Post Mining Minerals

An overview of those minerals, which formed after mining had opened up new, previously buried areas.  When mining occurred, it introduced near-surface atmospheric conditions to the newly-opened areas, bringing oxygen, humidity and bacteria into contact with the previously buried minerals, thereby allowing the process of oxidation to take begin with pyrite. Pyrite (FeS2), was the most common hypogene (primary) sulfide mineral deposited at Bisbee and is thermodynamically unstable and oxidizes, often quickly, as documented by the voluminous literature on the subject....