Mineralogical and geochemical techniques to investigate the relationships between minerals and contaminants in supergenic environments: an update review

The relationships between minerals and contaminants are an important topic of Environmental Mineralogy and Geochemistry. A multi-scale, multidisciplinary analytical approach is peculiar to both field-and laboratory-oriented studies conducted by means of the combined use of traditional and advanced analytical techniques available either in conventional laboratories or in synchrotron analytical facilities. An important objective in this type of studies is to develop models capable to relate molecular-and micro-scale data to macroscopic observations, i.e. mechanistic models. This is probably the greatest challenge in the near future of Environmental Mineralogy and Geochemistry.