Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Stable Hydrogen and Oxygen Isotope Composition of Waters from Mine Tailings in Different Climatic Environments

2007; American Chemical Society; Volume: 41; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1021/es061654w

1520-5851

Jorge E. Spangenberg, Bernhard Dold, Marie-Louise Vogt, Hans‐Rudolf Pfeifer,

Groundwater flow and contamination studies

The stable isotope composition of waters (δ2H, δ18O) can be used as a natural tracer of hydrologic processes in systems affected by acid mine drainage. We investigated the δ2H and δ18O values of pore waters from four oxidizing sulfidic mine tailings impoundments in different climatic regions of Chile (Piuquenes at La Andina with Alpine climate, Cauquenes and Carén at El Teniente with Mediterranean climate, and Talabre at the Chuquicamata deposit with hyperarid climate). No clear relationship was found between altitude and isotopic composition. The observed displacement of the tailings pore waters from the local meteoric water line toward higher δ18O values (by ∼ +2‰ δ18O relative to δ2H) is partly due to water−rock interaction processes, including hydration and O-isotope exchange with sulfates and Fe(III) oxyhydroxides produced by pyrite oxidation. In most tailings, from the saturated zone toward the surface, isotopically different zones can be distinguished. Zone I is characterized by an upward depletion of 2H and 18O in the pore waters from the saturated zone and the lowermost vadose zone, due to ascending diffused isotopically light water triggered by the constant loss of water vapor by evaporation at the surface. In zone II, the capillary flow of a mix of vapor and liquid water causes an evaporative isotopic enrichment in 2H and 18O. At the top of the tailings in dry climate a zone III between the capillary zone and the surface contains isotopically light diffused and atmospheric water vapor. In temperate climates, the upper part of the profile is affected by recent rainfall and zone III may not differ isotopically from zone II.