Strong arsenic enrichment in sediments from the Elqui watershed, Northern Chile: industrial (gold mining at El Indio–Tambo district) vs. geologic processes.

Lillo Ramos, F. Javier; Higueras, Pablo; Oyarzun Muñoz, Roberto; Maturana, H.

Strong arsenic enrichment in sediments from the Elqui watershed, Northern Chile: industrial (gold mining at El Indio–Tambo district) vs. geologic processes.

Sediments from the Elqui watershed river system (9800 km2; northern Chile) are highly enriched in arsenic. The river system initiates in the high altitude domain of the Andes (3500–4000 m) and drains important hydrothermal alteration zones and epithermal deposits, including the copper-, and arsenic-...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores:	Lillo Ramos, F. Javier, Higueras, Pablo, Oyarzun Muñoz, Roberto, Maturana, H.
Tipo de recurso:	artículo
Fecha de publicación:	2004
País:	España
Institución:	Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:	Docta Complutense
Idioma:	inglés
OAI Identifier:	oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/52935
Acceso en línea:	https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/52935
Access Level:	acceso abierto
Palabra clave:	553.41 546.19 Arsenic Chile Elqui Erosion Contamination Sediments Gold mining El Indio El Niño Mineralogía (Geología) 2506.11 Mineralogía

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spelling	Strong arsenic enrichment in sediments from the Elqui watershed, Northern Chile: industrial (gold mining at El Indio–Tambo district) vs. geologic processes.Lillo Ramos, F. JavierHigueras, PabloOyarzun Muñoz, RobertoMaturana, H.553.41546.19ArsenicChileElquiErosionContaminationSedimentsGold miningEl IndioEl NiñoMineralogía (Geología)2506.11 MineralogíaSediments from the Elqui watershed river system (9800 km2; northern Chile) are highly enriched in arsenic. The river system initiates in the high altitude domain of the Andes (3500–4000 m) and drains important hydrothermal alteration zones and epithermal deposits, including the copper-, and arsenic-rich gold veins of the well-known El Indio–Tambo district. In order to study the extent, source, and age of contamination, we carried out a geochemical survey of stream sediments and older, Early Holocene lacustrine sediments. The results reveal very high contents of arsenic in both, the stream (55–485 ppm As) and lacustrine sediments (119–2344 ppm As). As shown by the ESEM-EDX study, arsenic is associated with the iron oxide mineral phase. Given that arsenic is enriched in both the stream sediments and the Early Holocene sequence, we suggest that contamination is not only industrial derived (mining operations), but also a major geological process, related to long-lived erosion of the As-rich epithermal ores and alteration zones. Erosion in this realm is particularly important during El Niño years, when increased activity of the Westerly winds brings intense rains, with catastrophic consequences in the Elqui atershed, including the massive removal of sediments in the form of large debris flows.Elsevier Science B.V.Universidad Complutense de Madrid20042004-01-0120042004-01-01journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/52935reponame:Docta Complutenseinstname:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)Inglésengopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 3.0 Españahttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/529352026-06-02T12:44:21Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv	Strong arsenic enrichment in sediments from the Elqui watershed, Northern Chile: industrial (gold mining at El Indio–Tambo district) vs. geologic processes.
title	Strong arsenic enrichment in sediments from the Elqui watershed, Northern Chile: industrial (gold mining at El Indio–Tambo district) vs. geologic processes.
spellingShingle	Strong arsenic enrichment in sediments from the Elqui watershed, Northern Chile: industrial (gold mining at El Indio–Tambo district) vs. geologic processes. Lillo Ramos, F. Javier 553.41 546.19 Arsenic Chile Elqui Erosion Contamination Sediments Gold mining El Indio El Niño Mineralogía (Geología) 2506.11 Mineralogía
title_short	Strong arsenic enrichment in sediments from the Elqui watershed, Northern Chile: industrial (gold mining at El Indio–Tambo district) vs. geologic processes.
title_full	Strong arsenic enrichment in sediments from the Elqui watershed, Northern Chile: industrial (gold mining at El Indio–Tambo district) vs. geologic processes.
title_fullStr	Strong arsenic enrichment in sediments from the Elqui watershed, Northern Chile: industrial (gold mining at El Indio–Tambo district) vs. geologic processes.
title_full_unstemmed	Strong arsenic enrichment in sediments from the Elqui watershed, Northern Chile: industrial (gold mining at El Indio–Tambo district) vs. geologic processes.
title_sort	Strong arsenic enrichment in sediments from the Elqui watershed, Northern Chile: industrial (gold mining at El Indio–Tambo district) vs. geologic processes.
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv	Lillo Ramos, F. Javier Higueras, Pablo Oyarzun Muñoz, Roberto Maturana, H.
author	Lillo Ramos, F. Javier
author_facet	Lillo Ramos, F. Javier Higueras, Pablo Oyarzun Muñoz, Roberto Maturana, H.
author_role	author
author2	Higueras, Pablo Oyarzun Muñoz, Roberto Maturana, H.
author2_role	author author author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv	Universidad Complutense de Madrid
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv	553.41 546.19 Arsenic Chile Elqui Erosion Contamination Sediments Gold mining El Indio El Niño Mineralogía (Geología) 2506.11 Mineralogía
topic	553.41 546.19 Arsenic Chile Elqui Erosion Contamination Sediments Gold mining El Indio El Niño Mineralogía (Geología) 2506.11 Mineralogía
description	Sediments from the Elqui watershed river system (9800 km2; northern Chile) are highly enriched in arsenic. The river system initiates in the high altitude domain of the Andes (3500–4000 m) and drains important hydrothermal alteration zones and epithermal deposits, including the copper-, and arsenic-rich gold veins of the well-known El Indio–Tambo district. In order to study the extent, source, and age of contamination, we carried out a geochemical survey of stream sediments and older, Early Holocene lacustrine sediments. The results reveal very high contents of arsenic in both, the stream (55–485 ppm As) and lacustrine sediments (119–2344 ppm As). As shown by the ESEM-EDX study, arsenic is associated with the iron oxide mineral phase. Given that arsenic is enriched in both the stream sediments and the Early Holocene sequence, we suggest that contamination is not only industrial derived (mining operations), but also a major geological process, related to long-lived erosion of the As-rich epithermal ores and alteration zones. Erosion in this realm is particularly important during El Niño years, when increased activity of the Westerly winds brings intense rains, with catastrophic consequences in the Elqui atershed, including the massive removal of sediments in the form of large debris flows.
publishDate	2004
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv	2004 2004-01-01 2004 2004-01-01
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv	journal article http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv	info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format	article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv	https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/52935
url	https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/52935
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv	Inglés eng
language_invalid_str_mv	Inglés
language	eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv	open access http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2 Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 3.0 España https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv	open access http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2 Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 3.0 España https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/
eu_rights_str_mv	openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv	application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv	Elsevier Science B.V.
publisher.none.fl_str_mv	Elsevier Science B.V.
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv	reponame:Docta Complutense instname:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
instname_str	Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
reponame_str	Docta Complutense
collection	Docta Complutense
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score	15,300719

Strong arsenic enrichment in sediments from the Elqui watershed, Northern Chile: industrial (gold mining at El Indio–Tambo district) vs. geologic processes.

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