Platinum-group minerals in the chromitites from the Great Serpentinite Belt, NSW, Australia

1992 ◽  
Vol 47 (2-4) ◽  
pp. 263-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Yang ◽  
Philip K. Seccombe
Keyword(s):  
Platinum Group Minerals ◽  
Platinum Group

scholarly journals Tamuraite, Ir5Fe10S16, a New Species of Platinum-Group Mineral from the Sisim Placer Zone, Eastern Sayans, Russia

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 545
Author(s):  
Andrei Y. Barkov ◽  
Nadezhda D. Tolstykh ◽  
Robert F. Martin ◽  
Andrew M. McDonald
Keyword(s):  
National Laboratory ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Calculated Density ◽  
Cell Parameters ◽  
Reflected Light ◽  
Platinum Group Minerals ◽  
Platinum Group ◽  
Probable Space ◽  
Layered Complex ◽  
Residual Melt

Tamuraite, ideally Ir5Fe10S16, occurs as discrete phases (≤20 μm) in composite inclusions hosted by grains of osmium (≤0.5 mm across) rich in Ir, in association with other platinum-group minerals in the River Ko deposit of the Sisim Placer Zone, southern Krasnoyarskiy Kray, Russia. In droplet-like inclusions, tamuraite is typically intergrown with Rh-rich pentlandite and Ir-bearing members of the laurite–erlichmanite series (up to ~20 mol.% “IrS2”). Tamuraite is gray to brownish gray in reflected light. It is opaque, with a metallic luster. Its bireflectance is very weak to absent. It is nonpleochroic to slightly pleochroic (grayish to light brown tints). It appears to be very weakly anisotropic. The calculated density is 6.30 g·cm−3. The results of six WDS analyses are Ir 29.30 (27.75–30.68), Rh 9.57 (8.46–10.71), Pt 1.85 (1.43–2.10), Ru 0.05 (0.02–0.07), Os 0.06 (0.03–0.13), Fe 13.09 (12.38–13.74), Ni 12.18 (11.78–13.12), Cu 6.30 (6.06–6.56), Co 0.06 (0.04–0.07), S 27.23 (26.14–27.89), for a total of 99.69 wt %. This composition corresponds to (Ir2.87Rh1.75Pt0.18Ru0.01Os0.01)Σ4.82(Fe4.41Ni3.90Cu1.87Co0.02)Σ10.20S15.98, calculated based on a total of 31 atoms per formula unit. The general formula is (Ir,Rh)5(Fe,Ni,Cu)10S16. Results of synchrotron micro-Laue diffraction studies indicate that tamuraite is trigonal. Its probable space group is R–3m (#166), and the unit-cell parameters are a = 7.073(1) Å, c = 34.277(8) Å, V = 1485(1) Å3, and Z = 3. The c:a ratio is 4.8462. The strongest eight peaks in the X-ray diffraction pattern [d in Å(hkl)(I)] are: 3.0106(26)(100), 1.7699(40)(71), 1.7583(2016)(65), 2.7994(205)(56), 2.9963(1010)(50), 5.7740(10)(45), 3.0534(20)(43) and 2.4948(208)(38). The crystal structure is derivative of pentlandite and related to that of oberthürite and torryweiserite. Tamuraite crystallized from a residual melt enriched in S, Fe, Ni, Cu, and Rh; these elements were incompatible in the Os–Ir alloy that nucleated in lode zones of chromitites in the Lysanskiy layered complex, Eastern Sayans, Russia. The name honors Nobumichi Tamura, senior scientist at the Advanced Light Source of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California.

DETRITAL PLATINUM-GROUP MINERALS IN RIVERS DRAINING THE EASTERN BUSHVELD COMPLEX, SOUTH AFRICA

2004 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 563-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Oberthur ◽  
F. Melcher ◽  
L. Gast ◽  
C. Wohrl ◽  
J. Lodziak
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Bushveld Complex ◽  
Platinum Group Minerals ◽  
Platinum Group

Sulfide mineral chemistry and platinum-group minerals of the UG-2 chromitite in the northern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 1339-1362
Author(s):  
Malose M. Langa ◽  
Pedro J. Jugo ◽  
Matthew I. Leybourne ◽  
Danie F. Grobler
Keyword(s):  
Platinum Group Element ◽  
Mineral Chemistry ◽  
Sulfide Mineral ◽  
Sulfide Minerals ◽  
Group Element ◽  
Igneous Complex ◽  
Northern Limb ◽  
Platinum Group Minerals ◽  
Platinum Group ◽  
Bushveld Igneous Complex

ABSTRACT The UG-2 chromitite layer, with its elevated platinum-group element content, is a key marker horizon in the eastern and western limbs of the Bushveld Igneous Complex and the largest platinum-group element chromite-hosted resource of its kind in the world. In contrast, much less is known about its stratigraphic equivalent in the northern limb, the “UG-2 equivalent” (UG-2E) chromitite. Recent studies on chromite mineral chemistry show similarities between the UG-2 and sections of the UG-2E, but also that the UG-2E was partially contaminated by assimilation of local metasedimentary rocks. Here, we provide a detailed characterization of sulfide minerals and platinum-group minerals in a suite of samples from the UG-2E and compare the results with data obtained from a reference suite of samples from the UG-2. Results from petrographic observations, electron probe microanalysis, laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, quantitative evaluation of materials by scanning electron microscopy, and δ34S isotopes show that: (1) sulfide minerals in the UG-2E and UG-2 consist mainly of pentlandite-chalcopyrite-pyrrhotite, but pyrrhotite is significantly more abundant in the UG-2E and almost absent in the UG-2; (2) iron contents in pentlandite from the UG-2E are significantly higher than in the UG-2; (3) platinum-group element contents within sulfide minerals are different between the two chromitites; (4) UG-2E platinum-group minerals are dominated by arsenides and bismuthotellurides, and by alloys and platinum-group element-sulfide minerals in the UG-2; (5) sulfide mineral chemistry and δ34S values indicate some crustal contamination of the UG-2E; and (6) sulfide mineral and secondary silicate mineral textures in both the UG-2E and UG-2 are indicative of minor, millimeter- to centimeter-scale, hydrothermal alteration. From our observations and results, we consider the UG-2E chromitite in the northern limb to be the equivalent to the UG-2 in the eastern and western limbs that has been contaminated by assimilation of Transvaal Supergroup footwall rocks during emplacement. The contamination resulted in UG-2E sulfide mineral elemental contents and platinum-group mineral types and abundances that are distinct from those of the UG-2 in the rest of the Bushveld.

Platinum-group minerals from alluvial placers of the Kitoy river (south-east part of East Sayan, Russia)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Kiseleva ◽  
Yuriy Ochirov ◽  
Sergey Zhmodik ◽  
Brian Nharara
Keyword(s):  
Publishing House ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Platinum Metal ◽  
Mineral Chemistry ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Tectonic Deformation ◽  
Platinum Group Minerals ◽  
Placer Deposits ◽  
Platinum Group ◽  
Eastern Sayan

<p>The studied area is in the southeastern region of Eastern Sayan. Several tectonically dissected ophiolite complexes were exposed along the margin of the Gargan block and tectonically thrust over this block. Placer nuggets of PGE alloys from the Kitoy river were examined using a scanning electron microscope. Platinum-group minerals (PGM's) in placer deposits provide vital information about the types of their primary source rocks and ores as well as the conditions of formation and alteration. The primary PGM's are Os-Ir-Ru alloys, (Os, Ru)S<sub>2</sub>, and (Os, Ir, Ru)AsS. (Os, Ru)S<sub>2</sub> form overgrowth around the Os-Ir-Ru alloys. The secondary, remobilized PGM's are native osmium, (Ir-Ru) alloys, garutite (Ir, Ni, Fe), zaccarinite (RhNiAs), selenides, tellurides (Os, Ir, Ru), and non-stoichiometric (Pd, Pt, Fe, Te, Bi) phases (Fig.1). Secondary PGM's (garutite and RhNiAs) form rims around Os-Ir-Ru alloys, intergrowth with them, or form polyphase aggregates. Such PGM's (identical in composition and microstructure) are also found in chromitites from Neoproterozoic ophiolite massifs of Eastern Sayan (Kiseleva et al., 2014; 2020). Platinum-metal minerals, exotic for ophiolites, are found among secondary PGM's such as selenides and tellurides (Os, Ir, Ru), (Pt, Pd)<sub>3</sub>Fe, Pd<sub>3</sub>(Te, Bi), (Au, Ag), and non-stoichiometric (Pd, Pt, Fe, Te, Bi) phases. They occur as inclusions in the Os-Ir-Ru alloys or fill cracks in crushed grains of primary PGM's. PGM's in placer deposits of the Kitoy river are similar to the mineral composition of PGE in chromitites of the Ospa-Kitoy ophiolitic massif, which contain Pt-Pd minerals and Pt impurities in Os-Ir-Ru alloys (Kiseleva et al., 2014). Selenides (Os-Ir-Ru) are rare within PGM's from ophiolite chromitites (Barkov et al., 2017; Airiyants et al., 2020) and also occur in chromitites of the Dunzhugur ophiolite massif (Kiseleva et al., 2016). Features of selenides and tellurides (Os, Ir, Ru) indicate their late formation as a result of the influence of magmatic and metamorphic fluids on primary PGE alloys. The filling of cracks in crushed (Os-Ir-Ru) alloys indicates that selenides and tellurides formed during tectonic deformation processes. The source of platinum-group minerals from the Kitoy river placer is the Ospa-Kitoy ophiolite massif, and primarily chromitites.</p><p><img src="https://contentmanager.copernicus.org/fileStorageProxy.php?f=gepj.eb9553e3c70065361211161/sdaolpUECMynit/12UGE&app=m&a=0&c=f3ccc1c7cf7d06094d2afaa34fe9d9a1&ct=x&pn=gepj.elif&d=1" alt=""></p><p>Figure 1. BSE microphotographs of PGM from from alluvial placers of the Kitoy river</p><p>Mineral chemistry was determined at the Analytical Centre for multi-elemental and isotope research SB RAS. This work supported by RFBR grants: No. 16-05-00737a,  19-05-00764а, 19-05-00464a and the Russian Ministry of Education and Science</p><p>References</p><p>Airiyants E.V., Belyanin D.K., Zhmodik S.M., Agafonov L.V., Romashkin P.A.  // Ore Geology Reviews. 2020. V. 120. P.  103453</p><p>Barkov A.Y., Nikiforov A.A., Tolstykh N.D., Shvedov G.I., Korolyuk V.N. // European J. Mineralogy. 2017. V.29(9). P.613-621.</p><p>Kiseleva O.N., Zhmodik S.M., Damdinov B.B., Agafonov L.V., Belyanin D.K. // Russian Geology and Geophysics. <strong>2014</strong>. V. 55. P. 259-272.</p><p>Kiseleva O.N., Airiyants E.V., Belyanin D.K., Zhmodik S.M., Ashchepkov I.V., Kovalev S.A. // Minerals. 2020. V. 10. N 141. P. 1-30.</p><p>Kiseleva O.N., Airiyants E.V., Zhmodik S.M., Belyanin D.K / Russian and international conference proceedings “The problems of geology and exploitation of platinum metal deposits” – St.Petersburg: Publishing house of St.Petersburg State University. 2016. 184 P.</p>

Crystallization of platinum-group minerals from silicate melts: Evidence from Cr-spinel–hosted inclusions in volcanic rocks

Geology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (10) ◽  
pp. 903-906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vadim S. Kamenetsky ◽  
Jung-Woo Park ◽  
James E. Mungall ◽  
Evgeny V. Pushkarev ◽  
Alexei V. Ivanov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Silicate Melts ◽  
Platinum Group Minerals ◽  
Platinum Group

Ni-Cu sulfide mineralization and PGM from the Samapleu mafic-ultramafic intrusion, Yacouba complex, western Ivory Coast

2021 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 631-665
Author(s):  
Franck Gouedji ◽  
Christian Picard ◽  
Marc Antoine Audet ◽  
Thierry Augé ◽  
Jorge Spangenberg
Keyword(s):  
Ivory Coast ◽  
Massive Sulfide ◽  
Sulfide Mineralization ◽  
Platinum Group Minerals ◽  
Thermo Fisher Scientific ◽  
Mass Spectrometer System ◽  
Ultramafic Intrusion ◽  
Platinum Group ◽  
Mineralizing Process ◽  
Spectrometer System

ABSTRACT The mafic-ultramafic Samapleu deposits of the Yacouba complex, which host nickel, copper sulfides, and platinum-group minerals, are located in the Biankouma-Silipou region, western Ivory Coast. These intrusions originate from the mantle and would have been established during the Proterozoic (2.09 Ga) around 22 km deep within the Archean granulites (3.6–2.7 Ga) which at least partially contaminated them. Platinum-group and sulfide minerals from the Samapleu deposits were studied using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, the electronic microprobe, X-ray fluorescence, fire assay, and a Thermo Fisher Scientific Delta S isotope ratio mass spectrometer system. The sulfide mineralization (mainly pyrrhotite, pentlandite, chalcopyrite ± pyrite) is mainly disseminated with, in places, semi-massive to massive sulfide veins. It is especially abundant in pyroxenite horizons with net or breccia textures. The isotopic ratios of sulfur measured from the sulfides (an average of 0.1‰), the R factor (between 1500 and 10,000), and the Cu/Pd ratios indicate a mantle source. Thus, the sulfides would have formed from sulfide liquids produced by immiscibility from the silicate mantle magma under mafic-ultramafic intrusion emplacement conditions and with possible geochemical modification of the magmas by assimilation of the surrounding continental crust. The platinum-group minerals (michenerite, merenskyite, moncheite, Co-rich gersdorffite, irarsite, and hollingworthite) are mainly associated with the sulfide phases. The nature of the platinum-group minerals is indicative of the probable role of late-magmatic hydrothermal fluids during the mineralizing process.

Oberthürite, Rh3(Ni,Fe)32S32 and torryweiserite, Rh5Ni10S16, two new platinum-group minerals from the Marathon deposit, Coldwell Complex, Ontario, Canada: Descriptions, crystal-chemical considerations, and comments on the geochemistry of rhodium

2021 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 1833-1863
Author(s):  
Andrew M. McDonald ◽  
Ingrid M. Kjarsgaard ◽  
Louis J. Cabri ◽  
Kirk C. Ross ◽  
Doreen E. Ames ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crystal Structure ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Diffraction Pattern ◽  
Powder Diffraction ◽  
Empirical Formula ◽  
Bushveld Complex ◽  
Calculated Density ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Platinum Group Minerals ◽  
Platinum Group

ABSTRACT Oberthürite, Rh3(Ni,Fe)32S32, and torryweiserite, Rh5Ni10S16, are two new platinum-group minerals discovered in a heavy-mineral concentrate from the Marathon deposit, Coldwell Complex, Ontario, Canada. Oberthürite is cubic, space group , with a 10.066(5) Å, V 1019.9(1) Å3, Z = 1. The six strongest lines of the X-ray powder-diffraction pattern [d in Å (I)(hkl)] are: 3.06(100)(311), 2.929(18)(222), 1.9518(39)(115,333), 1.7921(74)(440), 1.3184(15)(137,355) and 1.0312(30)(448). Associated minerals include: vysotskite, Au-Ag alloy, isoferroplatinum, Ge-bearing keithconnite, majakite, coldwellite, ferhodsite-series minerals (cuprorhodsite–ferhodsite), kotulskite, and mertieite-II, and the base-metal sulfides, chalcopyrite, bornite, millerite, and Rh-bearing pentlandite. Grains of oberthürite are up to 100 × 100 μm and the mineral commonly develops in larger composites with coldwellite, isoferroplatinum, zvyagintsevite, Rh-bearing pentlandite, and torryweiserite. The mineral is creamy brown compared to coldwellite and bornite, white when compared to torryweiserite, and gray when compared chalcopyrite and millerite. No streak or microhardness could be measured. The mineral shows no discernible pleochroism, bireflectance, or anisotropy. The reflectance values (%) in air for the standard COM wavelengths are: 36.2 (470 nm), 39.1 (546 nm), 40.5 (589 nm), and 42.3 (650 nm). The calculated density is 5.195 g/cm3, determined using the empirical formula and the unit-cell parameter from the refined crystal structure. The average result (n = 11) using energy-dispersive spectrometry is: Rh 10.22, Ni 38.83, Fe 16.54, Co 4.12, Cu 0.23 S 32.36, total 100.30 wt.%, which corresponds to (Rh2Ni0.67Fe0.33)Σ3.00(Ni19.30Fe9.09Co2.22Rh1.16Cu0.12)∑31.89S32.11, based on 67 apfu and crystallochemical considerations, or ideally, Rh3Ni32S32. The name is for Dr. Thomas Oberthür, a well-known researcher on alluvial platinum-group minerals, notably those found in deposits related to the Great Dyke (Zimbabwe) and the Bushveld complex (Republic of South Africa). Torryweiserite is rhombohedral, space group , with a 7.060(1), c 34.271(7) Å, V 1479.3(1), Z = 3. The six strongest lines of the X-ray powder-diffraction pattern [d in Å (I)(hkl)] are: 3.080(33)(021), 3.029(58)(116,0110), 1.9329(30)(036,1115,1210), 1.7797(100)(220,0216), 1.2512(49)(0416), and 1.0226(35)(060,2416,0232). Associated minerals are the same as for oberthürite. The mineral is slightly bluish compared to oberthürite, gray when compared to chalcopyrite, zvyagintsevite, and keithconnite, and pale creamy brown when compared to bornite and coldwellite. No streak or microhardness could be measured. The mineral shows no discernible pleochroism, bireflectance, or anisotropy. The reflectance values (%) in air for the standard COM wavelengths are: 34.7 (470 nm), 34.4 (546 nm), 33.8 (589 nm), and 33.8 (650 nm). The calculated density is 5.555 g/cm3, determined using the empirical formula and the unit-cell parameters from the refined crystal structure. The average result (n = 10) using wavelength-dispersive spectrometry is: Rh 28.02, Pt 2.56, Ir 1.98, Ru 0.10, Os 0.10, Ni 17.09, Fe 9.76, Cu 7.38, Co 1.77 S 30.97, total 99.73 wt.%, which corresponds to (Rh4.50Pt0.22Ir0.17Ni0.08Ru0.02Os0.01)∑5.00(Ni4.73Fe2.89Cu1.92Co0.50)Σ10.04S15.96, based on 31 apfu and crystallochemical considerations, or ideally Rh5Ni10S16. The name is for Dr. Thorolf (‘Torry') W. Weiser, a well-known researcher on platinum-group minerals, notably those found in deposits related to the Great Dyke (Zimbabwe) and the Bushveld complex (Republic of South Africa). Both minerals have crystal structures similar to those of pentlandite and related minerals: oberthürite has two metal sites that are split relative to that in pentlandite, and torryweiserite has a layered structure, comparable, but distinct, to that developed along [111] in pentlandite. Oberthürite and torryweiserite are thought to develop at ∼ 500 °C under conditions of moderate fS2, through ordering of Rh-Ni-S nanoparticles in precursor Rh-bearing pentlandite during cooling. The paragenetic sequence of the associated Rh-bearing minerals is: Rh-bearing pentlandite → oberthürite → torryweiserite → ferhodsite-series minerals, reflecting a relative increase in Rh concentration with time. The final step, involving the formation of rhodsite-series minerals, was driven via by the oxidation of Fe2+ → Fe3+ and subsequent preferential removal of Fe3+, similar to the process involved in the conversion of pentlandite to violarite. Summary comments are made on the occurrence and distribution of Rh, minerals known to have Rh-dominant chemistries, the potential existence of both Rh3+ and Rh2+, and the crystallochemical factors influencing accommodation of Rh in minerals.

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