Tl-retention by jarosite-group minerals in technosoils from the central part of the Allchar deposit, North Macedonia
- Author(s)
- Fiona Stadler, Tamara Đorđević, Aleš Vaněk, Martin Mihaljevič, T. Serafimovskii, Goran Tasev, Ivan Boev, Blažo Boev
- Abstract
Areas naturally enriched in thallium (Tl) represent a severe threat to surrounding ecosystems as the bioavailability of this highly toxic heavy metal strongly depends on its retention by the weathering-induced formation of secondary Tl-minerals. Estimations on the remediation potential of such areas therefore require a detailed mineralogical characterization of included Tl-bearing secondary minerals. This study focusses on the Allchar Sb-As-Tl-Au deposit in the southern part of North Macedonia, as its mineralogical composition is a rarity in the world. It contains remarkable concentrations of Tl, estimated to be around 1,000 tons of metal. In this study, stockpile material from abandoned, surface-exposed mining wastes and surrounding soils of the Sb-rich central part of the Allchar deposit was examined for the presence of secondary Tl-minerals. A combination of optical microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) was performed to determine the speciation of Tl in heavily weathered technosoils.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Mineralogy and Crystallography
- External organisation(s)
- Technische Universität Wien, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Charles University Prague, Goce Delčev University of Štip
- DOI
- https://doi.org/https://www.dmg-home.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ABSTRACTS-MinWien2023-O-Z.pdf
- Publication date
- 2023
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 105116 Mineralogy, 105113 Crystallography
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/1ceb9fe9-3b11-459e-9968-4307ecae6f80