Some features of the migration of microcomponents in neutral waters of the supergene zone

The development of the hydrogeochemical method of prospecting in the last two decades had led to the accumulation of a large amount of factual material on the distribution of many chemical elements in subsurface waters of different origin. It appeared that there exist in the supergene zone two opposite poles, upon approach to which the mobility of elements in waters markedly increases: one of these is acid waters, the other is alkaline waters (Krainov, 1971). Neutral waters, which occupy an intermediate position, are the least favorable medium for the migration of the majority of microcomponents, which in these conditions are subject to processes of hydrolysis. However, a number of geochemical processes in the supergene zone do, in fact, take place in media which are close to neutral. In this connection, the question of the migration abilities of microcomponents in neutral or close to neutral waters is of great interest.