Åtminstone sedan början av 1980-talet har det varit känt att höga metallhalter förekommer i spillvattnet i gruvorten Boliden. Skellefteå kommun som ansvarar för driften av Bolidens avloppsreningsverk (ARV) vill försöka minska metallhalterna i vattnet eftersom slammet från reningsverket innehåller så höga tungmetallhalter att det måste tas om hand lokalt. Detta examensarbete syftar därför till att identifiera i vilka områden i spillvattennätet det förekommer höga metallhalter och vad orsaken till detta är. Resultaten från stickprover tagna i spillvattennätet visar att kadmium (Cd) och zink (Zn) förekommer i halter som är 14 gånger högre än kommunens tillåtna varningsvärden samt att koppar (Cu) förekommer i halter som är 5 gånger högre än det tillåtna varningsvärdet i den norra äldsta delen av Boliden. Gruvverksamheten som har ägt rum i området sedan 1920-talet identifieras som den största föroreningskällan. Sulfidhaltigt gruvavfall som lakar Cd, Cu och Zn har använts vid uppbyggnaden av de äldsta norra delarna av Boliden. På grund av att  pillvattenledningsnätet idag är gammalt och av dålig kvalitet förekommer därför ett stort inläckage av vatten med höga halter av dessa metaller i de norra delarna av samhället, vilket leder till att slammet från Bolidens ARV får ett högt innehåll av framförallt Cd och Zn.

<p>Chemical stabilization of mine waste from Ljusnarsbergsfältet with sewage sludge and calcium carbonate residues</p><p>Mine waste from Ljusnarsbergsfältet in Kopparberg, Sweden, is considered to constitute a great risk for human health and the surrounding environment. Some of the waste rock consists of sulphide minerals. When sulphide minerals come into contact with dissolved</p><p>oxygen and precipitation, oxidation may occur resulting in acid mine drainage (AMD) and the release of heavy metals. The purpose of this study has been to characterise the waste material and try to chemically stabilize the waste rock with a mixture of sewage sludge and calcium carbonate. The drawback of using organic matter is the risk that dissolved organic matter can act as complexing agents for heavy metals and in this way increase their mobility. An additional study to examine this risk has therefore also been performed.</p><p>The project started with a pilot study in order to identify the material fraction that was suitable for the experiment. When suitable material had been chosen, a column test was carried out for the purpose of studying the slurry’s influence on the mobility of metals along with the production of acidity. To clarify the organic material’s potential for</p><p>complexation a pH-stat batch test was used. Drainage water samples, from the columns,</p><p>were regularly taken during the experiment. These samples were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity, alkalinity, redox potential, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), sulphate and leaching metals. The effluent from the pH-stat-test was only analyzed on a few occasions and only for metal content and change in DOC concentration.</p><p>The results from the laboratory experiments showed that the waste rock from Ljusnarsberg easily leached large amounts of metals. The stabilization of the waste rock succeeded in maintaining a near neutral pH in the rock waste leachate, compared to a pH 3 leachate from untreated rock waste The average concentration of copper and zinc in the leachate from untreated waste rock exceeded 100 and 1000 mg/l respectively, while these metals were detected at concentrations around 0.1 and 1 mg/l, respectively, in the leachate from the treated wastes. Examined metals had concentrations between 40 to 4000 times lower in the leachate from treated waste rock, which implies that the stabilization with reactive amendments succeeded. The long term effects are, however, not determined. The added sludge contributed to immobilize metals at neutral pH despite a small increase in DOC concentration. The problem with adding sludge is that if pH decreases with time there is a risk of increased metal leaching.</p>

Chemical stabilization of mine waste from Ljusnarsbergsfältet with sewage sludge and calcium carbonate residues Mine waste from Ljusnarsbergsfältet in Kopparberg, Sweden, is considered to constitute a great risk for human health and the surrounding environment. Some of the waste rock consists of sulphide minerals. When sulphide minerals come into contact with dissolved oxygen and precipitation, oxidation may occur resulting in acid mine drainage (AMD) and the release of heavy metals. The purpose of this study has been to characterise the waste material and try to chemically stabilize the waste rock with a mixture of sewage sludge and calcium carbonate. The drawback of using organic matter is the risk that dissolved organic matter can act as complexing agents for heavy metals and in this way increase their mobility. An additional study to examine this risk has therefore also been performed. The project started with a pilot study in order to identify the material fraction that was suitable for the experiment. When suitable material had been chosen, a column test was carried out for the purpose of studying the slurry’s influence on the mobility of metals along with the production of acidity. To clarify the organic material’s potential for complexation a pH-stat batch test was used. Drainage water samples, from the columns, were regularly taken during the experiment. These samples were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity, alkalinity, redox potential, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), sulphate and leaching metals. The effluent from the pH-stat-test was only analyzed on a few occasions and only for metal content and change in DOC concentration. The results from the laboratory experiments showed that the waste rock from Ljusnarsberg easily leached large amounts of metals. The stabilization of the waste rock succeeded in maintaining a near neutral pH in the rock waste leachate, compared to a pH 3 leachate from untreated rock waste The average concentration of copper and zinc in the leachate from untreated waste rock exceeded 100 and 1000 mg/l respectively, while these metals were detected at concentrations around 0.1 and 1 mg/l, respectively, in the leachate from the treated wastes. Examined metals had concentrations between 40 to 4000 times lower in the leachate from treated waste rock, which implies that the stabilization with reactive amendments succeeded. The long term effects are, however, not determined. The added sludge contributed to immobilize metals at neutral pH despite a small increase in DOC concentration. The problem with adding sludge is that if pH decreases with time there is a risk of increased metal leaching.

I detta arbete har polerprov framställts för att därefter undersökas med malm- och svepelektronmikroskopi (SEM) med energidispersiv röntgenspektroskopisk analys (EDS). Med dessa metoder har mineralsammansättning, strukturer och texturer identifierats och undersökts. De undersökta proverna kommer från borrkärnor genom malmzonen i Lovisagruvan i Bergslagen, södra Mellansverige. Malmen är en tabulär, silverförande Zn-Pb-sulfidmineralisering.  De kombinerade undersökningarna av polerproven visar att de huvudsakligen består av zinkblände, blyglans, kvarts, mikroklin, granat, amfibol och pyrit, vilka karakteriseras av texturer som visar på omkristallisation, heterogen deformation och lokal remobilisering. De uppvisar småskaliga texturer som sannolikt är direkt relaterade till uppkomsten av s.k. kulmalmstextur. De ingående mineralens inbördes relationer tyder på att blyglans och zinkblände bildades samtidigt och därefter, under regionalmetamorfa förhållanden, tillväxte pyrit och granat som porfyroblaster. Majoriteten av texturerna och strukturerna är sekundära och visar på en kraftig senare överprägling av malmen genom metamorfos och flerfasig deformation under olika tryck- och temperaturförhållanden. / In this project polished sections have been prepared for study by means of ore and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The application of these methods allows mineralogy, structures and textures to be characterized. This was done within the EU H2020-funded project X-Mine. The studied samples are from drill cores transecting the ore zone of the Lovisa mine (Lovisagruvan), which is located in Örebro County in the Bergslagen ore province, south central Sweden. Here, a tabular, stratiform silver-bearing Zn-Pb sulphide ore is mined.  Studies of the polished ore sections show that the samples mainly contain sphalerite, galena, quartz, microcline, garnet, amphibole and pyrite, characterized by textures of recrystallisation, heterogeneous deformation and localized remobilization.  The studied samples from the main ore and exhibit textures directly related to the formation off the so-called ball ore. The textural interrelationships of the major minerals indicate that galena and sphalerite formed penecontemporaneously, and then under regional metamorphic conditions, pyrite and garnet formed as porphyroblasts. The majority of the present textures and structures are secondary, representing different stages of metamorphism and deformation under variable P-T-conditions, post-dating original ore formation. / Real-Time Mineral X-Ray Analysis for Efficient and Sustainable Mining, H2020 X-Mine, Projekt-id: 730270