Abstract
This study reports on the assessment of the impact of antimony mine wastes from Xikuangshan (XKS) Antimony Mine in Lengshuijiang City, Hunan Province. We focus on the leaching of a number of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) from residues from the processing of antimony ore. The PTE content of ore processing waste and solutions generated by leaching experiments were determined for a suite of PTEs associated with the ore mineralization. These were Sb, As, Hg, Pb, Cd and Zn. As anticipated, high concentrations of the PTEs were identified in the waste materials, far exceeding the standard background values for soil in Hunan Province. For Sb and As, values reached >1800 mg·kg−1 and >1200 mg·kg−1, respectively (>600 and >90 times higher than the soil background). The leaching of Sb, As, Hg, Pb, Cd and Zn decreased with an increase in grain size and leachable portions of metal ranged between 0.01% to 1.56% of total PTE content. Leaching tests identified the release of PTEs through three stages: a. alkaline mineral dissolution and H+ exchanging with base cation; b. oxidation and acid production from pyrite and other reducing minerals; and c. the adsorption and precipitation of PTEs.
Highlights
The exploitation of antimony by mining has created serious environmental pollution at a number of locations and has attracted international research interest in understanding the mechanisms driving impact [1,2,3,4]
This paper reports on the effect of environmental conditions on the ore processing waste rock stored at a the XKS Sb Mine in Hunan Province, Central South China
25 g waste rock samples with different particle sizes were loaded into replaced by blank leaching solution to maintain the solid to liquid ratio
Summary
The exploitation of antimony by mining has created serious environmental pollution at a number of locations and has attracted international research interest in understanding the mechanisms driving impact [1,2,3,4]. It has been in operation extracting and smelting for more than 120 years, which coupled with the large-scale mining operations has produced significant residual materials open to the percolation of water It has released significant quantities of harmful elements like Sb, As, Hg, Pb, Cd and Zn to the surroundings, threatening the wider environment and human health [10,11,12,13]. This paper reports on the effect of environmental conditions on the ore processing waste rock stored at a the XKS Sb Mine in Hunan Province, Central South China. It assesses leaching processes affecting waste rock of different particle sizes, identifying changes in the leaching solution (e.g., pH, conductivity and PTE release). The impact of results on prediction of wider environmental and ecological risk are addressed
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