Problems of Sustainable Use of Mineral Resources

Surowce mineralne należą do nieodnawialnych zasobów przyrody. Ich ilość w skorupie ziemskiej jest ograniczona a regeneracja możliwa jedynie w specyficznych warunkach geologicznych oraz w czasie obejmującym setki, tysiące, a nawet miliony lat. Trwałość użytkowania surowców mineralnych zależy przede wszystkim od ochrony i racjonalnej gospodarki tymi zasobami przyrody, jednak w obliczu rosnącej liczby mieszkańców Ziemi, oszczędność ta tylko w niewielkim stopniu przyczyni się do zaspokojenia wzrastającego zapotrzebowania na surowce mineralne. W artykule przedstawiono metody, które służą przedłużeniu trwałości użytkowania surowców mineralnych oraz zasygnalizowano problemy, z jakimi może być związane wdrażanie zrównoważonej gospodarki surowcami mineralnymi.Mineral raw materials belong to non-renewable resources. Their content in the Earth’s crust is limited and they undergo regeneration only in specific geologic conditions during hundreds, thousands or even millions of years. The sustainable use of mineral resources depends mostly on their protection and efficient management. However, due to growing population on Earth, the economy will not fulfill an increasing demand for mineral resources. This article presents various methods of extending the future availability of mineral resources, as well as indicates some potential problems in implementation of sustainable management of mineral resources

Xenotime from the Podwiśniówka mine pit, Holy Cross Mountains (South-Central Poland)

This report presents the results of petrographical and mineralogical (optical microscopy, SEM/EDS) study of xenotime derived from the Upper (Middle?) Cambrian rocks (Wiśniówka Sandstone Fm.) of the abandoned Podwiśniówka mine pit. This is the first work on this mineral from the Holy Cross Mts. The authigenic xenotime occurs primarily as overgrowths around/on zircon in siliciclastic rocks. Moreover, this mineral is characterized by the large size of the overgrowths reaching 50 μm long and 20 μm wide. The presence of pyritecoated zircon/xenotime aggregates indicates that the xenotime formed prior to hydrothermal quartz-pyrite mineralization. The apparent lack of xenotime and vein pyrite in the tuff-bearing series, compared to the other two series displaying hydrothermal signature (pyrite, hematite, nacrite, jarosite), as well as considerable variations of the xenotime overgrowths in size and morphology, and their dominant irregular patchy-zonal microtexture may provide evidence for direct precipitation of this mineral from hydrothermal fluids

Geochemical background - an environmental perspective

This article presents the concept of geochemical background from an environmental perspective. The idea of establishing the typical concentrations of elements in various environmental compartments, proposed by exploratory geochemists almost 50 years ago was important for the detection of anomalous element concentrations, thus providing a basic tool in the search for new mineral deposits. At present, the knowledge of the geochemical background of hazardous elements is essential for: defining pollution, identifying the source of contamination, and for establishing reliable environmental quality criteria for soils, sediments and surface waters. The article presents geochemical methods of evaluation of anthropogenic influence on the environment and discusses the problem of defining and understanding the term “geochemical background” and related terms in environmental sciences. It also briefly presents methods of geochemical background evaluation based on the results of environmental sample analyses. It stresses the role of geochemical background in our understanding of environmental pollution and pollution prevention

The 1st Conference on Contemporary Problems of Geochemistry

This issue of “Mineralogy” includes selected papers based on some oral and poster presentations of the 1st Geochemical Conference on “Contemporary Problems of Geochemistry” organized by the Geochemical Group of the Mineralogical Society of Poland and Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce. The conference was held at the Institute of Chemistry of Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce on 27–30 September 2010

The use of gadolinium and europium concentrations as contaminant tracers in the Nida River watershed in south-central Poland

This paper presents the results of rare earth element (REE) determinations in the Nowiny wastewater treatment plant (NWWTP) effluents and Nida River system waters of the southeastern Kielce Region (south-central Poland). Of the REE examined, gadolinium and europium turned out to be very useful for pinpointing anthropogenic and geogenic sources. Anthropogenic gadolinium (Gdanth), used as a contrasting agent in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is released from the NWWTP into the river drainage system. This micropollutant is traced downstream over the distance of about 15 km. This river stretch is characterized by a strong positive NASC-normalized Gdanth anomaly with the GdNASC/GdNASC* ratio above 1.1 (1.80–15.57) and the Gdanth input varying from 44 to 94%. Two additional positive Gdanth anomalies recorded in the rivers Bobrza and Nida point out to mixing of effluents derived from the NWWTP and other local wastewater treatment plants. In contrast, the Gdanth-uncontaminated waters upstream, or downstream far away from the NWWTP display a distinct positive NASC-normalized Eu anomaly highlighted by a high Eu/Eu* ratio in the range of 2.87 to 29.70. The lack of Gdanth anomaly upstream from the NWWTP also indicates that there is no leakage of municipal sewage from the sanitary collector sewer into the Silnica River. Thus Gd as a contaminant may be effectively used as a tracer in similar pollution studies because it is relatively simple and cost-effective to discriminate between contaminant concentrations and normal background concentrations

A consideration of polychlorinated biphenyls as a chemostratigraphic marker of the Anthropocene

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organic pollutants of anthropogenic origin, were widely used in many industrial applications worldwide roughly from the 1930s to the 1970s. Both the use and disposal of PCBs contributed to their ubiquity in different environmental compartments and they show extremely high persistence because of their high physical and chemical stability. Concentrations of PCBs in environmental archives located in different parts of the world usually show an initial increase in the 1940s-1950s, and maxima in the 1960s–1970s followed by a sharp decline following the ban in their use. Thus, the increase in PCB concentrations would appear to be suitable as a chronostratigraphic marker in Anthropocene strata. This manuscript discusses the PCBs record in different environmental archives in the context of temporal and spatial trends in production and application of these compounds as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the use of PCBs in the chemostratigraphy of the Anthropocene series