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Arsenic dispersion associated with the Barbrook gold mine in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa

Bibliography: pages 123-137.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Lanyon, Ruth
Other Authors: Fey, Martin V
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Geological Sciences 2016
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access_status_str Open Access
author Lanyon, Ruth
author2 Fey, Martin V
author_browse Fey, Martin V
Lanyon, Ruth
author_facet Fey, Martin V
Lanyon, Ruth
author_sort Lanyon, Ruth
collection Thesis
description Bibliography: pages 123-137.
format Thesis
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
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license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2016
publishDateRange 2016
publishDateSort 2016
publisher Department of Geological Sciences
publisherStr Department of Geological Sciences
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spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/22169 Arsenic dispersion associated with the Barbrook gold mine in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa Lanyon, Ruth Fey, Martin V Environmental Geochemistry Bibliography: pages 123-137. Arseniferous sulphide-hosted gold deposits associated with the Barberton greenstone belt, located in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa, have been mined on various scales since late last century. The Barbrook mine is located close to the Swaziland border in an area of the Barberton mountainlands which forms part of the Kaap subcatchment of the Crocodile River. Scattered small communities depend on local streams and boreholes in the area for drinking and irrigation water. Hence, the prime motivation for this study was the potential risk to human health associated with enhanced As mobility as a result of the sulphide mineral weathering which accompanies gold mining and processing. Sampling of local waters, soils and sediments, as well as the ore and waste rock at Barbrook was undertaken during a week of fieldwork in August 1996. A range of chemical analyses were performed on the various samples, including As analysis by hydride generation-atomic absorption spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometry. The Barbrook ore bodies are structurally controlled and hosted by banded iron formation, carbonaceous shales and carbonate-bearing schists. Within these ore bodies, As is mainly associated with auriferous arsenopyrite (FeAsS), although minor amounts also occur within pyrite (FeS₂) and ullmannite (NiSbS). Of the streams which flow through the mining lease, those at most risk of As contamination are Barbrook Creek, Low's Creek and Crystal Stream. Low's Creek flows through the main mine area, adjacent to the level 1O mine adit entrance, and past the processing plant before converging with Barbrook Creek. The latter receives water from the Shiyalongubo Dam which is the main water source for the area. Immediately downstream of the level 10 mine adit entrance, the steep eastern bank of Low's Creek is lined for several hundred metres with waste rock containing low grade ore. Tailings material from the processing plant is pumped to two tailings dams located about 5 km to the northwest of the plant and close to Crystal Stream. 2016-10-18T11:30:29Z 2016-10-18T11:30:29Z 1997 Master Thesis Masters MSc http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22169 eng application/pdf Department of Geological Sciences Faculty of Science University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Environmental Geochemistry
Lanyon, Ruth
Arsenic dispersion associated with the Barbrook gold mine in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Arsenic dispersion associated with the Barbrook gold mine in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa
title_full Arsenic dispersion associated with the Barbrook gold mine in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa
title_fullStr Arsenic dispersion associated with the Barbrook gold mine in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Arsenic dispersion associated with the Barbrook gold mine in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa
title_short Arsenic dispersion associated with the Barbrook gold mine in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa
title_sort arsenic dispersion associated with the barbrook gold mine in the mpumalanga province of south africa
topic Environmental Geochemistry
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22169
work_keys_str_mv AT lanyonruth arsenicdispersionassociatedwiththebarbrookgoldmineinthempumalangaprovinceofsouthafrica