Mineralogy of mine waste at the Vermont Asbestos Group mine, Belvidere Mountain, Vermont
Abstract
Samples from the surfaces of waste piles at the Vermont Asbestos Group mine in northern Vermont were studied to determine their mineralogy, particularly the presence and morphology of amphiboles. Analyses included powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), and Raman spectroscopy. Minerals identified by XRD were serpentine-group minerals, magnetite, chlorite, quartz, olivine, pyroxene, and brucite; locally, mica and carbonates were also present. Raman spectroscopy distinguished antigorite and chrysotile, which could not be differentiated using XRD. Long-count, short-range XRD scans of the (110) amphibole peak showed trace amounts of amphibole in most samples. Examination of amphiboles in tailings by optical microscopy, SEM, and EPMA revealed non-fibrous amphiboles compositionally classified as edenite, magnesiohornblende, magnesiokatophorite, and pargasite. No fibrous amphibole was found in the tailings, although fibrous tremolite was identified in a sample of host rock. Knowledge of the mineralogy at the site may lead to better understanding of potential implications for human health and aid in designing a remediation plan.
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Passive carbonation of ultramafic tailings has been documented at several sites under normal mining conditions.
“As an indication of their reactivity, passive carbonation of ultramafic tailings has been documented at several sites under normal mining conditions [11,17,18,20,21,24,26,30].”
From Strategizing carbon-neutral mines: A case for pilot projects (2014) · cites this paper as [30]
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Strategizing carbon-neutral mines: A case for pilot projects
Power, I., McCutcheon, J., Harrison, A., Wilson, S., Dipple, G., Kelly, S., Southam, C., & Southam, G. (2014) · Minerals · doi:10.3390/min4020399 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
- Authors
- Levitan, D. M., Hammarstrom, J. M., Gunter, M. E., Seal, R. R., Chou, I.-M., & Piatak, N. M.
- Affiliations
- United States Geological Survey (US)
- University of Idaho (US)
- Corresponding author
- Levitan, D. M.
- Venue
- American Mineralogist
- Publisher
- Mineralogical Society of America
- Published
- 2009-06-30
- Volume
- 94
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 1063-1066
- ISSN
- 0003-004X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1992858556
- Cited by
- 25
- References
- 16
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 0.28
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Mineralogist (publishedVersion)
- Lincoln (University of Nebraska) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Department of Health, Vermont
- U.S. Geological Survey
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Occupational and environmental lung diseases
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Civil and Structural Engineering › Tailings Management and Properties
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Mineralogy and Gemology Studies
- Keywords
- mining waste, mineralogy, amphibole, serpentine minerals, antigorite, chrysotile, edenite, magnesiohornblende, pargasite, tremolite, brucite, chlorite, magnetite, human health risk, remediation
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