• KSBB Journal
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.295-301
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• 2001

The leaching effect of Thiobacillus ferrooxidance (ATCC 19859) upon polished pyrite ore in 9K medium at $30^{circ}C$ for 30 days was investigated. The surface atomic ratios for Fe, S, Al, Si, and Cu were analyzed by EPMA using fresh and leached samples. The atomic ratio of Fe and S were changed to Fe rich phase as leaching progressed over 13 days but the Fe/S ratio became constant between 13 and 30 days. SEM imaging showed that $10\mum$ oblong shapes formed on the surface after 13 days and that these further developed until 23 days. Fe, S and K atomic ratios were analyzed by SEM-EDS.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.501-512
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• 2018

The acid leachate derived from the sulfide mineral such as pyrite can cause problems such as aging of infrastructure and environment contamination around the civil construction site. The purpose of this study is to assess the environmental effect of an acid leachate derived from pyrite in the Miryang area under road construction. In this study, 13 samples of situ core were used for the net acid generation (NAG) experiment. The chemical composition including pH, oxidation and reduction potential (ORP) and electrical conductance of water samples produced from the NAG test was analyzed. In additional, five polished thin sections of rock cores were made for electro microprobe analyses. In the results of the NAG tests, 7 samples showed lower values than pH 3.5. It strongly indicated that these areas are under the environmental and infrastructure damage by the acid leachate. The chemical type of the 7 samples was classified as the $Fe(Ca)-SO_4$ type, which is totally a different type compared to general groundwater. The concentration of total sulfur ranges from 0.004% to 12.5%. 6 rock samples are plotted on a potentially acid forming zone in the relation diagram between the total sulfide and NAG-pH. In conclusion, it is suggested that a protection method against an environmental demage and an infrastructure corrosions by the acid leachate should be prepared in all of areas under a road construction.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.39-53
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• 2001

Environmental pollution of the Tohyun mine creek area was investigated on the basis of geology, mineralogy and geochemistry. In soils and sediments of the mine area, ${Al_2}{O_3}/{Na_2O}$ and ${K_2}O/{Na_2}O$ ratios are partly negative correlation against ${SiO_2}/{Al_2}{O_3}$, respectively. Geochemical characteristics of some trace and rare earth elements such as V/Ni, Ni/Co, La/Ce, Th/Yb, Th/U, La/Th, ${La_N}/{Yb_N}$, La/Sc and Sc/Th are revealed a narrow range and homogeneous compositions may be explained by simple source lithology. These results suggest that sediments source of the host shale around the mine area could be originated by basic to intermediate igneous rocks. Mineral compositions of soil and sediment near the mine area were partly variable mineralogy, which are composed of quartz, mica, feldspar, chlorite, clay minerals and some pyrite. Soils and sediments with highly concentrated heavy minerals, gravity separated mineralogy, are composed of some pyrite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, goethite and various kinds of hydroxide minerals on the polished sections. As normalized by bed rock composition, average enrichment indices of major elements in sediments, precipitates, farmland soils and paddy soils are 1.0, 1.7, 0.9 and 0.8, respectively. Maximum concentration of environmental toxic elements in the mine creek are detected with Ag = 186 ppm, As = 17,100 ppm, Bi = ]27 ppm, Cd = 77 ppm, Cu = 12,299 ppm, Pb = 8,897 ppm, Sb = 1,350 ppm, W = 599 ppm and Zn = 12,250 ppm, which are increasing with total FeO increasing, and extremely high concentrations of surface sediments and precipitates near the waste rock dump. These toxic elements (As, Bi, Cd, Cu, Pb, Sb, W and Zn) of the samples, normalizing by host rock concentration, revealed that average enrichment index is 106.0 for sediments, 279.6 for precipitates, 3.5 for farmland soils and 1.6 for paddy soils. However, on the basis of EPA values, enrichment indices of all the samples are 40.7, 121.4, 1.3 and 0.6, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.10-20
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• 1998

Heavy metal contamination in subsurface soils and stream sediments at the Suggok mine area were investigated on the basis of major, trace and rare earth elements geochemistry and mineralogy. The Sanggok mine area is mainly composed of Cambro-Ordovician carbonate rocks. The mine had been mined for Pb-Zn-Fe and Au- Ag, but already closed in past. For major elements, especially Fe (mean value=18.58 wt.%) and Mn (mean value=4. 18 wt.%) are enriched in soils, and the average enrichment indices of soils and sediments are 6.84 and 1.54, respectively. The average enrichment index of rare earth elements are 0.92 of mining drainage sediments and 0.52 of subsurface soils on the tailing dam. Concentrations of minor and/or environmental toxic elements in those samples range from 29 to 3400 for As,1 to 11 for Cd, 35 to 292 for Cu, 50 to 1827 for Pb, 1 to 22 for Sb and 112 to 2644 for Zn. Extremely high concentrations (mean values) are found in subsurface soils on the tailing dam (As=2278, Cd=7, Cu=206, Pb=1372, Sb=14 and Zn=2231 ppm, respectively). Average enrichment index normalized by composition of non-mining drainage sediments is 2.42 in mining drainage sediments and 25.47 in subsurface soils on the tailing dam. Based on EPA value, enrichment index of toxic elements is 0.53 in non-mining drainage sediments, 1.84 in mining drainage sediments and 23.71 in subsurface soils on the tailing dam. As a results from X-ray powder diffraction method, mineral composition of soils and sediments near the mine area varied in part, and are calcite, dolomite, magnesite, quartz, mica, chlorite and clay minerals. With the separation of heavy minerals, soils and sediments of highly concentrated toxic elements included some pyrite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, galena, goethite and hydroxide minerals on the polished sections.