|
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
| JOURNAL HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK/COMMNET | SUBSCRIBE | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
Articles |
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Siena, Via Laterina 8, I–53100 Siena, Italy
e-mail: manasse{at}unisi.it
Metal mining and processing started at Capattoli (Italy) in the Etruscan time (close to VIII century B.C.) and continued during the Middle Age. At present, approximately 7,000 tons of slags (produced starting from the chalcopyrite-galena-sphalerite mineralization hosted within the Campiglia Marittima skarns) occur over a surface of 1,500 m2.
The average chemical composition of the slags is 47.0 wt.% FeO, 27.5 wt.% SiO2, 9.0 wt.% CaO. Sulphur, zinc, lead and copper sum up to 7–10 wt.%. Two groups of slags can be identified, based upon the occurrence of one or two olivines (fayalite, or fayalite and kirschsteinite) and chemical compositions. Olivines crystallized at different supercooling extents, from 20 to more than 100°C; fayalite crystallized before kirschsteinite.
All the slags were obtained smelting chalcopyrite, at temperature slightly in excess of 1100°C, using self-fluxing charge and reducing conditions. The preliminary sulphur removal was uncomplete. Two-olivines slags had viscosity lower than one-olivine slags (2.29 vs. 1.58 viscosity index). Based upon the present amount of slags, we estimate a production of 700 tons of copper. The estimate rises up to 5,000 tons when historical records about the amount of removed slags are considered.
Key-words: slags, archaeometallurgy, kirschsteinite, fayalite, Capattoli.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  A. M. Alvarez-Valero, R. Perez-Lopez, and J. M. Nieto Prediction of the environmental impact of modern slags: A petrological and chemical comparative study with Roman age slags American Mineralogist, October 1, 2009; 94(10): 1417 - 1427. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. Puziewicz, K. Zainoun, and H. Bril PRIMARY PHASES IN PYROMETALLURGICAL SLAGS FROM A ZINC-SMELTING WASTE DUMP, SWIETOCHLOWICE, UPPER SILESIA, POLAND Can Mineral, October 1, 2007; 45(5): 1189 - 1200. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. Saez, F. Nocete, J. M. Nieto, M. A. Capitan, and S. Rovira THE EXTRACTIVE METALLURGY OF COPPER FROM CABEZO JURE, HUELVA, SPAIN: CHEMICAL AND MINERALOGICAL STUDY OF SLAGS DATED TO THE THIRD MILLENIUM B.C. Can Mineral, June 1, 2003; 41(3): 627 - 638. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 G. C. CAPITANI, H. B. GROBETY, and M. MELLINI Reaction sequences, polysomatic faults and chemical compositions of manganese pyroxenoids from Campiglia Marittima skarn European Journal of Mineralogy, April 1, 2003; 15(2): 381 - 391. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| JOURNAL HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK/COMMNET | SUBSCRIBE | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
