Metals and arsenic enrichment processes in sulfide-rich waste dumps - the role of the clay size fraction

Abstract

[Extract] 1. Purpose Abandoned mines pose some of the most outstanding environmental risks, namely related with potentially toxic metals and metalloids in mining soils. Mobilization or fixation of these elements in the soil particles can be regulated by the interactions between several biogeochemical and mineralogical processes. In this context, the present study is focused on the detection of metals and arsenic enrichment processes in different particle size fractions of two distinctive sulphide-rich waste dumps. Furthermore, the study evaluates the role of typical clay size minerals, such as oxyhydroxides and clay minerals in the retention of toxic elements...