Keywords
mercury
mining waste
environmental risk
Huahuaxtla
Taxco de Alarcón
Guerrero
Mexico
How to Cite
Citas en Dimensions Service
Abstract
Mining in Mexico has been present since pre-Hispanic times, playing a fundamental role in the country's socioeconomic development. The mineral deposits of the Taxco Mining District (northern Guerrero State) are divided into four mineralized zones: Huahuaxtla, Coxcatlán-Tlamacazapa, Buenavista de Cuéllar, and Taxco de Alarcón. This study focuses on the Huahuaxtla region, where mercury, a highly toxic element with irreversible effects on human and environmental health, was exhaustively extracted until the 1960s. The objective of this work was to investigate the chemical and mineralogical characteristics of rocks from historical mining works and mine wastes (MW) in Huahuaxtla to assess the potential for Hg release into the environment. Characterization techniques included X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and total mercury (THg) quantification.
The composition of MW was dominated by calcium oxide, linked to the primary mineralization. Mineralogical and geochemical analyses revealed a low concentration of metallic sulfides, a high abundance of carbonates, and low THg levels. The mineralogical composition suggests these wastes pose a low short-term environmental risk. This is primarily due to their strong neutralizing capacity, which prevents the generation of acid mine drainage (AMD) and consequently limits the solubility, mobility, and bioavailability of mercury in the surrounding environment.
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