Witwatersrand gold particle chemistry matches model of metamorphosed, hydrothermally altered placer deposits

Analyses of gold particles from the Ventersdorp Contact Reef in the Klerksdorp and Carletonville goldfields of the Late Archaean Witwatersrand Basin reveal a wide range in Au, Ag and Hg concentrations of 80.9 to 92.9, 6.0 to 17.6, and 0.6 to 5.8 wt.%, respectively. However, individual gold particles are generally homogeneous. This observation is predicted by modelling of Ag and Hg diffusion through gold at the peak metamorphic temperature of about 300 °C. The only exception is gold in hydrothermal quartz veins, the formation of which can be ascribed to the mobilisation of originally detrital gold particles during a chloritisation event that was triggered by tectonically expelled fluids, as a consequence of the 2023 Ma Vredefort meteorite impact event. Inter-particle homogenisation on a hand-sample scale was generally not achieved. The mean gold composition for the same reef in different mines (kilometre scale) can vary drastically. These results confirm the model of a metamorphosed and hydrothermally altered placer deposit. Furthermore they indicate that, in spite of a significant post-depositional modification of the composition of individual gold particles, the mean gold composition at a given reef locality may be used to distinguish different source areas of the originally detrital particles. Received: 3 December 1996 / Accepted: 19 May 1997     

Arsenic — a Review. Part I: Occurrence,Toxicity, Speciation,Mobility

In natural waters arsenic concentrations up to a few milligrams per litre were measured. The natural content of arsenic found in soils varies between 0.01 mg/kg and a few hundred milligrams per kilogram. Anthropogenic sources of arsenic in the environment are the smelting of ores, the burning of coal, and the use of arsenic compounds in many products and production processes in the past. A lot of arsenic compounds are toxic and cause acute and chronic poisoning. In aqueous environment the inorganic arsenic species arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)) are the most abundant species. The mobility of these species is influenced by the pH value, the redox potential, and the presence of adsorbents such as oxides and hydroxides of Fe(III), Al(III), Mn(III/IV), humic substances, and clay minerals.     

Neoproterozoic tectonic and climatic evolution recorded in the Gariep Belt, Namibia and South Africa

ABSTRACT The Pan-African Gariep Belt in south-western Namibia and westernmost South Africa provides an excellent window into the interplay between tectonic and climatic changes during the Neoproterozoic era. Recently acquired chemostratigraphic data from cap carbonate sequences above glaciogenic diamictite horizons, together with U–Pb zircon and Pb–Pb carbonate ages, indicate sedimentation in the Gariep Basin from continental break-up around 770 Ma to basin closure and continent collision around 545 Ma. The basin is subdivided into an eastern failed rift graben and a western half graben that evolved into an oceanic basin between the Kalahari and the Rio de la Plata cratons. Three megasequences are distinguished in the external, para-autochthonous part of the belt (Port Nolloth Zone): an early continental, predominantly siliciclastic, sag rift megasequence (M1), a passive continental margin, carbonate-rich megasequence (M2), and a syn-orogenic carbonate and flysch megasequence (M3). Two glaciogenic diamictite horizons at the end of M1 and M2 are recognized and they are correlated with the global ∼750 Ma Sturtian and ∼580 Ma Marinoan glaciations, respectively. While the former is restricted to proximal continental rift shoulders, the latter extends into the oceanic realm which marks the internal part of the belt (Marmora Terrane). Only the younger diamictite is associated with iron formation. The sequence of regressive and transgressive stages recorded by the sediment fill does not reflect simply the tectonic evolution from rifting to drifting and eventual basin closure, but is strongly controlled by severe climatically induced sea-level changes that were either competing with or reinforcing tectonically induced sea-level changes.     

Coupling of a Column System with ICP‐MS for the Characterisation of Colloid‐mediated Metal(loid) Transport in Porous Media

In this work a coupling method for the characterisation of colloid‐mediated transport of the metal(loid) species in porous media was developed. For this transport experiments quartz sand was used as column packing material and the synthetic three‐layer clay mineral laponite as model colloid. The determination of colloids was conducted by means of UV detection. The quantification of the metal(loid) ions was carried out in two different ways: (1) The fractions collected at the column outlet were analysed with an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP‐MS) (offline measurements); (2) the column system was directly coupled with ICP‐MS (online measurements). In the column experiments the influence of laponite colloids on the transport of Cu, Pb, Zn, Pt and As species was investigated. In the offline experiments as a consequence of dilution during sample preparation no metal(loid) species at the column outlet could be found. Unlike this the breakthrough of all metal(loid)s could be detected under the same experimental column conditions in the coupling experiments. This coupling technique offers the online detection of the metal species and colloidal particles with high resolution even at low concentrations and without any time‐consuming preparation. The coupling experiments have shown that the laponite particles accelerate the transport of the cationic metals. For anionic metal(loid) species no influence of laponite on their transport behaviour was found.     

Enzymatic release of amino acids from different humic substances

Humic substances isolated from water, sediment, and soil were characterized by applying elemental analysis, spectroscopic analysis, and gelchromatographic molecular size distribution. In addition, the amounts and pattern of enzymatically released amino acids were determined. Depending on the origin of the humic substances, the percentage of released amino acid nitrogen related to the total nitrogen was in the range of 0.4 to 26.7%. The samples particularly differed in the content of leucine und tyrosine. The total amount of released amino acids was compared with the results obtained from the other characterization methods. This approach indicated that humic substances with a high content of hydrolysable amino acids had high N/C and O/C ratios and low molecular sizes. Beside this, the absorption of these substances in the UV and visible wavelength range was quite low, while the measured ratios of SAK(254)/SAK(436) showed high values. This work leads to the conclusion that the extent of enzymatically releasable amino acids is not only dependant on the nitrogen content of humic substances. Other physical and chemical properties have to be considered for the understanding of the results obtained by the described biochemical characterization method.     

Arsenic — a Review. Part II: Oxidation of Arsenic and its Removal in Water Treatment

In natural waters arsenic normally occurs in the oxidation states +III (arsenite) and +V (arsenate). The removal of As(III) is more difficult than the removal of As(V). Therefore, As(III) has to be oxidized to As(V) prior to its removal. The oxidation in the presence of air or pure oxygen is slow. The oxidation rate can be increased by ozone, chlorine, hypochlorite, chlorine dioxide, or H₂O₂. The oxidation of As(III) is also possible in the presence of manganese oxide coated sands or by advanced oxidation processes. Arsenic can be removed from waters by coprecipitation with Fe(OH)₃, MnO₂ or during water softening. Fixed‐bed filters have successfully been applied for the removal of arsenic.The effectiveness of arsenic removal was tested in the presence of adsorbents such as FeOOH, activated alumina, ferruginous manganese ore, granular activated carbon, or natural zeolites. Other removal technologies are anion exchange, electrocoagulation, and membrane filtration by ultrafiltration, nanofiltration or reverse osmosis.     

Alkaline Degradation of Dissolved Organic Matter

The degradation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) was studied in alkaline solution. The products were characterised using UV/vis spectroscopy, size‐exclusion chromatography (SEC), and by the analysis of low‐molecular‐weight organic acids (LMWOA). The degradation experiments were performed with water from a brown water lake or its isolated fulvic acid fraction and sodium hydroxide at different reaction times and temperatures. Depending on the wavelength and the reaction time, the UV/vis absorbance between 230 nm and 600 nm increased or decreased. The behaviour of model compounds during reactions in alkaline media was compared to the UV/vis spectroscopic behaviour of DOM. The release of LMWOA was described by kinetic data and compared to the data of model reactions. Evidence was given for the carboxylic esters playing a significant role in the release of LMWOA only during the beginning of the alkaline degradation. The results gained by SEC with on‐line UV and DOC detection showed that the average size of DOM was decreasing, and that a major part of the degradation products consisted of low‐molecular‐weight mono‐ and dicarboxylic acids.