish between such differences and overestimation of NP can often result. A simple procedure is proposed in which the effective NP is calculated based on mineralogical composition and the relative reactivities of component minerals. Mineralogical composition is calculated from easily determined analytical values using a CIPW normative procedure. Comparison of calculated NP values for 92 samples with experimentally determined values from tests designed to prevent the overestimation of NP indicates that the method is successful in predicting an effective NP value in most cases. The procedure is considered to be a cost-effective means of providing confident routine ARD prediction when used in combination with other tests and analyses. Received: 1 August 1996 / Accepted: 11 November 1996     

Tailing dumps at the Krasnorechenskaya concentration mill (Primorskii krai,Russia): Geochemistry and mineralogy

This study presents the mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of tailing dumps at the Krasnorechenskaya concentration mill (Primorskii krai, Russia). Primary ore minerals and newly forming mineral assemblages were also investigated. According to the obtained data, the possible reserves of the major elements accumulated in these tailings were estimated. It was shown that the tailing dumps at the Krasnorechenskaya concentration mill are potentially promising for secondary recovery. The tailing sediment has natural geochemical stratification and the specific correlations of elements are typical for each selected layer.     

Hydrochemistry, mineralogy and chemical fractionation of mine and processing wastes associated with porphyry copper mines: A case study from the Sarcheshmeh mine, SE Iran

The Sarcheshmeh is one of the largest Oligo-Miocene porphyry Cu deposits in the world. Comparative hydrochemical, mineralogical and chemical fractionation associated with mining efflorescence salts and processing wastes of this mine are discussed. Hydrochemical results showed that rock waste dumps, reject wastes and old impoundments of tailings are the main sources of acid mine drainage waters (AMD) that contain potentially toxic metals such as Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni and Zn as well as Al. Episodic fluxes of highly contaminated acidic waters were produced in a tailings dam over a short period of time. Secondary soluble minerals provide important controls on the quality of AMD produced, especially in old, dry tailings impoundments. Secondary sulfate minerals such as gypsum, magnesiocopiapite, hydronium jarosite, kornelite and coquimbite were found in rock waste drainages and in old weathered reject wastes. Highly soluble secondary minerals such as gypsum, eriochalcite, and bonattite are also observed in an evaporative layer on old tailings impoundments. Chemical fractionation patterns of potentially toxic elements showed that the geochemical behavior of metals is primarily controlled by the mineralogical composition of waste samples. Elements such as Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni and Zn are readily released into the water soluble fraction from efflorescence salts associated with rock waste drainages, as well as from the evaporative layer of old tailings. Potentially toxic elements, such as As, Mo and Pb, are principally adsorbed or co-precipitated with amorphous and crystalline Fe oxides, but they may also be associated with oxidizing, primary sulfides and residual fractions. Following the development of the dammed tailings pond, the secondary minerals were dissolved, producing acidic waters contaminated by Al (154 mg L⁻¹), Cu (150 mg L⁻¹), Cd (0.31 m gL⁻¹), Co (2.13 mg L⁻¹), Mn (73.7 mg L⁻¹), Ni (1.74 mg L⁻¹), Zn (20.3 mg L⁻¹) and Cl (1690 mg L⁻¹). Therefore, the potential use of recycled water from the Sarcheshmenh dammed tailings pond is diminished by the presence of corrosive ions like Cl⁻ in highly acidic fluids that promote corrosion of pipes and pumps in the water recycling system.     

Factors controlling the mineralogy and geochemistry of the recent surface sediments of the Kalloni Gulf,Lesvos Island,Greece

Detailed chemical and mineralogical data are presented for 37 samples of surface sediments collected from the Kalloni gulf, (eastern half), Lesvos island, northern Greece. The sediments are largely carbonate-rich muds, though near the eastern and northern coast of the gulf higher proportions of biogenic and lithogenic sands and gravels occur. The main minerals are quartz, feldspar (andesine), clay minerals (montmorillonite, illite, Kaolinite) and the carbonate minerals (calcite, Mg-calcite, aragonite). The mathematical method of factor analysis was applied in order to explain the mineralogical and geochemical variations. These variations can be interpreted in terms of variations in provenance and depositional environment. Six factors were produced accounting for 83.6 % of the total data variance: (a) a Si-Al-Na-K-Ti-Rb-Ba-Y-Zr factor controlled by clays and detrital minerals such as feldspars and zircon opposed by a CaCO₂-Cu-Sc-Sr-La association (carbonate, minerals), (b) an organic carbon factor (C-Fe-Ce-Zn-Rb-Ni-Y-Nb), (c) a Fe-Mg-Cr-Ni factor representing control by peridotite, (d) a Ce-Nd-Fe-Ni-Zn-La factor controlled by silicate minerals, (e) a Al-Fe-Ti-P-V factor controlled by chlorite amphiboles or pyroxenes of volcanic or basaltic intrusions, (f) a Mn-Fe-Zn-factor controlled by iron-manganese oxides. Similarities in trace element composition among Kalloni gulf bottom sediments, and source lithologies indicate that the trace elements are derived from the adjacent landmasses. The AI/Ti ratio of the sediments is consistent with the terrigenous nature of sendimentation in the Kalloni gulf.