Geochemical Distribution of Selected Elements in Flotation Tailings and Soils/sediments from the Dam Spill at the Abandoned Antimony Mine Stolice, Serbia

Overview

Journal Environ Sci Pollut Res Int

Publisher Springer

Specialties Environmental Health
Toxicology

Date 2019 Dec 22

PMID 31863383

Authors

Dragana Randelovic

Jelena Mutic

Prvoslav Marjanovic

Tamara dordevic

Milica Kasanin-Grubin

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Materials held within mine tailings pose a serious risk to the environment in cases of tailings dam failure. Collapse of the tailing dam at the Stolice antimony mine in West Serbia caused a spilling of tailing slurry into the nearby river watersheds. Medium-term effects of As, Pb, Sb, Zn, and Cd from the tailings material that remained in the flooded zone 3 years after the initial exposure were evaluated. Mobility of these elements was determined by analyzing their distribution between exchangeable, reducible, oxidizable, and residual phases. Results indicate that Fe-Mn oxides represent important sinks for As, Cd, Pb, and Sb. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that concentrations of the analyzed elements were related to sand-sized fractions, as they tended to adsorb or co-precipitate as coatings on larger particles (particularly feldspar and quartz) upon the change of redox conditions. Assessment of the most relevant physico-chemical factors, metal(loid) concentration, and mobility can be used as tool to characterize the degree of contamination of impacted sites. Percentage of sand-sized particles, content of investigated metal(loid)s, and their amount in the reducible fractions are factors determining the best remediation techniques for the area impacted by tailing spill.

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