Unveiling High-Tech Metals in Roasted Pyrite Wastes from the Iberian Pyrite Belt, SW Spain

Lola Yesares (), José María González-Jiménez, Francisco Abel Jiménez-Cantizano, Igor González-Pérez, David Caro-Moreno and Isabel María Sánchez
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Lola Yesares: Departamento de Mineralogía y Petrología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, C/José Antonio Nováis 12, 28040 Madrid, Spain
José María González-Jiménez: Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (CSIC-UGR), Avda. Palmeras 4, 18100 Armilla, Spain
Francisco Abel Jiménez-Cantizano: Agencia de Medio Ambiente y Agua, Junta de Andalucía, C/Johan G. Gutenberg, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
Igor González-Pérez: Departamento de Mineralogía y Petrología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Avda. Fuentenueva s/n, 18001 Granada, Spain
David Caro-Moreno: Agencia de Medio Ambiente y Agua, Junta de Andalucía, C/Johan G. Gutenberg, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
Isabel María Sánchez: Centro de Instrumentación Científica, Universidad de Granada, Paseo Profesor Juan Osorio, s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-23

Abstract: The Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB), in the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, is a large metallogenic province exploited since ancient times. As a result of historical and current mining activity, a vast volume of metallic mineral waste, mainly derived from the processing of pyrite, is still in situ and polluting the environment. A specific mine waste residuum locally known in the area as “morrongos”, which was produced during pyrite roasting mainly in the 19th century, is evaluated here in order to unravel untapped resources of high-tech metals commonly used in high-tech devices. Applying a combination of whole-rock geochemical (ICP-AES, ICPMS, FA-AAS) and single-grain mineralogical techniques (EPMA, LA-ICP-MS, FESEM, and FIB-HRTEM) on the “morrongos”, we unhide the still-present remarkable concentrations of Au, Ag, Pb, Zn, and Cu in them. The mineralogical expressions for these economic metals include oxides (hematite, magnetite, and hercynite), arsenates, sulfates of the jarosite group, native metals, and, to a lesser extent, relictic sulfides. This first-ever estimation of these economic metals in this type of residue allows their revalorization, highlighting them as suitable sources for the exploitation and recovery of metals necessary for the clean energy transition.

Keywords: mine waste; roasted pyrite; Iberian Pyrite Belt; high-tech metals; untapped resources; circular economy; mineralogical waste characterization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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