Re-Mo-Cu-Os sulphide from the Ekojoki Ni-Cu deposit,SW Finland

Summary This short communication reports the discovery and composition of the first Os-bearing rhenium sulphide. It occurs as a single euhedral crystal in the early Proterozoic Ekojoki Ni-Cu deposit in Finland, being enclosed by interstitial magmatic Fe-Ni sulphides. Electron microprobe analyses are most consistent with a general formula of Cu(Re,Os,Mo)₅S₉. The Re-Os model age calculations indicate that approximately 2/3 osmium is "common" Os that was accommodated by the sulphide at the time of crystallisation, 1/3 being produced via post-crystallisation decay of¹⁸⁷,Re to^{18 7}Os. We propose that this sulphide crystallised from an immiscible sulphide liquid that was unusually rich in rhenium due to extensive assimilation of black schist sulphides by the magma.With 2 Figures