Formation of secondary pyrite and carbonate minerals in the Lower Williams Lake tailings basin, Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada
-
A. Dogan Paktunc
and
Nand K. Davé
Abstract
The Lower Williams Lake tailings, which resulted from U-milling operations during the late 1950s and early 1960s, cover an area of 2 ha in a small bog under partial water cover. The tailings are underlain by a sand unit containing decaying organic material above the natural base consisting of sand, till, and gravel. The tailings are composed predominantly of quartz, muscovite, K-feldspar, plagioclase, and clinochlore. Residual pyrite grains, displaying angular to subangular particles measuring less than 1 to 250 μm, occur in concentrations ranging from trace to approximately 6 wt%. Framboidal pyrite has formed within the tailings basin in association with organic-rich material. The appearance of framboidal pyrite in the tailings indicates a reversal of the oxidation process and reprecipitation of Fe sulfides. In addition, the tailings include calcite, calcian siderite, Feoxyhydroxides, and Fe-Si-oxyhydroxides as secondary precipitates and replacement products. Groundwaters in the tailings and the underlying units are saturated with respect to gypsum and siderite. These and the other saturation indices calculated for calcite, goethite, and barite are consistent with the secondary mineralogy of the tailings. Conditions promoting the formation of pyrite can be described as neutral to weakly alkaline and reducing assisted by microbial activity. This study provides the first account of secondary carbonates and framboidal pyrite in the Elliot Lake tailings. The existing environmental conditions at the site are favorable for the desired site rehabilitation.
© 2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Formation of secondary pyrite and carbonate minerals in the Lower Williams Lake tailings basin, Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada
- Hydroxyl in MgSiO3 akimotoite: A polarized and high-pressure IR study
- High-pressure IR-spectra and the thermodynamic properties of chloritoid
- Infrared and Raman study of interlayer anions CO32–, NO3–, SO42– and ClO4– in Mg/Al-hydrotalcite
- Effect of Fe oxidation state on the IR spectra of Garfield nontronite
- High-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction study of katoite hydrogarnet: Evidence for a phase transition from Ia3d →I4̅3d symmetry at 5 GPa
- The high-temperature P21/c-C2/c phase transition in Fe-free pyroxene (Ca0.15Mg1.85Si2O6): Structural and thermodynamic behavior
- Thermodynamics and stability of pseudobrookite-type MgTi2O5 (karrooite)
- Molecular orbital calculations on aluminosilicate tricluster molecules: Implications for the structure of aluminosilicate glasses
- Surface structures, stabilities, and growth of magnesian calcites: A computational investigation from the perspective of dolomite formation
- Spinels and other oxides in Mn-rich rocks from the Hutter Mine, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, U.S.A.: Implications for miscibility and solvus relations among jacobsite, galaxite, and magnetite
- An occurrence of igneous orthorhombic amphibole, Eriksberg gabbro, southern Sweden
- Crystal chemistry of Cr3+-V3+-rich clinopyroxenes
- The crystal structures of cesanite and its synthetic analogue—A comparison
- Disordered distribution of Cu in the crystal structure of leightonite, K2Ca2Cu(SO4)4 · 2H2O
- Neustädtelite and cobaltneustädtelite, the Fe3+ - and Co2+ -analogues of medenbachite
- Ciprianiite and mottanaite-(Ce), two new minerals of the hellandite group from Latium (Italy)
- Re-definition, nomenclature and crystal-chemistry of the hellandite group
- The new mineral baumstarkite and a structural reinvestigation of aramayoite and miargyrite
- Letters. Isotopic and elemental partitioning of boron between hydrous fluid and silicate melt
- Experimental evidence of three coexisting immiscible fluids in synthetic granitic pegmatite
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