Magnetite recovery from copper tailings increases arsenic distribution in solution phase and uptake in native grass

Reprocessing magnetite-rich copper (Cu) tailings prompted a concern about arsenic (As) risks in seepage water and revegetated plants at Ernest Henry Cu Mine (EHM) in North Queensland, Australia, due to the closely coupled relationship between iron (Fe) minerals and As mobility. The magnetite removal alone significantly decreased the content of crystalline Fe minerals and the maximum arsenate (As(V)) sorption capacity of the resultant tailings. A glasshouse experiment with native grass Red Flinders (Iseilema Vaginiflorum) was conducted with the reprocessed (low magnetite (LM)) and original (high magnetite (HM)) tailings, which were amended with 5% sugarcane residue (SR) as a basal treatment in combination with 0, 1 and 5% pine-biochar (BC). The organic matter treatments and plant growth stimulated the formation of secondary Fe minerals. The amount of extractable amorphous Fe in the amended and revegetated HM tailings was significantly higher than those in the LM. Arsenic forms in the specifically sorbed and the sorbed by amorphous Fe oxides were significantly increased by the SR amendment in the LM tailings, but which were decreased in the HM, compared to the unamended tailings. Soluble As levels in the porewater of the LM under revegetation were significantly higher (300–1150 μg As L−1) than those (up to 45–90 μg As L−1) in HM tailings in the same treatment, which led to the higher As concentrations in the plants grown in the LM tailings. In particular, root As concentration (62–146 mg kg−1) in the LM tailings was almost a magnitude higher than those (8–17 mg kg−1) in the HM. The present results confirmed the initial expectation that the recovery of magnetite from the Cu tailings significantly elevated the risk of As solubility in the tailings by decreasing As sorption capacity and increasing soluble As levels. Thus, it would be beneficial to retain high contents of magnetite in the top layer (e.g., root zone) of the Cu tailings for managing As risk and revegetation in the future. •Magnetite recovery lowered Fe mineral contents and As (V) sorption in the tailings.•Revegetation increased the exchangeable and amorphous Fe oxide As in LM tailings.•Porewater As levels in revegetated LM tailings were 6–10 times of those in the HM.•As uptake by plant roots in LM tailings was a magnitude higher than HM tailings.