Abstract
The results of investigations into enrichment of precious metals in sphalerite and pyrite from the Maluntou epithermal gold deposit, China, are reported. The obtained data suggest intimate associations of Au- and Ag-bearing nanoparticles with chalcopyrite inclusions in sphalerite and pyrite. The origins of chalcopyrite inclusions involved different hydrothermal processes, including recrystallization-driven phase separation from parent chalcopyrite-sphalerite solid solutions and replacement of pre-existing pyrite in the presence of Cu-bearing fluids. The chalcopyrite blebs/lamellae follow sphalerite {111} planes, which define a shared sulfur layer for both chalcopyrite and sphalerite. This study indicates that mixing and boiling during the evolution of ore-forming fluids for the Maluntou deposit are key processes for the abnormal enrichment of precious metals in sphalerite and pyrite. The chalcopyrite micro/nano inclusions enhanced enrichment of precious metals in sphalerite provides new insights into the controls on the enrichment of precious metals in sulfides.
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Articles in the same Issue
- The search for a universal law of crystal growth: The law of proportionate effect?
- Crystal growth according to the law of proportionate effect
- Melt-mediated re-equilibration of zircon produced during meltdown of the Chernobyl reactor
- High-pressure behavior and structural transition of beryl-type johnkoivulaite, Cs(Be2B)Mg2Si6O18
- Subsolidus breakdown of armalcolite: Constraints on thermal effects during shock lithification of lunar regolith
- Melting and melt segregation processes controlling granitic melt composition
- Magmatic degassing controlled the metal budget of the Axi epithermal gold deposit, China
- Formation of mixed-layer sulfide-hydroxide minerals from the Tochilinite-Valleriite group during experimental serpentinization of olivine
- Two discrete gold mineralization events recorded by hydrothermal xenotime and monazite, Xiaoqinling gold district, central China
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- Structure and titanium distribution of feiite characterized using synchrotron single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques
- Enrichment of precious metals associated with chalcopyrite inclusions in sphalerite and pyrite
- An UV/Vis/NIR optical absorption spectroscopic and color investigation of transition-metal-doped gahnite (ZnAl2O4 spinel) crystals grown by the flux method
- Understanding the unique geochemical behavior of Sc in the interaction with clay minerals
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