• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • UA Faculty Research
    • UA Faculty Publications
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • UA Faculty Research
    • UA Faculty Publications
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of UA Campus RepositoryCommunitiesTitleAuthorsIssue DateSubmit DateSubjectsPublisherJournalThis CollectionTitleAuthorsIssue DateSubmit DateSubjectsPublisherJournal

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    About

    AboutUA Faculty PublicationsUA DissertationsUA Master's ThesesUA Honors ThesesUA PressUA YearbooksUA CatalogsUA Libraries

    Statistics

    Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

    Toxic metal(loid) speciation during weathering of iron sulfide mine tailings under semi-arid climate

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    1-s2.0-S0883292715000128-main.pdf
    Size:
    2.115Mb
    Format:
    PDF
    Description:
    Final Published version
    Download
    Author
    Root, Robert A
    Hayes, Sarah M
    Hammond, Corin M
    Maier, Raina M
    Chorover, Jon
    Affiliation
    Univ Arizona, Dept Soil Water & Environm Sci
    Issue Date
    2015-11-01
    Keywords
    XAS
    arsenic
    lead
    mine tailing
    semi-arid
    zinc
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Publisher
    PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    Citation
    Root, R. A., Hayes, S. M., Hammond, C. M., Maier, R. M., & Chorover, J. (2015). Toxic metal (loid) speciation during weathering of iron sulfide mine tailings under semi-arid climate. Applied Geochemistry, 62, 131-149.
    Journal
    APPLIED GEOCHEMISTRY
    Rights
    Published by Elsevier Ltd.
    Collection Information
    This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.
    Abstract
    Toxic metalliferous mine-tailings pose a significant health risk to ecosystems and neighboring communities from wind and water dispersion of particulates containing high concentrations of toxic metal(loid)s (e.g., Pb, As, Zn). Tailings are particularly vulnerable to erosion before vegetative cover can be reestablished, i.e., decades or longer in semi-arid environments without intervention. Metal(loid) speciation, linked directly to bioaccessibility and lability, is controlled by mineral weathering and is a key consideration when assessing human and environmental health risks associated with mine sites. At the semi-arid Iron King Mine and Humboldt Smelter Superfund site in central Arizona, the mineral assemblage of the top 2 m of tailings has been previously characterized. A distinct redox gradient was observed in the top 0.5 m of the tailings and the mineral assemblage indicates progressive transformation of ferrous iron sulfides to ferrihydrite and gypsum, which, in turn weather to form schwertmannite and then jarosite accompanied by a progressive decrease in pH (7.3 to 2.3). Within the geochemical context of this reaction front, we examined enriched toxic metal(loid)s As, Pb, and Zn with surficial concentrations 41.1, 10.7, 39.3 mM kg-1 (3080, 2200, and 2570 mg kg-1), respectively. The highest bulk concentrations of As and Zn occur at the redox boundary representing a 1.7 and 4.2 fold enrichment relative to surficial concentrations, respectively, indicating the translocation of toxic elements from the gossan zone to either the underlying redox boundary or the surface crust. Metal speciation was also examined as a function of depth using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The deepest sample (180 cm) contains sulfides (e.g., pyrite, arsenopyrite, galena, and sphalerite). Samples from the redox transition zone (25-54 cm) contain a mixture of sulfides, carbonates (siderite, ankerite, cerrusite, and smithsonite) and metal(loid)s sorbed to neoformed secondary Fe phases, principally ferrihydrite. In surface samples (0-35 cm), metal(loid)s are found as sorbed species or incorporated into secondary Fe hydroxysulfate phases, such as schwertmannite and jarosites. Metal-bearing efflorescent salts (e.g., ZnSO4·nH2O) were detected in the surficial sample. Taken together, these data suggest the bioaccessibility and lability of metal(loid)s are altered by mineral weathering, which results in both the downward migration of metal(loid)s to the redox boundary, as well as the precipitation of metal salts at the surface.
    Note
    24 month embargo; published online: 7 February 2015
    ISSN
    0883-2927
    PubMed ID
    26549929
    Version
    Final published version
    Additional Links
    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883292715000128
    Collections
    UA Faculty Publications

    entitlement

    Related articles

    • Surficial weathering of iron sulfide mine tailings under semi-arid climate.
    • Authors: Hayes SM, Root RA, Perdrial N, Maier R, Chorover J
    • Issue date: 2014 Sep 15
    • Arsenic and iron speciation and mobilization during phytostabilization of pyritic mine tailings.
    • Authors: Hammond CM, Root RA, Maier RM, Chorover J
    • Issue date: 2020 Oct 1
    • Geochemical weathering increases lead bioaccessibility in semi-arid mine tailings.
    • Authors: Hayes SM, Webb SM, Bargar JR, O'Day PA, Maier RM, Chorover J
    • Issue date: 2012 Jun 5
    • Geochemical and mineralogical characterization of a neutral, low-sulfide/high-carbonate tailings impoundment, Markušovce, eastern Slovakia.
    • Authors: Hiller E, Petrák M, Tóth R, Lalinská-Voleková B, Jurkovič L, Kučerová G, Radková A, Sottník P, Vozár J
    • Issue date: 2013 Nov
    • Changes in zinc speciation with mine tailings acidification in a semiarid weathering environment.
    • Authors: Hayes SM, O'Day PA, Webb SM, Maier RM, Chorover J
    • Issue date: 2011 Sep 1
    The University of Arizona Libraries | 1510 E. University Blvd. | Tucson, AZ 85721-0055
    Tel 520-621-6442 | repository@u.library.arizona.edu
    DSpace software copyright © 2002-2017  DuraSpace
    Quick Guide | Contact Us | Send Feedback
    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.