The role of AMD secondary minerals in controlling environmental pollution: Indications from bulk leaching tests

Abstract

Weathering of sulphide minerals produces a large variety of Fe-oxide-bearing ochreous, varicoloured precipitates and efflorescences of variably soluble sulphate salts. These secondary minerals play an important role in acid mine drainage processes and, more generally, for environmental pollution, since they can be either a sink or a source for acidity and toxic metals. At Libiola mine, eastern Liguria (Italy), the secondary minerals directly form through precipitation from acid sulphate waters within waste-rock dumps and outcropping mineralized bodies as well as within streams and runoff channels. Within waste-rock dumps they are present mainly as cement, filling the inter-clast porosity, and/or as coating and ephemeral efflorescences on the outcropping surfaces. Their stability represents a major environmental issue due to the potential importance of these phases in controlling metal distribution in the surface environment. This paper presents a detailed mineralogy and geochemistry characterisation of these materials, investigating the tendency for different types of secondary minerals (hardpans, ochreous consolidated precipitates, ochreous colloids, non ochreous colloids) to release metals after a simple mixing with deionised water for 12days. Within the different types of deposits, hardpans showed the lowest tendency to release metals, in contrast to ochreous colloids and ochreous concretions that gave the highest concentrations.Nickel was the element most easily extracted by this treatment, even from non-ochreous colloids, while iron was much less readily leached. Dissolution experiments carried out on efflorescent sulphate salts demonstrated that these materials have a strong acid producing affinity which led to their complete dissolution. These results indicate that secondary phases associated with acid mine drainage can play an important role in controlling trace metal mobility, acting either as scavengers, to remove metals, from solutions or also as secondary sources of metal contamination during the interaction of these materials with surface waters.