Viviez plant metallurgical tailings (Dunet and Igue de Mas heaps)
Riou Mort basin and Lot valley, Aveyron and Lot, France
Mine tailings and waste rock
- Type
- Mine tailings and waste rock
The Viviez zinc ore processing plant (Vieille Montagne then Umicore) refined up to 100,000 t of zinc per year (1985) by electrolysis and thermal processing; its tailings, very heavy in zinc, polluted the Riou Mort and then the Lot until extraction stopped in 1987. Six residues sampled in 2005, after part of the heaps was confined; zinc from 1.3 to 5.6 %. Indicative coordinates.
δ66Zn in ‰ (per mil) Values of the same system
Standard : JMC 3-0749L
| Value | Range | n | Mineral or matrix | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.73 ± 0.43 ‰ | 0.18 / 1.49 ‰ | 6 | Mean and standard deviation recalculated from 6 samples, Table 1. Heavier than the ore (about 0.16 ‰), the more so as extraction yield is high (95.4 to 99.4 %): Rayleigh-type fractionation. | Sivry et al. (2008), Zn isotopes as tracers of anthropogenic pollution from Zn-ore smelte… |
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Cite this page
IsoFind Atlas (2026). Viviez plant metallurgical tailings (Dunet and Igue de Mas heaps), isotope signatures. https://www.isofind.tech/isotopes/en/sites/residus-metallurgiques-de-l-usine-de-viviez-terrils-de-dunet-et-d-igue-de-mas/ (accessed 2026-10-13).
@misc{isofind2026viviezplantmetallurgicaltaili,
title = {Viviez plant metallurgical tailings (Dunet and Igue de Mas heaps), isotope signatures},
author = {{IsoFind Atlas}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://www.isofind.tech/isotopes/en/sites/residus-metallurgiques-de-l-usine-de-viviez-terrils-de-dunet-et-d-igue-de-mas/},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-13}
}Updated : 2026-10-13