Naturally Occurring Asbestos in Argentina: A Compilation of Case Studies

In Argentina, asbestos is associated with meta-mafic or meta-ultramafic igneous rocks, mainly serpentinites (or steatized varieties) and amphibolites, and less commonly with dolomitic rocks (in metamorphic and metasomatic domains). Chrysotile, anthophyllite and tremolite-actinolite were identified as the main asbestiform minerals (in the range of respirable particles). Chrysotile occurs mainly in serpentinites or steatized rocks as well as in amphibolites and other host rocks nearby. It appears filling veins, as slip and cross-fiber, generally associated with fissures or shear zones. Amphibole asbestos, mainly from the tremolite–actinolite series and anthophyllite, commonly occurs together with a non-asbestiform counterpart within the same area and deposits. These minerals have been found in talc ores as well as in vermiculite-rich sectors, or filling fissures in meta-mafic and meta-ultramafic rocks. In this compilation, the results of case studies on mines from the provinces of Córdoba, Mendoza and San Juan (Argentina) are summarized, and new data from the western sector of the Pie de Palo Complex are included.