Sulfide minerals in Coal Bed V,minnehaha mine,Sullivan County,Indiana

Polished and thin section examinations of samples from Indiana Coal Bed V (Springfield) have shown three sulfides to be present; namely pyrite, marcasite and sphalerite. Pyrite and marcasite are dominant forms whereas sphalerite is very minor. These sulfides appear to have formed in four distinct stages as judged on the basis of mineralogy and mineral texture. Pyrite occurs as framboids throughout the coal seam, as fibrous crystals in two horizons of the coal and in massive form as cleat fillings and cell fillings in fusinite and semi-fusinite. Marcasite occurs in spherical polycrystalline and twinned grains, as polycrystalline overgrowths on framboids, as cementing material for clusters of framboids, as blocky polycrystalline grains and with pyrite as cell fillings in fusinite and semi-fusinite. Sphalerite occurs exclusively as cell fillings in semi-fusinite. The paragenetic sequence indicates fluctuations in the overall coal bed chemistry. Individual sections display evidence of chemical variation on the micro scale.     

Sulfides in phosphorites of Africain Island: Morphological peculiarities and origin

The investigation of phosphorites from Africain Island situated in the Indian Ocean revealed that they contain iron sulfides in the form of framboids consisting of separate crystallites, as well as fine-dispersed colloidal particles of micrometer and submicrometer size. Crystallites consist of pyrite, whereas colloidal matter consists of troilite, which is initially formed as hydrogel inside voids. During the subsequent interaction of gelatinous troilite with sulfur, pyrite crystals are formed. The growth of crystals inside a 10987ted microvoid space in the rock leads to their dense hexagonal and tetragonal packing.     

Syngenetic sulphide minerals in a copper-rich bog

Heavy mineral separates of peat from a mineralotrophic bog contain sulphide minerals with distinctive textures. Pyrite framboids, consisting of spherical aggregates of subhedral pyrite crystals, are surrounded by a thin rim of chalcopyrite or a layer of massive marcasite. Clusters of framboids are cemented by covellite which also occurs as small idiomorphic grains, with rectangular or hexagonal outlines, surrounded by chalcopyrite. The sulphides appear to have resulted from discharge of groundwaters, enriched in copper from weathering of primary sulphides in bedrock and in iron by reduction of the till underlying the peat, into the hydrogen sulphide charged bog.     

有孔虫壳体内草莓状黄铁矿成因及其地质意义——以湖北雁门口地区栖霞组有孔虫化石为例

在湖北省京山县雁门口地区栖霞组上部的含泥灰岩中存在丰富的节房虫科底栖有孔虫化石,主要有节房虫属、厚壁虫属和郎格虫属,壳体均被草莓状黄铁矿充填。对其系统的显微镜、扫描电镜观察和黄铁矿的能谱分析结果发现,黄铁矿草莓体直径最大为15 μm,平均约10 μm,硫铁原子比值（S/Fe）为1.90±0.10,表明在黄铁矿形成过程中,有孔虫壳体空腔内呈轻度- 中度贫氧的微环境。在分析该类黄铁矿成因的基础上,认为有孔虫壳体内的黄铁矿在指示沉积环境和保存环境方面具有局限性。     

滨海红树林泥炭沉积物中硫的赋存特点及其控制因素

海南和厦门两地滨海红树林沉积物和埋藏泥炭中硫的成分分析表明,滨海红树林沉积物和泥炭中的硫以硫化铁硫为主,有机硫次之,硫酸盐硫含量最低。泥炭沉积物中硫的赋存形式和特点与沉积环境密切相关。海南福田地区红树林泥炭沉积物主要形成于红树林潮上坪和泥炭坪,硫含量较高,平均为2.60%,且有机硫含量与有机碳含量呈正相关,而硫化铁硫含量与有机碳含量没有明显的相关性;厦门海沧镇红树林泥炭沉积物形成于红树林潮间坪以及潮道环境,硫含量较低,平均值仅为0.43%,形态硫和有机质的相关性与海南红树林泥炭地沉积物相反。红树林泥炭沉积物中铁的硫化物主要以黄铁矿形式产出,且以莓球状形态为主。研究表明,黄铁矿与次生有机硫的生成与微生物活动密切相关,造成红树林泥炭中硫含量差异最主要的原因不是硫源,而是有机质的供给与沉积微环境的影响。现代滨海红树林泥炭沼泽中硫的赋存特征将对煤中硫成因的研究提供重要的科学依据。     

Occurrence and morphology of pyrite in Bulgarian coals

Coals with different degrees of coalification (ranging from lignite to anthracite) from seven Bulgarian coal basins have been investigated. The forms of pyrite and their distribution have been established. The types found are: massive pyrite, represented by the homogeneous, cluster-like and microconcretionary varieties; framboidal pyrite, appearing in inorganic and bacterial forms; euhedral pyrite, which is either isolated or clustered; anhedral pyrite, in its infilling and replacement varieties; and infiltrational pyrite, as a replacement or infilling mineral.Most of the forms of the euhedral, framboidal and massive pyrite developed during peat deposition. The anhedral replacement pyrite formed in the peat bed during early diagenesis. Infiltrational pyrite filled fractures and cleats formed during the diagenesis, catagenesis and metagenesis.Both similarities and differences with respect to the distribution of the pyrite types have been determined between coals of different ranks from Bulgarian coal basins. These differences are due to: the presence of Fe and S in the rocks adjacent to ancient peat bogs; the activities of ground and surface waters which brought Fe and S into the peat bogs; the geochemical character (pH and Eh) of the peat bogs and the sulphur bacteria development; and the tectonic situation during diagenesis, catagenesis and metagenesis.     

Diagenetic pyrite from the lead-zinc deposits of Zawar,India

Pyrite from the Precambrian lead-zinc deposits of Zawar, West India, shows excellent sedimentary features, viz., composite bedding, lenticular bedding, flame structure etc. which are attributed to turbidites. Early diagenetic pyrite occurs as framboids and isolated euhedral as well as subhedral grains. Most of the isolated grains are probably derived from the breaking of unconsolidated framboids. Diagenetic crystallization of pyrite became operative during an early stage of deposition and continued to modify the initial sedimentary fabrics.     

Iron sulphide formation in an exhalative-sedimentary environment,Talasea, New Britain,P.N.G.

Concentrations of iron sulphide minerals in sediments within and adjacent to a small intertidal thermal pool near Talasea township are forming and being modified under a wide range of exhalative-sedimentary conditions. A geochemical, mineralogical and bacteriological investigation of these iron sulphides has defined the major reactions leading to their formation and indicated aspects in which their mineralogies, textures and mechanisms of formation differ significantly from those of iron sulphides formed under “normal” sedimentary conditions. The main features of the thermal pool environment are: 1. the occurrence of relatively high iron sulphide concentrations; 2. the preservation, by the strongly anaerobic thermal spring waters, of hydrotroilite formed in the thermal pool sediments in the presence of excess sulphide; 3. the presence in the pool banks of major marcasite (which appears to replace its dimorph pyrite) formed as a result of the development of strongly acidic conditions; 4. the abundance in the pool banks of large euhedral crystals of pyrite and marcasite, and the scarcity of framboids; 5. the presence of sulphate-reducing bacteria in the thermal waters and sediments.     

广西宁明组植物化石中黄铁矿及其沉积意义

对化石中的黄铁矿进行研究,有助于明确生物的化石化过程以及期间的沉积微环境。利用光学显微镜和扫描电镜,对广西宁明组植物化石中保存的黄铁矿进行了分析,发现离散型单晶和成群的莓状体共同保存。单晶绝大多数为无规则至球状体,晶棱不明显,表面可见凹点;少数为八面体,晶棱明显,表面光滑;单晶直径为0.79~1.58 μm;莓状体为圆球状,粒径为7.23~14.95 μm,S/Fe原子个数比的均值为1.54。莓状体的粒径大小和变化幅度均处于低值段,其S/Fe原子个数比值小于2,结果均说明当时植物体上、下表皮间为一种贫氧的水体环境,并在短时间内形成了莓状体。植物化石上、下表皮间由于未保存组织结构,而被大量的、近似层状分布的黄铁矿单晶和莓状体充填,结果支持了化石内莓状体形成与有机质降解之间存在着必然联系。     

Fe–S mineralization in the Jurassic biogenic remains (Częstochowa,Poland)

Various Fe–S minerals of the mackinawite–greigite–pyrite association, ubiquitous in biogenic remains from Jurassic mudstones, have been described in detail in an SEM–EDS study. Two diagenetic stages of Fe sulphide formation and preservation in the Jurassic organic skeletons are identified. In the first stage, pyrite formed as euhedra and framboids shortly after deposition, mainly in the interiors of the skeletons which still contained labile organic matter. The second stage of iron sulphide formation was related to the later stages of diagenesis, when the influence of the surrounding sediment was more dominant, although some organic matter was still present in the biogenic skeletons. A Fe-rich carbonate–aluminosilicate cement was then introduced between the earliest iron sulphides and later subsequently sulphidized, to form a metastable iron monosulphide of mackinawite composition and then greigite.     

Pyrite framboids and their development: a new conceptual mechanism

It has been suggested that the two morphologies of sedimentary pyrite, framboids and euhedra, may reflect two distinct pathways of pyrite formation. Framboids form indirectly via iron monosulphides, whereas euhedra form from direct precipitation from solution. A third pathway which is bridging these two forms is proposed here, namely the continuous growth from a monosulphide globule through framboids to a euhedral single crystal. It is also suggested that framboids probably occur over a range of three orders of magnitude, from the least complex microframboids through framboids to polyframboids.Dedicated to Professors G. C. Amstutz and L. G. Love for their unrivalled contribution to the knowledge of pyrite framboids     

Organic petrology, mineralogy and depositional environment of the Kipra lignite seam, Maritza-West basin, Bulgaria

The aim of the present study is to provide additional information about the properties and depositional environment of the Kipra lignite seam, which was deposited during the regressive stage of development of the Maritza-West basin. Petrographical and mineralogical data, along with ash yields and sulphur contents of 24 samples from a seam profile, have been used to study the vertical variation of the depositional settings during peat accumulation and subsequent coalification.The Kipra lignite is characterized by high ash yields and sulphur contents. It formed in a rheotrophic, low-lying mire with alkaline pH value. Vegetation with low preservation potential dominated within the palaeomire. During peat formation, frequent changes of the water level controlled the depositional environment. During the deposition of units 1 and 2, high water energy caused the transportation of high amounts of inorganic material into the mire, resulting in the formation of weakly gelified mineral-rich lignite. The organic matter from units 3 and 4 is characterized by enhanced gelification, which probably reflects the decreasing energy of the system. Good positive correlation between sulphur contents and the GI values was established in units 4, indicating that the gelification of the tissues was probably mainly controlled by the bacterial activity. In contrast, the gelification of the samples from unit 3 of the Kipra seam was probably governed by the redox conditions. The organic matter deposited under relatively wet conditions, in which the thermal and oxidative destruction of the tissues, was limited.A variety of major, minor and accessory minerals are present in Maritza-West lignite. The mineral composition is dominated mainly by pyrite, gypsum and calcite, and to a lesser extent limonite, quartz, kaolinite, montmorillonite, illite, chlorite and plagioclase. Jarosite, hematite, halloysite, mica, K-feldspar, aragonite, siderite, and dolomite were also determined in very low concentrations. These minerals formed syngenetically and epigenetically. The syngenetic stage is characterized mainly by the formation of pyrite, carbonates, silicates and sulphates, whereas the Fe-oxyhydroxides, partially the carbonates and almost all silicates are of detrital origin. During the epigenetic stage, carbonates, sulphates, clay minerals, pyrite, and Fe-oxyhydroxides were formed. Alteration products like gypsum, jarosite, limonite, chlorite, kaolinite, illite, mica, and calcite were generated due to the transformation of detrital and authigenic minerals.     

Pyritization processes and greigite formation in the advancing sulfidization front in the upper Pleistocene sediments of the Black Sea

Pyritization in late Pleistocene sediments of the Black Sea is driven by sulfide formed during anaerobic methane oxidation. A sulfidization front is formed by the opposing gradients of sulfide and dissolved iron. The sulfidization processes are controlled by the diffusion flux of sulfide from above and by the solid reactive iron content. Two processes of diffusion-limited pyrite formation were identified. The first process includes pyrite precipitation with the accumulation of iron sulfide precursors with the average chemical composition of FeS_n (n = 1.10-1.29), including greigite. Elemental sulfur and polysulfides, formed from H₂S by a reductive dissolution of Fe(III)-containing minerals, serve as intermediates to convert iron sulfides into pyrite. In the second process, a “direct” pyrite precipitation occurs through prolonged exposure of iron-containing minerals to dissolved sulfide. Methane-driven sulfate reduction at depth causes a progressive formation of pyrite with a δ³⁴S of up to +15.0‰. The S-isotopic composition of FeS₂ evolves due to contributions of different sulfur pools formed at different times. Steady-state model calculations for the advancement of the sulfidization front showed that the process started at the Pleistocene/Holocene transition between 6360 and 11 600 yr BP. Our study highlights the importance of anaerobic methane oxidation in generating and maintaining S-enriched layers in marine sediments and has paleoenvironmental implications.     

沉积地层中的黄铁矿形态及同位素特征初探——以华南埃迪卡拉纪深水相地层为例

地质历史时期新元古代大气氧含量普遍较低。在硫酸盐还原细菌作用下,作为海洋重要的氧化性离子,陆源硫酸根离子有效促进了深层海水的氧化进程。在此过程中,硫元素在硫酸根和黄铁矿之间发生显著同位素分馏,其分馏程度可反推当时古海洋的氧化还原状态。沉积地层中的黄铁矿普遍具有多种形态,不同形态黄铁矿的形成环境多有不同。如草莓状黄铁矿多形成于底层缺氧水体或沉积物的浅表面,而大颗粒单晶黄铁矿或脉状黄铁矿则多沉积于成岩早期的沉积物孔隙或形成于成岩后期的热液改造。与草莓状黄铁矿不同,大颗粒单晶或脉状黄铁矿的硫同位素组成并不能反映沉积时期的古海洋氧化还原条件。判定沉积地层中不同形态的黄铁矿及形成过程,是获得有效反映海洋沉积环境硫同位素组成特征的基本前提。简要总结了地质历史时期沉积地层中的黄铁矿类型及矿物形成过程,并以华南埃迪卡拉纪蓝田组岩芯样品为例,识别出各个样品中的黄铁矿形态组成特征,对比分析了全岩黄铁矿与样品中大颗粒黄铁矿硫同位素组成差异。研究结果表明:不同岩性样品中黄铁矿的形态种类及含量均存在差异。页岩样品保存有更好形态的自形晶以及草莓状黄铁矿;碳酸盐岩样品中具有较多自形晶以及他形晶黄铁矿,并且其中的少量草莓状黄铁矿遭受后期成岩作用而发生不同程度的晶体蚀变。样品中大颗粒黄铁矿的硫同位素值（δ34S_L-pyr）通常显著高于全岩黄铁矿的硫同位素值（δ34S_T-pyr）,最大差值可达48.5‰。在利用黄铁矿的硫同位素组成来反推当时古海洋环境时,需要区分不同形态黄铁矿,仔细剔除大颗粒黄铁矿,降低成岩期黄铁矿对样品中硫同位素组成的影响。更细致的微区黄铁矿硫同位素分析工作将依赖于SIMS分析测试手段进行。     

北大西洋Logatchev热液区多形貌黄铁矿特征及其意义

北大西洋Logatchev热液区产出的黄铁矿形貌丰富、成分各异,极具特殊性和代表性.运用扫描电镜和电子探针系统观测黄铁矿矿物学特征,发现粒状黄铁矿粒径不一,具高Fe、S,低微量元素的特点;草莓状黄铁矿见有松散莓体、球形-次球形莓体和自形结构莓体,其Cu含量总体较高,不同晶体特征的莓体成分存在差异;胶状黄铁矿见有多层环带,内核到环带由纳微米晶体聚合生成,由内到外成分具有S/Fe比、Zn含量减小,As含量增大的趋势.分析认为早期粒状黄铁矿是在较高温度下的热液体系中直接形成,随热液作用衰减,生成的粒状黄铁矿多呈纳-微米晶产出;草莓状黄铁矿是由松散纳-微米晶逐步聚集形成,受溶液过饱和度影响,莓体粒度和聚集程度存在差异;胶状黄铁矿多晶聚集环带生长方向是由内向外的,聚集程度差异指示沉积环境的反复交替.研究区多形貌黄铁矿具有由分散的微晶→多晶聚合体→自形单晶的完整演化系列特征,对于解读现代海底热液活动的方式和特点,揭示纳米晶体-宏观晶体的演化过程有积极意义.      

Behavior of mercury in the supergene zone of geothermal deposits,southern Kamchatka

Mercury distribution was determined in all types of solid materials from the supergene zone of geothermal deposits in southern Kamchatka: rocks, hydrothermally altered rocks (metasomatic rocks), soils, soil—pyroclastic cover, bottom sediments of perennial and intermittent streams, hydrothermal clays, artificial siliceous precipitates, and iron sulfides formed owing to thermal water discharge from a well. The mercury content varies from background values for the Kurile-Kamchatka region in fresh rocks to high and extremely high values in hydrothermal clays and monomineralic pyrite samples. The sources, migration conditions, and concentration mechanisms of mercury were evaluated. Mercury is supplied to the surface of geothermal deposits and thermal fields by a deep hydrothermal flow and is concentrated on thermodynamic barriers in hydrothermal clays, siliceous sinters (silica gel), and soils showing high salinity owing to the deposition in them of silica, sulfates, and other compounds from a vapor-water mixture. Newly formed clay minerals, iron sulfides (pyrite), silica gel, and biological materials (peat) can probably efficiently sorb mercury under geothermal conditions at atmospheric pressure and temperatures from 20°C to 120°C.     

沉积地层中草莓状黄铁矿分析方法及其在古海洋学上的应用

草莓状黄铁矿是黄铁矿的特殊形态,其定义为由相近大小、相似形态的黄铁矿微晶颗粒组成的球形、亚球形聚合体。草莓状黄铁矿粒径分析已广泛应用于各个地质历史时期的古海洋环境恢复研究中,但其形成机理、判别标准与实验方法仍存在分歧。因此对沉积地层中草莓状黄铁矿的形成机理、在古海洋环境恢复中的指示意义及判别标准、实验与数据分析方法等进行总结阐述,有助于理解草莓状黄铁矿的粒径大小与形态对氧化还原条件的指示意义。草莓状黄铁矿在不同氧化还原环境下的形成机理存在差异,其粒径大小、数量以及分布范围可综合反映沉积时水体的氧化还原条件;而草莓状黄铁矿微晶几何形态及整体形貌特征也与古海洋氧化还原环境密切相关。此外,虽然有学者指出该方法可能存在一些问题,但只要在分析过程中结合沉积特征、古生态特征、地球化学指标等多方面证据对环境进行综合判别,甄别特殊条件下沉积的草莓状黄铁矿,则可有效避免这些问题。最后,针对后期氧化作用对草莓状黄铁矿粒径分布的影响进行了评价,结果显示经过后期氧化作用的草莓状黄铁矿粒径变化很小,不会对其在恢复古海洋氧化还原环境的应用上产生影响。     

Remobilization of gold from a chalcopyrite-pyrite mineralization Hamash gold mine,Southeastern Desert,Egypt

Pyrite, chalcopyrite, and gold occur in quartz veins in granitic rocks and as scattered and disseminated impregnations in shear zones of the highly altered metavolcanics in the Hamash area, Southeastern Desert, Egypt. The minerals are associated in part with pyrrhotite, digenite, tetrahedrite, chalcocite, bornite, and covellite. Pyrite occurs in two forms: (1) idio- to hypidiomorphic coarse crystals with inclusions of preexisting sulfides, and (2) fine-crystalline aggregates. Chalcopyrite occurs in three forms: (1) idiomorphic coarse crystals, (2) fine-crystalline microinclusions, and (3) xenomorphic relicts. Three genetic phases of sulfide mineralization were identified. They are related to the successive cooling of the crystallizing solutions. Gold was hosted in the older sulfide minerals during a high-temperature disorder phase. Native gold was formed during the latest, decreasing-temperature phase through remobilization of auriferous pyrite. Microprobe analysis confirmed that gold and copper are relatively enriched in the late pyrite. Identified surface-alteration products include goethite, limonite, gold, carbonates, and sulfates of iron and copper.     

遗迹化石Rhizocorallium中莓状黄铁矿对古环境古生态的指示--以豫西南上泥盆统为例

豫西南淅川上泥盆统王冠组地层中发育大量与层面平行且具有蹼纹的U形遗迹化石Rhizocorallium。利用环境扫描电镜对Rhizocorallium进行微观观察,发现在其边缘管和蹼纹内部发育大量不同形态的莓状黄铁矿及莓状铁氧化物（单晶为五角十二面体,八面体,立方体和近球形）,与之对应的围岩中仅见少量黄铁矿单晶颗粒。表面具有覆盖膜的莓状黄铁矿大多存在于潜穴内部,其中边缘管中莓状黄铁矿的单晶直径（0.672~1.603 μm,平均直径1.063 μm）较之蹼纹中部的（0.376~0.877 μm,平均直径0.5 μm）的大。上述特征显示出潜穴中莓状黄铁矿的存在可能与硫酸盐类还原菌有关。Rhizocorallium边缘管和蹼纹中高丰度莓状黄铁矿的发现表明:遗迹化石Rhizocorallium可能是造迹者精心构筑的觅食-花园。由于食物供应和氧化还原条件的不同,Rhizocorallium造迹者在其潜穴内部培植不同的微生物,形成一个互利共生的群落。     

草莓状黄铁矿微晶形态和成分的地质意义——以栖霞组含泥灰岩为例

在湖北省京山县雁门口地区二叠世栖霞组上部的含泥灰岩中发现棘皮动物化石,其腔被不同形态微晶的草莓状黄铁矿充填,有正四面体、正六面体、五角十二面体和近球体。溶解氧与草莓状黄铁矿的形成过程有关,其浓度决定微晶的S/Fe。统计显示,黄铁矿的S/Fe平均值随微晶的边数增加而增加,所以,棘皮动物腔内草莓状黄铁矿形成由早及晚的次序为：近球体微晶,五角十二面体微晶,正六面体微晶,正四面体微晶的草莓状黄铁矿。同一环境中,黄铁矿微晶的S/Fe可用来指示形成次序。