Redistribution and speciation of elements in gold-bearing sulfide mine tailings interbedded with natural organic matter: case study of Novo-Ursk deposit, Kemerovo Region, Siberia

The paper presents data on two cores from the dispersion train of gold-bearing sulfide tailings in the Novo-Ursk deposit (Kemerovo region, Russia), where organic-bearing mud and natural organic matter are interbedded with cyanide tailings and acid mine drainage (AMD). The study focuses on speciation of Au, Ag and potentially toxic elements (PTE), including Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Se and Pb according to selective sequential extractions. Since large contents of elements are found in water solution and bound to Fe(III) compounds, sulfides and/or organic matter in both cores, the organic material behaves as a natural biogeochemical barrier for potentially toxic elements and precious metals released from AMD. The interaction with organic matter results in biogeochemical sorption and immobilization of elements and is favourable for secondary enrichment in gold and silver. It leads to immobilization of elements that further form new mineral phases or become partitioned between existing phases. On the other hand, very high concentrations of water-soluble and oxidizable species of PTE and Au, which are unstable in surface conditions and may become remobilized when the environment changes, make the organic material less workable and even potentially hazardous. Thus, both positive (secondary enrichment) and negative (pollution) effects should be taken into account in the planning and design of systems for purification, disposal of cyanide tailings and recovery of useful components from tailings using natural organic matter as a geochemical barrier.

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Natural organic matter from the dispersion train of gold sulfide tailings: group composition and fractionation of elements: case study of Ursk tailings, Kemerovo region, Siberia

Geochemistry Exploration Environment Analysis ◽

10.1144/geochem2020-052 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. geochem2020-052

Author(s):

I.N. Myagkaya ◽

B.Yu. Saryg-ool ◽

Oleg N. Surkov ◽

S.M. Zhmodik ◽

E.V. Lazareva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Natural Organic Matter ◽

Humic Acids ◽

Toxic Elements ◽

Group Composition ◽

Soluble Fraction ◽

Potentially Toxic Elements ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Water Soluble Fraction ◽

Sulfide Tailings

We study the contents of elements and group composition in natural organic matter (NOM) that interacts with acid mine drainage (АMD) and high-sulfide tailings at the Ursk site (Southwestern Siberia, Russia). AMD causes biomass changes in NOM, related changes in the composition of fractions, and hydrolysis of hydrolyzable compounds; it increases the water-soluble fraction and maintains depolymerization of humic acids to fulvic acids, but exerts no effect on substances soluble in organics (bitumen) and on poorly hydrolyzable compounds. Accumulation of inorganic elements and precipitation of minerals obscure the true fraction composition of NOM: the superposed mineral component contributes significantly to the water-soluble, humic acid, hydrolyzable, and non-hydrolyzable fractions, and may reach 26.4 % per total of all fractions. Rock-forming and potentially toxic elements partition among NOM fractions and predominate in the water-soluble fraction. The contents of Au and Ag are the highest in the fractions of humic acids and hydrolyzable compounds but are lower in the non-hydrolyzable residue. The obtained data have implications for possible migration of potentially toxic elements and noble metals and thus for remediation of polluted areas. The observed fractionation of Ag and Au in NOM helps understand the mechanisms of their distribution in organic-bearing environments, such as peatlands or coal basins.

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Mobility of potentially toxic elements in family garden soils of the Riotinto mining area

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-4197 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Antonio Romero-Baena ◽

Cinta Barba-Brioso ◽

Alicia Ross ◽

Isabel González

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Toxic Elements ◽

Agricultural Soils ◽

Clay Mineralogy ◽

Mining Area ◽

Potentially Toxic Elements ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Trophic Chain ◽

Mining Areas ◽

Total Concentrations

<p>Agricultural soils in mining areas usually accumulate potentially toxic elements (PTEs) that can become a health risk to humans by entering the trophic chain. In this study, five small agricultural plots close to Riotinto mines (SW Spain) were studied, with the aims of comparing the concentration of PTEs with respect to the regional (South Portuguese Zone) baseline and conducting availability studies in order to determine the contamination of soils. Chemical composition, total and clay mineralogy, and edaphic parameters were determined in topsoil and subsoil samples to characterize the soils, and single extractions were conducted to assess the mobility. The mineralogy of the soils was composed of quartz and phyllosilicates, with small amounts of feldspars and occasionally containing hematite and calcite. The texture ranged from sandy to silty loam, the pH was slightly acidic, and high contents of organic matter were found. Total concentrations of trace elements correlated with the texture, the content in iron oxy-hydroxides and the pH. The values of As, Pb, Cu, and Zn exceeded the regional baseline even in sites unaffected by mining. The results suggest that a widespread sampling is necessary to determine the local background. The most water-soluble element was As, due to the competition of organic matter for sorption sites. The content of Cu, Cr and Zn extracted with different methods were higher in sandy soils with low iron oxy-hydroxides content. Monoammonium phosphate and EDTA extractions seemed to remove elements from organic matter and iron oxy-hydroxides. The extracted fractions of As and metals reached up to 10-30 wt%.&#160; Despite the high total concentrations of the element in soils, they generally showed low available proportions, especially with water and ammonium acetate extractants. The results suggest that the soils are not necessarily a risk to humans and higher investigation efforts are necessary to assess the availability of PTEs and their transfer to plants.</p>

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Water-soluble fraction of mercury, arsenic and other potentially toxic elements in highly contaminated sediments and soils

Chemosphere ◽

10.1016/j.chemosphere.2010.01.012 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 78 (11) ◽

pp. 1301-1312 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

S.M. Rodrigues ◽

B. Henriques ◽

J. Coimbra ◽

E. Ferreira da Silva ◽

M.E. Pereira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Toxic Elements ◽

Soluble Fraction ◽

Contaminated Sediments ◽

Potentially Toxic Elements ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Water Soluble Fraction

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Spatial Mobility of U and Th in a U-enriched Area (Central Portugal)

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app10217866 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (21) ◽

pp. 7866

Author(s):

Margarida Antunes ◽

António Santos ◽

Teresa Valente ◽

Teresa Albuquerque

Keyword(s):

Toxic Elements ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Stream Sediments ◽

Potentially Toxic Elements ◽

Uranium Mine ◽

Spatial Mobility ◽

Contamination Index ◽

Mine Dumps ◽

Central Portugal ◽

High Concentrations

Uranium and thorium are toxic in different environments. The exploitation of uranium mines and associated mine drainage leaching towards streams, sediments, and soils cause relevant pollution. The U-mine areas present high concentrations of potentially toxic elements with several consequences to ecosystems and human health. Physicochemical and potentially toxic elements of mine dumps, stream sediments, and soils from the Canto Lagar uranium mine area (Central Portugal) were analyzed. Stream sediments, soils, and mine dumps show a large range in the concentration values of Fe, U, As, Cu, Zn, Pb, and Th, suggesting geological and mine contributions. Most of the selected potential toxic elements from sediments present a low to moderate contamination degree, except for As, W, and U, which vary between high and very high contamination index. The soils must not be used in agricultural or residential activities due to contamination in As and U. This abandoned mine represents an environmental risk due to the spatial mobility and dispersion of potentially toxic elements from the dumps to the sediments and soils, as well as by surface runoff and wind.

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Interaction of natural organic matter with acid mine drainage: Authigenic mineralization (case study of Ursk sulfide tailings, Kemerovo region, Russia)

Journal of Geochemical Exploration ◽

10.1016/j.gexplo.2019.106456 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 211 ◽

pp. 106456

Author(s):

I.N. Myagkaya ◽

E.V. Lazareva ◽

V.I. Zaikovskii ◽

S.M. Zhmodik

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Natural Organic Matter ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Acid Mine ◽

Sulfide Tailings

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Spatial Distribution and Health Risk Assessment of Potentially Toxic Elements in Surface Soils of Bosten Lake Basin, Central Asia

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16193741 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (19) ◽

pp. 3741 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Long Ma ◽

Jilili Abuduwaili ◽

Wen Liu

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Spatial Distribution ◽

Linear Model ◽

Geographically Weighted Regression ◽

Toxic Elements ◽

Potentially Toxic Elements ◽

Weighted Regression ◽

Lake Basin ◽

Total Organic Matter ◽

Bosten Lake

A geographically weighted regression and classical linear model were applied to quantitatively reveal the factors influencing the spatial distribution of potentially toxic elements of forty-eight surface soils from Bosten Lake basin in Central Asia. At the basin scale, the spatial distribution of the majority of potentially toxic elements, including: cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), thallium (Tl), vanadium (V), and zinc (Zn), had been significantly influenced by the geochemical characteristics of the soil parent material. However, the arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), antimony (Sb), and mercury (Hg) have been influenced by the total organic matter in soils. Compared with the results of the classical linear model, the geographically weighted regression can significantly increase the level of simulation at the basin spatial scale. The fitting coefficients of the predicted values and the actual measured values significantly increased from the classical linear model (Hg: r2 = 0.31; Sb: r2 = 0.64; Cd: r2 = 0.81; and As: r2 = 0.68) to the geographically weighted regression (Hg: r2 = 0.56; Sb: r2 = 0.74; Cd: r2 = 0.89; and As: r2 = 0.85). Based on the results of the geographically weighted regression, the average values of the total organic matter for As (28.7%), Cd (39.2%), Hg (46.5%), and Sb (26.6%) were higher than those for the other potentially toxic elements: Cr (0.1%), Co (4.0%), Ni (5.3%), V (0.7%), Cu (18.0%), Pb (7.8%), Tl (14.4%), and Zn (21.4%). There were no significant non-carcinogenic risks to human health, however, the results suggested that the spatial distribution of potentially toxic elements had significant differences.

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Aggregation and stabilization of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in aqueous suspensions: influences of carboxymethyl cellulose, starch and humic acid

RSC Advances ◽

10.1039/c6ra10500a ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (71) ◽

pp. 67260-67270 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Wen Liu ◽

Xiao Zhao ◽

Zhengqing Cai ◽

Bing Han ◽

Dongye Zhao

Keyword(s):

Carbon Nanotubes ◽

Organic Matter ◽

Humic Acid ◽

Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes ◽

Natural Organic Matter ◽

Carboxymethyl Cellulose ◽

Soluble Starch ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Multiwalled Carbon ◽

Leonardite Humic Acid

Aggregation and stability of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in aqueous solutions were investigated with two polysaccharide stabilizers (carboxymethyl cellulose and a water soluble starch) and a natural organic matter (leonardite humic acid).

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Natural organic matter – the relationship between character and treatability

Water Science & Technology Water Supply ◽

10.2166/ws.2004.0091 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 4 (5-6) ◽

pp. 43-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Simon A. Parsons ◽

Bruce Jefferson ◽

Emma H. Goslan ◽

Peter R. Jarvis ◽

David A. Fearing

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Water Treatment ◽

Natural Organic Matter ◽

Organic Material ◽

Water Utilities ◽

Treatment Processes ◽

The World ◽

The Uk ◽

The Relationship

The characterisation and treatment of natural organic matter are becoming more important to the water utilities in the UK and around the world. This paper looks at the relationship between bulk and fractionated organic material and the performance of conventional water treatment processes.

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Modelling metal–humic substances–surface systems: reasons for success, failure and possible routes for peace of mind

Mineralogical Magazine ◽

10.1180/minmag.2012.076.7.02 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 76 (7) ◽

pp. 2643-2658 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

P. E. Reiller

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Humic Substances ◽

Iron Oxides ◽

Metal Surface ◽

Natural Organic Matter ◽

Organic Material ◽

Ternary Systems ◽

Mineral Surfaces ◽

Satisfactory Description ◽

Wide Range

AbstractIron oxides and oxyhydroxides are commonly of considerable importance in the sorption of ions onto rocks, soils and sediments. They can be the controlling sorptive phases even if they are present in relatively small quantities. In common with other oxides and clay minerals, the sorption pH-edge of metals is directly linked to their hydrolysis: the higher the residual charge on the metal ion, the lower the pH-edge. Modelling of this process has been successfully carried out using different microscopic or macroscopic definitions of the interface (e.g. surface complexation or ion exchange models that may or may not include mineralogical descriptions). The influence of organic material on the sorption of many metals is of significant. This organic material includes simple organic molecules and more complex exopolymeric substances (e.g. humic substances) produced by the decay of natural organic matter. Sorption of this organic material to mineral surfaces has been the subject of a large body of work. The various types of organic substances do not share the same affinities for mineral surfaces in general, and for iron oxides and oxyhydroxides in particular. In those cases in which successful models of the component binary systems (i.e. metal–surface, metal–organic, organic–surface) have been developed, the formation of mixed surface complexes, the evolution of the surface itself, the addition order in laboratory systems, and the evolution of natural organic matter fractions during sorption, have often precluded a satisfactory description of metal–surface–organic ternary systems over a sufficiently wide range of parameter values (i.e. pH, ionic strength, concentration of humic substances). This manuscript describes the reasons for some successes and failures in the modelling of the ternary systems. Promising recent advances and possible methods of providing more complete descriptions of these intricate systems are also discussed.

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