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British Columbia Mine Reclamation Symposium

Selenium in geological samples : investing in a mathematical mystery Dixon, B. M. (Brenda M.), 1952-

Abstract

Investigations into the environmental fate and effect of anthropogenic sources of selenium in the water and sediment downstream of some mining areas are ongoing. Complimentary investigations into the sources and mechanisms of selenium release from the host geology are also underway. The existing geochemical data for selenium concentration in rock samples has a reported analytical variability of between 6% and 135% (of the sample mean, 95% confidence limits). The difficulties and implications of utilizing data with this level of variability, to interpret and quantify mechanisms of selenium leaching, are discussed. Many authors subscribe primarily to a sulfate-oxidation release mechanism, as selenium is known to substitute for a variable portion of the sulfur within a rock matrix. No data has been reported that fully supports this hypothesis. Data that would support competing or alternative sources and mechanisms of selenium release are discussed. The industry is currently collecting thousands of selenium samples for each environmental assessment, even though there are no protocols on how and where geological samples should be collected, stored or on how the data should be interpreted. A collaborative research program to develop new analytical techniques, to aid in resolution of this situation, is introduced.

Item Metadata

Title
Selenium in geological samples : investing in a mathematical mystery
Creator
Dixon, B. M. (Brenda M.), 1952-
Contributor
British Columbia Mine Reclamation Symposium; University of British Columbia. Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering
Date Issued
2007
Description
Investigations into the environmental fate and effect of anthropogenic sources of selenium in the water and sediment downstream of some mining areas are ongoing. Complimentary investigations into the sources and mechanisms of selenium release from the host geology are also underway. The existing geochemical data for selenium concentration in rock samples has a reported analytical variability of between 6% and 135% (of the sample mean, 95% confidence limits). The difficulties and implications of utilizing data with this level of variability, to interpret and quantify mechanisms of selenium leaching, are discussed. Many authors subscribe primarily to a sulfate-oxidation release mechanism, as selenium is known to substitute for a variable portion of the sulfur within a rock matrix. No data has been reported that fully supports this hypothesis. Data that would support competing or alternative sources and mechanisms of selenium release are discussed. The industry is currently collecting thousands of selenium samples for each environmental assessment, even though there are no protocols on how and where geological samples should be collected, stored or on how the data should be interpreted. A collaborative research program to develop new analytical techniques, to aid in resolution of this situation, is introduced.
Extent
111460 bytes
Genre
Conference Paper
Type
Text
File Format
application/pdf
Language
eng
Date Available
2009-05-29
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0042532
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/8488
Affiliation
Applied Science, Faculty of; Non UBC; Mining Engineering, Keevil Institute of
Peer Review Status
Unreviewed
Scholarly Level
Other
Copyright Holder
British Columbia Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International