HR: 1340h
AN: B33C-1053    [Abstracts]
TI: Antimony Speciation and Transport in Streams and Sediments in Mine Tailings and Waste-rock Environments, Alaska and the Yukon
AU: * Mueller, S H
EM: shmuelle@usgs.gov
AF: U.S. Geological Survey, Box 25046, MS 973 Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225 United States
AU: Trainor, T P
EM: fftpt@uaf.edu
AF: Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775 United States
AU: Goldfarb, R J
EM: goldfarb@usgs.gov
AF: U.S. Geological Survey, Box 25046, MS 973 Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225 United States
AU: Ritchie, V
EM: fsvjb1@uaf.edu
AF: Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775 United States
AU: Hart, C J
EM: Craig.Hart@gov.ya.ca
AF: Yukon Geological Survey, Box 2703, Whitehorse, Y1A 26 Canada
AU: Newville, M
EM: newville@cars.uchicago.edu
AF: Consortium for Advanced Radiation Sources, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 United States
AB: During the summer of 2004, we initiated a study to examine antimony mobility in post mining environments associated with the oxidation of antimony sulfide-bearing waste rock in the eastern Tintina Gold Province, western Yukon, Canada and east-central Alaska, U.S.A. The objective of this study is to determine if environmentally significant antimony concentrations are present downstream from predominately stibnite(Sb₂S₃)-rich waste rock and tailings environments. Stream waters ranged in pH from 5.5-8.5, with specific conductance from 17-694 μS/cm, and can be described as Ca-HCO₃ type waters. Dissolved (<0.45 μm) Sb concentrations range from <0.3-634 μg/L. Dissolved Sb can be detected at concentrations up to 20 μg/L at distances up 2.5 km downstream of waste-rock and tailings piles. The <63 μm fraction of stream sediment samples have Sb concentrations up to 3000 ppm. Sb concentrations are up to an order of magnitude higher in both sediments and waters draining exposed waste-rock or tailings, compared to streams draining buried or re-vegetated waste-rock. Results of x-ray absorption spectroscopy analyses (XAFS and XANES) of the <63 μm fraction stream sediments indicate that Sb in the stream sediments is in the form of Sb(V). In contrast, As in stream sediments has been observed as both As(III) and As(V) indicating that Sb and As are not behaving in a chemically similar manner as has been suggested by previous studies.
DE: 0461 Metals
DE: 0471 Oxidation/reduction reactions (4851)
DE: 0489 Trace element cycling (4875)
DE: 0496 Water quality
DE: 1065 Major and trace element geochemistry
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005