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Minerals
Special Issues
Metal Distribution and Mobility in Mine Area
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Metal Distribution and Mobility in Mine Area

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Mineralogy and Biogeochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 July 2022) | Viewed by 4305

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sirio Consani

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Guest Editor
Department of Earth Sciences, Università di Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Interests: acid mine drainage; distribution of metals around sulphide mine; metal contamination in fluvial and marine sediments; secondary minerals in Cu mines; rare earth elements; sequential extractions; relationships between microorganisms and metals in mine area; X-ray diffraction
Dr. Teresa Valente

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Interests: mine waters and mine wastes; acid mine drainage and acid rock drainage; environmental mineralogy; biomonitoring; environmental monitoring and modeling of mine sites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Sergio Carrero

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, Spanish National Research Council, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: environmental science; nanominerals; water treatment; natural attenuation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Metal distribution and mobility in mine areas are topics of interest in scientific research. Mine areas are geologically active environments where often the remobilisation of metals to secondary minerals occurs as a result of the weathering, biologically mediated or not, of the primary ore. How and where metals are transported and distributed by atmospheric agents have economic and environmental consequences.

The advance in the available technologies and the ever-growing demand for raw materials make the extraction of metals, such as rare earth elements (REEs), from new kinds of ores economically feasible. In some cases, such as for Au, the wastes of previous historical mining become suitable sources for metal extraction. In this framework, the mobility of metals and their distribution between primary and secondary minerals play a crucial role in the assessment of the economic feasibility of the exploitation. Secondary minerals can act as sinks for the elements of interest leached from the primary ore, contributing to maintaining the overall grade of the deposits or even concentrating target metals.

The distribution of metals outside the mine area is one of the main environmental problems for the extractive industry, but in the case of abandoned historical mines, the restoration remains an ongoing problem. For instance, a massive process of metal transport is acid mine drainage (AMD), i.e., acidic and metal-rich solutions derived from sulphide dissolution. Mining activity represents one of the main suppliers of metals in rivers, with the consequent contamination of soils, cultivated fields, and oceans. Mine areas dramatically impact the quality of fluvial and marine ecosystems and the life of biota, with the subsequent introduction of metals in the trophic chain. Finding new technologies to prevent pollution and simultaneously recover metals represents the new frontier to develop a sustainable and green economy.

The Special Issue covers all these aspects, among others. Studies dealing with new geological sources of critical raw materials (Co, Cu, Ni, REEs, etc.) with a focus on their distribution inside the ore are of great interest. Research on the weathering of conventional primary ores and on the mineralogy and chemistry of mine wastes is welcome. The impact of mines on metal distribution over time in fluvial and marine ecosystems is among the topics of this Special Issue, and the submission of manuscripts dealing with sequential extraction techniques and/or an evaluation of metal bioavailability is encouraged. Papers on treatment systems for mine waters and on the control of environmental quality with biomarkers (e.g., diatoms) are acknowledged.

Dr. Sirio Consani
Dr. Teresa Valente
Dr. Sergio Carrero
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mine wastes
  • ore minerals
  • critical raw materials
  • acid mine drainage
  • mine water treatment systems
  • metals in river and marine environments

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 3335 KiB  
Article
Metal Lability and Mass Transfer Response to Direct-Planting Phytostabilization of Pyritic Mine Tailings
by Corin M. Hammond, Robert A. Root, Raina M. Maier and Jon Chorover
Minerals 2022, 12(6), 757; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12060757 - 15 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1820
Abstract
Understanding the temporal effects of organic matter input and water influx on metal lability and translocation is critical to evaluate the success of the phytostabilization of metalliferous mine tailings. Trends of metal lability, e.g., V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb, [...] Read more.
Understanding the temporal effects of organic matter input and water influx on metal lability and translocation is critical to evaluate the success of the phytostabilization of metalliferous mine tailings. Trends of metal lability, e.g., V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb, were investigated for three years following a direct-planting phytostabilization trial at a Superfund mine tailings site in semi-arid central Arizona, USA. Unamended tailings were characterized by high concentrations (mmol kg−1) of Fe (2100), S (3100), As (41), Zn (39), and Pb (11), where As and Pb greatly exceeded non-residential soil remediation levels established by Arizona. Phytostabilization treatments included a no-compost control, 100 g kg−1 compost with seed, and 200 g kg−1 compost with and without seed to the top 20 cm of the tailings profile. All plots received supplemental irrigation, effectively doubling the mean annual precipitation. Tailings cores up to 90 cm were collected at the time of planting and every summer for 3 years. The cores were sub-sectioned at 20 cm increments and analyzed via total digestion and an operationally defined sequential extraction for elemental analysis and the calculation of a mass transfer coefficient normalized to Ti as an assigned immobile element. The results indicate that Pb was recalcitrant and relatively immobile in the tailings environment for both the uncomposted control and composted treatments with a maximum variation in the total concentration of 9–14 mmol kg−1 among all samples. Metal lability and translocation above the redox boundary (ca. 30 cm depth) was governed by acid generation, where surficial pH was measured as low as 2.7 ± 0.1 in year three and strongly correlated with the increased lability of Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn. There was no significant pH effect on the lability of V, Cr, or Pb. Translocation to depths was greatest for Mn and Co; however, Zn, Ni, Cr, and Cu were also mobilized. The addition of organic matter enhanced the mobilization of Cr from the near surface to 40–60 cm depth (pH > 6) over the three-year phytostabilization study compared to the control. The increased enrichment of some metals at 60–90 cm indicates that the long-term monitoring of elemental translocation is necessary to assess the efficacy of phytostabilization to contain subsurface metal contaminants and thereby protect the surrounding community from exposure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Distribution and Mobility in Mine Area)
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16 pages, 1561 KiB  
Article
Thermal Transformation of Natural Schwertmannite in the Presence of Chromium
by Carlos Lázaro, Juan Antelo, Ivan Carabante, Alba Otero-Fariña, Pedro V. Verdes, Bruno Dacunha-Marinho and Sarah Fiol
Minerals 2022, 12(6), 726; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12060726 - 6 Jun 2022
Viewed by 1952
Abstract
Schwertmannite is a metastable mineral playing a crucial role in the immobilization of metal(oid)s in acid mine drainage (AMD) systems. High temperatures associated with wildfires could lead to a sudden schwertmannite transformation, changing the mobility of metal(oid)s. The objective of the present study [...] Read more.
Schwertmannite is a metastable mineral playing a crucial role in the immobilization of metal(oid)s in acid mine drainage (AMD) systems. High temperatures associated with wildfires could lead to a sudden schwertmannite transformation, changing the mobility of metal(oid)s. The objective of the present study was to examine the thermal transformation from schwertmannite to hematite, and the subsequent effect on the chromium partitioning. The immobilization of arsenate after thermal transformation and its implications on chromium mobility was also evaluated. Natural schwertmannite, with increasing contents of chromium, was thermally treated between 200 to 800 °C. Transformation products were characterized by solid-phase techniques and selective chemical extractions. Results indicated a transformation to hematite at temperatures above 400 °C. The presence of chromium barely affected the temperature at which the transformation occurred, although partitioning of chromium in the mineral changed with temperature. As the temperature increased from 25 °C to 400 °C, chromium was less mobile and less outcompeted by arsenic adsorption, suggesting a larger contribution of inner-sphere complexes with increasing temperature. At temperatures above 600 °C, non-mobile forms strongly associated with neo-formed hematite were found. Finally, neo-formation of hematite led to a decrease in arsenic adsorption, implying a potentially enhanced arsenic mobility in AMD systems upon wildfires. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Distribution and Mobility in Mine Area)
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