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GEOCHEMICAL AND MINERALOGICAL ZONING OF HIGH-SULFIDE MINE-WASTE AT THE BERIKUL MINE-SITE, KEMEROVO REGION, RUSSIA

Nikolay V. Sidenko^1,, Elena V. Lazareva¹, Svetlana B. Bortnikova¹, Albert D. Kireev¹ and Barbara L. Sherriff²

¹ Institute of Geology, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, pr. ac. Koptyuga 3, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
² Department of Geological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada

E-mail address: sidenkon{at}cc.umanitoba.ca

Geochemical zoning of the high-sulfide (40–45 wt.% sulfides) and low-carbonate (3 wt.% dolomite) waste at the Berikul gold mine, Kemerovo region, Russia, was studied in order to understand the processes controlling As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn migration from the waste. The following zones were distinguished from bottom to top: (1) slightly altered waste, (2) cemented hardpan zone, (3) melanterite zone, (4) intermediate zone and (5) jarosite zone. A sequential scheme of extraction was used to separate (a) water-soluble, (b) exchangeable, (c) carbonate, (d) phases bound with Fe³⁺, and (e) residual fractions of Fe, As, Zn, Cu and Cd. The two basal zones reflect an early stage of weathering, where acid generated by sulfide oxidation is neutralized by carbonate. Neutralization processes promote coprecipitation of As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in Fe³⁺ phases, such as amorphous Fe sulfo-arsenate and jarosite. An intermediate stage, recorded in the melanterite and intermediate zones, is identified by the disappearance of the carbonates and a decrease in the pH of pore solutions. At low pH, sulfides are oxidized by Fe³⁺, producing Fe²⁺, SO₄ ^2–, and liberating As, Zn, Cu and Cd, which accumulate in the pore water. This step results in the precipitation of Zn-, Cu- and Cd-bearing melanterite. The intermediate stage of weathering continues until most of the sulfide fraction has been oxidized. Then, as shown in the upper jarosite zone, the concentration of Fe³⁺ again increases in the pore waters because it is not being utilized in sulfide oxidation, and Fe³⁺ phases, such as jarosite, precipitate. By this stage, significant amounts of As, Zn, Cu and Cd have been leached from the weathered residue, but Pb precipitates in the jarosite.

Keywords: arsenic, zinc, copper, lead, mine waste, sulfide oxidation, sequential extraction, melanterite, jarosite, Berikul gold mine, Kemerovo region, Russia.