The role of bacteria in degradation of exposed massive sulphides at Citronen Fjord, North Greenland: project ‘Resources of the sedimentary basins of North and East Greenland’

Abstract

The multidisciplinary research project ‘Resources of the sedimentary basins of North and East Greenland’ was initiated in 1995 with financial support from the Danish Research Councils (Stemmerik et al., 1996). The Citronen Fjord zinc prospect (Fig. 1) discovered by Platinova A/S in 1993 is by far the largest sulphide occurrence known in North Greenland, and is currently being investigated as a potential exploitable resource. However, the mining and processing of sulphide ores can create serious pollution problems in the surrounding terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems by exposing large amounts of sulphidic material to atmospheric oxygen and ‘attack’ by mineral-oxidising bacteria. At lower latitudes, the slow abiotic oxidation of metal sulphides is known to be significantly accelerated by bacterial attack. A microbiological investigation of the Citronen Fjord zinc deposit was initiated in the summer of 1995 to investigate the role bacteria might play in oxidation of sulphidic material in High Arctic areas. This is a joint project involving the Danish Environmental Research Institute (Department of Arctic Environment) and the University of Aarhus (Department of Microbial Ecology).