Total and leached Arsenic, Mercury and Antimony were determined in the topsoils developed on the mining waste dumping area of Le Lame (Mt. Amiata, central Italy) where the post-processingHg-rich ore deposits from the mining area of Abbadia San Salvatore were stored. The concentrations of As, Hg and Sb were up to 610, 1910 and 1610 mg kg−1, respectively, while those in the leachates(carried out with CO2-saturated MilliQ water to simulate the meteoric water conditions) were up to102, 7 and 661 μg·L−1, respectively. Most aqueous solutions were characterized by Hg content <0.1 μg·L−1. This is likely suggesting that the mine wastes (locally named “rosticci”) were possibly resulting from an efficient roasting process that favoured either the removal or inertization of Hg operated by the Gould furnaces and located in the southern sector of Le Lame. The highest values of total and leachate mercury were indeed mostly found in the northern portion where the “rosticci”, derived by the less efficient and older Spirek-Cermak furnaces, was accumulated. The saturation index was positive for the great majority of leachate samples in Fe-oxy-hydroxides, e.g., ferrihydrite, hematite, magnetite,goethite, and Al-hydroxides (boehmite and gibbsite). On the other hand, As- and Hg-compounds were shown to be systematically undersaturated, whereas oversaturation in tripuhyte (FeSbO4) and romeite(Ca2Sb2O7) was evidenced. The Eh-pH diagrams for the three chalcophile elements were also constructed and computed and updated according to the recent literature data.

Total and Leached Arsenic, Mercury and Antimony in the Mining Waste Dumping Area of Abbadia San Salvatore (Mt. Amiata, Central Italy) / Federica Meloni; Giordano Montegrossi; Marta Lazzaroni; Daniele Rappuoli; Barbara Nisi; Orlando Vaselli. - In: APPLIED SCIENCES. - ISSN 2076-3417. - ELETTRONICO. - 11:(2021), pp. 7893-7911. [10.3390/app11177893]

Total and Leached Arsenic, Mercury and Antimony in the Mining Waste Dumping Area of Abbadia San Salvatore (Mt. Amiata, Central Italy)

Federica Meloni
;
Giordano Montegrossi;Marta Lazzaroni;Daniele Rappuoli;Barbara Nisi;Orlando Vaselli
2021

Abstract

Total and leached Arsenic, Mercury and Antimony were determined in the topsoils developed on the mining waste dumping area of Le Lame (Mt. Amiata, central Italy) where the post-processingHg-rich ore deposits from the mining area of Abbadia San Salvatore were stored. The concentrations of As, Hg and Sb were up to 610, 1910 and 1610 mg kg−1, respectively, while those in the leachates(carried out with CO2-saturated MilliQ water to simulate the meteoric water conditions) were up to102, 7 and 661 μg·L−1, respectively. Most aqueous solutions were characterized by Hg content <0.1 μg·L−1. This is likely suggesting that the mine wastes (locally named “rosticci”) were possibly resulting from an efficient roasting process that favoured either the removal or inertization of Hg operated by the Gould furnaces and located in the southern sector of Le Lame. The highest values of total and leachate mercury were indeed mostly found in the northern portion where the “rosticci”, derived by the less efficient and older Spirek-Cermak furnaces, was accumulated. The saturation index was positive for the great majority of leachate samples in Fe-oxy-hydroxides, e.g., ferrihydrite, hematite, magnetite,goethite, and Al-hydroxides (boehmite and gibbsite). On the other hand, As- and Hg-compounds were shown to be systematically undersaturated, whereas oversaturation in tripuhyte (FeSbO4) and romeite(Ca2Sb2O7) was evidenced. The Eh-pH diagrams for the three chalcophile elements were also constructed and computed and updated according to the recent literature data.
2021
11
7893
7911
Federica Meloni; Giordano Montegrossi; Marta Lazzaroni; Daniele Rappuoli; Barbara Nisi; Orlando Vaselli
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Utilizza questo identificatore per citare o creare un link a questa risorsa: https://hdl.handle.net/2158/1303044
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