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Geochemistry of mine tailings and behavior of arsenic at Kombat, northeastern Namibia

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Abstract

The mine tailings at Kombat, in semiarid northeastern Namibia, were investigated by the combination of solid-phase analyses, mineralogical methods, leaching tests, and speciation modeling. Dissolution of the most abundant primary sulfides, chalcopyrite and galena, released copper and lead which were adsorbed onto ferric oxyhydroxides or precipitated in the form of malachite, Cu2CO3(OH)2, and cerussite, PbCO3, respectively. Arsenic released from arsenopyrite was incorporated into ferric oxyhydroxides. Based on sequential extraction and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, a large amount of ferric iron is present as low solubility hematite and goethite formed rapidly (<10 years) under warm semiarid climatic conditions, and arsenic in these phases is relatively tightly bound. It seems that Cu and especially Pb in carbonate minerals represent a more serious environmental risk. Immobilization of As in hematite has implications for other mining sites in regions with similar climatic conditions because this process results in long-term immobilization of As.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this study was provided by the Czech Science Foundation (GAČR P210/12/1413), and Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (MSM0021620855). The authors also acknowledge the support by the Operational Program Research and Development for Innovations—European Development Fund (CZ.1.05/2.1.00/03.0058) of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic. This study was carried out within the framework of the IGCP Project No. 594 (“Assessment of impact of mining and mineral processing on the environment and human health in Africa”). We thank two anonymous reviewers, whose comments helped to improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic

    O. Sracek

  2. Institution of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Natural Resources, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Praha, Czech Republic

    M. Mihaljevič & V. Ettler

  3. Czech Geological Survey, Praha, Czech Republic

    B. Kříbek & V. Majer

  4. Regional Center of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic

    J. Filip

  5. Department of Soil Science and Soil Protection, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences, Praha, Czech Republic

    A. Vaněk & V. Penížek

  6. University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia

    B. Mapani

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  1. O. Sracek
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Correspondence to O. Sracek.

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Sracek, O., Mihaljevič, M., Kříbek, B. et al. Geochemistry of mine tailings and behavior of arsenic at Kombat, northeastern Namibia. Environ Monit Assess 186, 4891–4903 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-3746-1

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