Hydrogeochemical investigations were carried out in Newcastle, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of S... more Hydrogeochemical investigations were carried out in Newcastle, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa to identify the major geochemical processes that control groundwater chemistry. 31 samples were collected and analysed for Magnesium (Mg2+), Calcium (Ca2+), Sodium (Na+), Potassium (K+), Chloride (Cl-), Sulfate (SO42-), Bicarbonate (HCO3-), Nitrate (NO3-), Fluoride (F-), pH, TDS and EC. Classical hydro-chemical methods; facies analysis and major ion analysis were used to further understand the composition controlling processes. It was inferred from the hydro-chemical facies, major ion scatter plots that the major process affecting the groundwater chemistry in the area is rock-water interaction. The ionic concentration is due to silicate weathering, carbonate weathering and ion exchange processes.
The generation of acidic drainage has become pervasive over the years and toxic elements are rele... more The generation of acidic drainage has become pervasive over the years and toxic elements are released due to exposure to oxidising agents, unforeseen circumstances, and human interactions. Uncontrolled acidic mine drainage release can result in substantial ecological disruption in sensitive and productive receiving waters. This study probes the element mobility of gold tailings with regard to various zones identified, based on possible phenomena such as the natural water medium, or acidic and alkaline media using sequential extraction and multivariate analyses. Factor analysis results, coupled with mineralogy, were corroborated with acid generation potential to identify various relationships that exist and establish the efficacy of the research towards predicting acid mine drainage generation potential. The statistical analysis was able to establish that pH or acidity, Fe ions, Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ played a major role in the released metals. Out of the four factors (80.8% accounted for) identified in factor analysis results for water fraction (WF), Fe contributed to three factors which showed the presence of Fe ions (assuming Fe 2+ and Fe 3+) responsible for the increased acidity of the tailings. The net acid producing potential and cumulative net acid producing potential showed that overall; the tailings would generate acidity due to the high presence of leachable sulphides. The trends observed in the carbonate phase indicated that despite the posit of acidity, the tailings contain a considerable amount of neutralising agent to serve as a buffer.
Рекомендовано членом редакційної колегії д-ром геол. наук, проф. О.Є. Кошляковим) The study was c... more Рекомендовано членом редакційної колегії д-ром геол. наук, проф. О.Є. Кошляковим) The study was conducted in Newcastle, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. In order to evaluate the quality of groundwater in study area, 31 samples were collected. The samples were analysed for Magnesium (Mg2+), Calcium (Ca2+), Sodium (Na+), Potassium (K+), Chloride (Cl-), Sulfate (SO42-), Bicarbonate (HCO3-), Nitrate (NO3-), Fluoride (F-) (pH, TDS and Ec. The South African Quality Water Guidelines (SAQWG) and the World Health Organization (WHO) water standards were used as the basis of evaluating the suitability of groundwater for drinking purposes. Electrical Conductivity (EC), Sodium Percent (Na %), Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC), Kelly's Ratio (KR), Magnesium Ratio (MR) and Permeability Index (PI) were used to evaluate suitability for irrigation. The spatial distribution of the results was presented using ArcGIS. The groundwater was found to be generally alkaline, soft to hard and fresh to brackish in nature. The order of abundance of major ions in the groundwater, based on their mean values is as follows: Na+>Ca2+>Mg2+>K+ and HCO3->SO42->Cl->NO3- .
Shale gas potential of the Prince Albert Formation: A preliminary study
South African Journal of Geology, Dec 1, 2019
Recent investigations of the shale gas potential in the main Karoo Basin have concentrated on the... more Recent investigations of the shale gas potential in the main Karoo Basin have concentrated on the Whitehill Formation within the Ecca Group. This study focuses on the shale gas potential of the underlying Prince Albert Formation using the parameters of volume porosity, permeability, total organic carbon (TOC), vitrinite reflectance and Rock-Eval data. Shale samples were retrieved from three surface localities in the southern part of the main Karoo Basin and from core of three boreholes drilled through the Prince Albert Formation near Ceres, Mervewille and Willowvale. The sampling localities occur near the borders of the prospective shale gas areas (“sweet spots”) identified for the Whitehill Formation. Kerogen was found to be Type IV with hydrogen indices less than 65 mg/g. Shale porosities are between 0.08 and 5.6% and permeabilities between 0 and 2.79 micro-Darcy, as determined by mercury porosimetry. TOC varies between 0.2 and 4.9 weight % and vitrinite reflectance values range from 3.8 to 4.9%. Although the porosity and TOC values of the Prince Albert Formation shales are comparable with, but at the lower limits of, those of the gas-producing Marcellus shale in the United States (porosities between 1 and 6% and TOC between 1 and 10 weight %), the high vitrinite reflectance values indicate that the shales are overmature with questionable potential for generating dry gas. This overmaturity is probably a result of an excess depth of burial, tectonic effects of the Cape Orogeny and dolerite intrusions. However, viable conditions for shale gas might exist within the “sweet spot” areas, which were defined for the Whitehill Formation.
International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research, 2016
The paper analysed the grain-size spectrum and textural parameters namely mean, sorting, skewness... more The paper analysed the grain-size spectrum and textural parameters namely mean, sorting, skewness and kurtosis of Abu Dhabi coast in United Arab Emirates applying the ASTM sieves. For this purpose fifty seven samples were analysed. The results of the sieving analysis divulged that , samples of the study area range between -2.63 (pebble size) to 2-39 (Fine sands). The statistical analysis reveals that the sand is characteristically fine grained, moderately well sorted to extremely poorly sorted. The sand distribution is strongly coarse and leptokurtic in nature. Abundance of the medium sand to fine sand shows the prevalence of comparatively moderateto low-energy condition in the study area. Linear discriminate function of the samples indicates an Aeolian, shallow marine deposition environment and less influence of fluvial (7 %) process.
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Visnyk of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Geology, 2016
Рекомендовано членом редакційної колегії д-ром геол. наук, доц. С. Є. Шнюковим) Fifty-seven beach... more Рекомендовано членом редакційної колегії д-ром геол. наук, доц. С. Є. Шнюковим) Fifty-seven beach sediment samples were collected along the beaches of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates to determine their geochemical composition using X-ray fluorescence and ICP analysis. Two dominant sediments groups i.e. marine biogenic carbonate and terrigenous sediments were identified through major elements scatterplots and ternary diagram of the dominant major elements. CaO has shown negative correlation with all major and most of the trace elements with exception Sr, As and U. The scatter plots for both Al 2 O 3 and SiO 2 show positive correlation with all major elements with the exception of CaO and LOI and all the trace elements with exception of Sr,As and U. Therefore, strontium, uranium and arsenic are considered to have marine origin.
This study evaluates the geochemical and mineralogical characterisation of weathering layers asso... more This study evaluates the geochemical and mineralogical characterisation of weathering layers associated with the Mogale tailing dam in the Randfontein Cluster-Witwatersrand Basin, South Africa. In the tailing dam, it is observed that high hematite/Fe 2 O 3 contents separate the ferruginous from the rest layers. Also, the oxidised layers with high quartz/SiO 2 contents compositionally differ from the underlying (capillary zone) grey and ferruginous layers. Likewise, a combination of gypsum contents (MnO, CaO, tot S) versus pyrophyllite/muscovite (Al 2 O 3 and K 2 O) distinguishes the lower grey from the upper grey layer, which corresponds to the saturated and capillary zones, respectively.Similarly, the amount of REE and most trace elements depleted in the oxidised layers is compared to the underlying layers. Factor analysis of this variation in layers related element distribution to the spatial patterns of pyrite, gypsum, hematite, and jarosite. Furthermore, analysis of the mass balance revealed an estimated net loss of between 23 and 123 ppm for uranium, zinc, nickel, and arsenic right from the inception of the tailing dam 50 years ago. A loss of between 1.5-1.8 and 2.8-2.9 % is also estimated for total sulphur and aluminium, respectively. These results underpin the sources and patterns of mobilisation of elements in the weathering zones as a major step towards the development of a predictive model for mitigation of AMD in the region.
Distribution of heavy metals in the coastal area of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates
Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2015
Fifty-seven sediment samples were collected from Abu Dhabi coastal area, United Arab Emirates (UA... more Fifty-seven sediment samples were collected from Abu Dhabi coastal area, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The concentrations of heavy metals including antimony, arsenic, barium, cadmium, cobalt, copper, mercury, lead, molybdenum, nickel and zinc were obtained using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and X-ray fluorescence. Heavy metal contaminations in Abu Dhabi had increased since 2004. Nevertheless, the enrichment factors, geoaccumulation indices and the pollution load index of 0.3 showed no pollution with any of the measured metals except arsenic.
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