Water-rock-tailings interactions and sources of sulfur and metals in the subtropical mining region of Taxco,Guerrero (southern Mexico): A multi-isotopic approach

Multi-isotope (H, O, S, Sr, Pb) systems coupled with conventional (major and trace element) hydrogeochemical analysis were applied to determine the origin of water, to model water-rock-tailings interactions and for source apportionment of sulfur and associated toxic metals in the mining region of Taxco, Guerrero in southern Mexico. Oxygen and H isotopes indicate that meteoric water in the zone is rainwater undergoing varying degrees of isotopic fractionation by atmospheric evaporation whereas Sr isotopes trace the interaction of pristine water from volcanics of the regional recharge zone and subsequently flowing through sandstone and shale to spring points. Leachates form from two distinctive sources (spring water and surface water) having differential interactions with bedrocks prior to entering the tailings. Compared to pristine water, leachates are enriched in sulfate, metals (e.g. Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn) and metalloids (e.g. As). The sulfur isotopic composition of ore-sulfides, leachates, secondary precipitates, regional surface water and hypogenic sulfates is described in terms of a two-component mixing model with shale of Mexcala and limestone of Morelos formations representing the light and heavy end-members, respectively, whereas Sr isotopic composition is bracketed combining three lithogenic (Mexcala/Morelos, Tilzapotla and Taxco Schist) sources. Finally, leachates have a mixture of lead from ore-sulfides and Taxco Schist Formation (Family I) or from ore-sulfides alone (Family II). The application of multiple environmental isotopic techniques is an outstanding tool for elucidating complex interactions of water with bedrocks and tailings and for determining the source of sulfur and toxic metal from mining and other metal polluted environments.     

Sequestration of molybdate during transformation of 2-line ferrihydrite under alkaline conditions

Hematite is a thermodynamically stable iron oxide under the aerobic conditions present in most natural surface soils and sediments. Most studies to date have focused on the capacity of hematite to adsorb trace metals and metalloids, but structural incorporation of trace metals within hematite is less recognized. This study assessed the incorporation of molybdenum within the structure of hematite during the phase transformation of 2-line ferrihydrite under alkaline conditions (pH ∼10). Extended X-ray absorption fine structure analyses show molybdenum incorporated into hematite, with two Mo-O shells having a coordination number (CN) of 3 and average bond distances of 1.78 ± 0.01 and 2.08 ± 0.02 Å, respectively, as well as two Mo-Fe shells with a CN of 3 and average bond distances of 3.10 ± 0.02 Å and 3.44 ± 0.02 Å, respectively. This observation suggests the tetrahedrally-coordinated Mo in the molybdate that adsorbs onto the 2-line ferrihydrite changes to an octahedrally-coordinated Mo within the hematite with Mo possibly substituting for Fe in the hematite structure. Our findings suggest that molybdenum partitioning (low concentrations) to iron oxides in the environment can occur due to structural incorporation as well as adsorption.     

辐射井技术在尾矿库降排水工程中的应用

尾矿库是我国重大危险源之一,而尾矿库内的浸润线又是坝体安全的重要指标之一,为有效排出尾矿中的水,降低尾矿库内浸润线,本文通过辐射井技术在尾矿库降排水工程中应用的多个成功工程实例,归纳、总结并提出该技术在尾矿库应用过程中的设计思路、施工要点及工艺方法等。     

杨林坳钨矿尾矿资源勘查及综合回收利用工艺浅析

通过对湖南省衡南县川口乡杨林坳钨矿尾矿库尾砂的勘查、试验分析、前期综合利用科研工作情况介绍,分析了今后综合回收尾矿中有价金属、非金属及充分消耗尾砂的工艺思路,以达到充分利用、消耗尾砂,提高循环经济利用率,大大降低尾砂对环境污染和尾矿库存在的隐患。     

江西德兴铜矿区水系的Cu同位素地球化学特征及其地质意义

江西德兴铜矿水系样的δ65Cu值具有极大的变化范围(-5.8‰~+24.4‰),是迄今为止已报道发现的最大的Cu同位素分馏值。水体中铜的来源可分为黄铜矿源和黄铁矿源,二者具有明显不同的Cu同位素特征。根据水体的Cu同位素值分布特征,圈出了流经矿体(矿体上方)水、矿体外围水和尾矿库水3个源区。水体中的Cu主要以离子态和微粒态存在,二者具有明显不同的65Cu特征,尾矿库中黄铁矿65Cu对水体的Cu同位素组成具有较大的影响作用。Cu同位素在示踪找矿及地质环境监测方面具有良好的应用潜力。     

典型矿区尾矿库特征污染物识别研究

通过对典型尾矿库土壤样品分析,利用重金属超标率、植物体BCF、污染因子的权重值筛选等通进行典型污染物识别,为开展尾矿库污染治理工作提供依据。     

Dating of mine waste in lacustrine sediments using cesium-137

For over a century Medicine Lake in northern Idaho has received heavy-metal-laden tailings from the Coeur d'Alene mining district. Establishing the depositional chronology of the lake bottom sediments provides information on the source and rate of deposition of the tailings. Cesium-137, an isotope produced in the atmosphere by nuclear bomb tests, was virtually absent in the environment prior to 1951, but reached its apex in 1964. Our analysis of cesium-137 in the sediments of Medicine Lake revealed that 14 cm of fine-grained tailings were deposited in the lake from 1951 to 1964 and tailing deposition downstream was greatly reduced by the installation of tailings dams in the district in 1968. Cesium-137 analysis is accomplished by a fairly simple gamma-ray counting technique and should be a valuable tool for analyzing sedimentation in any lacustrine environment that was active during the 1950s and 1960s.     

富硫尾矿对矿渣水化反应生成钙矾石的影响

用红外光谱、X射线衍射和扫描电子显微等现代微观微区测试手段，对高炉矿渣及含硫高的矿山尾矿砂混合体系的水化反应过程进行检测和分析，了解这一过程中新、旧物相的变化情况，通过对主要新生相钙矾石的生长和生成量的检测，选出理想的激发剂和合适的养护时间，从而给出以高炉矿渣作粘合剂，以富硫尾矿砂作骨料研制新型建筑材料的具体工艺条件。     

Mineralogical and geochemical behavior of mill tailing material produced from lead-zinc skarn mineralization,Hanover, Grant County,New Mexico,USA

Mineral extraction and processing, especially metal mining, produces crushed and milled waste; such material, exposed to weathering, poses the potential threat of environmental contamination. In this study, mill tailings from inactive Pb-Zn mines in New Mexico, southwest USA, have been examined for their potential environmental impacts by means of detailed mineralogical and geochemical characterization. The principal ore minerals remaining in the tailings material are sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and very minor galena, smithsonite, and cerrusite, accompanied by the gangue minerals pyrite, pyrrhotite, magnetite, hematite, garnet, pyroxene, quartz, and calcite. White precipitate occurring on tailings surfaces is composed of gypsum and hydrated magnesium sulfates. Pyrite is mostly unaltered or shows only micron-scale rims of oxidation (goethite/hematite) in some surface samples. This iron oxide rim on pyrite is the only indication of weathering-derived minerals found by microscopy. There are variations in element concentrations with depth that reflect primary variations through time as the tailings ponds were filled. Cadmium and Zn concentrations increase with depth and Ag and Pb are low for the uppermost core samples, while Cu, Ni, and Co concentrations are generally high for the uppermost core samples. These elemental distributions indicate that little or no leaching has taken place since emplacement of the tailings because no accumulation or enrichment of these metals is observed in Hanover tailings, even in reducing portions of tailings piles. Element concentrations of surface samples surrounding the tailings reflect underlying mineralized zones rather than tailings-derived soil contamination. We observed no successive decreasing metal concentrations in prevalent wind directions away from the tailings. Stream sediment samples from Hanover Creek have somewhat elevated Zn, Cd, and Pb concentrations in areas that receive sediments from erosion of the tailings. However, input from tributaries downstream of the ponds appears to be principal source of heavy metals in Hanover Creek. The results of this study indicate that there is low risk for groundwater heavy-metal contamination from Hanover tailings. Tailings material do not show significant geochemical oxidation/alteration or metal leaching with depth. Our studies indicate that neutralizing minerals present in the tailings are sufficient to keep the tailings material chemically stable. Geochemically, however, tailings materials are being eroded and may pose a threat to Hanover Creek via siltation.     

Use of Factor Analysis to Study the Distribution of Metalliferous Bauxitic Tailings in the Seabed of the Gulf of Corinth,Greece

In 1994, a detailed marine environmental survey was carried out in surface sediments of the northern flank (Antikyra Bay) and the basin floor of the Gulf of Corinth. Metalliferous tailings (red-mud slurry) of a bauxite processing plant are discharged through a pipeline at a water depth of 100 m, in the Antikyra Bay, covering an area of 16 km². The bauxitic tailings are detached from the main deposit at the outfalls, flow as turbidity currents downslope, and are redeposited on the basin floor of the Gulf of Corinth, where they cover an area of about 277 km². One hundred sediment samples, that were collected from red-mud deposits and the surrounding natural sediments, were analyzed for Ag, Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Si, Ti, V, and Zn concentrations. Statistical analysis of the heavy metals concentrations using factor analysis allowed (i) an examination of the interrelations among metals and (ii) distinguishing possible sample groups on the basis of metal concentrations in order to study the mechanisms of transport of the red mud and the degree of mixing with natural sediments. Factor 1 (Al, Cr, Ti, Fe, Co, Ni, Pb, Ag, Hg, V, Cd, and Cu) and the positive pole of Factor 2 (Cu, Ag, Cd, and Hg) are red-mud factors, reflecting different metal behaviors, which are related to processes that take place during the transport and redeposition of the red mud. The negative poles of Factors 2 and 3 and the positive pole of Factor 4 are related to natural sediment supply processes. Q-mode factor analysis identifies three distinct sediment groups located in different areas, on the base of the degree of mixing of red mud with natural sediments.