Search

Micro to nano-scale structures of pockets of solidified uranium oxide gel were found for the first time and deciphered ontogenetically during electron-microscopic mineralogical study of four samples of high-grade uranium ores from the Dalmatovskoe deposit. Mineralogical-geochemical features of paragenesis and structural features are reported for unique hydrothermal veinlets consisting of variably crystallized gelpyrite and subveinlets of gel-pitchblende of several generations. Mineralogical features indicate repeated opening of veinlets during hydrothermal ore formation and provide insight into physical and chemical features of non-solidified gel, its mobility, and aggressive behavior during metasomatism. It was proposed that the veinlets are genetically related to the main hydrothermal sources and possibly to the endogenous uranium occurrence, which was formed owing to opening of main fault marked by paleoriver bed. The find of such veinlets is considered as evidence for repeated influx of hydrothermal uranium in the uranium ores of the sedimentary-epigenetic deposit simultaneously with accumulation and transformation of sediments, which made it possible to ascribe this deposit to the hydrothermal-sedimentary type. The depth of core sampling of high-grade ores corresponds to the “ore zone” of the Dalmatovskoe Deposit, near the Paleozoic basement. For this reason, the entire “zone” was ascribed to the specific endogenous metasomatic epihydrothermal occurrences, possibly, of elision nature, with approximate temperature of ore formation of 150–250°C.

Pyrite and arsenopyrite individuals were investigated in ore samples from the mesothermal Klyuchevskoe deposit. The internal structure of the individuals was determined by structural etching. Zoning of two orders was described. A correlation was established between the size of growth layers and the thickness of first-order zones. The anisotropic distribution of minor elements in particular zones and growth sectors was detected. It was found that the internal structure of metacrysts changes regularly, depending on their position relative to productive and nonproductive veinlets of different age. It was shown that, taking into account the volume effects of crystal growth, local changes in the geochemical parameters of mineral-forming medium (variations in trace element concentrations, density of mineral-forming solutions, character of temperature variations, etc.) can be estimated from variations in oscillation periods. The prospects of using pyrite-arsenopyrite and other geothermometers to study crystals consisting of several simple forms are discussed. It was concluded that the characteristics of the internal structure of pyrite metacrysts provide information on the stages of deposit formation.

A new type of sulfide occurrence related to metasomatically altered brecciated gabbroids has been studied at the Sierra Leone site situated in the axial rift valley of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Markov Deep, 6° N). Two associations of plutonic, subvolcanic, and volcanic rocks were dredged: (1) mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) and their intrusive analogues and (2) rocks of the silicic Fe-Ti-oxide series with dominating gabbronorites and sporadic trondhjemites. Almost all igneous rocks at the Sierra Leone site are enriched in Pb, Cu, U, Ga, Ta, Nb, Cs, and Rb and depleted in Zr, Th, and Hf. The rocks of the Fe-Ti-oxide series are enriched in Zn, Sn, and Mo and depleted in Ni and Cr. The main ore-bearing zone is situated at the foot of the eastern wall of the deep, where it is hosted in cataclastic hornblende gabbro and gabbronorite of the Fe-Ti-oxide series. Ore mineralization in metasomatically altered rocks is composed of quartz-sulfide and prehnite-sulfide veinlets, disseminated sulfide, and veined copper sulfide ore. The ore consists of pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, pyrrhotite, bornite, chalcocite, and digenite. The δ34S value of sulfides varies from 3.0 to 15.3‰. At the foot of the eastern wall of the Markov Deep, directly downslope from the ore-bearing zone, loose sediments contain grains of native Cu, Pb, Zn, and Sn and intermetallic compounds (isoferroplatinum, tetraferroplatinum, and brass) apparently derived from the ore. Mineral assemblages of ore-bearing metasomatic rocks and fluid inclusions therein were studied. Ore metasomatism developed under a low oxygen potential within a temperature interval from 400 to 160°C, though initial hydrothermal alteration of rocks proceeded at temperatures of 800–450°C. The temperature of stringer-disseminated ore mineralization is estimated at 170–280°C. The hydrothermal fluids are considered to be of magmatic origin; as the hydrothermal system evolved, they became diluted with seawater that was contained in fractured oceanic crust. The ore matter could have been derived from magmatic fluids that were released from water-saturated melts of the Fe-Ti oxide series during their ascent and leached from host gabbroids in the process of metasomatic alteration.

Four mineralogical-processing modifications of the Gaisk deposit pyrite are distinguished; they differ in forms of appearance and content of gold, arsenic, silver, and zinc. The processing expediency is substantiated for separation of the gold-richest (more than 9 g/t) pyrite modification from the bulk by a gravitation-flotation scheme after preliminary grinding up to −0.074 mm in size, using the arsenic-selective reagent. In this case, it is theoretically possible that pyrite-associated gold extraction reaches 85 %.