Amostras de água foram coletadas em 10 pontos em trechos do leste do Quadrilátero Ferrífero (QF), que é uma região mineira situada no sudeste do Brasil. Os objetivos deste estudo foram encontrar possíveis relações entre carbono orgânico dissolvido (COD), metais e outros parâmetros físico-químicos medidos utilizando a rede neural de Kohonen como ferramenta para analisar esses dados geoquímicos multivariados na área estudada. As análises físico-químicas foram feitas in situ e em laboratório, onde as concentrações de COD e vários íons metálicos foram determinadas. A rede de Kohonen permitiu a visualização e interpretação mais amigáveis dos dados, além de definir relações entre eles. Assim, para os dados analisados, foi verificada relação entre COD e Fe e um possível efeito da sazonalidade na distribuição das amostras. Possíveis evidências litológicas puderam ser detectadas pela análise exploratória, especialmente se considerados os elementos Ca, Mg, Mn e Sr.

Water samples were collected at 10 points in parts of the eastern Quadrilátero Ferrífero (QF), located in a mining region in the southeast of Brazil. The aims of this study were to find possible relationships among dissolved organic carbon (DOC), metals and other parameters measured in the region studied and evaluate the Kohonen neural network as a tool to analyse this geochemical multivariate data set. Physico-chemical analyses were performed in situ and in the laboratory, where concentrations of DOC and a suite of metal ions were determined. The Kohonen neural network allowed an easier visualisation and interpretation of the results and helped to define the relationships among them. In this way, a relationship between DOC and Fe and a possible effect of seasonality on the distribution of the samples were indicated. Signs of lithology were detected in the analyses, especially considering the elements Ca, Mg, Mn and Sr.

Two samples of residues from iron mining plants have been investigated for their retention capacity of As, Cu, Cr, and Pb. The sample with the higher content of iron oxides showed the highest capacity to retain metals. The adsorption affinity series changes from Pb>Cu>Cr~As to As>Pb>Cu>Cr or As>Cu>Cr>Pb, depending on the material and the concentration of the initial solution. In the competitive environment, the Pb adsorption decreases and the As, Cu and Cr adsorption increases. Sequential extraction procedures, carried out after adsorption batch experiments, showed that the most important adsorption process occurs in the oxide fraction and that the major part of the absorbed metal is remobilized from exchangeable and oxide fractions.