ORCID Profile
0000-0002-7470-3935
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Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Mineral Processing/Beneficiation | Geology | Ore Deposit Petrology | Mineralogy and Crystallography | Powder and Particle Technology | Control Systems, Robotics and Automation | Electrical and Electronic Engineering | Inorganic Geochemistry | Nanophotonics | Nanoscale Characterisation | Decision Support and Group Support Systems | Geology | Geochronology | Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology) | Resource geoscience | Mineralogy and crystallography | Exploration geochemistry | Nanotechnology | Resources Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy | Geochemistry not elsewhere classified | Lasers and Quantum Electronics |
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Mining and Extraction of Copper Ores | Expanding Knowledge in the Earth Sciences | Mineral Exploration not elsewhere classified | Primary Mining and Extraction of Mineral Resources not elsewhere classified | Environmentally Sustainable Mineral Resource Activities not elsewhere classified | Mineral Resources (excl. Energy Resources) not elsewhere classified | Expanding Knowledge in the Chemical Sciences | Expanding Knowledge in the Physical Sciences | Beneficiation or Dressing of Iron Ores | Mining and Extraction of Precious (Noble) Metal Ores | Concentrating Processes of Base Metal Ores (excl. Aluminium and Iron Ores) | Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Marine Environments
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Publications
NANO- TO MICRON-SCALE PARTICULATE GOLD HOSTED BY MAGNETITE: A PRODUCT OF GOLD SCAVENGING BY BISMUTH MELTS
Publisher: Society of Economic Geologists
Date: 03-04-2017
Feldspar evolution in the Roxby Downs Granite, host to Fe-oxide Cu-Au-(U) mineralisation at Olympic Dam, South Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2017
Chemical and textural interpretation of late-stage coffinite and brannerite from the Olympic Dam IOCG-Ag-U deposit
Publisher: Mineralogical Society
Date: 12-2017
DOI: 10.1180/MINMAG.2017.081.006
Abstract: The Olympic Dam iron-oxide copper-gold-silver-uranium deposit, South Australia, contains three dominant U minerals: uraninite coffinite and brannerite. Microanalytical and petrographic observations provide evidence for an interpretation in which brannerite and coffinite essentially represent the products of U mineralizing events after initial deposit formation at 1.6 Ga. Marked compositional and textural differences between the various types of brannerite and coffinite highlight the role of multiple stages of U dissolution and reprecipitation. On the basis of petrography (size, habit, textures and mineral associations) and compositional variation, brannerites are ided into four distinct groups (brannerite-A, -B, -C and -D), and coffinite into three groups (coffinite-A, -B and -C). Brannerite-A ranges in composition from what is effectively uraniferous rutile to stoichiometric brannerite, and has elevated (Mg +Mn + Na + K) and (Fe + Al) compared to other brannerite types. It displays the most erse range of morphologies, including complex irregular-shaped aggregates, replacement bands, and discrete elongate seams. The internal structure of brannerite-A consists of randomly-oriented hair-like needles and blades. Brannerite-B ( μm in size) is generally prismatic and typically associated with baryte and REY minerals (REE+Y= REY). Brannerite-C and -D are both associated with Cu-(Fe)-sulfides and are typically composed of irregular masses and blebs (10–50 μm in size) with a more uniform or massive internal structure. Brannerite-D is distinct from -C and always contains inclusions of galena. Brannerite-B to -D all contain elevated ΣREY, with brannerite-B and -C having elevated As, and brannerite-D having elevated Nb. All coffinite is typically globular (each globule is 2–10 μm in size) to collomorphic in appearance. Coffinite-A ranges from discrete globules to collomorphic bands completely encompassing quartz. Coffinite-B is always found with uraninite, and includes collomorph coffinite enveloped by massive uraninite, as well as aureoles of coffinite on the margins of uraninite crystals. Coffinite-C is associated with brannerite and REY minerals. The majority of coffinite is heterogeneous. Brannerite and coffinite have probably precipitated as part of a late-stage hydrothermal U-event, which might have involved the dissolution and/or reprecipitation of earlier precipitated uraninite, or could represent the products of a later U mineralizing event. Evidence which supports formation of late-stage coffinite and brannerite includes: (1) low-Pb contents of both minerals (2) coffinite is commonly found on the edges of uraninite, implying later deposition and (3) coffinite is often found on the edge of brannerite aggregates, suggestive of brannerite precipitation occurred before coffinite. Moreover, there are many features (e.g. banding, scalloped edges, alteration rinds, variable compositions etc.) indicative of hydrothermal alteration processes.
Trace element substitution and grain-scale compositional heterogeneity in enargite
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2019
Mineral deposits of South China: Preface
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2007
Radionuclide distributions in Olympic Dam copper concentrates: The significance of minor hosts, incorporation mechanisms, and the role of mineral surfaces
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2020
A multi-technique evaluation of hydrothermal hematite U Pb isotope systematics: Implications for ore deposit geochronology
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2019
Silician Magnetite: Si–Fe-Nanoprecipitates and Other Mineral Inclusions in Magnetite from the Olympic Dam Deposit, South Australia
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 20-05-2019
DOI: 10.3390/MIN9050311
Abstract: A comprehensive nanoscale study on magnetite from s les from the outer, weakly mineralized shell at Olympic Dam, South Australia, has been undertaken using atom-scale resolution High Angle Annular Dark Field Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (HAADF STEM) imaging and STEM energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry mapping and spot analysis, supported by STEM simulations. Silician magnetite within these s les is characterized and the significance of nanoscale inclusions in hydrothermal and magmatic magnetite addressed. Silician magnetite, here containing Si–Fe-nanoprecipitates and a erse range of nanomineral inclusions [(ferro)actinolite, diopside and epidote but also U-, W-(Mo), Y-As- and As-S-nanoparticles] appears typical for these s les. We observe both silician magnetite nanoprecipitates with spinel-type structures and a γ-Fe1.5SiO4 phase with maghemite structure. These are distinct from one another and occur as bleb-like and nm-wide strips along d111 in magnetite, respectively. Overprinting of silician magnetite during transition from K-feldspar to sericite is also expressed as abundant lattice-scale defects (twinning, faults) associated with the transformation of nanoprecipitates with spinel structure into maghemite via Fe-vacancy ordering. Such mineral associations are characteristic of early, alkali-calcic alteration in the iron-oxide copper gold (IOCG) system at Olympic Dam. Magmatic magnetite from granite hosting the deposit is quite distinct from silician magnetite and features nanomineral associations of hercynite-ulvöspinel-ilmenite. Silician magnetite has petrogenetic value in defining stages of ore deposit evolution at Olympic Dam and for IOCG systems elsewhere. The new data also add new perspectives into the definition of silician magnetite and its occurrence in ore deposits.
Nanogeoscience in ore systems research: Principles, methods, and applications
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2011
Trace and minor elements in sphalerite: A LA-ICPMS study
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2009
Feldspar mineralogy and rare-earth element (re)mobilization in iron-oxide copper gold systems from South Australia: a nanoscale study
Publisher: Mineralogical Society
Date: 28-02-2018
DOI: 10.1180/MINMAG.2017.081.040
Abstract: Nanoscale characterization (TEM on FIB-SEM-prepared foils) was undertaken on feldspars undergoing transformation from early post-magmatic (deuteric) to hydrothermal stages in granites hosting the Olympic Dam Cu-U-Au-Ag deposit, and from the Cu-Au skarn at Hillside within the same iron-oxide copper-gold (IOCG) province, South Australia. These include complex perthitic textures, anomalously Ba-, Fe-, or REE -rich compositions, and REE -flourocarbonate + molybdenite assemblages which pseudomorph pre-existing feldspars. Epitaxial orientations between cryptoperthite (magmatic), patch perthite (dueteric) and replacive albite (hydrothermal) within vein perthite support interface-mediated reactions between pre-existing alkali-feldspars and pervading fluid, irrespective of micro-scale crystal morphology. Such observations are consistent with a coupled dissolution-reprecipitation reaction mechanism, which assists in grain-scale element remobilization via the generation of transient interconnected microporosity. Micro-scale aggregates of hydrothermal hyalophane (Ba-rich K-feldspar), crystallizing within previously albitized areas of andesine, reveal a complex assemblage of calc-silicate, As-bearing fluorapatite and Fe oxides along reaction boundaries in the enclosing albite-sericite assemblage typical of deuteric alteration. Such inclusions are good REE repositories and their presence supports REE remobilization at the grain-scale during early hydrothermal alteration. Iron-metasomatism is recognized by nanoscale maghemite inclusions within ‘red-stained’ orthoclase, as well as by hematite in REE -fluorocarbonates, which reflect broader-scale zonation patterns typical for IOCG systems. Potassium-feldspar from the contact between alkali-granite and skarn at Hillside is characterized by 100–1000 ppm REE , attributable to pervasive nanoscale inclusions of calc-silicates, concentrated along microfractures, or pore-attached. Feldspar replacement by REE -fluorcarbonates at Olympic Dam and nanoscale calc-silicate inclusions in feldspar at Hillside are both strong evidence for the role of feldspars in concentrating REE during intense metasomatism. Differences in mineralogical expression are due to the availability of associated elements. Lattice-scale intergrowths of assemblages indicative of Fe-metasomatism, REE -enrichment and sulfide deposition at Olympic Dam are evidence for a spatial and temporal relationship between these processes.
Mapping of Sulfur Isotopes and Trace Elements in Sulfides by LA-(MC)-ICP-MS: Potential Analytical Problems, Improvements and Implications
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 20-10-2016
DOI: 10.3390/MIN6040110
Chemical-structural modularity in the tetradymite group: A HRTEM study
Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America
Date: 04-2009
DOI: 10.2138/AM.2009.2906
Iron isotope behavior during fluid/rock interaction in K-feldspar alteration zone – A model for pyrite in gold deposits from the Jiaodong Peninsula, East China
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2018
The future of biotechnology for gold exploration and processing
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2012
Rare earths and other trace elements in minerals from skarn assemblages, Hillside iron oxide–copper–gold deposit, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2014
In situ spatial distribution mapping of radionuclides in minerals by nanoSIMS
Publisher: Geological Society of London
Date: 19-11-2018
Determination of the oxidation state of Cu in substituted Cu-In-Fe-bearing sphalerite via -XANES spectroscopy
Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America
Date: 30-01-2012
DOI: 10.2138/AM.2012.4042
EARLY, DEEP MAGNETITE-FLUORAPATITE MINERALIZATION AT THE OLYMPIC DAM Cu-U-Au-Ag DEPOSIT, SOUTH AUSTRALIA*
Publisher: Society of Economic Geologists
Date: 09-2017
The Basil Cu–Co deposit, Eastern Arunta Region, Northern Territory, Australia: A metamorphosed volcanic-hosted massive sulphide deposit
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2014
Critical elements: opportunities for microfluidic processing and potential for ESG-powered mining investments
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.1039/D2GC02214A
Abstract: Critical minerals have an irreplaceable role in the ongoing revolution in technology and using microfluidic continuous-flow technology for processing these minerals has potential solutions and benefits towards the ESG mining issues.
Another look at nagyágite from the type locality, S $\check{\rm{a}}$ c $\check{\rm{a}}$ rîmb, Romania: Replacement, chemical variation and petrogenetic implications
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-12-2007
Gold-telluride nanoparticles revealed in arsenic-free pyrite
Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America
Date: 08-2012
DOI: 10.2138/AM.2012.4207
Mineralogy and Distribution of REE in Oxidised Ores of the Mount Weld Laterite Deposit, Western Australia
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 10-05-2023
DOI: 10.3390/MIN13050656
Abstract: The Mount Weld rare earth element (REE) deposit, Western Australia, is one of the largest of its type on Earth. Current mining exploits the high-grade weathered goethite-bearing resource that lies above, and which represents the weathering product of a subjacent carbonatite. The mineralogy, petrography, deportment of lanthanides among the different components, and variation in mineral speciation, textures, and chemistry are examined. Microanalysis, involving scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and laser ablation inductively coupled-plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), was conducted on sized fractions of three crushed and ground laterite ore s les from current and planned production, and a representative s le from the underlying carbonatite. High-magnification imaging of particles in laterite s les show that in idual REE-bearing phases are fine-grained and extend in size well below the micron-scale. Nanoscale inclusions of REE-phosphates are observed in apatite, Fe-(Mn)-(hydr)oxides, and quartz, among others. These have the appearance, particularly in fluorapatite, of pervasive, ultrafine dusty domains. Apart from the discrete REE minerals and abundant nano- to micron-scale inclusions in gangue, all ore components analysed by LA-ICP-MS contain trace to minor levels of REEs within their structures. This includes apatite, where low levels of REE are confirmed in preserved igneous apatite, but also Fe- and Mn-(hydr)oxides in which concentrations of hundreds, even thousands of ppm are measured. This is significant given that Fe-(Mn)-(hydr)oxides are the most abundant component of the laterite and points to extensive mobility and redistribution of REEs, and especially HREE, during progressive lateritisation. Late-formed minerals, notably tiny grains of cerianite, reflect a shift to oxidising conditions. REE-fluorocarbonates are the main host for REEs in carbonatite and are systematically replaced by hydrated, Ca-bearing REE-phosphates (largely rhabdophane). The latter displays varied compositions but is characteristically enriched in HREE relative to monazite in the same s le. Fine-grained, compositionally heterogeneous rhabdophane is accompanied by minor amounts of other paragenetically late, hydrated phosphates with enhanced MREE/HREE relative to LREE (although still LREE-dominant). Minor, relict xenotime and zircon are significant HREE carriers. Ilmenite and pyrochlore group members contain REE but contribute only negligibly to the overall REE budget. Although the proportions of in idual mineral species differ, the chemistry of key ore components are similar in different laterite s les from the current resource. Mineral signatures are, however, subtly different in the lower grade southeastern part of the deposit, including higher concentrations of HREE relative to LREE in monazite, rhabdophane, florencite and Fe-(Mn)-(hydr)oxides.
Focussed ion beam–transmission electron microscopy applications in ore mineralogy: Bridging micro- and nanoscale observations
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2011
Halogens in hydrothermal sphalerite record origin of ore-forming fluids
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Date: 12-05-2020
DOI: 10.1130/G47087.1
Abstract: The halogens Cl and Br are sensitive indicators for the origin of ore-forming fluids. Here, we use a combination of microchemical and microscopic methods to show that measurable concentrations of these elements commonly occur as atomic-scale substitutions in hydrothermal sphalerite. Furthermore, the Cl/Br ratios of halogen-rich sphalerites are indistinguishable from those of the corresponding ore-forming fluids. Thus, they record fluid compositions, which in turn record fluid origin. Given the abundance of sphalerite in hydrothermal base-metal deposits, as well as the relative ease of conducting in situ microchemical analyses, the halogen signature of sphalerite has the potential to become a sensitive proxy to distinguish between different ore-forming environments.
Tellurides from Sunrise Dam gold deposit, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia: a new occurrence of nagyágite
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-08-2007
A Synthetic Haematite Reference Material for LA-ICP-MS U-Pb Geochronology and Application to Iron Oxide-Cu-Au Systems
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-12-2021
DOI: 10.1111/GGR.12365
Synthesis of U-Pb doped hematite using a hydrated ferric oxide approach
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2019
Episodic mafic magmatism in the Eyre Peninsula: Defining syn- and post-depositional BIF environments for iron deposits in the Middleback Ranges, South Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2020
The dynamic uptake of lead and its radionuclides by natural and synthetic aluminium-phosphate-sulfates
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2021
Micron- to nano-scale intergrowths among members of the cuprobismutite series and paděraite: HRTEM and microanalytical evidence
Publisher: Mineralogical Society
Date: 04-2004
Abstract: Coherent intergrowths, at the lattice scale, between cuprobismutite ( N = 2) and structurally related paděraite along both major axes (15 Å and 17 Å repeats) of the two minerals are reported within skarn from Ocna de Fier, Romania. The structural subunit, DTD, 3 layers of paděraite, is involved at interfaces of the two minerals along the 15 Å repeat, as well as in transposition of 1 paděraite unit to 2 cuprobismutite units along the 17 Å repeat in slip defects. Lattice images obtained by HRTEM across intervals of 200–400 nm show short- to long-range stacking sequences of cuprobismutite and padeÏ raite ribbons. Such nanoscale slabs mimic mm-scale intergrowths observed in back-scattered electron images at three orders of magnitude greater. These slabs are compositionally equivalent to intermediaries in the cuprobismutite-paděraite range encountered during microanalysis. Hodrushite ( N = 1.5) is identified in the mm-scale intergrowths, but its absence in the lattice images indicates that, in this case, formation of polysomes between structurally related phases is favoured instead of stacking disorder among cuprobismutite homologues. The tendency for short-range ordering and semi-periodic occurrence of polysomes suggests they are the result of an oscillatory chemical signal with periodicity varying from one to three repeats of 15 Å, rather than simple ‘accidents’ or irregular structural defects. Lead distribution along the polysomes is modelled as an output signal modulated by the periodicity of stacking sequences, with Pb carried within the D units of paděraite. This type of modulator acts as a patterning operator activated by chemical waves with litudes that encompass the chemical difference between the minerals. Conversion of the paděraite structural subunit DTD to the C unit of cuprobismutite, conserving interval width, emphasizes that polysomatic modularity also assists interference of chemical signals with opposite litudes. Observed coarsening of lattice-scale intergrowths up to the mm-scale implies coupling between diffusion-controlled structural modulation, and rhythmic precipitation at the skarn front during crystallization.
Sulfur isotope fractionation in pyrite during laser ablation: Implications for laser ablation multiple collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry mapping
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2017
Apatite at Olympic Dam, South Australia: A petrogenetic tool
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2016
Advances and Opportunities in Ore Mineralogy
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 24-11-2017
DOI: 10.3390/MIN7120233
Rare Earth Element Phosphate Minerals from the Olympic Dam Cu-U-Au-Ag Deposit, South Australia: Recognizing Temporal-Spatial Controls On Ree Mineralogy in an Evolved IOCG System
Publisher: Mineralogical Association of Canada
Date: 2019
OPENING THE MAGMATIC-HYDROTHERMAL WINDOW: HIGH-PRECISION U-Pb GEOCHRONOLOGY OF THE MESOPROTEROZOIC OLYMPIC DAM Cu-U-Au-Ag DEPOSIT, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Publisher: Society of Economic Geologists
Date: 27-08-2020
DOI: 10.5382/ECONGEO.4772
Abstract: Establishing timescales for iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) deposit formation and the temporal relationships between ores and the magmatic rocks from which hydrothermal, metal-rich fluids are sourced is often dependent on low-precision data, particularly for deposits that formed during the Proterozoic. Unlike accessory minerals routinely used to track hydrothermal mineralization, iron oxides are dominant components of IOCG systems and are therefore pivotal to understanding deposit evolution. The presence of ubiquitous, magmatic-hydrothermal U-(Pb)-W-Sn-Mo–bearing zoned hematite resolves a range of geochronological issues concerning formation of the ~1.6 Ga Olympic Dam IOCG deposit, South Australia, at up to ~0.05% precision (207Pb/206Pb weighted mean 2σ) using isotope dilution-thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS). Coupled with chemical abrasion-ID-TIMS zircon dates from host granite and volcanic rocks within and enclosing the ore-body, a confident magmatic-hydrothermal chronology is defined. The youngest zircon date from the granite intrusion hosting Olympic Dam indicates magmatism was occurring up until 1593.28 ± 0.26 Ma. The orebody was principally formed during a major mineralizing event following granite uplift and during cupola collapse, whereby the hematite with the oldest age is recorded in the outer shell of the deposit at 1591.27 ± 0.89 Ma, ~2 m.y. later than the youngest documented magmatic zircon. Hematite dates captured throughout major lithologies, different ore zones, and the ~2-km vertical extent of the deposit support ~2 m.y. of hydrothermal activity. New age constraints on the spatial-temporal evolution of the formation of Olympic Dam are considered with respect to a mantle to crustal continuum model. Cyclical tapping of magma reservoirs to maintain crystal mushes for extended time periods and incremental building of batholiths on the million-year scale prior to main mineralization pulses can explain the ~2-m.y. temporal window temporal window inferred from the data. Despite the challenge of reconciling such an extended window with contemporary models for porphyry deposits (≤1 m.y.), formation of Proterozoic ore deposits has been addressed at high-precision and supports the case that giant IOCG deposits may form over millions of years.
Trace element distributions in (Cu)-Pb-Sb sulfosalts from the Gutaishan Au-Sb deposit, South China: Implications for formation of high fineness native gold
Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America
Date: 03-2019
DOI: 10.2138/AM-2019-6674
Rare Earth Element Fluorocarbonate Minerals from the Olympic Dam Cu-U-Au-Ag Deposit, South Australia
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 23-10-2017
DOI: 10.3390/MIN7100202
A Mineralisation Age for the Sediment-Hosted Blackbush Uranium Prospect, North-Eastern Eyre Peninsula, South Australia
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 20-02-2020
DOI: 10.3390/MIN10020191
Abstract: The Blackbush uranium prospect (~12,580 tonnes U at 85 ppm cut-off) is located on the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia. Blackbush was discovered in 2007 and is currently the single ex le of sediment-hosted uranium mineralisation investigated in any detail in the Gawler Craton. Uranium is hosted within Eocene sandstones of the Kanaka Beds and, subordinately, within a massive saprolite derived from the subjacent Hiltaba-aged (~1585 Ma) granites, affiliated with the S hire Pluton. Uranium is mainly present as coffinite in different lithologies, mineralisation styles and mineral associations. In the sandstone and saprolite, coffinite occurs intergrown with framboidal Fe-sulphides and lignite, as well as coatings around, and filling fractures within, grains of quartz. Microprobe U–Pb dating of coffinite hosted in sedimentary units yielded a narrow age range, with a weighted average of 16.98 ± 0.16 Ma (343 in idual analyses), strongly indicating a single coffinite-forming event at that time. Coffinite in subjacent saprolite generated a broader age range from 28 Ma to 20 Ma. Vein-hosted coffinite yielded similar ages (from 12 to 25 Ma), albeit with a greater range. Uraninite in the vein is distinctly older (42 to 38 Ma). The 17 ± 0.16 Ma age for sandstone-hosted mineralisation roughly coincides with tectonic movement as indicated by the presence of horst and graben structures in the Eocene sedimentary rocks hosting uranium mineralisation but not in stratigraphically younger sedimentary rocks. The new ages for hydrothermal minerals support a conceptual genetic model in which uranium was initially sourced from granite bedrock, then pre-concentrated into veins within that granite, and is subsequently dissolved and reprecipitated as coffinite in younger sediments as a result of low-temperature hydrothermal activity associated with tectonic events during the Tertiary. The ages obtained here for uranium minerals within the different lithologies in the Blackbush prospect support a conceptual genetic model in which tectonic movement along the reactivated Roopena Fault, which triggered the flow of U-rich fluids into the cover sequence. The timing of mineralisation provides information that can help optimise exploration programs for analogous uranium resources within shallow buried sediments across the region. The model presented here can be predicted to apply to sediment-hosted U-mineralisation in cratons elsewhere.
Radionuclide-bearing minerals in Olympic Dam copper concentrates
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2019
REE-, Sr-, Ca-aluminum-phosphate-sulfate minerals of the alunite supergroup and their role as hosts for radionuclides
Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America
Date: 12-2019
DOI: 10.2138/AM-2019-7116
Abstract: Aluminum-phosphate-sulfate (APS) minerals of the alunite supergroup are minor components of uranium-bearing copper ores from the Olympic Dam deposit, South Australia. They typically represent a family of paragenetically late replacement phases after pre-existing REE-bearing phosphates (fluorapatite, monazite, and xenotime). Characterization with respect to textures and composition allows two groups to be distinguished: Ca-Sr-dominant APS minerals that fall within the woodhouseite and svanbergite compositional fields and a second REE- and phosphate-dominant group closer to florencite in composition. All phases nevertheless display extensive solid solution among end-members in the broader APS clan and show extensive compositional zoning at the grain-scale. S les representative of the deposit (flotation concentrate and tailings), as well as those that have been chemically altered during the processing cycle (acid leached concentrate), were studied for comparison. NanoSIMS isotope mapping provides evidence that the APS minerals preferentially scavenge and incorporate daughter radionuclides of the 238U decay chain, notably 226Ra and 210Pb, both over geological time within the deposit and during ore processing. These data highlight the role played by minor phases as hosts for geologically mobile deleterious components in ores as well as during mineral processing. Moreover, Sr-Ca-dominant APS minerals exhibit preferential sorption of Pb from fluid sources, in the form of both common Pb and 210Pb, for the first time revealing potential pathways for 210Pb elimination and reduction from ore processing streams.
The mineralogy and mineral chemistry of indium in sulphide deposits and implications for mineral processing
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2011
Trace-element remobilisation from W–Sn–U–Pb zoned hematite: Nanoscale insights into a mineral geochronometer behaviour during interaction with fluids
Publisher: Mineralogical Society
Date: 16-06-2020
DOI: 10.1180/MGM.2020.49
Abstract: Preferential removal of W relative to other trace elements from zoned, W–Sn–U–Pb-bearing hematite coupled with disturbance of U–Pb isotope systematics is attributed to pseudomorphic replacement via coupled dissolution reprecipitation reaction (CDRR). This hematite has been studied down to the nanoscale to understand the mechanisms leading to compositional and U/Pb isotope heterogeneity at the grain scale. High-Angle Annular Dark Field Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (HAADF STEM) imaging of foils extracted in situ from three locations across the W-rich to W-depleted domains show lattice-scale defects and crystal structure modifications adjacent to twin planes. Secondary sets of twins and associated splays are common, but wider (up to ~100 nm) inclusion trails occur only at the boundary between the W-rich and W-depleted domains. STEM energy-dispersive X-ray mapping reveals W- and Pb-enrichment along 2–3 nm-wide features defining the twin planes W-bearing nanoparticles occur along the splays. Tungsten and Pb are both present, albeit at low concentrations, within Na–K–Cl-bearing inclusions along the trails. HAADF STEM imaging of hematite reveals modifications relative to ideal crystal structure. A two-fold hematite superstructure ( a = b = c = 10.85 Å α = β = γ = 55.28°) involving oxygen vacancies was constructed and assessed by STEM simulations with a good match to data. This model can account for significant W release during interaction with fluids percolating through twin planes and secondary structures as CDRR progresses from the zoned domain, otherwise apparently undisturbed at the micrometre scale. Lead remobilisation is confirmed here at the nanoscale and is responsible for a disturbance of U/Pb ratios in hematite affected by CDRR. Twin planes can provide pathways for fluid percolation and metal entrapment during post-crystallisation overprinting. The presence of complex twinning can therefore predict potential disturbances of isotope systems in hematite that will affect its performance as a robust geochronometer.
Uraninite from the Olympic Dam IOCG-U-Ag deposit: Linking textural and compositional variation to temporal evolution
Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America
Date: 06-2016
DOI: 10.2138/AM-2016-5411
Detection of Trace Elements/Isotopes in Olympic Dam Copper Concentrates by nanoSIMS
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 30-05-2019
DOI: 10.3390/MIN9060336
Abstract: Many analytical techniques for trace element analysis are available to the geochemist and geometallurgist to understand and, ideally, quantify the distribution of trace and minor components in a mineral deposit. Bulk trace element data are useful, but do not provide information regarding specific host minerals—or lack thereof, in cases of surface adherence or fracture fill—for each element. The CAMECA nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometer (nanoSIMS) 50 and 50L instruments feature ultra-low minimum detection limits (to parts-per-billion) and sub-micron spatial resolution, a combination not found in any other analytical platform. Using ore and copper concentrate s les from the Olympic Dam mining-processing operation, South Australia, we demonstrate the application of nanoSIMS to understand the mineralogical distribution of potential by-product and detrimental elements. Results show previously undetected mineral host assemblages and elemental associations, providing geochemists with insight into mineral formation and elemental remobilization—and metallurgists with critical information necessary for optimizing ore processing techniques. Gold and Te may be seen associated with brannerite, and Ag prefers chalcocite over bornite. Rare earth elements may be found in trace quantities in fluorapatite and fluorite, which may report to final concentrates as entrained liberated or gangue-sulfide composite particles. Selenium, As, and Te reside in sulfides, commonly in association with Pb, Bi, Ag, and Au. Radionuclide daughters of the 238U decay chain may be located using nanoSIMS, providing critical information on these trace components that is unavailable using other microanalytical techniques. These radionuclides are observed in many minerals but seem particularly enriched in uranium minerals, some phosphates and sulfates, and within high surface area minerals. The nanoSIMS has proven a valuable tool in determining the spatial distribution of trace elements and isotopes in fine-grained copper ore, providing researchers with crucial evidence needed to answer questions of ore formation, ore alteration, and ore processing.
Minor and trace elements in bornite and associated Cu–(Fe)-sulfides: A LA-ICP-MS studyBornite mineral chemistry
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2011
Nanomineralogy of hydrothermal magnetite from Acropolis, South Australia: Genetic implications for iron-oxide copper gold mineralization
Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America
Date: 08-2021
DOI: 10.2138/AM-2021-7557
Abstract: Magnetite is the dominant Fe-oxide at the Acropolis IOCG prospect, Olympic Dam district, South Australia. Complementary microbeam techniques, including scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), are used to characterize titanomagnetite from veins in volcanic rocks and Ti-poor magnetite from a granite body with uplifted position in the volcanic sequence. A temperature of 670 ± 50 °C is estimated for Ti-poor magnetite using XMg-in-magnetite thermometry. Titanomagnetite, typified by Ti-rich trellis lamellae of ilmenite in magnetite, also displays sub-micrometer inclusions forming densely mottled and orbicular subtypes of titanomagnetite with increasing degree of overprinting. STEM analysis shows nanoparticles (NPs) of spinels and TiO2 polymorphs, anatase, and rutile. These vary as dense, finest-scale, monophase-NPs of spinel sensu stricto in Ti-poor magnetite two-phase, ulvöspinelhercynite NPs in primary titanomagnetite and coarser clusters of NPs (hercynite±gahnite+TiO2-polymorphs), in mottled and orbicular subtypes. Nano-thermobarometry using ilmenite-magnetite pairs gives temperatures in the range ~510–570 (±50) °C, with mineral-pair re-equilibration from primary to orbicular titanomagnetite constrained by changes in fO2 from ilmenite-stable to magnetite+hematite-stable conditions. Epitaxial relationships between spinel and Fe-Ti-oxides along trellis lamellae and among phases forming the NPs support exsolution from magnetitess, followed by replacement via mineral-buffered reactions. Lattice-scale intergrowths between ulvöspinel and ilmenite within NPs are interpreted as exsolution recording cooling under O2-conserving conditions, whereas the presence of both TiO2-polymorphs displaying variable order-disorder phenomena is evidence for subtly fO2-buffered reactions from anatase (reducing) to rutile (more oxidizing) stabilities. Transient formation of O-deficient phases is retained during replacement of ilmenite by anatase displaying crystallographic-shear planes. Development of dense inclusion mottling and orbicular textures are associated with NP coarsening and clustering during vein re-opening. Fluid-assisted replacement locally recycles trace elements, forming gahnite NPs or discrete Sc-Ti-phases. Hydrothermal titanomagnetite from Acropolis is comparable with magmatic magnetite in granites across the district and typifies early, alkali-calcic alteration. Open-fracture circulation, inhibiting additional supply of Si, Ca, K, and so on during magnetite precipitation, prohibits formation of silician magnetite hosting calc-silicate NPs, as known from IOCG systems characterized by rock-buffered alteration of host lithologies. Obliteration of trellis textures during subsequent overprinting could explain the scarcity of this type of hydrothermal magnetite in other IOCG systems.
~1760 Ma magnetite-bearing protoliths in the Olympic Dam deposit, South Australia: Implications for ore genesis and regional metallogeny
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2020
The Wirrda Well and Acropolis prospects, Gawler Craton, South Australia: Insights into evolving fluid conditions through apatite chemistry
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2017
Textures and U-W-Sn-Mo signatures in hematite from the Olympic Dam Cu-U-Au-Ag deposit, South Australia: Defining the archetype for IOCG deposits
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2017
Carbonates at the supergiant Olympic Dam Cu-U-Au-Ag deposit, South Australia. Part 1: Distribution, textures, associations and stable isotope (C, O) signatures
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2020
Copper-Arsenic Nanoparticles in Hematite: Fingerprinting Fluid-Mineral Interaction
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 27-06-2019
DOI: 10.3390/MIN9070388
Abstract: Metal nanoparticles (NP) in minerals are an emerging field of research. Development of advanced analytical techniques such as Z-contrast imaging and mapping using high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF STEM) allows unparalleled insights at the nanoscale. Moreover, the technique provides a link between micron-scale textures and chemical patterns if the s le is extracted in situ from a location of petrogenetic interest. Here we use HAADF STEM imaging and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) mapping/spot analysis on focused ion beam prepared foils to characterise atypical Cu-As-zoned and weave-twinned hematite from the Olympic Dam deposit, South Australia. We aim to determine the role of solid-solution versus the presence of discrete included NPs in the observed zoning and to understand Cu-As-enrichment processes. Relative to the grain surface, the Cu-As bands extend in depth as (sub)vertical trails of opposite orientation, with Si-bearing hematite NP inclusions on one side and coarser cavities (up to hundreds of nm) on the other. The latter host Cu and Cu-As NPs, contain mappable K, Cl, and C, and display internal voids with rounded morphologies. Aside from STEM-EDX mapping, the agglomeration of native copper NPs was also assessed by high-resolution imaging. Collectively, such characteristics, corroborated with the geometrical outlines and negative crystal shapes of the cavities, infer that these are opened fluid inclusions with NPs attached to inclusion walls. Hematite along the trails features distinct nanoscale domains with lattice defects (twins, 2-fold superstructuring) relative to hematite outside the trails, indicating this is a nanoprecipitate formed during replacement processes, i.e., coupled dissolution and reprecipitation reactions (CDRR). Transient porosity intrinsically developed during CDRR can trap fluids and metals. Needle-shaped and platelet Cu-As NPs are also observed along (sub)horizontal bands along which Si, Al and K is traceable along the margins. The same signature is depicted along nm-wide planes crosscutting at 60° and offsetting (012)-twins in weave-twinned hematite. High-resolution imaging shows linear and planar defects, kink deformation along the twin planes, misorientation and lattice dilation around duplexes of Si-Al-K-planes. Such defects are evidence of strain, induced during fluid percolation along channels that become wider and host sericite platelets, as well as Cl-K-bearing inclusions, comparable with those from the Cu-As-zoned hematite, although without metal NPs. The Cu-As-bands mapped in hematite correspond to discrete NPs formed during interaction with fluids that changed in composition from alkali-silicic to Cl- and metal-bearing brines, and to fluid rates that evolved from slow infiltration to erratic inflow controlled by fault-valve mechanism pumping. This explains the presence of Cu-As NPs hosted either along Si-Al-K-planes (fluid supersaturation), or in fluid inclusions (phase separation during depressurisation) as well as the common signatures observed in hematite with variable degrees of fluid-mineral interaction. The invoked fluids are typical of hydrolytic alteration and the fluid pumping mechanism is feasible via fault (re)activation. Using a nanoscale approach, we show that fluid-mineral interaction can be fingerprinted at the (atomic) scale at which element exchange occurs.
Postmagmatic magnetite–apatite assemblage in mafic intrusions: a case study of dolerite at Olympic Dam, South Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-12-2015
Crystal chemistry of titanite from the Roxby Downs Granite, South Australia: insights into petrogenesis, subsolidus evolution and hydrothermal alteration
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-06-2019
Petrogenetic significance of Au–Bi–Te–S associations: The example of Maldon, Central Victorian gold province, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2010
Uptake of trace elements by baryte during copper ore processing: A case study from Olympic Dam, South Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2019
Albitization and redistribution of REE and Y in IOCG systems: Insights from Moonta-Wallaroo, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2014
Distribution and Substitution Mechanism of Ge in a Ge-(Fe)-Bearing Sphalerite
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 24-03-2015
DOI: 10.3390/MIN5020117
‘Invisible gold’ in bismuth chalcogenides
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2009
Rapid, competitive radium uptake in strontium, barium, and lead sulfates during sulfuric acid leaching
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2020
Ferro-tschermakite with polysomatic chain-width disorder identified in silician magnetite from Wirrda Well, South Australia: A HAADF STEM study
Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America
Date: 04-2022
DOI: 10.2138/AM-2022-7975
Abstract: Silician magnetite within ~1.85 Ga lithologies hosting the ~1.6 Ga Wirrda Well iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) prospect, South Australia, was examined at the nanoscale. The magnetite is oscillatory-zoned with respect to the density and orientation of nanometer-scale inclusions, among which Si-Fe-nanorods and Al-rich hibole (as much as hundreds of nanometers long and tens of nanometers wide) form swarms along & & directions in magnetite. The hibole is identified as ferro-tschermakite (Ftsk) with the crystal-chemical formula: A(K0.06Na0.01)0.07B(Ca1.65Na0.35)2C(Fe2.072+Al1.64Mg1.15Ti0.06Fe0.043+Mn0.04)5T(Si6.48Al1.52)8O22W(OH)2. This contains single and double rows of a triple-chain silicate attributed to clinojimthompsonite (Cjt) as coherently intergrown (010) zippers along the entire length of the grains. High-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF STEM) imaging and simulation of Ftsk and Cjt on the [001] zone axis provide direct visualization of crystal structures. These are defined by the 7- and 10-atom octahedron strips (B+C sites) and flanked by double- and triple-pairs of Si atoms (T sites). Remarkably, the sites for light cations and/or vacancies are clearly imaged as single and double, darkest, diamond-shaped motifs separating the octahedron strips showing that A cavities known in hibole are readily depicted in the wider-chain silicate. I-beam models show that nanoscale intergrowths among the two silicates are coherent along zigzag chains of cations at the edges of the octahedron strips, with single and double rows of the triple-chain silicate corresponding to 1 and 1.5 unit cells of Cjt (27 and 41 Å intervals along the b axis). This type of polysomatic chain-width disorder is widely reported in Mg-rich pyriboles but is shown here in an Al-Fe-rich hibole. The lack of planar defects and/or reaction fronts at mutual contacts between three-chain zippers and host hibole indicates primary co-crystallization growth, promoted by the formation of the Si-Fe-nanorods. Co-crystallizing plagioclase is also preserved in close vicinity to the hibole hosted by magnetite (from a few nanometers to micrometers apart). In contrast, the replacement of hibole by phyllosilicates is recognizable as irregular swells along the (010) zippers and results in extensive chloritization of the hibole during an overprinting event. Pressures of ~11.5 kbar are estimated using Al-in-hornblende nano-geobarometry and calculated Al content in Ftsk (3.16 apfu). Assuming the hibole-plagioclase association buffered by host magnetite fulfills the textural equilibration criteria required for application of this barometer, we interpret the Ftsk nanoinclusions in magnetite as preserved evidence for hibolite facies metamorphism affecting host lithologies at Wirrda Well with subsequent retrograde alteration during the ~1.6 Ga IOCG mineralizing event. Magnetite records petrogenetic processes by accommodating variable ranges of nanomineral inclusions and preserving them over geological time scales. HAADF STEM imaging is ideally suited to the depiction of crystal-structural modularity and also provides insights into the evolution of geological terranes with protracted histories.
The genesis of gem deposits
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2008
Special issue “Metallogeny of intraplate magmatism”
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2009
Discrimination and Variance Structure of Trace Element Signatures in Fe-Oxides: A Case Study of BIF-Mineralisation from the Middleback Ranges, South Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-04-2018
Sulfosalt systematics: a review. Report of the sulfosalt sub-committee of the IMA Commission on Ore Mineralogy
Publisher: Schweizerbart
Date: 07-03-2008
Numerical modelling of rare earth element fractionation trends in garnet: a tool to monitor skarn evolution
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-03-2020
Short-Range Stacking Disorder in Mixed-Layer Compounds: A HAADF STEM Study of Bastnäsite-Parisite Intergrowths
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 20-11-2017
DOI: 10.3390/MIN7110227
Micron- to nanoscale characterisation and U-Pb geochronology of zircon from granites of the Samphire Pluton, South Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2020
Defining early stages of IOCG systems: evidence from iron oxides in the outer shell of the Olympic Dam deposit, South Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-06-2019
Rare earth element geochemistry of feldspars: examples from Fe-oxide Cu-Au systems in the Olympic Cu-Au Province, South Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-10-2017
210Pb and 210Po in Geological and Related Anthropogenic Materials: Implications for Their Mineralogical Distribution in Base Metal Ores
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 13-05-2018
DOI: 10.3390/MIN8050211
Replacement of Uraninite By BorniteViaCoupled Dissolution-Reprecipitation: Evidence From Texture and Microstructure
Publisher: Mineralogical Association of Canada
Date: 11-2016
Rare Earth Element Behaviour in Apatite from the Olympic Dam Cu–U–Au–Ag Deposit, South Australia
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 02-08-2017
DOI: 10.3390/MIN7080135
Matrix-Matched Iron-Oxide Laser Ablation ICP-MS U–Pb Geochronology Using Mixed Solution Standards
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 23-08-2016
DOI: 10.3390/MIN6030085
Lifting the cloak of invisibility: Gold in pyrite from the Olympic Dam Cu-U-Au-Ag deposit, South Australia
Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America
Date: 02-2023
DOI: 10.2138/AM-2022-8395
Abstract: “Invisible gold” refers to gold (Au) occurring either within the lattice of a host sulfide or as discrete nanoparticles (NPs, & nm diameter) within a host that are only observable when imaged at very high magnifications. Previous research has regarded the physical form of invisible gold to be partially controlled by the concentration of arsenic (As) in the host sulfide, with stability fields for lattice-bound vs. Au-NPs defined by an empirical Au-As solubility curve. We undertook micrometer- and nanoscale analysis of a representative s le of As-Co-Ni-(Au)-bearing pyrite from Cu-mineralized breccias in the deeper part of the Olympic Dam Cu-U-Au-Ag deposit (South Australia) to define the location and physical form of Au and accompanying elements. Trace element geochemistry and statistical analysis show that & % of pyrites contain measurable Au and As, and plot below the Au-As solubility curve. Au and As are geochemically associated with Te, Bi, Pb, Ag, and Sn. Primary oscillatory zoning patterns in pyrite defined by As-Co-Ni are reshaped by processes of dissolution-reprecipitation, including new nanoscale growth and rhythmical misorientation structures. Low-angle slip dislocations, twist-wall boundaries and deformation-dipole nanostructures are associated with Te-Bi-Pb-enrichment and host Au-Ag-telluride nanoparticles (NPs). Electrum NPs occur associated with pores coated by Bi-Ag-tellurides or within chalcopyrite particles. Bi-Pb-sulfotellurides, petzite, and sylvanite were identified by atomic-scale scanning transmission electron microscopy. The data support trace element (re)mobilization during pyrite deformation at the brittle to ductile transition (0.5–1 kbar, 300–400 °C) during brecciation. Au-NP formation is decoupled from initial As incorporation in pyrite and instead fingerprints formation of strain-induced, chalcogen-enriched nanoscale structures. Pore-attached NPs suggest scavenging of Au by Bi-bearing melts with higher rates of fluid percolation. Similar scenarios are predictable for pyrite-hosted “invisible Au” in pyrite from other deposits that experienced multiple overprints. Unveiling the cloak of invisibility using contemporary micro- to nano-analytical techniques reveals new layers of complexity with respect to the trace/minor element incorporation in mineral matrices and their subsequent release during overprinting.
Metallogenesis of the Tibetan collisional orogen
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2009
Indium distribution in sphalerite from sulfide–oxide–silicate skarn assemblages: a case study of the Dulong Zn–Sn–In deposit, Southwest China
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-03-2021
Mesozoic metallogeny in East China and corresponding geodynamic settings — An introduction to the special issue
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2011
Intermobility of barium, strontium, and lead in chloride and sulfate leach solutions
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-09-2019
Phase relationships in the system ZnS-CuInS2: Insights from a nanoscale study of indium-bearing sphalerite
Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America
Date: 02-2021
DOI: 10.2138/AM-2020-7488
Abstract: Micrometer- to submicrometer-scale indium-rich domains are preserved within sphalerite included in hornfels-hosted pyrrhotite from the Dulong polymetallic skarn, Yunnan, China. The nano-mineralogy of the ZnS-bearing blebs was investigated using scanning transmission electron microscopy on thinned foils extracted in situ from pyrrhotite. Indium incorporation in sphalerite occurs via the coupled substitution 2Zn2+ ↔ Cu+ + In3+ the results thus allow insights into phase relationships in the system ZnS-CuInS2 in which solubility limits are debated with respect to a cubic to tetragonal phase transition. The highest concentrations of In are measured in basket-weave domains from the smallest ZnS blebs or from un-patterned areas in coarser, irregular ZnS inclusions in pyrrhotite. Indium-rich domains contain 17–49 mol% CuInS2, whereas In-poor sphalerite contains & mol% CuInS2. Atomic-scale metal ordering observed in In-(Cu)-rich ZnS domains was modeled as mixed sites in a cubic structure with P43m symmetry and empirical formula [(Cu,In,Zn)3(Zn0.5Fe0.5)]4S4. This sphalerite modification is distinct from the cubic-tetragonal phase transition reported elsewhere for analogous, synthetic phases with abundant planar defects. The Zn1.5Fe0.5CuInS4 nanophase described here potentially represents a Fe-bearing polymorph of Zn2CuInS4, considered as an end-member in the sakuraiite solid-solution series. At ≤50 mol% CuInS2 in the ZnS-CuInS2 system, incorporation of In via coupled In+Cu substitution is promoted within a cubic ZnS phase with lower symmetry than sphalerite rather than into the spatially coexisting chalcopyrite of tetragonal symmetry. Solid-state diffusion accounts for phase re-equilibration resulting in the basket-weave textures typical of In-(Cu)-rich domains in the smallest blebs, whereas fluid percolation assists grain coarsening in the irregular inclusions. The results show evidence for the existence of a more complex phase transition than previously recognized from experimental studies, and, intriguingly, also to a potential eutectic in the system ZnS-CuInS2. Pyrrhotite-bearing hornfels in skarns may concentrate In and other critical metals hosted in sphalerite and related sulfides due to the efficient scavenging from fluid by these minerals and the subsequent preservation of those included phases by sealing within the pyrrhotite matrix.
Chemical zoning and lattice distortion in uraninite from Olympic Dam, South Australia
Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America
Date: 10-2016
DOI: 10.2138/AM-2016-5753
Understanding the mobility and retention of uranium and its daughter products
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2021
Mineralogy of Zirconium in Iron-Oxides: A Micron- to Nanoscale Study of Hematite Ore from Peculiar Knob, South Australia
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 19-04-2019
DOI: 10.3390/MIN9040244
Abstract: Zirconium is an element of considerable petrogenetic significance but is rarely found in hematite at concentrations higher than a few parts-per-million (ppm). Coarse-grained hematite ore from the metamorphosed Peculiar Knob iron deposit, South Australia, contains anomalous concentrations of Zr and has been investigated using microanalytical techniques that can bridge the micron- to nanoscales to understand the distribution of Zr in the ore. Hematite displays textures attributable to annealing under conditions of high-grade metamorphism, deformation twins (r~85˚ to hematite elongation), relict magnetite and fields of sub-micron-wide inclusions of baddeleyite as conjugate needles with orientation at ~110˚/70˚. Skeletal and granoblastic zircon, containing only a few ppm U, are both present interstitial to hematite. Using laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) spot analysis and mapping, the concentration of Zr in hematite is determined to be ~260 ppm on average (up to 680 ppm). The Zr content is, however, directly attributable to nm-scale inclusions of baddeleyite pervasively distributed throughout the hematite rather than Zr in solid solution. Distinction between nm-scale inclusions and lattice-bound trace element substitutions cannot be made from LA-ICP-MS data alone and requires nanoscale characterization. Scandium-rich (up to 0.18 wt. % Sc2O3) cores in zircon are documented by microprobe analysis and mapping. Using high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging (HAADF-STEM) and energy-dispersive spectrometry STEM mapping of foils prepared in-situ by focused ion beam methods, we identify [011]baddeleyite epitaxially intergrown with [22.1]hematite. Lattice vectors at 84–86˚ underpinning the epitaxial intergrowth orientation correspond to directions of r-twins but not to the orientation of the needles, which display a ~15˚ misfit. This is attributable to directions of trellis exsolutions in a precursor titanomagnetite. U–Pb dating of zircon gives a 206Pb/238U weighted mean age of 1741 ± 49 Ma (sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe U–Pb method). Based on the findings presented here, detrital titanomagnetite from erosion of mafic rocks is considered the most likely source for Zr, Ti, Cr and Sc. Whether such detrital horizons accumulated in a basin with chemical precipitation of Fe-minerals (banded iron formation) is debatable, but such Fe-rich sediments clearly included detrital horizons. Martitization during the diagenesis-supergene enrichment cycle was followed by high-grade metamorphism during the ~1.73–1.69 Ga Kimban Orogeny during which martite recrystallized as granoblastic hematite. Later interaction with hydrothermal fluids associated with ~1.6 Ga Hiltaba-granitoids led to W, Sn and Sb enrichment in the hematite. By reconstructing the evolution of the massive orebody at Peculiar Knob, we show how application of complimentary advanced microanalytical techniques, in-situ and on the same material but at different scales, provides critical constraints on ore-forming processes.
Multivariate Analysis of an LA-ICP-MS Trace Element Dataset for Pyrite
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-08-2012
Multivariate Statistical Analysis of Trace Elements in Pyrite: Prediction, Bias and Artefacts in Defining Mineral Signatures
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 10-01-2020
DOI: 10.3390/MIN10010061
Abstract: Pyrite is the most common sulphide in a wide range of ore deposits and well known to host numerous trace elements, with implications for recovery of valuable metals and for generation of clean concentrates. Trace element signatures of pyrite are also widely used to understand ore-forming processes. Pyrite is an important component of the Olympic Dam Cu–U–Au–Ag orebody, South Australia. Using a multivariate statistical approach applied to a large trace element dataset derived from analysis of random pyrite grains, trace element signatures in Olympic Dam pyrite are assessed. Pyrite is characterised by: (i) a Ag–Bi–Pb signature predicting inclusions of tellurides (as PC1) and (ii) highly variable Co–Ni ratios likely representing an oscillatory zonation pattern in pyrite (as PC2). Pyrite is a major host for As, Co and probably also Ni. These three elements do not correlate well at the grain-scale, indicating high variability in zonation patterns. Arsenic is not, however, a good predictor for invisible Au at Olympic Dam. Most pyrites contain only negligible Au, suggesting that invisible gold in pyrite is not commonplace within the deposit. A minority of pyrite grains analysed do, however, contain Au which correlates with Ag, Bi and Te. The results are interpreted to reflect not only primary patterns but also the effects of multi-stage overprinting, including cycles of partial replacement and recrystallisation. The latter may have caused element release from the pyrite lattice and entrapment as mineral inclusions, as widely observed for other ore and gangue minerals within the deposit. Results also show the critical impact on predictive interpretations made from statistical analysis of large datasets containing a large percentage of left-censored values (i.e., those falling below the minimum limits of detection). The treatment of such values in large datasets is critical as the number of these values impacts on the cluster results. Trimming of datasets to eliminate artefacts introduced by left-censored data should be performed with caution lest bias be unintentionally introduced. The practice may, however, reveal meaningful correlations that might be diluted using the complete dataset.
Uranium-bearing hematite from the Olympic Dam Cu–U–Au deposit, South Australia: A geochemical tracer and reconnaissance Pb–Pb geochronometer
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2013
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