干旱区生态环境知识资源中心(Arid): Climate and pyrite: Two factors to control the evolution of abandoned tailings in Northern Chile

Arid

DOI	10.1016/j.gexplo.2020.106686
	Climate and pyrite: Two factors to control the evolution of abandoned tailings in Northern Chile
	Gerding, Javiera; Novoselov, Alexey A.; Morales, Juan
通讯作者	Gerding, J (corresponding author), Univ Concepcion, Inst Appl Econ Geol, Casilla 160-C, Concepcion 4030400, Chile.
来源期刊	JOURNAL OF GEOCHEMICAL EXPLORATION
ISSN	0375-6742
EISSN	1879-1689
出版年	2021
卷号	221
英文摘要	The environmental impact of abandoned sulfide-bearing tailings mainly associated with the generation of highly acidic, toxic waters causes a widespread public concern. Meanwhile, a fundamental understanding of the relationship between the secondary mineralogy produced by pyrite dissolution and the wind erosion on these artificial deposits has remained elusive. Here we address this gap in knowledge by elucidating the factors that control the tailings surface erodible by wind. Chile has developed its mining industry for decades, mainly in the north of the country, where desert landscapes dominate. Many of the tailings have been abandoned to the weather. Two areas of study with different climates ranging from arid to semiarid were evaluated by mineralogy, chemistry and particle size. Using statistical analysis, we demonstrated that it is possible to establish distinct types of alterations, which differ in secondary mineralogy mainly, giving rise three clusters: feldspar-dominated (without secondary mineralization), goethite-dominated and jarosite-dominated (with presence of efflorescent salts). When observing these clusters in the field, different surfaces characterize by contrasting cohesion and wind erodibility potential. Although selected clusters in both deposits share a similar set of minerals, the particle size, amount of pyrite and its by-products vary from one site to another. In addition, the microscopic morphology of the pyrite grains from both the uppermost section and deeper levels of the tailings reveals greater oxidation/dissolution in semiarid climate over arid climate, as well as more spherical particles in the surface levels and elongated ones in depth. Together, these data evidence that pyrite alone, regardless of its content and particle size, does not generate acidic solutions leading to the precipitation of secondary phases. The extent of secondary mineralization is also linked to the climate (available humidity), tailing permeability and pH-neutralizing primary phases. Depending on these variables, different potentially erodible surfaces showing to a greater or lesser cohesion of particles and higher or lower contents of toxic metals, which, in turn, is the reason for these tailings to become a public health issue.
英文关键词	Tailings Pyrite Arid & semi-arid climate Wind erosion Chile
类型	Article
语种	英语
收录类别	SCI-E
WOS记录号	WOS:000606624100001
WOS关键词	ACID-MINE-DRAINAGE ; ATMOSPHERIC DUST ; MINING DISTRICT ; TOXIC ELEMENTS ; TRACE-ELEMENTS ; PARTICLE-SIZE ; MINERALOGY ; OXIDATION ; METALS ; SOILS
WOS类目	Geochemistry & Geophysics
WOS研究方向	Geochemistry & Geophysics
资源类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/348013
作者单位	[Gerding, Javiera] Univ Concepcion, Dept Ciencias Tierra, Concepcion, Chile; [Gerding, Javiera; Novoselov, Alexey A.] Univ Concepcion, Inst Appl Econ Geol, Casilla 160-C, Concepcion 4030400, Chile; [Gerding, Javiera; Morales, Juan] Univ Salamanca, Dept Geol Cristalog & Mineral, Salamanca, Spain
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Gerding, Javiera,Novoselov, Alexey A.,Morales, Juan. Climate and pyrite: Two factors to control the evolution of abandoned tailings in Northern Chile[J],2021,221.
APA	Gerding, Javiera,Novoselov, Alexey A.,&Morales, Juan.(2021).Climate and pyrite: Two factors to control the evolution of abandoned tailings in Northern Chile.JOURNAL OF GEOCHEMICAL EXPLORATION,221.
MLA	Gerding, Javiera,et al."Climate and pyrite: Two factors to control the evolution of abandoned tailings in Northern Chile".JOURNAL OF GEOCHEMICAL EXPLORATION 221(2021).