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Ores. Principally we discuss ores as sources of metals However, there are many other resources bound in minerals which we find useful How many can we think of?. Ore Deposits. A deposit contains an unusually high concentration of particular element(s) - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Ores• Principally we discuss ores as sources of
metals
• However, there are many other resources bound in minerals which we find useful
• How many can we think of?
Ore Deposits• A deposit contains an unusually high
concentration of particular element(s)
• This means the element(s) have been concentrated in a particular area due to some process
• What sort of processes might concentrate these elements in one place?
Gold Au• Distribution of Au in the crust = 3.1 ppb by
weight 3.1 units gold / 1,000,000,000 units of total crust = 0.00000031% Au
• Concentration of Au needed to be economically viable as a deposit = few g/t 3 g / 1000kg = 3g/ 1,000,000 g = 0.00031% Au
• Need to concentrate Au at least 1000-fold to be a viable deposit
• Rare mines can be up to a few percent gold (extremely high grade)!
Ore minerals• Minerals with economic value are ore
minerals
• Minerals often associated with ore minerals but which do not have economic value are gangue minerals
• Key to economic deposits are geochemical traps metals are transported and precipitated in a very concentrated fashion– Gold is almost 1,000,000 times less abundant
than is iron
Economic Geology• Understanding of how metalliferous minerals
become concentrated key to ore deposits…
• Getting them out at a profit determines where/when they come out
Ore deposit environments• Magmatic
– Cumulate deposits – fractional crystallization processes can concentrate metals (Cr, Fe, Pt)
– Pegmatites – late staged crystallization forms pegmatites and many residual elements are concentrated (Li, Ce, Be, Sn, and U)
• Hydrothermal
– Magmatic fluid - directly associated with magma
– Porphyries - Hot water heated by pluton
– Skarn – hot water associated with contact metamorphisms
– Exhalatives – hot water flowing to surface
– Epigenetic – hot water not directly associated with pluton
• Sedimentary– Placer – weathering of primary minerals and transport
by streams (Gold, diamonds, other)– Banded Iron Formations – 90%+ of world’s iron tied
up in these– Evaporite deposits – minerals like gypsum, halite
deposited this way– Laterites – leaching of rock leaves residual materials
behind (Al, Ni, Fe)– Supergene – reworking of primary ore deposits
remobilizes metals (often over short distances)
Ore deposit environments
Geochemical Traps• Similar to chemical sedimentary rocks – must leach
material into fluid, transport and deposit ions as minerals…
• pH, redox, T changes and mixing of different fluids results in ore mineralization
• Cause metals to go from soluble to insoluble• Sulfides (reduced form of S) strongly binds metals
many important metal ore minerals are sulfides!• Oxides – Oxidizing environments form
(hydroxy)oxide minerals, very insoluble metal concentrations (especially Fe, Mn, Al)
Hydrothermal Ore Deposits• Thermal gradients induce convection of water –
leaching, redox rxns, and cooling create economic mineralization
Massive sulfide deposits• Hot, briny, water
leaches metals from basaltic ocean rocks
• Comes in contact with cool ocean water
• Sulfides precipitate
Vermont Copperbelt• Besshi-type massive sulfide deposits• Key Units:
– Giles Mountain formation – More siliciclastic, including graphitic pelite, quartoze granofels (metamorphosed greywacke), hornblende schist, amphibolite
– Standing Pond Volcanics – mostly a fine grained hormblende-plagioclase amphibolite, likely formed from extrusive basaltic rocks (local evidence of pillow structures in St. Johnsbury). Felsic dike near Springfiled VT yielded a U-Pb age of 423± 4 Ma.
– Waits River formation – Calcareous pelite (metamorphosed mudstone), metalimestone, metadolostone, quartzite.
Minerals associated with economically recoverable metals
• Elemental forms• Sulfides• Oxides• Carbonates• Sulfate salt
Elemental copper
Chalcocite, Cu2S Chalcanthite, CuSO4*5H2OMalachite, Cu2CO3(OH)2
Cuprite, Cu2O
Sulfides Part 1
• Substitution into sulfides is very common
• As and Se substitute for S very easily
• Au can substitute in cation sites (auriferrous minerals)
• Different metals swap in and out pretty easily Cu and Fe for instance have a wide range of solid solution materials
Sulfide Minerals• Minerals with S- or S2- (monosulfides) or
S22- (disulfides) as anionic group
• Transition metals bonded with sulfide anion groups
Iron Sulfides• Mackinawite – FeS
• Greigite – FexSy
• Pyrite – FeS2 (cubic)
• Marcasite – FeS2 (orthorhombic)
• Troilite – FeS end member
• Pyrrhotite – Fe1-xS (slightly deficient in iron)
• Arsenopyrite – FeAsS
• Chalcopyrite – CuFeS2
Other important sulfides• Galena – PbS
• Sphalerite/wurtzite – ZnS
• Cinnabar – HgS
• Molybdenite – MoS
• Covellite – CuS
• Chalcocite – Cu2S
• Acanthite or Argenite – AgS
• Stibnite – Sb2S3
• Orpiment – As2S3 ; Realgar – AsS
Sulfides are reduced minerals what happens when they contact O2?
• This is the basis for supergene enrichment and acidic mine drainage
Actively Oxidizing Pyrite
• FeS2 + 3.5 O2 + H2O Fe2+ + 2 SO42- + 2 H+
• FeS2 + 14 Fe3+ + 8 H2O 15 Fe2+ + 2 SO42- + 16 H+
• 14Fe2+ + 3.5 O2 + 14H+ 14 Fe3+ + 7 H2O
• Sulfur species and H+ generation:– FeS2 + 2 Fe3+ 3 Fe2+ + ¼ S8 + 0 H+
– FeS2 + 7 Fe3+ + 3 H2O 8 Fe2+ + 0.5 S4O62- + 6 H+
AMD neutralization• Metals are soluble in low pH
solutions – can get 100’s of grams of metal into a liter of very acidic solution
• HOWEVER – eventually that solution will get neutralized (reaction with other rocks, CO2 in the atmosphere, etc.) and the metals are not so soluble but oxidized S (sulfate, SO4
2-) is very soluble
• A different kind of mineral is formed!
Ely Mine