On Sat, 15 Jul 2000, Cris Ebbs wrote:
> Although not strictly a mining history matter, I wonder if anyone can identify or offer any information on the following 'formations'...
> On several underground trips I have come across what look very like cockles 'growing' from pieces of rusting ironwork. These cockles seem to form exactly like the sea mollusc in that they have two half shells and attach themselves to the nutrient (?) source at one end. The whole enclosed 'shell' is usually full of water. Those I have seen vary in size up to about 5cm.
> I seems that something interesting is going on here and I'd appreciate any explanation.
> Cris Ebbs.
>
Chris:
There's been quite a bit of recent research in the role of
iron-fixing/reducing "bacteria" (more properly microbes) in various
phenomena formerly thought to be strictly "physical" (like the rusting
process). Maybe that's what's going on in your case.
More directly related to mining, there is at least some evidence that
"bugs" may play a role in creating certain types of orebodies. It's
also been known for quite awhile that bugs like thiobacillus ferrooxidans
have a lot to do with ARD/AMD in some situations. And a couple of
neutrophilic iron-fixing microbes are now under study by research divers
in a flooded lead-zinc mine not far from by back doorstep (see
www.geology.wisc.edu/~jill/tennyson/).
A good popular book on this kind of stuff is DARK LIFE by Michael Taylor
(already way out of date, but a fun read anyway).
Mark
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