1. Uranium scavenging during mineral replacement reactions
- Author
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Li, Kan, Pring, Allan, Etschmann, Barbara, Macmillan, Edeltraud, Ngothai, Yung, O’Neill, Brian, Hooker, Anthony, Mosselmans, Fred, and Brugger, Joël
- Abstract
Interface coupled dissolution-reprecipitation reactions (ICDR) are a common feature of fluid-rock interaction during crustal fluid flow. We tested the hypothesis that ICDR reactions can play a key role in scavenging minor elements by exploring the fate of U during the experimental sulfidation of hematite to chalcopyrite under hydrothermal conditions (220-300 °C). The experiments where U was added, either as solid UO2+x(s) or as a soluble uranyl complex, differed from the U-free experiments in that pyrite precipitated initially, before the onset of chalcopyrite precipitation. In addition, in UO2+x(s)- bearing experiments, enhanced hematite dissolution led to increased porosity and precipitation of pyrite+magnetite within the hematite core, whereas in uranyl nitrate-bearing experiments, abundant pyrite formed initially, before being replaced by chalcopyrite. Uranium scavenging was mainly associated with the early reaction stage (pyrite precipitation), resulting in a thin U-rich line marking the original hematite grain surface. This “line” consists of nanocrystals of UO2+x(s), based on chemical mapping and XANES spectroscopy. This study shows that the presence of minor components can affect the pathway of ICDR reactions. Reactions between U- and Cu-bearing fluids and hematite can explain the Cu-U association prominent in some iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) deposits.
- Published
- 2015
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