Wed

29 Jun 2011

Characterization of Dust and Weathering Products from the Karbash Smelter area, Ural Mountains, Russia

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Authors:

J. Hechler^1,3 , V. Udachin⁵ , P. Aminov⁵ , P.J. Beckett⁴ , G.A. Spiers^2,3,4 

¹Ontario Geosciences Laboratory, Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines and Forests;

²Department of Chemistry, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario;

³Department of Earth Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario;

⁴Department of Biology, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario;

⁵Institute of Mineralogy, Urals Branch, Russian Academy of Science, Miass, Russian Federation

 

 

Karabash is a copper smelting town in the Chelyabinsk District of the southern Ural Mountains of Russia. The town and surrounding areas are affected by sulphur dioxide emissions, deposition of metal-rich particulates from the smelter, acid drainage from old mine workings, and leachates from waste dumps and tailings dams. Several samples, including smelter emission dusts and efflorescent crystals were collected in 2010 and analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) techniques.