Tl-retention by jarosite-group minerals in technosoils from the central part of the Allchar deposit, North Macedonia

Autor(en)
Fiona Stadler, Tamara Đorđević, Aleš Vaněk, Martin Mihaljevič, T. Serafimovskii, Goran Tasev, Ivan Boev, Blažo Boev
Abstrakt

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(en)
Institut für Mineralogie und Kristallographie
Externe Organisation(en)
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
Publikationsdatum
2023
ÖFOS 2012
105116 Mineralogie, 105113 Kristallographie
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/1ceb9fe9-3b11-459e-9968-4307ecae6f80