From risk to resource: the environmental and strategic potential of serpentinites in the Pollino Ophiolite (Southern Apennines)

Serpentinites pose significant environmental and health concerns due to the presence of asbestiform minerals—chrysotile, antigorite, and amphiboles (e.g., tremolite, actinolite)—capable of releasing hazardous fibers and heavy metals like Cr and Ni. These elements are regulated under European Directive 2003/18/EC and Legislative Decree 152/2006 (Rizzo et al., 2020). A study was conducted on serpentinites from the Frido Unit in the Southern Apennines, with samples collected at Seluci and San Severino Lucano (Lauria, PZ), within the Pollino Massif, part of the Liguride Complex. These rocks represent remnants of Jurassic oceanic lithosphere emplaced during the Apennine orogeny and are characterized by intense deformation and metasomatic overprinting (Rizzo et al., 2024) This study aimed to assess the structural, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics of serpentinites, with a focus on critical metal content and implications for environmental risk and resource valorization. Petrographic analysis showed mesh and lepidoblastic textures with serpentine minerals, talc, chlorite, magnetite, relict olivine and pyroxenes, and abundant carbonate veins. In accordance with Rizzo et al., 2020, these features reflect multiphase serpentinization under HP/LT blueschist and subsequent greenschist metamorphism. XRF and ICP-MS analyses confirmed high contents of SiO2, MgO, and Fe2O3, and elevated concentrations of Ni and Cr, which frequently exceed Italian soil quality thresholds. These findings suggest that these serpentinites may be considered a potential secondary source of strategic raw materials, as Ni and Cr are listed among the EU’s Critical Raw Materials (Hool et al., 2024). These results highlight the dual significance of Pollino serpentinites: while they represent a potential environmental hazard due to the release of hazardous fibers and toxic metals, they also constitute a promising resource for the recovery of critical raw materials and for CO2 mineral sequestration through natural carbonation processes. This duality emphasizes the need for integrated strategies that combine environmental risk assessment with sustainable exploitation of ophiolitic georesources in line with EU climate and resource policies, as suggested by Rizzo et al., 2024.