Automated Mineral Analysis to Characterize Metalliferous Mine Waste

World Multidisciplinary Earth Sciences Symposium 2016

Hensler, Ana-Sophie^1 ; Lottermoser, Bernd G.^1 ; Vossen, Peter^1 ; Langenberg, Lukas C.^1

Institute of Mineral Resources Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Wüllnerstr. 2, Aachen

52062, Germany^1

关键词: Coarse grained particles;    Environmental concerns;    Geochemical analysis;    Grain size estimation;    Metals and metalloids;    Mineralogical analysis;    Mineralogical compositions;    Textural characteristic;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/44/5/052046/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1755-1315/44/5/052046

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

The objective of this study was to investigate the applicability of automated QEMSCAN® mineral analysis combined with bulk geochemical analysis to evaluate the environmental risk of non-acid producing mine waste present at the historic Albertsgrube Pb-Zn mine site, Hastenrath, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geochemical analyses revealed elevated average abundances of As, Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, Sb and Zn and near neutral to slightly alkaline paste pH values. Mineralogical analyses using the QEMSCAN® revealed diverse mono-and polymineralic particles across all samples, with grain sizes ranging from a few μm up to 2000 μm. Calcite and dolomite (up to 78 %), smithsonite (up to 24 %) and Ca sulphate (up to 11.5 %) are present mainly as coarse-grained particles. By contrast, significant amounts of quartz, muscovite/illite, sphalerite (up to 10.8 %), galena (up to 1 %), pyrite (up to 3.4 %) and cerussite/anglesite (up to 4.3 %) are present as fine-grained (3and unknown Zn Pb(Fe) and Zn Pb Ca (Fe Ti) phases. Many of the metal-bearing sulphide grains occur as separate particles with exposed surface areas and thus, may be matter of environmental concern because such mineralogical hosts will continue to release metals and metalloids (As, Cd, Sb, Zn) at near neutral pH into ground and surface waters. QEMSCAN® mineral analysis allows acquisition of fully quantitative data on the mineralogical composition, textural characteristics and grain size estimation of mine waste material and permits the recognition of mine waste as "high-risk" material that would have otherwise been classified by traditional geochemical tests as benign.