Platinum group elements in gold-sulfide and base-metal ores of the Sayan-Baikal Fold Region and possible platinum and palladium speciation in sulfides

The concentration levels and distribution features of the platinum group elements (PGE) in quartz-sulfide and base-metal ores in deposits of the Sayan-Baikal Fold Region (SBFR) are discussed. Microfire assay neutron activation analysis (MF-NAA), which enables one to work on a nondestructive basis and allows one to avoid inaccuracies related to chemical sample preparation, was used as the main analytical technique. Three types of hydrothermal mineralization with elevated grades of PGE (especially Pt, Pd, and Ru) have been identified: (1) pyrite-pyrrhotite (massive sulfide) mineralization hosted in black shales of the Il’chir Sequence; (2) gold-sulfide ores of the Zun-Kholba, Tainsky, Kamenny, and some other gold deposits; and (3) silver-basemetal ores of the Dzhida-Vitim Zone. The PGE contents significantly vary, from global average values to tens of grams per ton. An absence of PGE minerals implies that these elements are finely dispersed in sulfide minerals and native gold. Taking into account difficulties in conversion of PGE into analytical forms, their nonuniform distribution in sulfide minerals, their high affinity to coordination compounds, and experimental results, cluster species of Pt and Pd in major minerals are suggested for the gold-sulfide and silver-base-metal ores in deposits, which are related to suprasubduction ophiolites and island-arc and intraplate settings in the SBFR.