Asbestiform Amphiboles in a Serpentinite Quarry in Operation, Province of Cordoba, Argentina

Active serpentinite quarries located in the province of Cordoba (Argentina) provide raw material for metallurgical and construction industries. In the studied Adita quarry, veins with asbestiform minerals occur at the contact between pegmatitic dikes and the serpentinized ultramafics. In the past asbestos have been used for decades, but nowadays the exploitation, import, commercialization and use of asbestos (amphiboles, chrysotile) is prohibited, due to its effect on human health. In this work two different amphiboles were analysed by optical microscopy, SEM-EDS, XRD and chemical analysis. They were identified as anthophyllite and tremolite.