The attenuation of Ni, Zn and Cu, by secondary Fe phases of different crystallinity from surface and ground water of two sulfide mine tailings in Manitoba, Canada

The affinity of the metals to the precipitate rather than the solution is in the order Cu > Zn > Ni. Sequential extraction indicated that Ni and Zn accumulate in poorly crystalline schwertmannite, while Cu concentrates in crystalline phases (goethite and jarosite). However, schwertmannite, as the principal phase in most of the precipitates, contains a significant proportion of Cu. During the recrystallization of metastable schwertmannite to goethite, the metals could be redistributed and released back into the mine water.