Geochemical Assessment of Desulphurized Tailings as Cover Material in Cold Climates
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Materials
2.2. Methods
2.3. Environmental Performance of ICCBEs
2.3.1. Experimental Design
2.3.2. Experimental Approach
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Physical, Mineralogical, and Chemical Characteristics of the Materials
3.2. Quality of Leachates
3.2.1. High Sulphate Leachates
3.2.2. The Efficiency of DST vs. RT to Control Ni and Zn Leaching
4. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Column Designation | Details |
---|---|
ICCBE-DST1 | Column with ICCBE: ~0.50 m support layer from non-acid generating WRs, 0.70 m MRL layer from DST 1, 0.40 m protective layer from non-acid generating WRs. Total height 2.10 m and 0.14 m diameter. |
ICCBE-DST2 | Column with ICCBE: ~0.50 m support layer from non-acid generating WRs, 0.70 m MRL layer from DST 2, 0.40 m protective layer from non-acid generating WRs. The total height of 2.10 m and 0.14 m diameter. |
DST1 | Column without ICCBE: 0.70 m single layer of DST 1. The total height of 0.80 m and 0.14 m diameter. |
DST2 | Column without ICCBE: 0.70 m single layer of DST 2. The total height of 0.80m and 0.14 m diameter. |
RT | Column without ICCBE: 0.70 m single layer of RT. The total height of 0.80 m and 0.14 m diameter. |
Material | D10 (mm) | D30 (mm) | D50 (mm) | D60 (mm) | CC a | CU b | Classification c |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
RT | 0.00256 | 0.0084 | 0.0238 | 0.0398 | 0.69 | 15.6 | ML d |
DST1 | 0.0028 | 0.0095 | 0.0268 | 0.0430 | 0.75 | 15.3 | ML d |
DST2 | 0.0026 | 0.0086 | 0.0243 | 0.0395 | 0.71 | 15.0 | ML d |
WRs * | 0.104 | 3.4 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 11.14 | 96.2 | GW e |
Mineral (% by Weight) | Chemical Formula | RT a | DST1 | DST2 | WRs b |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Actinolite | Ca2(Mg,Fe)5Si8O22(OH)2 | 14.0 | 29.75 | 30 | 33.6 |
Albite | NaAlSi3O8 | – | 2.76 | 3.86 | 14.4 |
Anorthite | CaAl2Si2O8 | – | – | – | 11.2 |
Calcite | CaCO3 | – | 2.17 | 2.17 | – |
Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 | 0.46 | 0.25 | 0.25 | – |
Chamosite | (Fe,Mg)5Al(Si3Al)O10(OH,O) | 8.0 | – | – | – |
Clinochlore | (Mg,Fe)5Al(Si3,Al)O10(OH)8 | – | 26.48 | 26.12 | 14.7 |
Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 | 1.90 | – | – | – |
Epidote | Ca2(Fe,Al)Al2(SiO4)(Si2O7)O(OH) | – | – | – | 17.5 |
Hornblende | (Ca,Na,K)2(Mg,Fe2+,Fe3+,Al)5[Si6(Al,Si)2O22](OH,F)2 | 7.17 | – | – | – |
Lizardite | Mg3Si2O5(OH)4 | 32.0 | 31.81 | 30.9 | – |
Magnetite | Fe3O4 | 5.0 | 2.56 | 2 | – |
Orthoclase | KAlSi3O8 | – | 1.37 | 1.3 | – |
Pentlandite | (Fe,Ni)9S8 | 1.2 | 0.29 | 0.4 | – |
Pyrite | FeS2 | 0.14 | – | – | – |
Pyrrhotite | Fe1-xS (x = 0–0.17) | 20.0 | 0.64 | 1.55 | – |
Quartz | SiO2 | 1.0 | 1.60 | 1.12 | 8.3 |
Rutile | TiO2 | – | 0.30 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
Talc | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 | 7.0 | – | – | – |
Titanite | CaTiSiO5 | 2.13 | – | – | – |
Property | RT a | DST1 | DST2 | WRs b |
---|---|---|---|---|
AP (kg CaCO3 ton−1) | 255.63 | 14.44 | 25.16 | N.D. |
NP (kg CaCO3 ton−1) | 27.49 | 28 | 28 | 26.66 |
NNP (kg CaCO3 ton−1) | −223.96 | 13.56 | 2.84 | N.D. |
NPR (−) | 0.11 | 1.94 | 1.12 | N.D. |
Chemical composition (mg kg−1) | ||||
Al | 15,580 | 33,010 | 30,160 | 65,300 |
As | <5.0 | 5.83 | <5.0 | <10 |
Ca | 10,120 | 33,790 | 30,060 | 64,900 |
Cr | 1817 | 1840 | 1789 | 180 |
Cu | 1353 | 861.5 | 1024 | 170 |
Fe | 124,700 | 83,260 | 77,570 | 72,900 |
K | 550 | 1950 | 1840 | N.D. |
Mg | 168,700 | 151,900 | 141,800 | 41,200 |
Mn | 771 | 1199 | 1219 | 1080 |
Na | 1730 | 3780 | 4030 | 10,700 |
Ni | 2372 | 1042 | 1398 | 170 |
S | 39,750 | 4039 | 8041 | N.D. |
Ti | 917 | 2118 | 1940 | N.D. |
Zn | 58 | 78.14 | 69 | 70 |
Property | ICCBE-DST1 | ICCBE-DST2 | DST1 | DST2 | RT | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Min | Max | Min | Max | Min | Max | Min | Max | Min | Max | |
pH (–) | 7.83 | 8.32 | 7.84 | 8.24 | 7.33 | 9.33 | 6.46 | 8.41 | 7.1 | 8.4 |
Eh (mV) | 258 | 557 | 234 | 548 | 144 | 414 | 181 | 488 | 109 | 368 |
EC (mS cm−1) | 3.86 | 9.53 | 3.9 | 8.59 | 1.89 | 11.86 | 2.71 | 14.03 | 3.18 | 35.6 |
Chemical composition (mg L−1) | ||||||||||
Al | 0.01 | 0.04 | 0.01 | 0.06 | 0.01 | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.06 | 0.01 | 0.026 |
Ca | 338 | 599 | 348 | 613 | 4.88 | 40 | 9.95 | 83 | 214 | 443 |
Cu | 0.00 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.24 | 0.25 | 3.23 | 0.19 | 2.90 | 0.97 | 4.85 |
Fe | 0.02 | 0.07 | 0.01 | 0.06 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.08 |
K | 4.54 | 8.80 | 4.11 | 10.40 | 57.50 | 188 | 66 | 232 | 24.8 | 464 |
Mg | 169 | 387 | 146 | 409 | 8.31 | 102 | 18.20 | 173 | 361 | 2180 |
Na | 52 | 1750 | 46 | 1660 | 180 | 2380 | 341 | 2850 | 25.4 | 5250 |
Ni | 0.09 | 0.17 | 0.10 | 0.22 | 0.00 | 0.05 | 0.01 | 0.20 | 0.63 | 1.92 |
Stot | 803 | 1990 | 848 | 1920 | 588 | 1740 | 1010 | 2120 | 736 | 9490 |
Si | 52.30 | 110 | 56.30 | 104 | 7.82 | 47.40 | 6.77 | 45 | 10.20 | 47 |
Zn | 0.07 | 0.43 | 0.17 | 1.72 | 0.05 | 0.31 | 0.04 | 0.80 | 0.44 | 3.69 |
Sample | Element | Ni (mg L−1) | Zn (mg L−1) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Cycles | Total | Average | Depletion (%) | Total | Average | Depletion (%) | |
ICCBE-DST1 | 8 Cycles | 1.00 | 0.12 | 0.004 | 2.15 | 0.27 | 0.08 |
7 Cycles * | 0.90 | 0.13 | – | 1.88 | 0.27 | – | |
ICCBE-DST2 | 8 Cycles | 1.15 | 0.13 | 0.004 | 7.10 | 0.89 | 0.27 |
7 Cycles * | 1.01 | 0.14 | – | 5.38 | 0.77 | – | |
DST1 | 8 Cycles | 0.12 | 0.01 | 0.002 | 1.19 | 0.15 | 0.27 |
7 Cycles * | 0.11 | 0.02 | – | 0.95 | 0.14 | – | |
DST2 | 8 Cycles | 0.55 | 0.07 | 0.006 | 2.37 | 0.30 | 0.36 |
7 Cycles * | 0.53 | 0.08 | – | 1.58 | 0.23 | – | |
RT | 8 Cycles | 8.77 | 1.10 | 0.05 | 9.08 | 1.13 | 0.78 |
7 Cycles * | 6.85 | 0.98 | – | 5.39 | 0.77 | – |
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Qureshi, A.; Bussière, B.; Benzaazoua, M.; Lessard, F.; Boulanger-Martel, V. Geochemical Assessment of Desulphurized Tailings as Cover Material in Cold Climates. Minerals 2021, 11, 280. https://doi.org/10.3390/min11030280
Qureshi A, Bussière B, Benzaazoua M, Lessard F, Boulanger-Martel V. Geochemical Assessment of Desulphurized Tailings as Cover Material in Cold Climates. Minerals. 2021; 11(3):280. https://doi.org/10.3390/min11030280
Chicago/Turabian StyleQureshi, Asif, Bruno Bussière, Mostafa Benzaazoua, Fannie Lessard, and Vincent Boulanger-Martel. 2021. "Geochemical Assessment of Desulphurized Tailings as Cover Material in Cold Climates" Minerals 11, no. 3: 280. https://doi.org/10.3390/min11030280