GEOCHEMISTRY AND MINERALOGY OF LEAD-ZINC MINE TAILINGS FROM THE ARTANA LANDFILL IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOSOVO

Musaj  Paçarizi; Epir  Qeriqi; Berat  Sinani; Krste  Tašev; Arianit  Reka; Trajče  Stafilov

Musaj Paçarizi Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina”, Str. "George Bush" No. 31, 10 000 Prishtinë, Republic of Kosovo
Epir Qeriqi Kosovo Geological Survey, Ministry of Economic Development, Blvd. Bill Clinton 10 000 Prishtinë, Republic of Kosovo
Berat Sinani Kosovo Geological Survey, Ministry of Economic Development, Blvd. Bill Clinton 10 000 Prishtinë, Republic of Kosovo
Krste Tašev State Phytosanitary Laboratory, Blvd. Aleksandar Makedonski bb, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia
Arianit Reka Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Tetovo, Blvd. Ilinden n.n., 1200 Tetovo, North Macedonia
Trajče Stafilov Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Ss Cyril and Methodius University, Arhimedova 5,1000 Skopje, North Macedonia

Keywords: Pb-Zn tailings; ICP-AES; ICP-MS; XRPD; SEM-EDX; Artana landfill; Kosovo

Abstract

The aim of this work was to identify and characterize the chemical elements in the samples of flotation tailings from the Pb-Zn mine in the Artana landfill, Republic of Kosovo. A total of 38 tailings samples were analyzed for their geochemical composition using: inductively coupled plasma – atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), as well as for their mineralogical composition using X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). The geochemical data show that the content of most elements is in the following range: iron 5.8 – 31.9 %, calcium 0.69 – 13.4%, aluminium 0.08 – 1.98%, potassium 0.11 – 1.34%, lead 0.26 – 1.75%, and zinc 0.03 – 1.89%. The semi-quantitative X-ray diffraction (XRPD) analysis shows the information for the most common minerals with their average content: pyrite 37.38%, basanite 25.28%, anhydrite 18.62% and quartz 16.93%. The data obtained from the collected samples with different instrumental techniques (ICP-AES and SEM-EDX) show a good correlation for the content of the following metals: Fe, Ca, Al, K and Pb.

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