Mercury Mines in Europe: Assessment of Emissions
and Environmental Contamination
R. FERRARA
1
Introduction
Most of the mercury-containing mineralization follows a line encompassing the
earth: the circum-Pacific belt and the Mediterranean Tethyean belt.
The Mediterranean basin is included in this belt; even if it occupies only 2-3%
of the earth's surface, it makes up approximately 65% of the world's mercury
resources (Fig. 1).
The three most important cinnabar deposits, which have provided a large
percentage of the entire world production (Soo 000 tons), are situated in the
European continent and are, in order of importance, Almaden (Spain - 2S0 000
tons), Idrija (Slovenia - 150000 tons) and Mt. Amiata (Italy - 100000 tons).
The gradual decline in mercury prices (about $600 per flask in 1965; $120 per
flask in 1975) caused a crisis with a present very low production in Almaden
and a total interruption of the mining activity in the Idrija and Mt. Amiata
districts.
Generally, cinnabar rocks were transported from the different mine sites to the
smelting plant, where they were crushed, dried, and roasted to 650-700 0c. The
released mercury vapours were condensed in cooling towers and then flasked
inside the complex. The roasted cinnabar, still containing variable low amounts
of mercury, was piled around the refining complex, where it has formed high hills
over the years.
In the old furnaces the mercury loss was about 20-40% of the production;
following advances in technology, over the past 30-40 years, the losses were
reduced to 2-3%.
The long period of mining and processing of the ore has left scarred
landscapes even in the areas where the mining operations have been terminated.
The poor recovery of the past has contributed, through the smelter stacks and
flues by gaseous and particulate matter, to the dispersion of the metal in the
atmosphere, soil and waters.
In this chapter we examine the environmental situation of the three most
important mines in Europe, (as appears from the available literature) with the
intention of pointing out the differences between the areas where the activity is
still present and those in which it ceased years ago.
A great contribution to the knowledge of the mercury problems in the
Mediterranean basin has been made by the numerous researches conducted in
Environmental Science
Mercury Contaminated Sites (ed. by R. Ebinghaus et al.l
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1999
and Environmental Contamination
R. FERRARA
1
Introduction
Most of the mercury-containing mineralization follows a line encompassing the
earth: the circum-Pacific belt and the Mediterranean Tethyean belt.
The Mediterranean basin is included in this belt; even if it occupies only 2-3%
of the earth's surface, it makes up approximately 65% of the world's mercury
resources (Fig. 1).
The three most important cinnabar deposits, which have provided a large
percentage of the entire world production (Soo 000 tons), are situated in the
European continent and are, in order of importance, Almaden (Spain - 2S0 000
tons), Idrija (Slovenia - 150000 tons) and Mt. Amiata (Italy - 100000 tons).
The gradual decline in mercury prices (about $600 per flask in 1965; $120 per
flask in 1975) caused a crisis with a present very low production in Almaden
and a total interruption of the mining activity in the Idrija and Mt. Amiata
districts.
Generally, cinnabar rocks were transported from the different mine sites to the
smelting plant, where they were crushed, dried, and roasted to 650-700 0c. The
released mercury vapours were condensed in cooling towers and then flasked
inside the complex. The roasted cinnabar, still containing variable low amounts
of mercury, was piled around the refining complex, where it has formed high hills
over the years.
In the old furnaces the mercury loss was about 20-40% of the production;
following advances in technology, over the past 30-40 years, the losses were
reduced to 2-3%.
The long period of mining and processing of the ore has left scarred
landscapes even in the areas where the mining operations have been terminated.
The poor recovery of the past has contributed, through the smelter stacks and
flues by gaseous and particulate matter, to the dispersion of the metal in the
atmosphere, soil and waters.
In this chapter we examine the environmental situation of the three most
important mines in Europe, (as appears from the available literature) with the
intention of pointing out the differences between the areas where the activity is
still present and those in which it ceased years ago.
A great contribution to the knowledge of the mercury problems in the
Mediterranean basin has been made by the numerous researches conducted in
Environmental Science
Mercury Contaminated Sites (ed. by R. Ebinghaus et al.l
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1999