scholarly journals Exploration for Platinum-Group Minerals in Till: A New Approach to the Recovery, Counting, Mineral Identification and Chemical Characterization

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 264
Author(s):  
Sheida Makvandi ◽  
Philippe Pagé ◽  
Jonathan Tremblay ◽  
Réjean Girard
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Platinum Group Mineral ◽  
Heavy Mineral ◽  
Chemical Data ◽  
Unconsolidated Sediments ◽  
Mineral Deposits ◽  
New Mineral ◽  
Group Mineral ◽  
Platinum Group Minerals ◽  
Platinum Group

The discovery of new mineral deposits contributes to the sustainable mineral industrial development, which is essential to satisfy global resource demands. The exploration for new mineral resources is challenging in Canada since its vast lands are mostly covered by a thick layer of Quaternary sediments that obscure bedrock geology. In the course of the recent decades, indicator minerals recovered from till heavy mineral concentrates have been effectively used to prospect for a broad range of mineral deposits including diamond, gold, and base metals. However, these methods traditionally focus on (visual) investigation of the 0.25–2.0 mm grain-size fraction of unconsolidated sediments, whilst our observations emphasize on higher abundance, or sometimes unique occurrence of precious metal (Au, Ag, and platinum-group elements) minerals in the finer-grained fractions (<0.25 mm). This study aims to present the advantages of applying a mineral detection routine initially developed for gold grains counting and characterization, to platinum-group minerals in < 50 µm till heavy mineral concentrates. This technique, which uses an automated scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer, can provide quantitative mineralogical and semi-quantitative chemical data of heavy minerals of interest, simultaneously. This work presents the mineralogical and chemical characteristics, the grain size distribution, and the surface textures of 2664 discrete platinum-group mineral grains recovered from the processing of 5194 glacial sediment samples collected from different zones in the Canadian Shield (mostly Quebec and Ontario provinces). Fifty-eight different platinum-group mineral species have been identified to date, among which sperrylite (PtAs2) is by far the most abundant (n = 1488; 55.86%). Textural and mineral-chemical data suggest that detrital platinum-group minerals in the studied samples have been derived, at least in part, from Au-rich ore systems.

Platinum-group mineral characterisation in concentrates from low-grade PGE chromitites from the Vourinos ophiolite complex, northern Greece

2006 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kapsiotis ◽  
T. A. Grammatikopoulos ◽  
F. Zaccarini ◽  
B. Tsikouras ◽  
G. Garuti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Platinum Group Mineral ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Northern Greece ◽  
Ophiolite Complex ◽  
Group Mineral ◽  
Platinum Group

Nipalarsite, Ni8Pd3As4, a new platinum-group mineral from the Monchetundra Intrusion, Kola Peninsula, Russia

2019 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 837-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana L. Grokhovskaya ◽  
Oxana V. Karimova ◽  
Anna Vymazalová ◽  
František Laufek ◽  
Dmitry A. Chareev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Kola Peninsula ◽  
Empirical Formula ◽  
Layered Intrusion ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Platinum Group Mineral ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Wavelength Dispersive Spectroscopy ◽  
Group Mineral ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Platinum Group

AbstractNipalarsite, Ni8Pd3As4, is a new platinum-group mineral discovered in the sulfide-bearing orthopyroxenite of the Monchetundra layered intrusion, Kola Peninsula, Russia (67°52′22″N, 32°47′60″E). Nipalarsite forms anhedral grains (5–80 µm in size) in intergrowths with sperrylite, kotulskite, hollingworthite, isomertieite, menshikovite, palarstanide, nielsenite and monchetundtraite enclosed in pentlandite, anthophyllite, actinolite and chlorite. Nipalarsite is brittle, has a metallic lustre and a grey streak. In plane-polarised light, nipalarsite is light grey with a blue tinge. Reflectance values in air (in %) are: 46.06 at 470 nm, 48.74 at 546 nm, 50.64 at 589 nm and 54.12 at 650 nm. Values of VHN20 fall between 400.5 and 449.2 kg.mm–2, with a mean value of 429.9 kg.mm–2, corresponding to a Mohs hardness of ~4. The average result of 27 electron microprobe wavelength dispersive spectroscopy analyses of nipalarsite is (wt.%): Ni 44.011, Pd 28.74, Fe0.32, Cu 0.85, Pt 0.01, Au 0.05, As 25.42, Sb 0.05, Te 0.39, total 99.85. The empirical formula (normalised to 15 atoms per formula unit) is: (Ni8.10Fe0.06)Σ8.16(Pd2.94Cu0.18)Σ3.12(As3.68Te0.03)Σ3.71 or, ideally, Ni8Pd3As4. Nipalarsite is cubic, space group Fm$\bar{3}$m, with a = 11.4428(9) Å, V = 1498.3(4) Å3 and Z = 8. The strongest lines in the powder X-ray diffraction pattern of synthetic Ni8Pd3As4 [d, Å (I) (hkl)] are: 2.859(10)(004), 2.623(6)(313), 2.557(6)(024), 2.334(11)(224), 2.201(35)(115,333), 2.021(100)(044), 1.906(8)(006,244) and 1.429(7)(008). The crystal structure was solved and refined from the single-crystal X-ray diffraction data of synthetic Ni8Pd3As4. The relation between natural and synthetic nipalarsite is illustrated by an electron back-scattered diffraction study of natural nipalarsite. The density calculated on the basis of the empirical formula of nipalarsite is 9.60 g.cm–3. The mineral name corresponds to the three main elements: Ni, Pd and As.

Biological role in the transformation of platinum-group mineral grains

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 294-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Reith ◽  
Carla M. Zammit ◽  
Sahar S. Shar ◽  
Barbara Etschmann ◽  
Ralph Bottrill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Platinum Group Mineral ◽  
Biological Role ◽  
Group Mineral ◽  
Platinum Group

The role of dithiophosphate as a co-collector in the flotation of a platinum group mineral ore

2012 ◽  
Vol 36-38 ◽  
pp. 100-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.C. Corin ◽  
J.C. Bezuidenhout ◽  
C.T. O’Connor
Keyword(s):  
Platinum Group Mineral ◽  
Group Mineral ◽  
Platinum Group

Platinum-group mineral assemblages in the Platreef at the Sandsloot Mine, northern Bushveld Complex, South Africa

2006 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Holwell ◽  
I. McDonald ◽  
P. E. B. Armitage
Keyword(s):  
Small Volume ◽  
Bushveld Complex ◽  
Rock Type ◽  
Platinum Group Mineral ◽  
Main Zone ◽  
Group Mineral ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Mineral Assemblages ◽  
Base Metal Sulphides ◽  
Platinum Group

AbstractPlatinum group mineral (PGM) assemblages in the Platreef at Sandsloot, northern Bushveld Complex, in a variety of lithologies reveal a complex multi-stage mineralization history. During crystallization of the Platreef pyroxenites, platinum group elements (PGE) and base-metal sulphides (BMS) were distributed thoughout the interstitial liquid forming a telluride-dominant assemblage devoid of PGE sulphides. Redistribution of PGE into the metamorphic footwall by hydrothermal fluids has formed arsenide-, alloy- and antimonide-dominant assemblages, indicating a significant volatile influence during crystallization. Serpentinization of the footwall has produced an antimonide-dominant PGM assemblage. Parts of the igneous reef were subjected to alteration by a late-stage, Fe-rich fluid, producing ultramafic zones where the telluride-dominant assemblage has been recrystallized to an alloy-dominant one, particularly rich in Pt-Fe and Pd-Pb alloys. A thin, small-volume zone of PGE-BMS mineralization along the base of the hangingwall contains a primary PGM assemblage that is locally altered to one dominated by Pt/Pd germanides. This is thought to have formed when the new pulse of Main Zone magma entered the chamber, and scavenged PGE from the underlying Platreef pyroxenites. That each major rock type at Sandsloot contains a distinctive PGM assemblage reflects the importance of syn- and post-emplacement fluid and magmatic processes on the development of Platreef mineralization.

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