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EBSD mapping of Cu-Fe-sulfides reveals microstructures enriched in critical/precious metals and resolves deformation histories

  • Samuel A. King ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Nigel J. Cook ORCID logo , Cristiana L. Ciobanu ORCID logo , Kathy Ehrig ORCID logo , Yuri Tatiana Campo Rodriguez ORCID logo , Sarah Gilbert and Animesh Basak
Published/Copyright: October 3, 2025
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American Mineralogist
From the journal American Mineralogist Volume 110 Issue 10

Abstract

Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) and bornite (Cu5FeS4) from the Olympic Dam Cu-U-Au-Ag deposit (South Australia) are characterized using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) to identify microstructures and their correlations with trace element concentrations measured by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Natural chalcopyrite is shown to be a rich source of micro-structural and -textural information, preserving <110> and <001> crystallographic preferred orientations (CPO), {110} and {112} twin systems, grain boundary migration, foam textures, and subgrain boundaries. Selected examples of chalcopyrite illustrate different aspects of its behavior and relationship with bornite across the mineralogically zoned deposit. The oriented stress imposed by brecciation and/or fluid fluxes at Olympic Dam, alongside temperature, pressure, and strain rate, is shown to induce various microstructures preserved in chalcopyrite. Microstructures can, therefore, be used to elucidate sequential stages of low- to medium-temperature (<300 °C) ore evolution. Pyrite microstructures are already routinely used to understand higher temperature ore evolution, and the complementary microstructural study of chalcopyrite coexisting with pyrite has the potential to reveal deformational events across a more complete range of temperatures. Chalcopyrite is particularly well suited to unravel episodes of low- to medium-temperature overprinting in ore systems that lack obvious evidence for post-mineralization deformation.

EBSD mapping reveals what appears as single grains of chalcopyrite in reflected light are, in fact, aggregates composed of ∼100 individual grains. In contrast, analyzed bornite displays overwhelming crystallographic homogeneity. Rare instances of misorientation in bornite are all associated with replacement and, if correlated with EBSD analysis of coexisting chalcopyrite and its inclusions (e.g., cobaltite), can be used to discern the origin and evolution of different bornite associations. LA-ICP-MS trace element mapping of chalcopyrite aggregates indicates that grain boundaries host Pb, Bi, Ag, and Sb concentrations, with twin boundaries displaying a weaker concentration of the same elements. Bornite grain boundaries are also enriched in Pb. These observations confirm the critical role played by microstructures in Cu-(Fe)-sulfides as traps for Pb, a non-target contaminant in copper concentrates, as well as new evidence for the physical state of Ag and potential value-added critical metals like Bi and Sb. The preferential occurrence of Pb, Bi, Ag, and Sb along permeable grain boundaries may incentivize efforts to remove contaminants and/or recover by-products via leaching.

Keywords: Electron backscatter diffraction; Cu-(Fe)-sulfides; chalcopyrite; bornite; trace elements; microstructures; twinning; Olympic Dam

Acknowledgments and Funding

We thank Benjamin Wade and Ken Neubauer (Adelaide Microscopy) for assisting with EBSD operation, sample preparation, and SEM expertise. This study was funded by Australian Research Council Linkage grant LP200100156 (Critical Minerals from Complex Ores) to N.J.C and K.E., co-supported by BHP Olympic Dam. We appreciate valuable insights from Alexandre Cugerone and an anonymous reviewer who assisted in improving the manuscript.

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Received: 2024-03-19
Accepted: 2024-09-11
Published Online: 2025-10-03
Published in Print: 2025-10-27

© 2025 Mineralogical Society of America

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https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2024-9396
Keywords for this article
Electron backscatter diffraction; Cu-(Fe)-sulfides; chalcopyrite; bornite; trace elements; microstructures; twinning; Olympic Dam

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  1. Theoretical studies of thermodynamic and elastic properties of diamond under Earth’s mantle conditions
  2. Natrojarosite formed in the Matanomadh Formation, Kutch, India: A Na analog of jarosite on Mars
  3. Moxuanxueite, NaCa6Zr(Si2O7)2OF3, a new wöhlerite-group mineral from Gejiu alkaline complex, Yunnan Province, China
  4. EBSD mapping of Cu-Fe-sulfides reveals microstructures enriched in critical/precious metals and resolves deformation histories
  5. The sulfate-bearing associations of fumarolic environments of Somma-Vesuvius volcano (Italy): A review from historical samples (Royal Mineralogical Museum of Naples)
  6. Snowball quartz in highly fractionated peraluminous granites: An indicator of multiple magma degassing
  7. Oxybarometry of reduced silicate glasses: Using multivariate methods to constrain Cr oxidation states with application to lunar glasses
  8. Nigelcookite, PbFe22+V23+(PO4)3(OH)3,and plumbojohntomaite, PbFe22+Fe23+(PO4)3(OH)3,two new members of the bjarebyite group from the Yushui Cu deposit, South China
  9. Rare occurrence of jarosite-alunite solid solutions with intermediate Al-Fe contents in the Jurassic Aztec Sandstone, Nevada, U.S.A
  10. Olgafrankite, Ni3Ge, a new mineral as the carrier of siderophile germanium in reduced systems
  11. Fuyuanite [Mg7Nb6O18(OH)8], a new hydrous magnesic-niobic oxide mineral from the Bayan Obo deposit, China
  12. Laboratory synthesis, spectroscopic characteristics, and thermal behavior of phoxite
  13. Sublattice disorder and Fe-Mg substitution in brucite: Implications for the subduction-zone water cycle
  14. On the labyrinthine crystal-chemistry of boleite, a Pb-Ag-Cu hydroxyhalide
  15. Book Review
  16. Book Review: Exoplanets: Compositions, Mineralogy, Evolution
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