Attenuation of aqueous metal transport at two natural acid rock drainage occurrences in the Yukon Territory, Canada

Naturally acidic drainage associated with pyritic black shale has been observed in many locations in the Yukon Territory. While not necessarily linked to known mineral deposits, most of these natural acid rock drainage occurrences show elevated dissolved concentrations of trace elements, especially zinc, nickel, copper, cadmium and arsenic. Based on field observations, microbial investigation, chemical analyses and geochemical modeling, the fate and transport of potentially deleterious elements at two natural acid drainage occurrences with slightly different settings are examined. The Macintosh Creek is a small, acidic stream （pH 2.98-3.40）, 2 km long, located in the Macmillan Pass area of east-central Yukon amidst known sedimentary exhalative massive sulfide mineralization but remains undisturbed by exploration activities. Its trace metal content is apparently derived from groundwater discharges, which gave as much as 5.0, 2.5, 0.7, 0.13 and 0.03 mg/L ofZn, Ni, Cu and As, respectively. Interaction and sorption reactions with algal mats, biofilms and iron oxyhydroxides appear to be the dominant mechanisms attenuating aqueous contaminant transport along the stream. Cryogenic precipitation further consolidates the ferricrete formation and reduces the mobility of the sorbed metals. The tributaries of the Engineering Creek along the Dempster Highway in northern Yukon drain through a series of dolomite, phyllite, argillite, limestone, black shale, sandstone and conglomerate with no known concentration of mineralization. In this area, the water chemistry fully reflects the local geology with acidic streams invariably associated with black shale occurrences. Groundwater seeps in the headwaters area of the km-180 Creek completely enclosed in black shale gave pH 3.0 and as much as 148, 39, 2.9 and 9.1 mg/L of Zn, Ni, Cu and As, respectively. Sorption with iron oxyhydroxide and organic matter appear to dominate the attenuation of contaminant transport along the stream. However, once entered into carbonate-dominated terrains, secondary carbonate minerals exercise additional geochemical control on the local water chemistry as a result of neutralization.     

Naturally acidic and metalliferous waters at unmined volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits in the Bonnifield mining district, Alaska Range, east-central Alaska

The Bonnifield district hosts 26 tmmined volcanogenic massive sulfide （VMS） occurrences. Environmental geochemical samples of water and stream sediment were collected at several occurrences, concentrating on the two best-exposed and largest deposits, Red Mountain （RM） and Sheep Creek （SC）. Limited samples were also collected at the poorly exposed WTF deposit. The deposits are Late Devonian to Early Mississippian, and are hosted by felsic metavolcanic and carbonaceous schist members of the Totatlanika Schist or Keevy Peak Fm. Spring and stream waters at RM and SC have pH values commonly 〈3.5 （as low as 2.4 at RM and 2.5 at SC）, high conductivity （up to 11000 μS/cm）, and very high （Is to 100s mg/L） dissolved contents of Al, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, and Pb. Waters at RM are characterized by extremely high REE contents （summed REE median 3200 μg/L, n=33）. At both RM and SC, pyrite oxidation and dissolution produce low pH waters that interact with and dissolve bedrock minerals, resulting in acidic, metal-laden, naturally degraded streams that are mostly devoid of aquatic life. Ferricrete is common. In contrast, WTF barely produces a surficial environmental footprint, mostly due to topography and relief. RM and SC are well exposed in the areas of relatively high relief, and both exhibit extensive areas of quartz-sericite-pyrite-alteration. While WTF shares many of the same deposit-and alteration characteristics, it is concealed by tundra in a large, nearly flat area. Surface water at WTF is absent and outcrops are sparse. Even though WTF is roughly the same size as Red Mountain （both around 3 million tonnes） and has similar base- and precious-metal grades, the surficial geochemical manifestation of WTF is minimal. However, exposure through mining of the altered, mineralized rock at WTF potentially could initiate the same processes of pyrite oxidation, acid generation, and mineral dissolution that are observed naturally at RM and SC.     

Rock fracturing by explosive energy: review of state-of-the-art

A study of the dynamic rock fracture initiation and propagation due to explosive energy is presented through a detailed state-of-the-art review. Explosive energy dissipation in crushing and fracturing is examined and the various means to enhance the explosive energy utilization for dynamic rock fracturing are reviewed. The study highlights the need for a better understanding of the dynamic fracturing process particularly in the presence of in situ stresses in the rock mass.     

Cretaceous isochron ages from K–Ar and Ar / Ar dating of eclogitic rocks in the Tso Morari Complex, western Himalaya, India

The Tso Morari Complex, which is thought to be originally the margin of the Indian continent, is composed of pelitic gneisses and schists including mafic rock lenses (eclogites and basic schists). Eclogites studied here have the mineral assemblage Grt + Omp + Ca-Amp + Zo + Phn + Pg + Qtz + Rt. They also have coesite pseudomorph in garnet and quartz rods in omphacite, suggesting a record of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism. They occur only in the cores of meter-scale mafic rock lenses intercalated with the pelitic schists. Small mafic lenses and the rim parts of large lenses have been strongly deformed to form the foliation parallel to that of the pelitic schists and show the mineral assemblages of upper greenschist to amphibolite facies metamorphism. The garnet–omphacite thermometry and the univariant reaction relations for jadeite formation give 13–21 kbar at 600 °C and 16–18 kbar at 750 °C for the eclogite formation using the jadeite content of clinopyroxene (X_Jd = 0.48).

Phengites in pelitic schists show variable Si / Al and Na / K ratios among grains as well as within single grains, and give K–Ar ages of 50–87 Ma. The pelitic schist with paragonite and phengite yielded K–Ar ages of 83.5 Ma (K = 4.9 wt.%) for paragonite–phengite mixture and 85.3 Ma (K = 7.8 wt.%) for phengite and an isochron age of 91 ± 13 Ma from the two dataset. The eclogite gives a plateau age of 132 Ma in Ar/Ar step-heating analyses using single phengite grain and an inverse isochron age of 130 ± 39 Ma with an initial ⁴⁰Ar / ³⁶Ar ratio of 434 ± 90 in Ar/Ar spot analyses of phengites and paragonites. The Cretaceous isochron ages are interpreted to represent the timing of early stage of exhumation of the eclogitic rocks assuming revised high closure temperature (500 °C) for phengite K–Ar system. The phengites in pelitic schists have experienced retrograde reaction which modified their chemistry during intense deformation associated with the exhumation of these rocks with the release of significant radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar from the crystals. The argon release took place in the schists that experienced the retrogression to upper greenschist facies metamorphisms from the eclogite facies conditions.     

Investigation of the effect of aggregate shape and surface roughness on the slake durability index using the fractal dimension approach

Argillaceous rocks cover about one thirds of the earth's surface. The major engineering problems encountered with weak- to medium-strength argillaceous rocks could be slaking, erosion, slope stability, settlement, and reduction in strength. One of the key properties for classifying and determining the behavior of such rocks is the slake durability. The concept of slake durability index (SDI) has been the subject of numerous researches in which a number of factors affecting the numerical value of SDI were investigated. In this regard, this paper approaches the matter by evaluating the effects of overall shape and surface roughness of the testing material on the outcome of slake durability indices.

For the purpose, different types of rocks (marl, clayey limestone, tuff, sandstone, weathered granite) were broken into chunks and were intentionally shaped as angular, subangular, and rounded and tested for slake durability. Before testing the aggregate pieces of each rock type, their surface roughness was determined by using the fractal dimension. Despite the variation of final values of SDI test results (values of I_d), the rounded aggregate groups plot relatively in a narrow range, but a greater scatter was obtained for the angular and subangular aggregate groups. The best results can be obtained when using the well rounded samples having the lowest fractal values. An attempt was made to analytically link the surface roughness with the I_d parameter and an empirical relationship was proposed. A chart for various fractal values of surface roughness to use as a guide for slake durability tests is also proposed. The method proposed herein becomes efficient when well rounded aggregates are not available. In such condition, the approximate fractal value for the surface roughness profile of the testing aggregates could be obtained from the proposed chart and be plugged into the empirical relation to obtain the corrected I_d value. The results presented herein represent the particular rock types used in this study and care should be taken when applying these methods to different type of rocks.     

Water–rock interaction during the process of steam stimulation exploitation of viscous crude oil in Liaohe Shuguang Oil Field, Liaoning, China

In the process of steam stimulation exploitation of viscous crude oil, the injected water, at high temperature and under high pressure, reacts intensively with the host rock. This kind of water–rock interaction in Liaohe Shuguang Oil Field was studied on the basis of analysis of water composition changes, laboratory experiments, mineral saturation indices analysis, and mass balance calculation. Compared with the injected water, the changes of the composition of discharged water are mainly the distinct decrease of pH, Na⁺, SiO₂ and Cl⁻, as well as the increase of K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, SO ₄ ²⁻ and HCO ₃ ⁻ . Laboratory experiments under field conditions showed: the dissolution sequence of minerals quantitatively is quartz>potassium feldspar>albite, and the main change of clay minerals is the conversion of kaolinite to analcime. Mass balance calculation indicated during the process of steam stimulation, large quantities of analcime are precipitated with the dissolution of large amounts of quartz, kaolinite, potassium feldspar, and CO₂. These results correlated very well with the experimental results. The calculated results of Liaohe Shuguang Oil Field showed that during the steam stimulation for viscous crude oil, the amounts of minerals dissolved (precipitated) are huge. To control the clogging of pore spaces of oil reservoirs, increased study of water–rock interaction is needed.     

Experimental and numerical studies of rock salt strain hardening

The work presented in this paper comes as part of a research program dealing with the thermomechanical behaviour of rock salt. It aims to study laboratory and in-situ long-term behaviour by means of creep tests with deviator and temperature changes. The laboratory results, using a triaxial multi-stages creep tests, highlighted the strain hardening character of rock salt. Furthermore, the in-situ results, using a borehole dilatometer multi-step creep test, have shown that the drilling is carried out in a weakly stressed pillar. The interpretation of the laboratory results, using the J.LEMAITRE law, did not indicate full agreement with all the test results. As a result a ‘double’ J.LEMAITRE model, which takes into account a double strain hardening variable, has been put forward. The validation of this model on the laboratory creep tests is very satisfactory. Furthermore, the activation energy seems satisfactory to represent the influence of the temperature. The in-situ behaviour modelling is clearly more complex than the modelization based on laboratory tests. In fact, it seems that if the rock salt behaviour is maintained by J.LEMAITRE law, it is necessary to vary with the stress, at least, one of the parameters assumed constant in the basic law.     

A Connectivity Index for Discrete Fracture Networks

Connectivity is an important measure for assessing flow transport in rock, especially through fractures. In this paper, rock fracture systems are modelled by a discrete fracture model simulated by a marked point process. A connectivity index is then introduced to quantify the connectivity between any two points in space. Monte Carlo simulation is used to evaluate the connectivity index for stationary cases and relationships between the connectivity index and the parameters of the discrete fracture model are analysed. The average number of intersections per fracture, X_f, and the fracture intensity, P12 (P32), are calculated and the relationships between these parameters and the connectivity index are investigated, concluding that X_f is the more suitable parameter for the classification of rock mass flow properties. The relationships between the connectivity index and the percolation state of the fractured medium are also discussed. An edge correction is briefly discussed and a practical example is used to demonstrate the method of computing the connectivity index.     

Shape and distribution analysis of Merensky Reef potholing, Northam Platinum Mine, western Bushveld Complex: implications for pothole formation and growth

Syn-magmatic removal of the cumulate pile during the formation of the Bushveld Complex resulted in “potholes”. Erosion progressed downward in the cumulate pile, resulting in a series of steep, transgressive contacts between locally conformable potholed reefs in the regional pothole sub-facies of the Swartklip Facies in the western limb of the Bushveld Complex. The deepest of these potholes, “third-order” or “FWP2” potholing, occurs where the base of the Merensky Cyclic Unit transgresses the Upper Pseudo-Reef Chromitite marker horizon. The base of a FWP2 pothole on Northam Platinum Mine consists of an unconformable stringer Merensky Chromitite overlain by a medium-grained, poikilitic orthopyroxenite and underlain by either a pegmatitic harzburgite or the medium-grained Lower Pseudo-Reef Anorthosite. Detailed shape and distribution analysis of FWP2 potholes reveals underlying patterns in their shape and distribution which, in turn, suggest a structural control. The ratio between pothole short vs long axes is 0.624 (N=1,385), although the ratio increases from 0.48 to 0.61 in the long axis range 10 to 60 m, then decreases from 0.61 to 0.57 from 61 to 100 m, increasing again from 0.57 to 0.61 from 101 to 400 m, suggesting that there is not a simple relationship between pothole shape and size. Shape (circularity, eccentricity, and dendricity) analysis of a subset of 638 potholes indicates that potholes with long axes <100 m have an elliptical, average normalized shape, elongate on a 120–150° orientation. Potholes with long axis lengths >100 m have an average normalized shape that is bilobate and elongate on a 120° orientation. The average aspect ratio (short axis length divided by long axis length) of potholes is highest for potholes with long axis lengths >100 m and lowest for potholes with long axis lengths between 35 and 60 m. The most common long axis orientation for potholes with long axis lengths <100 m is 150° but 120° for long axis lengths >100 m. Fractal analysis indicates that the distribution of pothole centers is controlled neither by a single nor several interacting fractal dimensions. Autocorrelation (Fry) analysis of the distribution of pothole centers shows recurring pothole distribution trends at 038, 070, and 110° for potholes over the full range of long axis lengths, while the trends of 008 and 152° occur in potholes with long axes lengths between 60 and 100 m. Chi-squared (X ²) analysis of the locations of pothole centers suggests that the distribution of small potholes is highly non-uniform but becomes exponentially more uniform with increasing pothole size. The model which best fits the observed shape and distribution analysis is a combination of protracted independent growth and “nearest neighbor” merging along specific orientations. For instance, the clustered distribution of original pothole centers resulted in merged potholes with long axes lengths of up to 60 m, exhibiting short vs long axes ratios of 0.61, preferred orientations of 150°, and alignment along 010 and 150° trends. Further independent growth allowed for merging of similar-sized (and smaller) neighboring potholes, generating potholes with long axes of up to 100 m in length, a preferred long axis orientation of 150°, and alignment along 010, 040, 075, and 150°. Subsequent preferential merging occurred along a 120° trend, thereby preserving a bilobate form. This implies that while pothole initiation and enlargement may be driven by a “top-down” (i.e., possibly thermomechanical) process, an underlying linear or structural catalyst/control is revealed in changes in pothole shape during enlargement and, furthermore, in the preferred trends along which potholes merged over a considerable period, possibly concomitant with adjustment of major structures in the footwall to the Bushveld Complex and pulses into the magma chamber.