Biogeochemical evolution of sulfide ore mine tailings profiles under semi-arid climate

Abstract:

Mining represents a principal form of earth surface disturbance in the anthropocene. Weathering reactions that ensue following tailings deposition are strongly affected by climatic forcing and tailings composition, and these also affect the weathering-induced transformations of the associated mineral assemblages and metal(loid) contaminants. The presence or absence of plants and associated microbiota can have a profound influence on these weathering trajectories. We employed field, laboratory and modeling approaches to resolve the impact of (bio)geochemical weathering reactions on the transformation of mine tailings parent materials into soil over the time following mining cessation. Using controlled experiments, we have evaluated the impacts of plants and associated rhizosphere microbiota on these reactions, hydrologic fluxes, and the molecular speciation of mining derived contaminants. Plant establishment is shown to alter site ecohydrology and biogeochemical weathering processes leading to distinctly different weathering products and patterns.