Stability of Cu-Sulfides in Submarine Tailing Disposals: A Case Study from Repparfjorden, Northern Norway
Mine tailings that were produced during the exploitation of the Ulveryggen siliciclastic sediment-hosted Cu deposit in northern Norway were disposed into the inner part of Repparfjorden from 1972 to 1978/1979. This study focuses on the mineralogy and geochemistry of the submarine mine tailings and u...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10037/17401 https://doi.org/10.3390/min10020169 |
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ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/17401 2023-05-15T17:43:28+02:00 Stability of Cu-Sulfides in Submarine Tailing Disposals: A Case Study from Repparfjorden, Northern Norway Mun, Yulia Strmic Palinkas, Sabina Forwick, Matthias Junttila, Juho Pedersen, Kristine Bondo Sternal, Beata Neufeld, Kai Tibljaš, Darko Kullerud, Kåre 2020-02-13 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/17401 https://doi.org/10.3390/min10020169 eng eng MDPI Minerals Mun, Strmic Palinkas, Forwick, Junttila, Pedersen, Sternal, Neufeld, Tibljaš, Kullerud. Stability of Cu-Sulfides in Submarine Tailing Disposals: A Case Study from Repparfjorden, Northern Norway. Minerals. 2020 FRIDAID 1794027 doi:10.3390/min10020169 2075-163X https://hdl.handle.net/10037/17401 openAccess Copyright 2020 The Author(s) VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Geofag: 450 Journal article Tidsskriftartikkel Peer reviewed publishedVersion 2020 ftunivtroemsoe https://doi.org/10.3390/min10020169 2021-06-25T17:57:15Z Mine tailings that were produced during the exploitation of the Ulveryggen siliciclastic sediment-hosted Cu deposit in northern Norway were disposed into the inner part of Repparfjorden from 1972 to 1978/1979. This study focuses on the mineralogy and geochemistry of the submarine mine tailings and underlying natural marine sediments from the inner part of Repparfjorden, as well as on the primary Ulveryggen ore. The ore mineralization from the neighboring Nussir carbonate sediment-hosted Cu deposit was studied too, due to the forthcoming mining of both deposits. Bornite and chalcopyrite are the major Cu-sulfides, and are characterized by low concentrations of potentially toxic elements including Cd, Hg, and As. The tailing material occupies the uppermost 9 cm of Repparfjorden sediments. It is characterized by predomination of a silty component with elevated Cu (up to 747.7 ppm), Ni (up to 87 ppm), and Cr (up to 417 ppm) concentrations. The high Cu concentration is related to the deposition of mine tailings. In contrast, Ni and Cr concentrations are close to those in naturally occurring stream sediments from the feeding river, Repparfjordelva, reflecting the compatibility of these elements with hosting mafic volcanics, which are widely spread in the Repparfjord Tectonic Window. Copper in the uppermost part of the sediments is bound to the acid-soluble fraction while Ni and Cr are bound to the residual fraction. Artificial placement of large masses of fine-grained material, i.e., smothering, resulted in a diminished biological activity and/or physical distortion of mostly benthic fauna, which was reflected in total organic carbon (TOC) values as low as 0.15% in the uppermost strata. Sulfide minerals are found both in natural marine sediments and in the mine tailings. They are generally well-preserved with an exception for chalcopyrite from the uppermost part of the submarine tailing, which shows signs of incipient weathering. Thermodynamic modeling confirmed that redox potential and pH are important factors in the weathering of sulfides. Available ligands contribute to the Cu speciation. In near-neutral to slightly alkaline conditions a presence of carbonates can lead to the mobilization of Cu in form of CuCO 3 complexes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern Norway University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive Norway Nussir ENVELOPE(23.535,23.535,70.096,70.096) Repparfjord ENVELOPE(24.550,24.550,70.417,70.417) Repparfjordelva ENVELOPE(24.322,24.322,70.453,70.453) Repparfjorden ENVELOPE(24.197,24.197,70.494,70.494) Ulveryggen ENVELOPE(24.223,24.223,70.434,70.434) Minerals 10 2 169 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtroemsoe |
language |
English |
topic |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Geofag: 450 |
spellingShingle |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Geofag: 450 Mun, Yulia Strmic Palinkas, Sabina Forwick, Matthias Junttila, Juho Pedersen, Kristine Bondo Sternal, Beata Neufeld, Kai Tibljaš, Darko Kullerud, Kåre Stability of Cu-Sulfides in Submarine Tailing Disposals: A Case Study from Repparfjorden, Northern Norway |
topic_facet |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Geofag: 450 |
description |
Mine tailings that were produced during the exploitation of the Ulveryggen siliciclastic sediment-hosted Cu deposit in northern Norway were disposed into the inner part of Repparfjorden from 1972 to 1978/1979. This study focuses on the mineralogy and geochemistry of the submarine mine tailings and underlying natural marine sediments from the inner part of Repparfjorden, as well as on the primary Ulveryggen ore. The ore mineralization from the neighboring Nussir carbonate sediment-hosted Cu deposit was studied too, due to the forthcoming mining of both deposits. Bornite and chalcopyrite are the major Cu-sulfides, and are characterized by low concentrations of potentially toxic elements including Cd, Hg, and As. The tailing material occupies the uppermost 9 cm of Repparfjorden sediments. It is characterized by predomination of a silty component with elevated Cu (up to 747.7 ppm), Ni (up to 87 ppm), and Cr (up to 417 ppm) concentrations. The high Cu concentration is related to the deposition of mine tailings. In contrast, Ni and Cr concentrations are close to those in naturally occurring stream sediments from the feeding river, Repparfjordelva, reflecting the compatibility of these elements with hosting mafic volcanics, which are widely spread in the Repparfjord Tectonic Window. Copper in the uppermost part of the sediments is bound to the acid-soluble fraction while Ni and Cr are bound to the residual fraction. Artificial placement of large masses of fine-grained material, i.e., smothering, resulted in a diminished biological activity and/or physical distortion of mostly benthic fauna, which was reflected in total organic carbon (TOC) values as low as 0.15% in the uppermost strata. Sulfide minerals are found both in natural marine sediments and in the mine tailings. They are generally well-preserved with an exception for chalcopyrite from the uppermost part of the submarine tailing, which shows signs of incipient weathering. Thermodynamic modeling confirmed that redox potential and pH are important factors in the weathering of sulfides. Available ligands contribute to the Cu speciation. In near-neutral to slightly alkaline conditions a presence of carbonates can lead to the mobilization of Cu in form of CuCO 3 complexes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mun, Yulia Strmic Palinkas, Sabina Forwick, Matthias Junttila, Juho Pedersen, Kristine Bondo Sternal, Beata Neufeld, Kai Tibljaš, Darko Kullerud, Kåre |
author_facet |
Mun, Yulia Strmic Palinkas, Sabina Forwick, Matthias Junttila, Juho Pedersen, Kristine Bondo Sternal, Beata Neufeld, Kai Tibljaš, Darko Kullerud, Kåre |
author_sort |
Mun, Yulia |
title |
Stability of Cu-Sulfides in Submarine Tailing Disposals: A Case Study from Repparfjorden, Northern Norway |
title_short |
Stability of Cu-Sulfides in Submarine Tailing Disposals: A Case Study from Repparfjorden, Northern Norway |
title_full |
Stability of Cu-Sulfides in Submarine Tailing Disposals: A Case Study from Repparfjorden, Northern Norway |
title_fullStr |
Stability of Cu-Sulfides in Submarine Tailing Disposals: A Case Study from Repparfjorden, Northern Norway |
title_full_unstemmed |
Stability of Cu-Sulfides in Submarine Tailing Disposals: A Case Study from Repparfjorden, Northern Norway |
title_sort |
stability of cu-sulfides in submarine tailing disposals: a case study from repparfjorden, northern norway |
publisher |
MDPI |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/17401 https://doi.org/10.3390/min10020169 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(23.535,23.535,70.096,70.096) ENVELOPE(24.550,24.550,70.417,70.417) ENVELOPE(24.322,24.322,70.453,70.453) ENVELOPE(24.197,24.197,70.494,70.494) ENVELOPE(24.223,24.223,70.434,70.434) |
geographic |
Norway Nussir Repparfjord Repparfjordelva Repparfjorden Ulveryggen |
geographic_facet |
Norway Nussir Repparfjord Repparfjordelva Repparfjorden Ulveryggen |
genre |
Northern Norway |
genre_facet |
Northern Norway |
op_relation |
Minerals Mun, Strmic Palinkas, Forwick, Junttila, Pedersen, Sternal, Neufeld, Tibljaš, Kullerud. Stability of Cu-Sulfides in Submarine Tailing Disposals: A Case Study from Repparfjorden, Northern Norway. Minerals. 2020 FRIDAID 1794027 doi:10.3390/min10020169 2075-163X https://hdl.handle.net/10037/17401 |
op_rights |
openAccess Copyright 2020 The Author(s) |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/min10020169 |
container_title |
Minerals |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
169 |
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1766145544895332352 |