Skip to main content
Log in

Zacatecas (Mexico) Companies Extract Hg from Surface Soil Contaminated by Ancient Mining Industries

  • Published:
Water, Air, and Soil Pollution Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In Zacatecas, Mexico, four plants are operating to extract Ag, Au, and Hg using CaS2O3 solution from surface soil containing tailings from the amalgamation method used during 1550–1900. The metal ions extracted are cemented by scrap Cu wires. Hg is separated by evaporation from the cemented amalgam and Ag and Au are obtained from the residue. A part of the soil to be leached was separated and leached as in the industrial process. Only 121 ppm of Hg was freed from 168 ppm of extractable Hg. About a half of the remaining Hg in the soil evaporated during 18 months. This confirms that the Hg in the soil is metallic. Pb and As are also freed in the same process. It is estimated that 13 000–34 000 t of Hg had been discarded in the extraction of Ag.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bakewell, P. J.: 1971, Silver Mining and Society in Colonial Mexico Zacatecas 1546-1700, Cambridge University Press, London, pp. 243-244.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bakewell, P.: 1997, ‘Notes on the Mexican Silver Mining Industry in the 1590's’, in P. Bakewell (ed.), Mines of Silver and Gold in the America. An Expanding World. The European Impact on World History 1450-1800, Vol. 19, Variorum, Great Britain, pp. 179.

  • Barba, A. A.: 1640, Arte de los Metales en que se enseña el Verdadero Beneficio de los de Oro, y Plata por Azogue.

  • Bargalló, M.: 1955, La Minería y la Metalurgia en la América Española durante la Eépoca Colonial, Fondo de Cultura Economica, Mexico, pp. 115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bargalló, M.: 1969, La Amalgamación de los Minerales de Plata en Hispanoamérica Colonial, Compañia Fundidora de Fierro y Acero de Monterrey, Mexico, 601 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnadas, J. M.: 1986, Alvaro Alonso Barba (1569-1662). Investigaciones sobre su Vida y Obra, Biblioteca Minera Boliviana, La Paz, Bolivia, 283 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benning, L. G. and Weward, T. M.: 1996, ‘Hydrosulphide complexing of Au(I) in hydrothermal solutions from 150-400 ?C and 500-1500 bar’, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 60, 1849-1871.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burnes, O. A.: 1987, La Minería en la Historia Económica de Zacatecas (1546-1876), Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, México, 213 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Douglass, R. E. and Methewson, E. P.: 1923, El Arte de los Metales (Metallurgy), John Wiley & Sons, New York, 288 pp. (translated).

    Google Scholar 

  • Eissler, M.: 1891, Metallurgy of Silver. A Practical Treatise on the Amalgamation, Roasting and Lixiviation of Silver Oores, 2nd ed., Grosby Lockwood and Son, London, pp. 25-26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gonzales, R. J.: 1944, Mineria y Riqueza Minera de México, Banco de México, Mexico, pp. 22-23.

  • Iskander, F. Y., Vega-Carrillo, H. R. and Manzanares, E. A.: 1994, ‘Determination of mercury and other elements in la Zacatecana dam sediment in Mexico’, Sci. Total Environ. 148, 43-48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iskander, F. Y., Vega-Carrillo, H. R. and Manzanares, E. A.: 1997, ‘Elemental analysis of air dust from Zacatecas City, Mexico’, Environ. Int. 23, 497-506.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Keynes, J. M.: 1936, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, Harcourt, Brace, New York, 403 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kucha, H., Prohaska, W. and Stumple, E. P.: 1995, ‘Deposition and transport of gold by thiosulfates, Veitsch, Austria’, Mineral Mag. 59, 253-259.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lang, M. F.: 1977, El Monopolio Estatal del Mercurio en el México Colonial (1550-1710), Fondo de Cultura Economica, México, pp.353.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lide, D. R. (ed.): 2000, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 2000-2001, 81st ed., CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp. 8-21-8-26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norma Oficial Mexinaca NOM-CRP-001-ECOL/93: 1993.

  • Probert, A.: 1997, ‘Bartolomé de Medina: The Patio Process and the Sixteenth Century Silver Crisis’, in P. Bakewell (ed.), Mines of Silver and Gold in the America, An Expanding World. The European Impact on World History 1450-1800, Vol. 19, Variorum, Great Britain, pp. 90-124.

  • Sandwich, E. M.: 1670, The First Book of the Art of Metals: In which is Declared the Manner of their Generation and the Concomitants of Them, S. Mearne, London, Great Britain, 91 pp. Reproduction of Original in the British Library. Description 91 pp.: Microfilm. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms International, 1983 (translated).

  • Sproch, N.: 2001, Personal communication. Stetefeldt, C. A.: 1895, The Lixiviation of Silver-ore with Hydrosulphite Solution with Special Reference to the Russell Process, 2nd ed., The Tuttle Morehouse & Tyaylor, New Haven, Conn., 210 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, J., Wu, Z. and Chen, J.: 1997, ‘Extraction of gold from thiosulfate solution with alkyl phosphorus esters’, Hydrometal. 46, 363-372.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tetsuya Ogura.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ogura, T., Ramírez-Ortiz, J., Arroyo-Villaseñor, Z.M. et al. Zacatecas (Mexico) Companies Extract Hg from Surface Soil Contaminated by Ancient Mining Industries. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 148, 167–177 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025497726115

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025497726115

Navigation