Identification of jarosite and other major mineral Fe phases in acidic environments affected by mining-metallurgy using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy: With special emphasis on the August 2014 Cananea acid spill

The sulfuric acid spill into the Sonora river, enriched in iron and copper ions from the Buenavista del Cobre mine (Cananea), gave way to the formation of various solid iron (Fe) phases. In this study, the mineral phases were identified by X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) and bulk powder X-Ray D...

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Main Authors: Ingrid Nayeli Escobar-Quiroz, Mario Villalobos-Peñalosa, Teresa Pi-Puig, Francisco Martín Romero, Javier Aguilar-Carrillo de Albornoz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 2019-07-01
Series:Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas
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Online Access:https://rmcg.unam.mx/index.php/rmcg/article/view/1021
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author Ingrid Nayeli Escobar-Quiroz
Mario Villalobos-Peñalosa
Teresa Pi-Puig
Francisco Martín Romero
Javier Aguilar-Carrillo de Albornoz
author_facet Ingrid Nayeli Escobar-Quiroz
Mario Villalobos-Peñalosa
Teresa Pi-Puig
Francisco Martín Romero
Javier Aguilar-Carrillo de Albornoz
author_sort Ingrid Nayeli Escobar-Quiroz
collection DOAJ
description The sulfuric acid spill into the Sonora river, enriched in iron and copper ions from the Buenavista del Cobre mine (Cananea), gave way to the formation of various solid iron (Fe) phases. In this study, the mineral phases were identified by X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) and bulk powder X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and chemically through acid digestions for multielemental quantification, as well as a 3-step selective sequential extraction (SSE) to quantify the types of Fe oxide phases and the contribution of the associated elements. Jarosite was the only Fe mineral identified by XRD, but XAS allowed identification of jarosite with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) incorporated in its structure, making these elements less prone to leaching. In addition, very poorly crystalline phases such as schwertmannite and ferrihydrite were identified in several samples through XAS, which was confirmed by SSE. These phases are probably associated with PTEs. Other possible adsorbent Fe(III) minerals were also identified by XAS, such as maghemite and goethite; as well as mixed Fe(II)-Fe(III) minerals, such as green rust. It was possible to infer the influence of the acid spill on the different sampled areas through various Fe phases identified and/or the presence of gypsum. The influence was detected to be lower where the mineralogy was not associated to low pH and high sulfate concentrations. All precipitated Fe(III) phases downriver from the acid spill are known for their high retention capacities of PTEs either from incorporation into their structures and/or from surface adsorption, thus, contributing to the immobilization of the initial metal(loid) pollution caused by the acid spill. In addition, several other samples of mining-metallurgical wastes were analyzed by the same three techniques, suggesting many of the findings from the secondary Fe mineralogy of the Buenavista del Cobre mine acid spill as common processes occurring in mining-affected environments.
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spelling doaj-art-4649955a2bb94dd8a2787fb0b9a74f4f2025-08-20T03:25:31ZengUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoRevista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas1026-87742007-29022019-07-0136210.22201/cgeo.20072902e.2019.2.1021Identification of jarosite and other major mineral Fe phases in acidic environments affected by mining-metallurgy using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy: With special emphasis on the August 2014 Cananea acid spillIngrid Nayeli Escobar-Quiroz0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2921-1536Mario Villalobos-Peñalosa1Teresa Pi-Puig2Francisco Martín Romero3Javier Aguilar-Carrillo de Albornoz4Instituto de Geología y Laboratorio Nacional de Geoquímica y Mineralogía (LANGEM), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, Mexico.Instituto de Geología y Laboratorio Nacional de Geoquímica y Mineralogía (LANGEM), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, Mexico.Instituto de Geología y Laboratorio Nacional de Geoquímica y Mineralogía (LANGEM), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, Mexico.Instituto de Geología y Laboratorio Nacional de Geoquímica y Mineralogía (LANGEM), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, Mexico.Departamento de Tecnología Ambiental, Instituto de Metalurgia, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí (UASLP), Av. Sierra Leona 550, Lomas 2da sección, C.P. 78210, San Luis Potosí, S.L.P., Mexico. The sulfuric acid spill into the Sonora river, enriched in iron and copper ions from the Buenavista del Cobre mine (Cananea), gave way to the formation of various solid iron (Fe) phases. In this study, the mineral phases were identified by X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) and bulk powder X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and chemically through acid digestions for multielemental quantification, as well as a 3-step selective sequential extraction (SSE) to quantify the types of Fe oxide phases and the contribution of the associated elements. Jarosite was the only Fe mineral identified by XRD, but XAS allowed identification of jarosite with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) incorporated in its structure, making these elements less prone to leaching. In addition, very poorly crystalline phases such as schwertmannite and ferrihydrite were identified in several samples through XAS, which was confirmed by SSE. These phases are probably associated with PTEs. Other possible adsorbent Fe(III) minerals were also identified by XAS, such as maghemite and goethite; as well as mixed Fe(II)-Fe(III) minerals, such as green rust. It was possible to infer the influence of the acid spill on the different sampled areas through various Fe phases identified and/or the presence of gypsum. The influence was detected to be lower where the mineralogy was not associated to low pH and high sulfate concentrations. All precipitated Fe(III) phases downriver from the acid spill are known for their high retention capacities of PTEs either from incorporation into their structures and/or from surface adsorption, thus, contributing to the immobilization of the initial metal(loid) pollution caused by the acid spill. In addition, several other samples of mining-metallurgical wastes were analyzed by the same three techniques, suggesting many of the findings from the secondary Fe mineralogy of the Buenavista del Cobre mine acid spill as common processes occurring in mining-affected environments. https://rmcg.unam.mx/index.php/rmcg/article/view/1021Fe phasesX-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS)GeochemistryCananeaacid spillMexico
spellingShingle Ingrid Nayeli Escobar-Quiroz
Mario Villalobos-Peñalosa
Teresa Pi-Puig
Francisco Martín Romero
Javier Aguilar-Carrillo de Albornoz
Identification of jarosite and other major mineral Fe phases in acidic environments affected by mining-metallurgy using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy: With special emphasis on the August 2014 Cananea acid spill
Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas
Fe phases
X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS)
Geochemistry
Cananea
acid spill
Mexico
title Identification of jarosite and other major mineral Fe phases in acidic environments affected by mining-metallurgy using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy: With special emphasis on the August 2014 Cananea acid spill
title_full Identification of jarosite and other major mineral Fe phases in acidic environments affected by mining-metallurgy using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy: With special emphasis on the August 2014 Cananea acid spill
title_fullStr Identification of jarosite and other major mineral Fe phases in acidic environments affected by mining-metallurgy using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy: With special emphasis on the August 2014 Cananea acid spill
title_full_unstemmed Identification of jarosite and other major mineral Fe phases in acidic environments affected by mining-metallurgy using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy: With special emphasis on the August 2014 Cananea acid spill
title_short Identification of jarosite and other major mineral Fe phases in acidic environments affected by mining-metallurgy using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy: With special emphasis on the August 2014 Cananea acid spill
title_sort identification of jarosite and other major mineral fe phases in acidic environments affected by mining metallurgy using x ray absorption spectroscopy with special emphasis on the august 2014 cananea acid spill
topic Fe phases
X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS)
Geochemistry
Cananea
acid spill
Mexico
url https://rmcg.unam.mx/index.php/rmcg/article/view/1021
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