• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.331-339
• /
• 2008

In the upstream of Nakdong river in Bonghwa-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, certain areas of riverside were found to be covered by weathered mine tailings which were assumed to be migrated and deposited by flood. This study was conducted to investigate the formation and characteristics of the secondary minerals from tailings and related leaching behavior of heavy metals in the severely weathered tailing deposits by river waters. Quartz, feldspar, micas, chlorite, hornblende, talc, pyroxene (johannsenite), pyrite, and calcite were identified as primary minerals by XRD. Kaolinite can be formed by the weathering of tailings, but considering the short period of weathering time, kaolinite in the deposits is considered to be from unweathered tailings or moved from soils. The secondary minerals such as goethite, gypsum, basanite, and jarosite were also identified. The formation of the secondary minerals was affected by the species of primary minerals and pH conditions. The weathering of pyrite produced sulfate minerals such as gypsum, basanite, jarosite, and also goethite. Mn oxide was also identified by SEM, coated on the primary minerals such as quartz. This Mn oxide was poorly crystalline and thought to be the weathering product of johannsenite (Mn-pyroxene). The Fe and Mn oxides are the main minerals determining the brown/red and black colors of weathered tailings. EDS results showed that those oxides contain high concentrations of Pb, Zn, and As, indicating that, in the river, the formation of Fe and Mn oxides can control the behavior and leaching of heavy metals by co-precipitation or adsorption.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.27-38
• /
• 2003

Arsenic contamination around Au-Ag mining areas occurs mainly from the oxidation of arsenopyrite which is frequently contained in mine tailings. In weathered tailings, oxidation of sulfide minerals typically results in the formation of abundant ferric (oxy)hydroxides or (oxy)hydroxysulfates near the tailings surface, and arsenic may be associated with these secondary precipitates. In this study, solid phases of arsenic in weathered tailings of some Au-Ag mines were investigated through the SEM/EDS and sequential extraction analyses. The stability of As solid phases and the leaching potential were assessed with the variation of pH and Eh conditions. Oxidation of sulfides in the tailings samples was indicated by depletion of S molar concentrations compared to As and heavy metals. Under XRD examinations, jarosite as an Fe-oxyhydroxysulfate was found in the tailings of Deokeum, Dongil and Dadeok, and scorodite as an As-bearing crystalline mineral was identified from Dadeok which has the highest concentration of As (4.36 wt.%). Beudantite-like phases and some Pb-arsenates were also found under SEM/EDS analysis, and most of As phases were associated with Fe-(oxy)hydroxides and (oxy)hydroxysulfates despite a few arsenopyrite from Samgwang and Gubong. Sequential extraction analysis also showed that As was present predominantly as coprecipitated with Fe hydroxides from Dongil, Dadeok and Myungbong (72∼99%), and as sulfides (58%) and Fe hydroxide-associated forms (40%) from Samgwang and Gubong. In the tailings leaching experiment, As was released with high amounts by the dissolution of As-bearing Fe(oxy)hydroxysulfates in the lowest pH (2.7) conditions of Deokeum, and by desorption under alkaline conditions of Samgwang and Gubong. Higher leaching rates of arsenite(+3) were found under acidic conditions, which pose a higher risk to water quality. Changes in pH and Eh conditions coupled with microbial processes could influence the stabilities of the As solid phases, and thus, time amendments or landfilling of weathered tailings may result in enhanced As mobilization.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.125-139
• /
• 2010

Behavior of heavy metals and arsenic in the tailings of Songcheon Au-Ag mine was characterized via both mineralogical and geochemical methods. Mineral composition of the tailings was investigated by X-ray diffractometry, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA) and total concentrations of heavy metals and arsenic and their chemical forms were analyzed by total digestion of aqua regia and sequential extraction method, respectively. The results of mineralogical study indicate that the tailings included mineral particles of resinous shape mainly consisting of galena, sphalerite, pyrite, quartz, and scorodite, and specifically socordite was identified in the form of matrix. EPMA quantitative analyses were performed to evaluate the weatherability of each mineral, and the results suggest that it decreased in the sequence of arsenopyrite > galena > sphalerite > pyrite. The weathering pattern of galena was observed to show distinctive zonal structure consisting of secondary minerals such as anglesite and beudantite. In addition, almost all of arsenopyrite has been altered to scorodite existing asmatrix and galena, sphalerite, and pyrite which have lower weatherability than arsenopyrite were identified within the matrix of scorodite. During the process of alteration of arsenopyrite into scorodite, it is likely that a portion of arsenic was lixiviated and caused a great deal of detrimental effects to surrounding environment. The results of EPMA quantitative analyses verify that the stability of scorodite was relatively high and this stable scorodite has restrained the weathering of other primary minerals within tailings as a result of its coating of mineral surfaces. For this reason, Songcheon tailings show the characteristics of the first weathering stage, although they have been exposed to the surface environment for a long time. Based on the overall results of mineralogical and geochemical studies undertaken in this research, if the tailings are kept to be exposed to the surface environment and the weathering process is continuous, not only hazardous heavy metals, such as lead and arsenic seem to be significantly leached out because their larger portions are being partitioned in weakly-bound (highly-mobile) fractions, but the potential of arsenic leaching is likely to be high as the stability of scorodite is gradually decreased. Consequently, it is speculated that the environmental hazard of Songcheon mine is significantly high.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.183-199
• /
• 2008

This study is focused on characterization of the physio-chemical and mineralogical properties, investigation of their vertical changes in the tailing profile of the Guryoung mining area, classification of the profile into distinct zones, and condition conceptual model of physio-chemical conditions and phases-water relationships controlling the element behaviors in the tailings. The upper part of the groundwater is characterized by the high contents of $Fe_2O_3$ and $SO_3$ for whole rock analysis, low pH, and the occurrence of jarosite, schwertmannite and Fe-oxyhydroxide as the secondary mineral phases. The tailing profile can be divided into the covering soil, jarosite zone, Fe-sulfate zone, Fe-oxyhydroxide and gypsum-bearing pyrite zone, calcite-bearing pyrite zone, soil zone, and weathered zone on the based of the geochemical and mineralogical characteristics. The profile can be sampled into the oxidized zone and the carbonate-rich primary zone with the dramatic changes in pH and the secondary mineral phases. The conceptual model proposed for the tailing profile can be summarized that the oxidation of pyrite is the most important reaction controlling the changes in pH, the dissolution of the primary silicates and carbonates, the precipitation of secondary mineral phases, acid-neutralizing, and heavy metal behaviors through the profile.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.42 no.3
• /
• pp.207-216
• /
• 2009

In this study, water quality variation in borehole groundwaters and surface leachate waters were investigated on a seasonal sampling and remote monitoring basis within the waste impoundments at the Geopung mine site where previous rehabilitation measures were unsuccessful to prevent acidic drainage. All groundwaters were typical acidic drainage with acidic pH (3.3${\sim}$4.6) and high TDS (338${\sim}$3330 mg/L) values during the dry season, but increases in metal contents (TDS 414${\sim}$4890 mg/L) and decrease of pH (2.7${\sim}$3.6) were observed during the rainy season. Surface leachate waters showed a similar pattern in water quality variation. Surface runoff waters during rain events had acidic pH (3.0${\sim}$3.4) through direct reactions with waste rocks. Good correlations were found between major and trace elements measured in water samples, but no significant seasonal variation in chemical compositions was shown except relative changes in contents. It can be suggested that dissolution of soluble secondary salts caused by flushing of weathered waste rocks and tailings directly influenced the water quality within the waste impoundments. Increases in acid and metal concentrations and their loadings from mine wastes are anticipated in the rainy season. More appropriate cover systems on waste rocks and tailings necessitate consideration of more extreme conditions in the study mine.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.359-370
• /
• 2009

Arsenic and heavy metals leached out as a result of oxidation of tailings exposed to the surface pose a serious environmental contamination of mine areas. This study investigated how arsenic behavior is controlled by a variety of processes, such as oxidation of sulfides and formation or alteration of secondary minerals, based on mineralogical methods. The study was carried out using the tailing samples obtained from Nakdong mine located in Jeongseongun, Gangwondo. After separating magnetic and non-magnetic minerals using pretreated tailing samples, each mineral sample was classified according to their colors and metallic lusters observed by the stereoscopic microscope. Subsequently, the mineralogical properties were determined using various instrumental analyses, such as x-ray diffractometer (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and electron probe micro analyzer (EPMA). The literature review confirmed that various ore minerals were identified in the Nakdong ore deposits. In this study, however, there were observed a few original ore minerals as well as secondary and/or tertiary minerals newly formed as a result of weathering including oxidation. In particular, we did not recognize pyrrhotite which has been known to originally exist in a large abundance, but peculiarly colloform-type iron (oxy)hydroxides were identified, which indicates most of pyrrhotite has been altered by rapid weathering due to its large reactivity. In addition, a secondary scorodites filling the fissure of weathered primary arsenopyrites were identified, and it is speculated that arsenic is immobilized through such a alteration reaction. Also, we observed tertiary iron (oxy)hydroxides were formed as a result of re-alteration of secondary jarosites, and it suggests that the environment of tailing has been changed to high pH from low pH condition which was initiated and developed by oxidation reactions of diverse primary ore minerals. The environmental change is mainly attributed to interactions between secondary minerals and parental rocks around the mine. As a result, not only was the stability of secondary minerals declined, but tertiary minerals were newly formed. As such a process goes through, arsenic which was immobilized is likely to re-dissolve and disperse into surrounding environments.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.281-295
• /
• 2010

This paper deals with magnetic susceptibility, mineralogy, soil properties (pH, EC, CEC, loss on ignition), iron and manganese oxides, the content and partitioning of heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn), and their mutual relationship in the soil samples of an unpolluted, abandoned mine area, and industrial complex area. The various minerals derived from weathered bedrock were identified by X-ray diffraction in the unpolluted soil samples, except for the magnetic minerals. XRD analysis also revealed the existence of hematite and magnetite related to mine tailings and waste rocks in the abandoned mine area samples. The industrial complex area samples had carbonate minerals, such as calcite and dolomite, that might be due to anthropogenic deposition. The sum of the reducible, oxidizable, and residual fractions was over 80% for the abandoned mine area samples and over 50% for the industrial complex area samples using the sequential extraction method. The industrial complex area samples had a relatively high carbonate fraction that was associated with carbonate minerals. The content of aqua regia-extractable Fe, Mn, As, and Zn had a high positive correlation with the content of the dithionite-citrate-bicarbonate (DCB)-extractable method related to Fe/Mn oxide phases. The 54% and 58% of aqua regia-extractable Fe and As content, respectively, acted together with the concentrations of the DCB-extractable phases. Magnetic susceptibility values of total samples ranged from 0.005 to $2.131{\times}10^{-6}m^3kg^{-1}$. The samples including iron oxide minerals, such as hematite and magnetite, had a high magnetic susceptibility. The magnetic susceptibility showed a significant correlation with the heavy metals, Cd (r=0.544, p<0.05), Cr (r=0.714, p<0.01), Ni (r=0.645, p<0.05), Pb (r=0.703, p<0.01), and Zn (r=0.496, p<0.01), as well as Fe (r=0.608, p<0.01) and Mn (r=0.615, p<0.01). The aqua regia-extractable Fe and Mn content had a significant positive correlation with Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn. However, the DCB-extractable Fe and Mn content had a significant positive correlation with As and Ni, indicating that the heavy metals were associated with Fe and Mn oxide minerals.