Ferreira, Amanda D.Queiroz, Hermano M.Kaneagae, Maira P.Nóbrega, Gabriel NutoOtero Pérez, Xosé LoisBernardino, Ângelo F.Ferreira, Tiago O.2021-02-152021-02-152021Minerals 2021, 11(2), 201; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11020201http://hdl.handle.net/10347/24456Mine tailings containing trace metals arrived at the Doce River estuary, after the world’s largest mine tailings disaster (the Mariana disaster) dumped approximately 50 million m3 of Fe-rich tailings into the Doce River Basin. The metals in the tailings are of concern because they present a bioavailability risk in the estuary as well as chronic exposure hazards. Trace metal immobilization into sulfidic minerals, such as, pyrite, plays a key role in estuarine soils; however, this process is limited in the Doce River estuarine soil due to low sulfate inputs. Thus, to assess the use of gypsum amendment to induce pyritization in deposited tailings, a mesocosm experiment was performed for 35 days, with vinasse added as carbon source and doses of gypsum (as a sulfate source). Chemical and morphological evidence of Fe sulfide mineral precipitation was observed. For instance, the addition of 439 mg of S led to the formation of gray and black spots, an Fe2+ increase and decrease in sulfides in the solution, an increase in pyritic Fe, and a greater Pb immobilization by pyrite at the end of the experiment. The results show that induced pyritization may be a strategy for remediating metal contamination at the Doce River estuaryeng© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Atribución 4.0 Internacionalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/SulfidationPyriteLead sulfideSoil remediationChemical immobilizationjournal article10.3390/min110202012075-163Xopen access