Mobilisation and bioavailability of arsenic around mesothermal gold deposits in a semiarid environment, Otago, New Zealand

Molecular speciation controls arsenic and lead bioaccessibility in fugitive dusts from sulfidic mine tailings

Communities nearby mine wastes in arid and semi-arid regions are potentially exposed to high concentrations of toxic metal(loid)s from fugitive dusts deriving from impoundments. To assess the relation between potentially lofted particles and human health risk, we studied the relationship between pharmacokinetic bioaccessibility and metal(loid) molecular speciation for mine tailings dust particulate matter (PM), with elevated levels of arsenic and lead (up to 59 and 34 mmol kg-1, respectively), by coupling in vitro bioassay (IVBA) with X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Mine tailing efflorescent salts (PMES) and PM from the surface crust (0-1 cm, PMSC) and near surface (0-25 cm) were isolated to <10 μm and <150 μm effective spherical diameter (PM10 and PM150) and reacted with synthetic gastric and lung fluid for 30 s to 100 h to investigate toxic metal(loid) release kinetics. Bioaccessible (BAc) fractions of arsenic and lead were about 10 and 100 times greater in gastric than in lung fluid simulant, respectively, and 10-100% of the maximum gastric BAc from PM10 and PM150 occurred within 30 s, with parabolic dissolution of fine, highly-reactive particles followed by slower release from less soluble sources. Evaporite salts were almost completely solubilized in gastric-fluid simulants. Arsenate within jarosite and sorbed to ferrihydrite, and lead from anglesite, were identified by XAS as the principal contaminant sources in the near surface tailings. In the synthetic lung fluid, arsenic was released continuously to 100 h, suggesting that residence time in vivo must be considered for risk determination. Analysis of pre- and post-IVBA PM indicated the release of arsenic in lung fluid was principally from arsenic-substituted jarosite, whereas in synthetic gastric fluid arsenic complexed on ferrihydrite surfaces was preferentially released and subsequently repartitioned to jarosite-like coordination at extended exposures. Lead dissolved at 30 s was subsequently repartitioned back to the solid phase as pyromorphite in phosphate rich lung fluid. The bioaccessibility of lead in surface tailings PM was limited due to robust sequestration in plumbojarosite. Kinetic release of toxic elements in both synthetic biofluids indicated that a single IVBA interval may not adequately describe release dynamics.

Seasonal variations in arsenic mobility and bacterial diversity: The case study of Huangshui Creek, Shimen Realgar Mine, Hunan Province, China

Rivers throughout the world have been contaminated by arsenic dispersed from mining activities. The biogeochemical cycling of this arsenic has been shown to be due to factors such as pH, Eh, ionic strength and microbial activity, but few studies have examined the effects of both seasonal changes and microbial community structure on arsenic speciation and flux in mining-affected river systems. To address this research gap, a study was carried out in Huangshui Creek, Hunan province, China, which has been severely impacted by long-term historic realgar (α-As₄S₄) mining. Water and sediment sampling, and batch experiments at different temperatures using creek sediment, were used to determine the form, source and mobility of arsenic. Pentavalent (AsO₄³) and trivalent arsenic (AsO₃^3-) were the dominant aqueous species (70-89% and 30-11%, respectively) in the creek, and the maximum concentration of inorganic arsenic in surface water was 10,400 μg/L. Dry season aqueous arsenic concentrations were lower than those in the wet season samples. The sediments contained both arsenate and arsenite, and relative proportions of these varied with season. 8.3 tons arsenic per annum were estimated to be exported from Huangshui Creek. Arsenic release from sediment increased by 3 to 5 times in high water temperature batch experiments (25 and 37 °C) compared to those carried out at low temperature (8 °C). Our data suggest that the arsenic-containing sediments were the main source of arsenic contamination in Huangshui Creek. Microbial community structured varied at the different sample sites along the creek. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that both temperature and arsenic concentrations were the main controlling factors on the structure of the microbial community. Protecbacteria, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, Firmicutes, Verrucomicrobia, and Planctomycetes were the stable dominant phyla in both dry and wet seasons. The genera Flavobacterium, Hydrogenophaga and Sphingomonas occurred in the most highly arsenic contaminated sites, which removed arsenic by related metabolism.Our findings indicate that seasonal variations profoundly control arsenic flux and species, microbial community structure and ultimately, the biogeochemical fate of arsenic.

X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopic and Raman microscopic investigation of the variscite group minerals: Variscite, strengite, scorodite and mansfieldite

Several structurally related AsO₄ and PO₄ minerals, were studied with Raman microscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). XPS revealed only Fe, As and O for scorodite. The Fe 2p, As 3d, and O 1s indicated one position for Fe²⁺, while 2 different environments for O and As were observed. The O 1s at 530.3eV and the As 3d 5/2 at 43.7eV belonged to AsO₄, while minor bands for O 1s at 531.3eV and As 3d 5/2 at 44.8eV were due to AsO₄ groups exposed on the surface possibly forming OH-groups. Mansfieldite showed, besides Al, As and O, a trace of Co. The PO₄ equivalent of mansfieldite is variscite. The change in crystal structure replacing As with P resulted in an increase in the binding energy (BE) of the Al 2p by 2.9eV. The substitution of Fe³⁺ for Al³⁺ in the structure of strengite resulted in a Fe 2p at 710.8eV. An increase in the Fe 2p BE of 4.8eV was found between mansfieldite and strengite. The scorodite Raman OH-stretching region showed a sharp band at 3513cm^-1 and a broad band around 3082cm^-1. The spectrum of mansfieldite was like that of scorodite with a sharp band at 3536cm^-1 and broader maxima at 3100cm^-1 and 2888cm^-1. Substituting Al in the arsenate structure instead of Fe resulted in a shift of the metal-OH-stretching mode by 23cm^-1 towards higher wavenumbers due to a slightly longer H-bonding in mansfieldite compared to scorodite. The intense band for scorodite at 805cm^-1 was ascribed to the symmetric stretching mode of the AsO₄. The medium intensity bands at 890, 869, and 830cm^-1 were ascribed to the internal modes. A significant shift towards higher wavenumbers was observed for mansfieldite. The strengite Raman spectrum in the 900-1150cm^-1 shows a strong band at 981cm^-1 accompanied by a series of less intense bands. The 981cm^-1 band was assigned to the PO₄ symmetric stretching mode, while the weak band at 1116cm^-1 was the corresponding antisymmetric stretching mode. The remaining bands at 1009, 1023 and 1035cm^-1 were assigned to υ₁(A₁) internal modes in analogy to the interpretation of the AsO₄ bands for scorodite and mansfieldite. The variscite spectrum showed a shift towards higher wavenumbers in comparison to the strengite spectrum with the strongest band observed at 1030cm^-1 and was assigned to the symmetric stretching mode of the PO₄, while the corresponding antisymmetric stretching mode was observed at 1080cm^-1. Due to the band splitting component bands were observed at 1059, 1046, 1013 and 940cm^-1. The AsO₄ symmetric bending modes for scorodite were observed at 381 and 337cm^-1, while corresponding antisymmetric bending modes occurred at 424, 449 and 484cm^-1. Comparison with other arsenate and phosphate minerals showed that both XPS and Raman spectroscopy are fast and non-destructive techniques to identify these minerals based on their differences in chemistry and the arsenate/phosphate vibrational modes due to changes in the symmetry and the unique fingerprint region of the lattice modes.

Arsenic speciation and mobility in surface water at Lucky Shot Gold Mine, Alaska

Historical mining in Alaska has created a legacy of approximately 6,830 abandoned mine sites which include adits, tailing piles and contaminated land that continue to impact surface and groundwater quality through run-off and leaching of potentially toxic metals, especially arsenic (As). One such site is the Lucky Shot Gold Mine in Hatcher Pass, south-central Alaska, which operated from 1920 until 1942, mining gold-bearing quartz veins hosted in a Cretaceous tonalite intrusion. Arsenopyrite (FeAsS) and pyrite (FeS(2)) present in the quartz veins contribute to elevated As levels in water draining, abandoned mine adits. As future underground mining at Lucky Shot may further adversely impact water quality, baseline geochemical studies were undertaken to assess As mobility in the vicinity of the mine adits. Water samples were collected from streams, adits and boreholes around the mine and analysed for major and minor elements using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and for anions by ion chromatography (IC). Arsenic species separation was performed in the field to determine the ratio of inorganic As(III)/As(V) using anion-exchange chromatography, following established methods. It was determined that water draining the adits had elevated levels of As roughly seventy times the United States Environmental Protection Agency Drinking Water Standard of 10 μg L(-1), although this was rapidly diluted downstream in Craigie Creek to <2 μg L(-1). Adit and surface water pH was circum-neutral and displayed no characteristics of acid mine drainage. Despite being well oxygenated, As(III) is the dominant As species in adit water, accounting for close to 100 % of total As. The proportion of As(V) increases downstream of the adits, as some As(III) is oxidized, but the speciation enhances arsenic mobility at the site. The δ(18)O measurements indicate that the water in the system has a short residence time as it is very similar to meteoric water, supporting the observation that the predominance of As(III) in adit water results from the lack of thermodynamical equilibrium being attained and preferential absorbance of As(V).

Phytostabilization of gold mine tailings from New Zealand. Part 2: Experimental evaluation of arsenic mobilization during revegetation

Revegetation of mine tailings usually requires amendments of phosphorus. However, phosphate addition can mobilize arsenic (As) from the tailings. A 5-mo lysimeter field trial was conducted to quantify As mobilization in gold mine tailings, in association with different P amendment products and different plant species (barley Hordeum vulgare, blue lupin Lupinus angustifolius, rye corn Secale cereale) necessary for short-term revegetation of mine tailings. A simultaneous laboratory experiment was run to examine As mobilization in 1-cm-deep tailings in relation to different P amendment rates. The experimental results showed that the amount of As leached was proportional to the amount of P added. In the larger scale lysimeters, P amendment of < 3 g m(-2) caused As leaching of 0.5 mg L(-1) from unplanted lysimeters and up to 0.9 mg L(-1) on average in planted lysimeters. Variable species-amendment combinations produced differences in the amount of As leached and uptaken. Leachates and uptakes were higher with an organic fertilizer amendment than Superphosphate, particularly in combination with barley. Arsenic accumulated in plant biomass to 126 mg kg(-1) in shoots and 469 mg kg(-1) in roots.