ABSTRACT:Parafiniuk, J., Siuda, R. and Borkowski, A. 2016. Sulphate and arsenate minerals as environmental indicators in the weathering zones of selected ore deposits, Western Sudetes, Poland. Acta Geologica Polonica, 66 (3), 493-508. Warszawa.The results of a complex investigation of the sulphate and arsenate assemblages forming in the weathering zone of selected ore deposits in the Sudetes are presented. The development of the weathering zone has been characterised in the polymetallic ore deposits at Miedzianka-Ciechanowice and Radzimowice, and the pyrite deposit at Wieściszowice, which differ in the chemical compositions of the ore and barren minerals and the hydrological conditions. Secondary sulphate and arsenate mineral assemblages vary significantly among the ore deposits under study. Their crystallization is discussed, taking into consideration the stability of particular minerals and the paths of their transformation. It is shown that these minerals have great potential as indicators of weathering processes. A significant role for microorganisms in the formation of the weathering zone of the ore deposits under study is also proven.

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As so ci ate ed i tor: Stanis³aw Wo³kowicz Sec ond ary ar senic min er als (SAM) formed re cently in aban doned adits of the for mer Au-As mine at Z³oty Stok (SW Po land) con sti tute two as sem blages. The first con sists of two types of scorodite, pitticite, kaòkite, hörnesite, picropharmacolite and mi nor amounts of jarosite and gyp sum. For ma tion of the Fe ar se nates took place un der acidic con di tions (pH ~3-4) as a result of löllingite, ar seno py rite and py rite ox i da tion. Hörnesite and picropharmacolite crys tal lized as prod ucts of in ter ac tions be tween acidic ar senic-rich pore so lu tions with Mg-Ca car bon ates from rocks that sur round the ore min er ali sa tion. The in terac tion of car bon ates with acid pore so lu tions caused a rapid in crease in pH that reached neu tral or weakly al ka line val ues. The chem i cal com po si tions of hörnesite and picropharmacolite cor re spond well to their ideal com po si tions: (Mg 3.17 Ca 0.07) S3.24 (AsO 4) 1.90 × 8H 2 O and Ca 4.31 Mg 0.92 (HAsO 4) 1.91 [(AsO 4) 1.99 (SO 4) 0.01 ] S2.00 × 11H 2 O, re spec tively. The sec ond assem blage of SAM com prises ex clu sively the Mg-en riched erythrite [(Co 1.66 Mg 1.03 Ni 0.28 Ca 0.05 Zn 0.02) S3.03 (AsO 4) 1.99 × 8H 2 O)]anna ber gite [(Ni 1.48 Mg 0.94 Co 0.66 Ca 0.12 Fe 0.01 Zn 0.01) S3.20 (AsO 4) 1.92 × 8H 2 O] se ries. These min er als crys tal lized from slightly acidic (pH ~5-6) to neu tral me dia. Dis so lu tion of SAM and other sec ond ary phases (e.g., schwertmannite) causes the release of ar se nate and sul phate ions into mine wa ters. These ions can be re duced un der an aer o bic con di tions by dif fer ent strains of bac te ria. The prod uct of this pro cess is orpiment.

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1 In sti tute of Geo chem is try, Min er al ogy and Pe trol ogy, Uni ver sity of War saw, ¯wirki i Wigury 93, 02-089 Warszawa, Po land 2 In sti tute of Geo log i cal Sci ences, Pol ish Acad emy of Sci ences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warszawa, Po land Siuda R. and Kruszewski £. (2013) Re cently formed sec ond ary cop per min er als as in di ca tors of geo chem i cal con di tions in an aban doned mine in Radzimowice (SW Po land). Geo log i cal Quar terly, 57 (4): 583-600, doi: 10.7306/gq.1114An oc cur rence of twelve re cently formed sec ond ary cop per min er als (SCM) was ob served in un der ground work ings of an aban doned Cu-As-Au mine in Radzimowice. The min er als, mainly sul phate spe cies, were iden ti fied us ing Pow der X-Ray Diffrac tion (PXRD), scan ning elec tron mi cro scope with en ergy dispersive spec tros copy sys tem (SEM-EDS) and elec tron microprobe anal y sis with wave length-dispersive spec trom e try sys tem (EPMA-WDS) meth ods. The SCM of Radzimowice form the fol low ing as sem blages: paragenesis I is char ac ter ized by langite, posnjakite, brochantite and devilline. These miner als crys tal lise di rectly from pH 6.0-7.0 mine wa ters. Paragenesis II also com prises hy drous cop per sulphates (HCS), and in ad di tion con tains na tive cop per, cu prite, ferrihydrite and gyp sum. Sec ond ary HCS mainly crys tal lise as prod ucts of re actions of sul phate-rich mine wa ters with na tive cop per and cu prite. The pH of these wa ters var ies from ~5.0 to 6.0. The III paragenesis is dom i nated by woodwardite, as so ci ated with vari able amounts of chalcoalumite and amor phous Cu-Al sulphates. Ac cu mu la tions of woodwardite oc cur in the zones where Al-and sul phate-rich acid mine wa ters (pH ~2.5-3.0) mix with neu tral wa ters (pH 6.5-7.0). Paragenesis IV is rare, dom i nated by chrysocolla, co ex ist ing with small amounts of mottramite and goethite. This as sem blage formed as a re sult of mo bi li za tion of sil ica re leased dur ing de com po si tion of rock-form ing aluminosilicates at tacked by acid mine wa ters.

The subject of this work is the assemblage of anhydrous sulfate minerals formed on burning coal-heaps. Three burning heaps located in the Upper Silesian coal basin in Czerwionka-Leszczyny, Radlin and Rydułtowy near Rybnik were selected for the research. The occurrence of godovikovite, millosevichite, steklite and an unnamed MgSO4, sometimes accompanied by subordinate admixtures of mikasaite, sabieite, efremovite, langbeinite and aphthitalite has been recorded from these locations. Occasionally they form monomineral aggregates, but usually occur as mixtures practically impossible to separate. The minerals form microcrystalline masses with a characteristic vesicular structure resembling a solidified foam or pumice. The sulfates crystallize from hot fire gases, similar to high temperature volcanic exhalations. The gases transport volatile components from the center of the fire but their chemical compositions are not yet known. Their cooling in the near-surface part of the heap results in condensation from the vapors as viscous liquid mass, from which the investigated minerals then crystallize. Their crystallization temperatures can be estimated from direct measurements of the temperatures of sulfate accumulation in the burning dumps and studies of their thermal decomposition. Millosevichite and steklite crystallize in the temperature range of 510–650 °C, MgSO4 forms at 510–600 °C and godovikovite in the slightly lower range of 280–450 (546) °C. These values are higher than those previously reported.

The Podgórze uranium deposit is located near Kowary in the Sudetes Mountains, SW Poland. The mine is located in the Karkonosze-Izera block, largely comprising Cambrian to Devonian metamorphic rocks intruded by the Variscan Karkonosze granite. Uranyl minerals from the Podgórze mine can be divided into three assemblages. The first one is associated with heavily ventilated mining galleries. The next assemblage is related to the outflow of water from fissures in the walls of the mine galleries. The last assemblage appears in the mine dump, where there is increased activity of other weathering products. The main purpose of this paper is to determine the mineralogical characteristics of uranyl minerals from the abandoned Podgórze uranium mine and reconstruct the physicochemical crystallization conditions based on the concentrations of rare earth elements (REEs) in these minerals. The results of thermodynamic modeling show that the aqueous species of uranyl ion in the mine water are represented by UO2HAsO4 (aq), UO2CO3(OH)3−, UO2CO3 (aq), and UO2OH+. The content of REEs and their distribution patterns were used to determine the crystallization conditions of uranyl minerals. Uranyl carbonates and arsenates have generally low concentrations of REEs compared to uranyl silicates, phosphates, and hydroxides, which have higher concentrations. The differences in REE concentration patterns may be related with the oxidizing nature of water circulating in the subsurface part of the deposit.

The presence of botallackite was recognized in an underground galery in the Polkowice-Sieroszowice copper mine. This mineral coexists with paratacamite, clinoatacamite, gypsum and halite. Botallackite crystallized from chloride-reach (3500 mg/dm3), warm (33°C) mine water. On the basis of microprobe analyzes, two types of botallackite were recognized. The first one contains only small amounts of Pb, Fe and Zn. These elements substitute Cu2+ ions in small proportions. Empirical formula of this botallackite is: (Cu1.94Pb0.02Fe0.02Zn0.02)S = 2.00Cl0.98(OH)3.02. The second type of the mineral were characterized by increased amounts of Pb, Fe, Zn. The empiric formula of this type of botallackite can be expressed as: (Cu1.85Pb0.09Fe0.04Zn0.02)S = 2.00Cl1.05(OH)2.95. The calculated unit-cell parameters of botallackite from Polkowice-Sieroszowice mine are as follows: a = 5.7165(2), b = 6.1362(2), c = 5.6325(2), b = 92.943(3). Botallackite is a least stable polymorph of Cu2Cl(OH)3 and finally transforms to more stable polymorphs. The botallackite recrystallization can be inhibit by high concentration of Ca2+ in the mine water. Substitution of Cu2+ ions by other divalent cations can slows the rapidity of recrystalization this mineral and prevent its further transformation also. The Polkowice-Sieroszowice mine is the first occurrence of botallackite in Poland.