Jane M. Hammarstrom

Magmatic epidote and its petrologic significance.

Epidote is a major magmatic mineral in tonalite and granodiorite in a belt coextensive with the Mesozoic accreted terranes between northern California and southeastern Alaska. Textural and chemical evidence indicates that epidote crystallized as a relatively late but magmatic mineral that formed through reaction with hornblende in the presence of a melt phase. The observed relations concur with experimental data on crystallization of epidote from synthetic granodiorite at 8 kbar total pressure. Plutonic rocks bearing magmatic epidote must have formed under moderately high pressures, corresponding to lower crustal depths, under fairly oxidizing conditions.

Characterization of limestone reacted with acid-mine drainage in a pulsed limestone bed treatment system at the Friendship Hill National Historical Site, Pennsylvania, USA

Abstract Armoring of limestone is a common cause of failure in limestone-based acid-mine drainage (AMD) treatment systems. Limestone is the least expensive material available for acid neutralization, but is not typically recommended for highly acidic, Fe-rich waters due to armoring with Fe(III) oxyhydroxide coatings. A new AMD treatment technology that uses CO2 in a pulsed limestone bed reactor minimizes armor formation and enhances limestone reaction with AMD. Limestone was characterized before and after treatment with constant flow and with the new pulsed limestone bed process using AMD from an inactive coal mine in Pennsylvania (pH=2.9, Fe =150 mg/l, acidity =1000 mg/l CaCO3). In constant flow experiments, limestone is completely armored with reddish-colored ochre within 48 h of contact in a fluidized bed reactor. Effluent pH initially increased from the inflow pH of 2.9 to over 7, but then decreased to 6 during operation. Limestone removed from a pulsed bed pilot plant is a mixture of unarmored, rounded and etched limestone grains and partially armored limestone and refractory mineral grains (dolomite, pyrite). The ∼30% of the residual grains in the pulsed flow reactor that are armored have thicker (50- to 100-μm), more aluminous coatings and lack the gypsum rind that develops in the constant flow experiment. Aluminium-rich zones developed in the interior parts of armor rims in both the constant flow and pulsed limestone bed experiments in response to pH changes at the solid/solution interface.

Spectral reflectance properties (0.4-2.5 μm) of secondary Fe-oxide, Fe-hydroxide, and Fe-sulphate-hydrate minerals associated with sulphide-bearing mine wastes

Diffuse reflectance spectra of 15 mineral species commonly associated with sulphide-bearing mine wastes show diagnostic absorption bands related to electronic processes involving ferric and/or ferrous iron, and to vibrational processes involving water and hydroxyl. Many of these absorption bands are relatively broad and overlapping; however, spectral analysis methods, including continuum removal and derivative analysis, permit most of the minerals to be distinguished. Key spectral differences between the minerals are illustrated in a series of plots showing major absorption band centres and other spectral feature positions. Because secondary iron minerals are sensitive indicators of pH, Eh, relative humidity, and other environmental conditions, spectral mapping of mineral distributions promises to have important application to mine waste remediation studies.

High Initial Sr Isotopic Ratios and Evidence for Magma Mixing in the Pioneer Batholith of Southwest Montana

The northeast part of the composite Pioneer batholith of southwest Montana consists of Late Cretaceous calc-alkaline plutons that vary in composition as a function of age, changing from minor hornblende-biotite quartz diorite at about 76 m.y., to a small pluton of hornblende-biotite tonalite at about 74 m.y., to abundant biotite-hornblende granodiorite and biotite granite at about 72 m.y., to some biotite granodiorite and 2-mica granite at 67 to 65 m.y. Initial

Mineralogy of mine waste at the Vermont Asbestos Group mine, Belvidere Mountain, Vermont

^{87}Sr/^{86}Sr

The use of synthetic jarosite as an analog for natural jarosite

ratios (SIRs) for the plutons range from 0.7112 to 0.7160. Magmas having a SIR near 0.7112 appear in most episodes of emplacement, whereas those having higher values are restricted to individual episodes. Two granodiorite plutons of 72 m.y. age show a mutual gradational contact, across which the SIR varies over a distance of 7 km from 0.711 to 0.714. The variation is ascribed to mixing between contemporaneous but isotopically distinct granodiorite magmas. The high SIRs of the batholith are interpreted as reflecting partial melting of portions of Precambrian lower crustal lithosphere to produce mafic to intermediate magma. The source may be similar to parts of Proterozoic gneisses now exposed at the surface. Mafic to intermediate magma may have fractionally crystallized at depth and released residual magma episodically to the upper crust over approximately 11 m.y. The high SIR of the Pioneer batholith is broadly similar to that of large parts of the Idaho batholith to the west, but is distinct from the SIR of the Boulder batholith to the northeast. A significant crustal discontinuity may separate the Pioneer-Idaho region from the Boulder region.

Copper Speciation in Variably Toxic Sediments at the Ely Copper Mine, Vermont, United States

The unmined, pyrite-rich Red Mountain (Dry Creek) deposit displays a remarkable environmental footprint of natural acid generation, high metal and exceedingly high rare earth element (REE) concentrations in surface waters. The volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit exhibits well-constrained examples of acid-generating, metal-leaching, metal-precipitation and self-mitigation (via co-precipitation, dilution and neutralization) processes that occur in an undisturbed natural setting, a rare occurrence in North America. Oxidative dissolution of pyrite and associated secondary reactions under near-surface oxidizing conditions are the primary causes for the acid generation and metal leaching. The deposit is hosted in Devonian to Mississippian felsic metavolcanic rocks of the Mystic Creek Member of the Totatlanika Schist. Water samples with the lowest pH (many below 3.5), highest specific conductance (commonly >2500 μS/cm) and highest major- and trace-element concentrations are from springs and streams within the quartz–sericite–pyrite alteration zone. Aluminum, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Y, Zn and, particularly, the REEs are found in high concentrations, ranging across four orders of magnitude. Waters collected upstream from the alteration zone have near-neutral pH, lower specific conductance (370 to 830 μS/cm), lower metal concentrations and measurable alkalinities. Water samples collected downstream of the alteration zone have pH and metal concentrations intermediate between these two extremes. Stream sediments are anomalous in Zn, Pb, S, Fe, Cu, As, Co, Sb and Cd relative to local and regional background abundances. Red Mountain Creek and its tributaries do not, and probably never have, supported significant aquatic life.

Porphyry‐style Mineral Deposit Taxonomy—Lessons from the USGS Global Assessment

Abstract Samples from the surfaces of waste piles at the Vermont Asbestos Group mine in northern Vermont were studied to determine their mineralogy, particularly the presence and morphology of amphiboles. Analyses included powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), and Raman spectroscopy. Minerals identified by XRD were serpentine-group minerals, magnetite, chlorite, quartz, olivine, pyroxene, and brucite; locally, mica and carbonates were also present. Raman spectroscopy distinguished antigorite and chrysotile, which could not be differentiated using XRD. Long-count, short-range XRD scans of the (110) amphibole peak showed trace amounts of amphibole in most samples. Examination of amphiboles in tailings by optical microscopy, SEM, and EPMA revealed non-fibrous amphiboles compositionally classified as edenite, magnesiohornblende, magnesiokatophorite, and pargasite. No fibrous amphibole was found in the tailings, although fibrous tremolite was identified in a sample of host rock. Knowledge of the mineralogy at the site may lead to better understanding of potential implications for human health and aid in designing a remediation plan.