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Jane M. Hammarstrom

Publications and source records attributed to Jane M. Hammarstrom.

67 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
USGS2006

Geochemical Characterization of Mine Waste, Mine Drainage, and Stream Sediments at the Pike Hill Copper Mine Superfund Site, Orange County, Vermont

The Pike Hill Copper Mine Superfund Site in the Vermont copper belt consists of the abandoned Smith, Eureka, and Union mines, all of which exploited Besshi-type massive sulfide deposits. The site was listed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) National Priorities List in 2004 due to aquatic ecosystem impacts. This study was intended to be a precursor to a formal remedial investigation by the USEPA, and it focused on the characterization of mine waste, mine drainage, and stream sediments. A related study investigated the effects of the mine drainage on downstream surface waters. The potential for mine waste and drainage to have an adverse impact on aquatic ecosystems, on drinking- water supplies, and to human health was assessed on the basis of mineralogy, chemical concentrations, acid generation, and potential for metals to be leached from mine waste and soils. The results were compared to those from analyses of other Vermont copper belt Superfund sites, the Elizabeth Mine and Ely Copper Mine, to evaluate if the waste material at the Pike Hill Copper Mine was sufficiently similar to that of the other mine sites that USEPA can streamline the evaluation of remediation technologies. Mine-waste samples consisted of oxidized and unoxidized sulfidic ore and waste rock, and flotation-mill tailings. These samples contained as much as 16 weight percent sulfides that included chalcopyrite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, and sphalerite. During oxidation, sulfides weather and may release potentially toxic trace elements and may produce acid. In addition, soluble efflorescent sulfate salts were identified at the mines; during rain events, the dissolution of these salts contributes acid and metals to receiving waters. Mine waste contained concentrations of cadmium, copper, and iron that exceeded USEPA Preliminary Remediation Goals. The concentrations of selenium in mine waste were higher than the average composition of eastern United States soils. Most mine waste was potentially acid generating because of paste-pH values of less than 4 and negative net-neutralization potentials (NNP). The processed flotation-mill tailings, however, had a near neutral paste pH, positive NNP, and a few weight percent calcite. Leachate tests indicated that elements and compounds such as Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Se, SO4, and Zn were leached from mine waste in concentrations that exceeded aquatic ecosystem and drinking-water standards. Mine waste from the Pike Hill mines was chemically and mineralogically similar to that from the Elizabeth and Ely mines. In addition, metals were leached and acid was produced from mine waste from the Pike Hill mines in comparable concentrations to those from the Elizabeth and Ely mines, although the host rock of the Pike Hill deposits contains significant amounts of carbonate minerals and, thus, a greater acid-neutralizing capacity when compared to the host rocks of the Elizabeth and Ely deposits. Water samples collected from unimpacted parts of the Waits River watershed generally contained lower amounts of metals compared to water samples from mine drainage, were alkaline, and had a neutral pH, which was likely because of calcareous bedrock. Seeps and mine pools at the mine site had acidic to neutral pH, ranged from oxic to anoxic, and generally contained concentrations of metals, for example, aluminum, cadmium, copper, iron, and zinc, that exceeded aquatic toxicity standards or drinking-water standards, or both. Surface waters directly downstream of the Eureka and Union mines were acidic, as indicated by pH values from 3.1 to 4.2, and contained high concentrations of some elements including as much as 11,400 micrograms per liter (?g/L) Al, as much as 22.9 ?g/L Cd, as much as 6,790 ?g/L Cu, as much as 23,300 ?g/L Fe, as much as 1,400 ?g/L Mn, and as much as 3,570 ?g/L Zn. The concentrations of these elements exceeded water-quality guidelines. Generally, in surface waters, the pH increased and the concentrations of these elemen

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2005

Acid-rock drainage at Skytop, Centre County, Pennsylvania, 2004

Recent construction for Interstate Highway 99 (I?99) exposed pyrite and associated Zn-Pb sulfide minerals beneath a >10-m thick gossan to oxidative weathering along a 40-60-m deep roadcut through a 270-m long section of the Ordovician Bald Eagle Formation at Skytop, near State College, Centre County, Pennsylvania. Nearby Zn-Pb deposits hosted in associated sandstone and limestone in Blair and Centre Counties were prospected in the past; however, these deposits generally were not viable as commercial mines. The pyritic sandstone from the roadcut was crushed and used locally as road base and fill for adjoining segments of I?99. Within months, acidic (pH<3), metal-laden seeps and runoff from the exposed cut and crushed sandstone raised concerns about surface- and ground-water contamination and prompted a halt in road construction and the beginning of costly remediation. Mineralized sandstones from the cut contain as much as 34 wt. % Fe, 28 wt. % S, 3.5 wt. % Zn, 1% wt. Pb, 88 ppm As, and 32 ppm Cd. A composite of <2 mm material sampled from the cut face contains 8.1 wt. % total sulfide S, 0.6 wt. % sulfate S, and is net acidic by acid-base accounting (net neutralization potential ?234 kg CaCO3/t). Primary sulfide minerals include pyrite, marcasite, sphalerite (2 to 12 wt. % Fe) and traces of chalcopyrite and galena. Pyrite occurs in mm- to cm-scale veinlets and disseminated grains in sandstone, as needles, and in a locally massive pyrite-cemented breccia along a fault. Inclusions (<10 ?m) of CdS and Ni-Co-As minerals in pyrite and minor amounts of Cd in sphalerite (0.1 wt. % or less) explain the primary source of trace metals in the rock and in associated secondary minerals and seepage. Wet/dry cycles associated with intermittent rainfall promoted oxidative weathering and dissolution of primary sulfides and their oxidation products. Resulting sulfate solutions evaporated during dry periods to form intermittent ?blooms? of soluble, yellow and white efflorescent sulfate salts (copiapite, melanterite, and halotrichite) on exposed rock and other surfaces. Salts coating the cut face incorporated Fe, Al, S, and minor Zn. They readily dissolved in deionized water in the laboratory to form solutions with pH <2.5, consistent with field observations. In addition to elevated dissolved Fe and sulfate concentrations (>1,000 mg/L), seep waters at the base of the cut contain >100 mg/L dissolved Zn and >1 mg/L As, Co, Cu, and Ni. Lead is relatively immobile (<10 ?g/L in seep waters). The salts sequester metals and acidity between rainfall events. Episodic salt dissolution then contributes pulses of contamination including acid to surface runoff and ground water. The Skytop experience highlights the need to understand dynamic interactions of mineralogy and hydrology in order to avoid potentially negative environmental impacts associated with excavation in sulfidic rocks.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2003

Characterization of limestone reacted with acid-mine drainage in a pulsed limestone bed treatment system at the Friendship Hill National Historical Site, Pennsylvania, USA

Armoring of limestone is a common cause of failure in limestone-based acid-mine drainage (AMD) treatment systems. Limestone is the least expensive material available for acid neutralization, but is not typically recommended for highly acidic, Fe-rich waters due to armoring with Fe(III) oxyhydroxide coatings. A new AMD treatment technology that uses CO 2 in a pulsed limestone bed reactor minimizes armor formation and enhances limestone reaction with AMD. Limestone was characterized before and after treatment with constant flow and with the new pulsed limestone bed process using AMD from an inactive coal mine in Pennsylvania (pH=2.9, Fe =150 mg/l, acidity =1000 mg/l CaCO 3 ). In constant flow experiments, limestone is completely armored with reddish-colored ochre within 48 h of contact in a fluidized bed reactor. Effluent pH initially increased from the inflow pH of 2.9 to over 7, but then decreased to <4 during the 48 h of contact. Limestone grains developed a rind of gypsum encapsulated by a 10- to 30-μm thick, Fe-Al hydroxysulfate coating. Armoring slowed the reaction and prevented the limestone from generating any additional alkalinity in the system. With the pulsed flow limestone bed process, armor formation is largely suppressed and most limestone grains completely dissolve resulting in an effluent pH of >6 during operation. Limestone removed from a pulsed bed pilot plant is a mixture of unarmored, rounded and etched limestone grains and partially armored limestone and refractory mineral grains (dolomite, pyrite). The ∼30% of the residual grains in the pulsed flow reactor that are armored have thicker (50- to 100-μm), more aluminous coatings and lack the gypsum rind that develops in the constant flow experiment. Aluminium-rich zones developed in the interior parts of armor rims in both the constant flow and pulsed limestone bed experiments in response to pH changes at the solid/solution interface.

Applied Geochemistry↗
USGS2003

Geochemical characterization of slags, other mine waste, and their leachate from the Elizabeth and Ely Mines (Vermont), the Ducktown Mining District (Tennessee), and the Clayton Smelter Site (Idaho)

Waste-rock material produced at historic metal mines contains elevated concentrations of potentially toxic trace elements. Two types of mine waste were examined in this study: sintered waste rock and slag. The samples were collected from the Elizabeth and Ely mines in the Vermont copper belt (Besshi-type massive sulfide deposits), from the Copper Basin mining district near Ducktown, Tennessee (Besshi-type massive sulfide deposits), and from the Clayton silver mine in the Bayhorse mining district, Idaho (polymetallic vein and replacement deposits). The data in this report are presented as a compilation with minimal interpretation or discussion. A detailed discussion and interpretation of the slag data are presented in a companion paper. Data collected from sintered waste rock and slag include: (1) bulk rock chemistry, (2) mineralogy, (3) and the distribution of trace elements among phases for the slag samples. In addition, the reactivity of the waste material under surficial conditions was assessed by examining secondary minerals formed on slag and by laboratory leaching tests using deionized water and a synthetic solution approximating precipitation in the eastern United States.

Idaho, Tennessee, Vermont↗
USGS2003

Geochemical Characteristics of TP3 Mine Wastes at the Elizabeth Copper Mine Superfund Site, Orange County, Vermont

Remediation of the Elizabeth mine Superfund site in the Vermont copper belt poses challenges for balancing environmental restoration goals with issues of historic preservation while adopting cost-effective strategies for site cleanup and long-term maintenance. The waste-rock pile known as TP3, at the headwaters of Copperas Brook, is especially noteworthy in this regard because it is the worst source of surface- and ground-water contamination identified to date, while also being the area of greatest historical significance. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a study of the historic mine-waste piles known as TP3 at the Elizabeth mine Superfund site near South Strafford, Orange County, VT. TP3 is a 12.3-acre (49,780 m2) subarea of the Elizabeth mine site. It is a focus area for historic preservation because it encompasses an early 19th century copperas works as well as waste from late 19th- and 20th century copper mining (Kierstead, 2001). Surface runoff and seeps from TP3 form the headwaters of Copperas Brook. The stream flows down a valley onto flotation tailings from 20th century copper mining operations and enters the West Branch of the Ompompanoosuc River approximately 1 kilometer downstream from the mine site. Shallow drinking water wells down gradient from TP3 exceed drinking water standards for copper and cadmium (Hathaway and others, 2001). The Elizabeth mine was listed as a Superfund site in 2001, mainly because of impacts of acid-mine drainage on the Ompompanoosuc River.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1999

Map showing the potential for mineral deposits associated with Precambrian mafic and ultramafic rocks in the Blacktail and Henrys Lake Mountains and the Greenhorn and Ruby Ranges of southwestern Montana

In response to requests from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a mineral resource assessment in the Dillon BLM Resource Area in Beaverhead and Madison Counties, southwestern Montana. These agencies use mineral resource data in creating and updating land-use management plans for federal lands for the reasonably foreseeable future. Mineral resources that have not been developed in the past may be developed in the future, based on changing commodity demands and market conditions. Therefore, federal land managers need geologic information on known mineral occurrences as well as on areas that are permissive for the occurrence of undiscovered mineral resources. This map was prepared to provide this type of geologic information for mineral deposits that can be associated with ultramafic rocks. Areas of exposed Precambrian ultramafic rocks are labeled with uppercase letters (A-F). Sources of geologic maps used to compile this map are shown on the smaller index map ("Index to Geologic Mapping"); lowercase letters (a-m) on the index map are keyed to the reference list.

Montana↗
USGS1998

Map showing areas with potential for garnet resources in bedrock and placer in the Blacktail Mountains and the Gravelly, Greenhorn, Ruby, and Snowcrest ranges of southwestern Montana

Garnet crystals, some of gem quality, have been sought by rock hounds for many years in the alluvial deposits of the Alder Gulch-Ruby River area. Since 1995, garnet have been extracted from these gravels for industrial products at two separately own placer mines in the region: (1) at Cominco American's "Ruby Garnet" operation at Alder , Montana and (2) at the "Sweetwater Garnet" operation in the Sweetwater Basin of the Ruby Range. The two placer mines excavate different types of garnetiferous deposits, but both produce sized concentrates of almandine garnet derived from similar source rocks.

Montana↗
USGS1998

Map showing areas with potential for talc deposits in the Gravelly, Greenhorn, and Ruby Ranges and the Henrys Lake Mountains of southwestern Montana

For the last several years, Montana has been the leading talc producing state in the United States (U.S. Geological Survey, 1996). For example, in 1992 Montana supplied about 40 percent of the U.S. mine production of talc (Virta, 1992). All of this production has come from the large deposits of high purity talc in the southwestern part of the state. All Montana talc is currently (1997) extracted from four mines, each within the study area of this map—the open pit operations of the Treasure State, Regal, and Yellowstone mines and the underground operation of the Beaverhead mine (see map numbers 1-4 on list and map to the left). The related mineral chlorite is mined at the Antler mine, located nearby, but outside of the study area in the Highland Mountains. Montana talc has at least two market advantages: (1) some deposits are very large and near surface, allowing economic mining by open pit methods; and (2) the deposits are of high purity and lack tremolite or other amphibole mineral contaminants (such as absestos) that occur in some other talc-rich deposits. Talc from southwest Montana is used in ceramics, paint, paper, plastics, cosmetics, rubber, roofing, flooring, caulking, and agricultural applications. The talc is also used in the processes of recycling paper and plastics. Talc was first discovered in the early 1900's at the present site of the Yellowstone mine (Perry, 1948, p. 9). Modest production began in 1942 from shallow pits and adits, supplying steatite (massive, compact, high-purity) talc that was used to make ceramic insulators. The southwest Montana talc industry grew to become a significant part of the region's economy; this history is described by Perry (1948), Olson (1976), and Berg (1997). Exploration and development are likely to continue for the foreseeable future for several reasons: (1) mines are active in the area at present and an infrastructure for talc processing exists; (2) large changes in domestic and export talc markets are not expected in the next few years based on recent market trends (Virta, 1997); (3) the talc of this region is especially pure and asbestos-free; and (4) except for potential ground stabilization problems and land disturbance associated with largescale open pit mining, no significant environmental impacts are associated with talc mining.

Montana↗
USGS1975

Quantitative determination of dawsonite in Green River Shale by powder-sample X-ray diffraction; effect of grinding

In an effort to evaluate the method of quantitative analysis by X-ray diffraction as a means of determining dawsonite abundances in Green River" oil shale, we performed a series of grinding experiments. Weighed mixtures of dawsonite + quartz and dawsonite + quartz + shale were ground for preset lengths of time, and the following X-ray diffraction peaks were measured for intensity: dawsonite (110) at 15.6 2 θ and (211) (002) at 32.1° 2 θ , and quartz (100) at 20.9° 2 θ and (101) at 26.6° 2 θ . Heights and areas were measured. Intensity ratios were plotted as functions of grinding time with a calculated probable error. Intensity ratios generally decrease as grinding time increases. The intensity of the 15.6° peak, D 15.6° , is most affected, and the most drastic reduction occurs during the first 20 min of grinding. The D 32.1° peak is least sensitive to grinding but is subject to interference by other minerals in the shale. We conclude that the X-ray diffraction method is not well adapted to the routine quantitative determination of dawsonite in oil shale of the Green River Formation.

Journal of Research of the U.S. Geological Survey↗