this post was submitted on 24 Oct 2023
28 points (91.2% liked)
Geology
388 readers
1 users here now
For all things geology, including serious discussions, memes, field photos, rockhound questions, and more. See also: Mining, Geophysics, Geology Careers, and !earthscience@mander.xyz
General rules: must be geoscience related; must adhere to lemmy.ca moderation rules; no pseudoscience.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
This is horrifying and not surprising. I found these pieces on a beach, but noticed they were ubiquitous in almost all the crushed gravel I saw in the town (driveways, fill under roads etc). They seem to have been using copper tailings for all sorts of construction for a long time. I hope it isn't some nasty concoction, if it is those towns are a fema project waiting to happen.
Better send some samples to your local friendly mineralogist. Usually the geological survey of your home country should be able to help. There’s also a good chance these rocks contain boring silicon oxide hydroxide whatever with a little it of calcium and sodium thrown in for color. It’s too early to tell without having them properly analyzed.