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Selenium and other trace element mobility in waste products and weathered sediments at Parys Mountain Copper Mine, Anglesey, UK

Selenium and other trace element mobility in waste products and weathered sediments at Parys Mountain Copper Mine, Anglesey, UK
Selenium and other trace element mobility in waste products and weathered sediments at Parys Mountain Copper Mine, Anglesey, UK
The Parys Mountain copper mining district (Anglesey, North Wales) hosts exposed pyritic bedrock, solid mine waste spoil heaps, and acid drainage (ochre sediment) deposits. Both natural and waste deposits show elevated trace element concentrations, including selenium (Se), at abundances of both economic and environmental consideration. Elevated concentrations of semi-metals such as Se in waste smelts highlight the potential for economic reserves in this and similar base metal mining sites. Selenium is sourced from the pyritic bedrock and concentrations are retained in red weathering smelt soils, but lost in bedrock-weathered soils and clays. Selenium correlates with Te, Au, Bi, Cd, Hg, Pb, S, and Sb across bedrock and weathered deposits. Man-made mine waste deposits show enrichment of As, Bi, Cu, Sb, and Te, with Fe oxide-rich smelt materials containing high Pb, up to 1.5 wt %, and Au contents, up to 1.2 ppm. The trace elements As, Co, Cu, and Pb are retained from bedrock to all sediments, including high Cu content in Fe oxide-rich ochre sediments. The high abundance and mobility of trace elements in sediments and waters should be considered as potential pollutants to the area, and also as a source for economic reserves of previously extracted and new strategic commodities
0009-8558
1-19
Bullock, Liam
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Parnell, John
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Perez, Magali
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Feldmann, Joerg
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Armstrong, Joseph
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Bullock, Liam
c6ffb9b0-0a54-4ab2-9edb-f97280e6ce2d
Parnell, John
b86302b0-b930-4b7c-9786-13abc612fef7
Perez, Magali
496b62b9-ca3a-4b78-aaf7-4d14627f5771
Feldmann, Joerg
301ee755-b3df-4b0e-9c5e-3ca0f7d1ccc5
Armstrong, Joseph
1d24c89a-37ea-444d-b3a0-669e4c8ed79f

Bullock, Liam, Parnell, John, Perez, Magali, Feldmann, Joerg and Armstrong, Joseph (2017) Selenium and other trace element mobility in waste products and weathered sediments at Parys Mountain Copper Mine, Anglesey, UK. Clay Minerals, 7 (11), 1-19, [229]. (doi:10.3390/min7110229).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The Parys Mountain copper mining district (Anglesey, North Wales) hosts exposed pyritic bedrock, solid mine waste spoil heaps, and acid drainage (ochre sediment) deposits. Both natural and waste deposits show elevated trace element concentrations, including selenium (Se), at abundances of both economic and environmental consideration. Elevated concentrations of semi-metals such as Se in waste smelts highlight the potential for economic reserves in this and similar base metal mining sites. Selenium is sourced from the pyritic bedrock and concentrations are retained in red weathering smelt soils, but lost in bedrock-weathered soils and clays. Selenium correlates with Te, Au, Bi, Cd, Hg, Pb, S, and Sb across bedrock and weathered deposits. Man-made mine waste deposits show enrichment of As, Bi, Cu, Sb, and Te, with Fe oxide-rich smelt materials containing high Pb, up to 1.5 wt %, and Au contents, up to 1.2 ppm. The trace elements As, Co, Cu, and Pb are retained from bedrock to all sediments, including high Cu content in Fe oxide-rich ochre sediments. The high abundance and mobility of trace elements in sediments and waters should be considered as potential pollutants to the area, and also as a source for economic reserves of previously extracted and new strategic commodities

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Accepted/In Press date: 20 November 2017
e-pub ahead of print date: 22 November 2017
Published date: 2017

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Local EPrints ID: 421784
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/421784
ISSN: 0009-8558
PURE UUID: 8afaff55-69e0-4c5b-80f9-349906f848e7

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Date deposited: 27 Jun 2018 16:30
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 20:18

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Contributors

Author: Liam Bullock
Author: John Parnell
Author: Magali Perez
Author: Joerg Feldmann
Author: Joseph Armstrong

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