Transformation of minerals and mobility of heavy metals during oxidative weathering of seafloor massive sulfide and their environmental significance

Seafloor massive sulfide (SMS) deposits have received widespread attention because of their potential as available metal resources. Deep-sea mining operations significantly increase the exposure of fresh sulfide to oxygenated seawater. Knowledge about mineral transformation and the fate of heavy metals during sulfide oxidation remains insufficient, which is unfavorable for eco-friendly deep-sea mining. Here, a series of partially or completely oxidized sulfide samples collected from the Yuhuang hydrothermal field, Southwest Indian Ridge, were examined for detailed mineralogical, geochemical, and morphological analyses. Models for mineral conversion and heavy metal mobility over time were established through the obtained results to assess the potential environmental impacts associated with deep-sea mining. The absence of hydrous ferric sulfates in the pure oxide samples suggests that they were transformed into iron (oxy)hydroxides after long-term exposure in seawater. There are also indications that amorphous iron (oxy)hydroxides dehydrated to layer-like goethite and that schwertmannite hydrolyzed to globular goethite. The microorganism-related morphology of secondary minerals strengthens the case that sulfide oxidation is a microbially mediated process. The enrichment of Cu, Zn, V, and U in oxidation products indicates that they can serve as effective purification agents to retain heavy metals originated from sulfide and seawater. Heavy metal contents display a progressively increasing trend in the oxide profiles, which can be well explained by our models for oxide crust accumulation. Because secondary minerals have excellent adsorption capability and mineral transformation is a reaction removal of sulfate radicals, we conclude that sulfide oxidation provides a sink for oceanic heavy metal cycles and a sulfur source in balancing the global biogeochemical sulfur cycle. In addition, mining SMS deposits containing a large quantity of Fe-bearing sulfide minerals or iron oxides from inactive hydrothermal fields are conducive to reducing environmental hazards and maintaining the economic value of remaining deposits.