Strathcona tailings, ML25 station (Moose Lake impoundment, Sudbury)
Ontario, near Sudbury, Canada
Mine tailings and waste rock
- Type
- Mine tailings and waste rock
Active impoundment receiving since 1968 sulphide-rich tailings (pyrrhotite, pentlandite) from the Strathcona mill, about 1 km to the north-east; most tailings were deposited under the water of Moose Lake, but the beach near the western spigot is exposed and oxidising (1 to 3 m unsaturated zone affected by acid mine drainage). ML25 station not covered by the low-sulphur slimes: pore water extracted from August 2014 cores by immiscible displacement; water table at 2.93 m on average, pH 3.2 to 5.2, up to 579 mg/L Ni and 20,936 mg/L SO4 at 0.86 m. Zones: recent oxidised (0 to 0.58 m), transition with an active oxidation front (to 1.19 m), palaeo-oxidised (1.19 to 1.66 m), palaeo-transition (1.66 to 1.84 m), deep palaeo-oxidised (1.84 to 2.55 m). Strathcona mine pentlandite at -0.54 ± 0.19 ‰ (Tanimizu and Hirata, 2006). Coordinates not given.
δ60Ni in ‰ (per mil) Values of the same system
Standard : NIST SRM 986
| Value | Range | n | Mineral or matrix | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.66 ± 0.09 ‰ | 1 | pore water at 0.17 m, top of the recent oxidised zone Single analysis; 13.8 mg/L Ni; uncertainty is 2σ over three measurements. Heavy nickel ascribed to rain and snowmelt inputs and to retention of light nickel by Fe oxyhydroxides according to the author. | Parigi (2020), Nickel Isotope Geochemistry in Mine Waste Systems, thèse de doctorat, Univ… | |
| −0.46 ± 0.04 ‰ | −0.51 / −0.42 ‰ | 4 | pore water of the transition zone (0.54 to 1.18 m) Mean and standard deviation recalculated from 4 analyses, within the range of pentlandite-rich sulphides: oxidative dissolution of sulphides at the oxidation front according to the author; up to 579 mg/L Ni. | Parigi (2020), Nickel Isotope Geochemistry in Mine Waste Systems, thèse de doctorat, Univ… |
| −1.7 ± 0.31 ‰ | −1.92 / −1.48 ‰ | 2 | pore water of the upper palaeo-oxidised zone (1.19 and 1.53 m) Mean and standard deviation recalculated from 2 analyses, lighter than the sulphides: release of nickel sorbed on or coprecipitated with Fe, Al and possibly Mn oxyhydroxides according to the author; 433 mg/L Ni at 1.19 m. | Parigi (2020), Nickel Isotope Geochemistry in Mine Waste Systems, thèse de doctorat, Univ… |
| −0.34 ± 0.05 ‰ | 1 | pore water at 1.88 m, palaeo-transition to deep palaeo-oxidised boundary Single analysis; 2σ uncertainty of 0.05 ‰; depth given as 1.84 m in the text; oxidative dissolution of Ni sulphides as in the recent transition zone; 2300 mg/L dissolved Fe. | Parigi (2020), Nickel Isotope Geochemistry in Mine Waste Systems, thèse de doctorat, Univ… | |
| −0.77 ± 0.05 ‰ | 1 | pore water at 2.24 m, deep palaeo-oxidised zone Single analysis; 2σ uncertainty of 0.05 ‰; partial desorption of nickel bound to Fe(III) oxyhydroxides according to the author; pH 5.1. | Parigi (2020), Nickel Isotope Geochemistry in Mine Waste Systems, thèse de doctorat, Univ… | |
| 0.14 ± 0.06 ‰ | 0.1 / 0.18 ‰ | 2 | pore water below the deep palaeo-oxidised zone (2.55 and 2.83 m) Mean and standard deviation recalculated from 2 analyses, declining nickel: removal of light nickel by sorption or coprecipitation according to the author; Eh 206 mV. | Parigi (2020), Nickel Isotope Geochemistry in Mine Waste Systems, thèse de doctorat, Univ… |
| 2.29 ± 0.06 ‰ | 1 | pore water of the saturated zone (3.11 m) Single analysis; 2σ uncertainty of 0.06 ‰, the maximum of the profile; comparable with the Barro Alto groundwaters (Ratié et al., 2018), product of successive weathering of the overlying layers. | Parigi (2020), Nickel Isotope Geochemistry in Mine Waste Systems, thèse de doctorat, Univ… |
Deposits of the same type
- San José mine waste Bolivia
- Vinto smelter slag Bolivia
- Liwu tailings dam (site 1) China
- Hourcade metallurgical site slags France
- Antamina experimental waste rock drainage Peru
- Black Angel mine tailings (Affarlikassaa fjord) Greenland
- Shaoguan Pb-Zn smelter (Imperial Smelting Process) China
- Jinding zinc smelter slag China
Cite this page
IsoFind Atlas (2026). Strathcona tailings, ML25 station (Moose Lake impoundment, Sudbury), isotope signatures. https://www.isofind.tech/isotopes/en/sites/residus-de-strathcona-station-ml25-bassin-de-moose-lake-sudbury/ (accessed 2026-10-14).
@misc{isofind2026strathconatailingsml25station,
title = {Strathcona tailings, ML25 station (Moose Lake impoundment, Sudbury), isotope signatures},
author = {{IsoFind Atlas}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://www.isofind.tech/isotopes/en/sites/residus-de-strathcona-station-ml25-bassin-de-moose-lake-sudbury/},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-14}
}Updated : 2026-10-14