Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T19:43:28.781Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mineralogical and chemical characterization of some vermiculites from the Mozambique Belt of Tanzania for agricultural use

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2018

E. M. M. Marwa ,
S. Hillier ,
C. M. Rice  and
A. A. Meharg
E. M. M. Marwa*
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, St. Machar Drive AB24 3UU, UK
S. Hillier
Affiliation:
Macaulay Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, UK
C. M. Rice
Affiliation:
School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Meston Building, Aberdeen AB24 3UE, UK
A. A. Meharg
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, St. Machar Drive AB24 3UU, UK
*
*E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Vermiculite minerals are locally available in the Mozambique Belt of Tanzania but are not currently commercially exploited. In part this may be due to lack of any precise characterization. This study was carried out as a first step to assess the suitability of these vermiculites for crop production by characterization of their mineralogical and chemical compositions. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy combined with an energy-dispersive X-ray system were used to establish the mineralogy. Electron microprobe analysis and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry were used to study the chemical compositions and to identify any possible issues related to chemical composition that might affect their use if applied as soil conditioners. The samples were characterized as vermiculites and hydrobiotites with a wide variety of accessory minerals. Accessory minerals that might be of some concern are galena, fibrous amphiboles and sepiolite. The total levels of Ni in all vermiculites, and Cr in some, were also found to be high relative to common European standards and this might limit their potential as soil conditioners. It is clear that a field assessment of the bioavailability of various elements would be necessary before decisions relating to potential agricultural use could be made.

Keywords

TanzaniaMozambique Beltvermiculitehydrobiotite
Type
Research Article
Information
Clay Minerals , Volume 44 , Issue 1 , March 2009 , pp. 1 - 17
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alloway, B.J. (1999) Land contamination and reclamation. Pp. 199–236 in: Understanding our Environment: An Introduction to Environmental Chemistry and Pollution (Harrison, R.M., editor). The Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK.Google Scholar
Bailey, S.W. (1980) Comment: Summary of recommendations of AIPEA Nomenclature Committee. Clays and Clay Minerals, 28, 73–78 Google Scholar
Basset, W.A. (1961) The geology of vermiculite occurrences. Clays and Clay Minerals, 10, 61–69.Google Scholar
Bellmann, B., Muhle, H. & Ernst, H. (1997) Investigations on health-related properties of two sepiolite samples. Environmental Health Perspectives, 105, 1049–1052.Google Scholar
Brindley, G.W. & MacEwan, D.M.C. (1953) Structural aspects of the mineralogy of clays and related silicates. Ceramics; a symposium, 15-59 British Ceramics Society, Stoke on Trent, UK.Google Scholar
Brindley, G.W., Zalba, P.E. & Bethke, C.M. (1983) Hydrobiotite, a regular 1:1 interstratilication of biotite and vermiculite layers. American Mineralogist, 68, 420–425 Google Scholar
Brown, G. & Brindley, G.W. (1984) X-ray diffraction procedures for clay mineral identification. Pp. 305–360 in: Crystal Structures of Clay Minerals and their X-ray Identification (Brindley, G.W. & Brown, G., editors). Monograph 5, Mineralogical Society, London.Google Scholar
Bush, A.L. (1976) Vermiculite in the United States. Pp. 145–155 in: 11th Industrial Minerals Forum, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, Special Publication 74.Google Scholar
Finkelstein, Y., Markowitz, M.E. & Rosen, J.F. (1998) Low-level lead-induced neurotoxicity in children: an update on central nervous system effects. Brain Research Reviews, 27, 168–176.Google Scholar
Foster, M.D. (1961) Interpretation of the composition of vermiculites and hydrobioitites. Clays and Clay Minerals, 10, 70–89.Google Scholar
Gilkes, R.J., Young, R.C. & Quirk, J.P. (1972) The oxidation of octahedral iron in biotite. Clays and Clay Minerals, 20, 303–315.Google Scholar
Gordeeva, L.G., Moroz, E.N., Rudina, N.A. & Aristov, Yu.I. (2002) Formation of porous vermiculite in the course of swelling. Inorganic Synthesis and Industrial Inorganic Chemistry. Russian Journal of Applied Chemistry, 75, 357–361.Google Scholar
Guggenheim, S., Adams, J.M., Bain, D.C., Bergaya, F., Brigatti, M.F., Drits, V.A., Formoso, M.L.L., Galán, E., Kogure, T. & Stanjek, H. (2006) Summary of recommendations of nomenclature committee relevant to clay mineralogy: report of the Association Internationale Pour PEtude des Argiles (AIPEA) Nomenclature Committee for 2006. Clay Minerals, 41, 863–877.Google Scholar
Harris, J.F. (1961) Summary of the Geology of Tanganyika, Part TV: Economic Geology. Geological Survey Division, Dodoma, Tanzania. Reprinted by the Government Printer, Dar es Salaam, 1981, 143 pp.Google Scholar
Hartley, E.W. & Moore, W.R. (1965) Geological map of Daluni, Quarter Degree Sheet numbers 91 and 110. Geological Survey Division, Dodoma, Tanzania.Google Scholar
HELA (2005) Health and Safety Executive / Local Authorities Enforcement Liaison Committee — Guidance on the use of Sepiolite. http://www.hse.gov.uk/lau/lacs/37-2.htm. Site visited on 1st December 06.Google Scholar
Higgins, J.G. & Ribbe, P.H. (1979) Sapphirine II. A neutron and X-ray diffraction study of (Mg-Al) and (Si-Al) ordering in monoclinic sapphirine. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 68, 357–368.Google Scholar
Hillier, S. (1999) Use of an air brush to spray dry samples for X-ray powder diffraction. Clay Minerals, 34, 127–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holmes, A.C. (1951) The sequence of Pre-Cambrian orogenic belts in South and Central Africa. 18th International Geological Congress, London, 14, 254–269.Google Scholar
Jayabalakrishnan, R.M. (2007) Effect of vermiculite as an ameliorant for paper mill effluent irrigated soil and on the productivity of sunflower. Journal of Agronomy, 6,175-178.Google Scholar
Justo, A., Maqueda, C., Perez-Rodriguez, J.L. & Morillo, E. (1989) Expansibility of some vermiculites. Applied Clay Science, 4, 509–519.Google Scholar
Kröner, A., Muhongo, S., Hugner, E. & Wingate, M.T.D. (2003) Single-zircon geochronology and Nd isotopic systematics of proterozoic high-grade rocks from the Mozambique Belt of Southern Tanzania (Masasi area): Implications for Gondwana assembly. Journal of the Geological Society, London, 160, 745–757.Google Scholar
Lockitch, G. (1993) Perspectives on lead toxicity. Clinical Biochemistry, 26, 371–381.Google Scholar
MacEwan, D.M.C. & Wilson, M.J. (1984) Interlayer and intercalation complexes of clay minerals. Pp. 197–248 in: Crystal Structures of Clay Minerals and their X-ray Identification (Brindley, G.W. & Brown, G., editors). Monograph 5, Mineralogical Society, London.Google Scholar
Midgley, H.G. & Midgley, C.M. (1960) The mineralogy of some commercial vermiculites. Clay Minerals, 4, 142–150.Google Scholar
Moore, D.M. & Reynolds, R.C. Jr. (1989) X-ray Diffraction and the Identification and Analysis of Clay Minerals, p. 219. Oxford University Press, Inc., New York.Google Scholar
Mosser-Ruck, R., Pironon, J., Guillaume, D. & Cathelineau, M. (2003) Experimental alteration of Mg-vermiculite under hydrothermal conditions: formation of mixed-layered saponite-chlorite minerals. Clay Minerals, 38, 303–314.Google Scholar
Muhongo, S., Kröner, A. & Nemchin, A.A. (2001) Single zircon evaporation and SHRIMP ages for granulitefacies rocks in the Mozambique belt of Tanzania. Journal of Geology, 109, 171–189 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Omotoso, O., McCarty D.K, Hillier, S. & Kleeberg, R. (2006) Some successful approaches to quantitative mineral analysis as revealed by the 3rd Reynolds Cup Contest. Clays and Clay Minerals, 54, 748–760.Google Scholar
Pasquini, M.W. (2006) The use of town refuse ash in urban agriculture around Jos, Nigeria: health and environmental risks. Science of the Total Environment, 354, 43–59.Google Scholar
Peipins, L.A., Lewin, M., Campolucci, S., Lybarger, J.A., Miller, A., Middleton, D., Weis, C., Spence, M., Black, B. & Kapil, V. (2003) Radiographic abnormalities and exposure to asbestos-contaminated vermiculite in the community of Libby, Montana, USA. Environmental Health Perspectives, 111, 1753–1759.Google Scholar
Pinna, P., Muhongo, S., Mcharo, B.A., Le Goeff, E., Deschamps, Y., Ralay, F., Milesi, J.P., Heinry, C., Vinauger, P. & Chene, F. (2004) Geology and mineral map of Tanzania. The 20th Colloquium of African Geology, 2-7 June 2004, BRGM Orleans, France.Google Scholar
Potter, M.J. (2001) Vermiculite. Pp. 83.1-83.4 in: US Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook 2000. Google Scholar
Radoslovich, E.W. (1962) The cell dimensions a nd symmetry of layer lattice silicates II regression relations. American Mineralogist, 47, 617–636.Google Scholar
Ruiz-Conde, A., Ruiz-Amil, A., Pérez-Rodriquez, J.L & Sanchez-Sato, P.J. (1996) Dehydration - rehydration in magnesium vermiculite: conversion from two-one and one-two water layer hydration states through the interstratified phases. Journal of Material and Chemistry, 6, 1557–1566.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sabrah, R.E.A., Ghoneim, M.F., El Magid, H.M.A. & Rabie, R.K. (1993) Characteristics and productivity of a sandy soil as influenced by soil conditioners in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Arid Environments, 24, 297–303.Google Scholar
Schundler, B. (2006) Growing field-grown crops with perlite and or vermiculite. [http://www.schundler.com/fieldcrops.htm]; site visited on 9th May 2006.Google Scholar
Simandl, G.J., Birkett, T. & Paradis, S. (1999) Vermiculite. In: Selected British Columbia Mineral Deposit Profiles, Vol.3, Industrial Minerals (Simandl, G.J., Hora, Z.D. & Lefebure, D.V., editors), British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines, [http://www.geologo.com.br/MAINLINK2.ASP?VAIPARA=Vermiculita]; site visited on 9 October 2006.Google Scholar
Sommer, H., Kröner, A., Hauzenberger, C., Muhongo, S. & Wingate, M.T.D. (2003) Metamorphic petrology and zircon geochemistry of high-grade rocks from the central Mozambique Belt of Tanzania: crustal recycling of Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic material during the Pan-African Orogeny. Journal of Metamorphic Geology, 21, 915–934.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sommer, H., Kröner, A., Hauzenberger, C. & Muhongo, S. (2005) Reworking of Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic crust in the Mozambique Belt of central Tanzania as documented by SHRIMP zircon geochemistry. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 43, 447–463 Google Scholar
Stern, R.J. (2002) Crustal evolution in the East African Orogen: a neodymium isotopic perspective. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 34, 109–117 Google Scholar
Suvorov, S.A. & Skurikhin, V.V. (2003) Vermiculite - A promising material for high-temperature heat insulators. Refractories and Industrial Ceramics, 44, 86–193.Google Scholar
Thomas, G.W. (1982) Exchangeable cations. Pp. 159–165 in: Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 2: Chemical and Microbiological Properties (Page, A.L., Miller, R.H. & Keeney, D.R., editors), 2nd edition. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.Google Scholar
Tisdale, S.L., Nelson, W.L., Beaton, J.D. & Havlin, J.L. (1993) Soil Fertility and Fertilizers, pp. 95-109. 5th edition. Prentice Hall, New Jersey, USA.Google Scholar
Tsirambides, A. & Michailidis, K. (1999) An X-ray, EPMA and oxygen isotope study of vermieulitized micas in the ultramafic rocks at Askos, Macedonia, Greece. Applied Clay Science, 14, 121–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Gosen, B.S., Lowers, H.A., Bush, A.L., Meeker, G.P., Plumlee, G.S., Brownfield, T.K. & Sutley, S.J. (2005) Reconnaissance study of the geology of U.S. vermiculite deposits — Are asbestos minerals common constituents? Version 2.0. Bulletin of the USGS, 2192, 1–8.Google Scholar
Von Reichenbach, H.G. & Beyer, J. (1994) Dehydration and rehydration of vermculites: I. Phlogopitic Mgvermiculite. Clay Minerals, 29, 327–340.Google Scholar
Walker, G.F. (1951) Vermiculites and some related mixed-layer minerals. Pp. 199–223 in: X-ray Identification and Crystal Structures of Clay Minerals (Brindley, G.W., editor). Mineralogical Society, London.Google Scholar
Walker, G.F. (1956) The mechanism of dehydration of Mg-vermiculite. Clays and Clay Minerals, 4, 101-115.Google Scholar
Weiss, Z., Valvoda, V. & Chielová, M. (1994) Dehydration and rehydration of natural Mg-vermi-culite. Geologica Carpathica Clays, 45, 33–39.Google Scholar
Whitehouse, A.C. (2004) Asbestos-related pleural disease due to tremolite associated with progressive loss of lung function: serial observations in 123 miners, family members, and residents of Libby, Montana. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 46, 219–224 Google Scholar
Williams, G.J. & Skerl, A.F. (1940) Mica in Tanganyika Territory, pp.1-51. Bulletin no.4. Geological Division. Government Printer, Dar-es-Salaam.Google Scholar
Wilson, W.J. (1970) A study of weathering in a soil derived from a biotite-hornblende rock: 1. Weathering of biotite. Clay Minerals, 8, 291–303.Google Scholar
Zayed, A., Lytle, C.M., Qian, J. & Terry, N. (1998) Chromium accumulation, translocation and chemical speciation in vegetable crops. Planta, 206, 203–299.Google Scholar