TADEUSZ MOLENDA¹, EWA TEPER² (authors of photographs)
TADEUSZ MOLENDA (project manager)

¹ University of Silesia,
Faculty of Earth Sciences, Division of Hydrology and Water Management in Urban Areas;
Będzińska 60, 40-007 Sosnowiec
e-mail: tedimolenda@interia.pl

² University of Silesia,
Faculty of Earth Sciences, Division of Mineralogy;
Będzińska 60, 40-007 Sosnowiec

Description popularizing the research project

The market value of gold is about 1,000$ per ounce, which means about 3, 4 pairs of earrings, 3 rings or 6 golden chains. That is usually the amount which we can find in jewelry boxes at home. That amount of gold is also worth about 6 barrels of oil. The prices fluctuate as the value of gold has dropped a lot since Middle Ages, whereas the value of oil skyrocketed. It is the barrel of gold which became the argument of strategic importance. Nobody would like to have their eyelids cut off, be burnt at a stake or be flagellated in public for a pinch of gold.
A few hundred years ago it would be very risky to spend nights and days in dark alchemists workshops searching the philosopher's stone. Yet the hope to be immeasurably rich and immortal, combined with almost scientific fascination of chemical reactions were stronger than the fear of flogging. Fortunately as today's science owes a lot to medieval alchemists. Nowadays despite the fact that even young chemists know that chances of obtaining gold from sulphur are slim, the desire to experiment is strong and it has not been burnt out with a red-hot branding iron.
The desire was not the reason why the waste heaps were built or sediment tanks dug. The minerals found there are not a result of impressive transmutation. Nevertheless men, with their environments transformation, were involved in their creation. Is it a side effect of human activity that created conditions for mineral forms as if from an alchemists workshop? Not only stock exchange indexes have changed since Middle Ages, we perceive the “Dark Ages" in a different way as well, but one thing remains the same - the desire to know natural phenomena better. It is way more valuable than gold and jewelsł And you will not end up at a stake.

Abstract

Economic human activity leads to essential changes in natural environment. They are connected mainly with the development of farming systems and urban - industrial units. In many cases the creation of new, not existing before anthropogenic environments takes place. They include exploitation hollows, sedimentation tanks and waste-tips. From their beginning they start to undergo natural biological, geomorphological and geochemical processes. Numerous researches show that some of the anthropogenic environments are characterized by high biotic diversity. In many cases they are also habitats of many rare and protected plant and animal species. Geomorphogenic and geochemical processes may lead not only to formation of interesting rock forms but also to creation of new phases sometimes having the form of nicely crystallised minerals. Extraneous waters such as mine or leachate waters or gases from burning waste-tips are the sources of elements forming the minerals. The expression “new phases" does not exactly mean the formation of new minerals not known before by the science. It should by understood that in natural conditions at a definite place and time the minerals would never form. Their formation completely depends on economic human activity initiating numerous geochemical processes.
Mine and leachate waters are mainly the source of such minerals as gypsum (CaSO₄·2H₂O), barite (BaSO₄), halite (NaCl). Besides, they are full of iron oxides and hydroxides which give outflowing waters a typical orange colour. The formation of “new phases" sometimes takes place only within very specific environments. They include exhalation (emission) areas of gase from burning waste-tips. Such areas are equivalents of natural solfataras within volcanic areas. The closest objects of this type are in Liparian Islands (south Italy). Protecting of one of such objects as a specific laboratory of geochemical processes may be worth considering. Presented photos show selected natural environments in which the creation of “new phases" takes place. Besides, scanning microscope photos presenting selected phases are included.