Selenium, Tellurium and Precious Metal Mineralogy

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2024) | Viewed by 1676

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
Interests: gold deposit; barium deposit; scattered element deposit; ore deposit geochemistry; ore genesis; mineralogy of selenium and tellurium

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Guest Editor
School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Interests: hydrothermal mineral genesis and metal enrichment mechanisms

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Selenium- and tellurium-bearing precious metal minerals are significant producers of Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, and potentially strategic elements if mineral processing methods are optimized for recovery. These minerals include many phases (e.g., Au-Ag-Te and Au-Ag-Se) and occur in many types of ore deposits from different backgrounds, such as epithermal, Carlin-type, orogenic, and intrusion-related gold deposits as well as magmatic Cu–Ni–PGE sulfide, IOCG, VMS, porphyry, and skarn deposits. In recent years, high-precision analysis (e.g., in situ technology and high-resolution mass spectrum) on minerals has provided an opportunity to investigate mineral genesis, metal sources, and enrichment mechanisms, as well as metal recovery in ore deposits. This Special Issue is focused on Se- and Te-bearing precious metal minerals from different deposit types, including, but not limited to (1) mineral genesis in ore deposits; (2) high-resolution chemistry and isotope analyses of minerals; (3) hydrothermal experiments (e.g., nucleation and growth); (4) numerical modeling; and (5) environmentally friendly recovery approaches.

Prof. Dr. Jiajun Liu
Dr. Shen Gao
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Se- and Te-bearing mineralogy
  • precious metals
  • ore genesis
  • mineral chemistry
  • isotopes
  • fluid conditions
  • enrichment mechanism

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 18571 KiB  
Article
Constraints on Ore Genesis from Trace Ore Mineralogy: A New Occurrence of Kupčíkite and Paděraite from the Zhibula Cu Skarn Deposit, Southern Tibet
by Jing Xu, Cristiana Liana Ciobanu, Nigel John Cook, Shen Gao, Taiping Zhao and Jichen Jiang
Minerals 2024, 14(5), 474; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14050474 - 29 Apr 2024
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Abstract
Mineral assemblages containing Cu-Bi sulfosalts, Bi chalcogenides, and Ag-(Au) tellurides have been identified in the mid-Miocene Zhibula Cu skarn deposit, Gangdese Belt, southern Tibet. Different mineral assemblages from three locations in the deposit, including proximal massive garnet skarn, proximal retrogressed pyroxene-dominant skarn in [...] Read more.
Mineral assemblages containing Cu-Bi sulfosalts, Bi chalcogenides, and Ag-(Au) tellurides have been identified in the mid-Miocene Zhibula Cu skarn deposit, Gangdese Belt, southern Tibet. Different mineral assemblages from three locations in the deposit, including proximal massive garnet skarn, proximal retrogressed pyroxene-dominant skarn in contact with marble, and distal banded garnet–pyroxene skarn hosted in marble, are studied to constrain the evolution of the mineralization. Hypogene bornite contains elevated Bi (mean 6.73 wt.%) and co-exists in proximal andradite skarn with a second bornite with far lower Bi content, carrollite, Au-Ag tellurides (hessite, petzite), and wittichenite. This assemblage indicates formation at relatively high temperatures (>400 °C) and high fS2 and fTe2 during prograde-stage mineralization. Assemblages of Bi sulfosalts (wittichenite, aikinite, kupčíkite, and paděraite) and bismuth chalcogenides (e.g., tetradymite) in proximal pyroxene skarn are also indicative of formation at relatively high temperatures, but at relatively lower fTe2 and fS2 conditions. Within the reduced distal skarn (chalcopyrite–pyrrhotite-bearing) in marble, cobalt, and nickel occur as discrete minerals: cobaltite, melonite and cobaltic pentlandite. The trace ore mineral signature of the Zhibula skarn and the distributions of precious and critical trace elements such as Ag, Au, Co, Te, Se, and Bi support an evolving magmatic–hydrothermal system in which different parts of the deposit each define ore formation at distinct local physicochemical conditions. This is the first report of kupčíkite and paděraite from a Chinese location. Their compositions are comparable to other occurrences, but conspicuously, they do not form nanoscale intergrowths with one another. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selenium, Tellurium and Precious Metal Mineralogy)
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23 pages, 20609 KiB  
Article
Enrichment of Se-Te-Au in the Jilongshan Au-Cu Skarn Deposit, Hubei Province: Insight from Pyrite Texture and Composition
by Guizhou Nan, Jing Xu, Wenyuan Liu, Suyu Chen, Zhihui Cen and Jichen Jiang
Minerals 2023, 13(12), 1516; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13121516 - 03 Dec 2023
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Abstract
Selenium and Te are two important critical metals, which are often produced as by-products in Au-Cu deposits related to magmatic–hydrothermal systems, such as porphyry and skarn deposits. The Jilongshan Au-Cu deposit is a typical skarn deposit located in the middle and lower parts [...] Read more.
Selenium and Te are two important critical metals, which are often produced as by-products in Au-Cu deposits related to magmatic–hydrothermal systems, such as porphyry and skarn deposits. The Jilongshan Au-Cu deposit is a typical skarn deposit located in the middle and lower parts of the Yangtze River metallogenic belt. Previous studies show that it has valuable Se and Te resources, but their occurrence, particularly the relationship between the texture and composition of pyrite, and the enrichment mechanism of Se, Te, and Au remain unclear. Here, the textures and the major and trace elements of the Jilongshan pyrites were studied by using an optical microscope, EMPA, and LA-ICP-MS to reveal the occurrence of Se, Te, and Au in pyrite, as well as their genetic links with the pyrite mineralogical signature. The results show that there are three types of ores in the Jilongshan deposit, including granite porphyry-hosted, skarn-hosted, and carbonate-hosted ores. All of these ores contain major amounts of pyrite, which can be divided into four different generations. The first generation of pyrite (Py1) belongs to sedimentary genesis with a typical framboid texture and its Co/ Ni ratios are less than 1, whereas Py2, Py3, and Py4 belong to hydrothermal genesis and their Co/ Ni ratios are between 1.0 and 30.2. Selenium concentrations in Py2 and Py3 are relatively high (median, 138 ppm and 344 ppm, respectively), which are mainly present as isomorphism and a small amount as selenite in pyrite. Compared with granite porphyry-hosted and skarn-hosted ores, pyrite from carbonate-hosted ores has the highest Se concentrations. The latest generation of pyrite (Py4) contains the highest concentrations of Te (average, 140 ppm) and Au (average, 12 ppm) among the hydrothermal pyrites. Therefore, the precipitation of Se mainly occurs in pyrite during the early high-temperature stage, whereas higher concentrations of Te and Au are mainly enriched in pyrite during the late stage with low temperatures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selenium, Tellurium and Precious Metal Mineralogy)
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