THE MINERALOGY AND WEATHERING OF SLAG PRODUCED BY THE SMELTING OF LATERITIC Ni ORES, SZKLARY, SOUTHWESTERN POLAND

Environmental impact and potential utilization of historical Cu-Fe-Co slags

“…The mineral assemblage in the Co slags is comparable to those reported from other smelting slags (Ettler et al 2001;Kierczak et al 2009;Manasse and Mellini 2002;Piatak and Seal 2010;Vítková et al 2010). High-temperature silicate phases such as pyroxene, olivine, and melilite are typical phases for slags from base metal smelting (Kierczak et al 2009;Kucha et al 1996;Sáez et al 2003). Recently studied non-ferrous slags from Ni ore smelting (Ettler et al 2015) show some similarities in phase composition and metal distribution to Co slags from the present study.…”

“…Abundant secondary minerals attest to the very high degree of weathering of the Co slag samples in the past, corresponding to the dissolution of sulfides and glass. Similar alteration features were reported for Ni slags by Kierczak et al (2009). Co slag samples studied here are composed mainly of crystalline, weathering-resistant silicates.…”

“…In general, Ca-rich melts precipitate Ca-bearing silicates such as melilites (Ettler et al 2001(Ettler et al , 2009b. Likewise, melilite was found by Kierczak et al (2009) and Piatak and Seal (2012) only in slags rich in CaO (up to 25.2 and 26.2 wt%, respectively) (Fig. 5).…”

“…5 The chemical composition of different phases in Cu slags from Thuringia in the system FeO-CaAl 2 Si 2 O 8 -CaSiO 3 according to Bachmann (1980). Composition of melilities from other slags from various localities was compiled from Ettler et al (2001Ettler et al ( , 2009b, Kierczak et al (2009), andSeal (2012). All data from electron microprobe analyses, in mole percent the extractability in sulfuric acid were related to the results from the total decomposition method.…”

“…In general, modern slags resulting from Fe and steel production are being most commonly studied compared to historical slags in order to test the properties of slag considering them to be reused (Piatak et al 2015;Rakhimova and Rakhimov 2015;Ulubeyli and Artir 2015;Yi et al 2012). Unlike ferrous slags, non-ferrous slags generally contain elevated levels of potentially toxic elements and more studies have been conducted on their environmental impact (Ettler et al 2015;Kierczak et al 2009Kierczak et al , 2013Parsons et al 2001;Schindler 2014) or their evaluation in order to avoid leaching of metal(loid)s prior rendering them suitable for use as construction materials (Pacheco-Torgal et al 2015;Schmukat et al 2012). …”