The distribution of arsenic concentration around Gejiu tin mine, Yunnan, China

Abstract

In order to estimate the dispersion of arsenic released thorough mining activity, a total of 39 soil samples were taken around the Gejiu tin mine, Yunnan, China. The highest total arsenic concentration, 1.1×104 mg kg-1, was observed in the tailing. Although the concentration in soil samples was slightly lower than that in the tailings, higher than 5.1×102 mg kg-1 of arsenic was still observed. A linear relation was observed between SiO2 and Fe2O3, which can be used for estimating the dispersion of the tailings. A trend was observed that the higher the chemical index of alteration, the lower the arsenic concentration, which suggests the elution of arsenic from tailings through weathering. © 2012 The Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry.