A review of indicator minerals and sample processing methods for geochemical exploration

Geochemical exploration based on the analysis of indicator minerals (IMs) is becoming increasingly used as an effective method for mineral exploration for many types of mineral deposits. The types of IMs used or recommended for exploration for different types of deposits, their properties suitable for concentrating them, as well as those of other common minerals from which they must be separated are listed.     

REE Geochemistry of Moderate－and High－Sulfur Coals from North Shanxi,China

Contents of the rare-earth elements(REE) in two coal seams from North Shanxi Province,China,were determined using the instrumental neutron activation method.Based on the REE distribution tpatterns,and correlation analysis and cluster analysis,the main conclusions were drawn as follows.The REE contents are controlled mainly by the coal-forming environments,but might be affected by acidic solution Jeaching after peat sedimentation.The REE distribution patterns should be nearly the same in the sublayers of the same coal seam,and the occurrence of abnormal patterns might indicate the geological effect during post-sedimentation.The REE in coals are present mainly in the inorganic phase,and might be derived mainly from terrigenous detrital minerals.Some harmful elements,such as V,P,Mo,Cr,Cu,Mo,Th and Cd,might have cleaning potential during processing and dressing by washing because they are associated with REE.     

晋北中高硫煤中稀土元素的地球化学特征

应用中子活化分析方法，测定了晋北两层中高硫煤中稀土元素的含量。通过对稀土元素的分布模式，相关分析和聚类分析的研究，得出如下认识；成煤环境对稀土元素的含量具有控制作用。但中高硫煤中稀土元素总量会受到沉积期后酸性溶液下渗淋滤作用的影响；同一煤层中各分层的稀土元素应具有基本相同的分布模式，异常的稀土元素分布模式指示了沉积期后地质作用的影响；煤中稀土元素的主要赋存状态为无机相，主要来源为陆源碎屑矿物；煤中与稀土伴生的有害元素有V，P，Mo,Cr,Cu,Mo,Th和Cd等，在加工洗选过程中有洁净潜势。     

A study in early diagenesis: Biomarker composition of a suite of immature coals and coaly shales

A suite of samples from the Funan Mine, N.E. China, has allowed a comparison to be made between hydrocarbon-rich coals and coaly shales. These are immature coals and the known geological history suggests that they have experienced only a mild geothermal history. Analyses of the di- and sesquiterpenoid components show that compounds based on the kaurane skeleton are absent unlike Australian brown coals; and the diterpenes isopimarane, pimarane and 16α (H)-phyllocladane relate to a different community of higher plants such as Pinaceae and Taxodiaceae from those recognized in Australian brown coals. A consideration of geochimical parameters and biomarker composition leads to the conclusion that the geolipid concentrations in the sample suite are environmentally determined. It is concluded, therefore, that 22R-17β (H),21β (H)-bishomohopanoic acid and the 22R-17α (H),21β (H)-homohopane, both predominant components in their respective classes, are derived from different sources. Labdanic acids have been identified in these coals. They are likely to be derived from resin constituents of the coal and not from microbial biomass. They could potentially be developed as a maturation parameter. Cis and trans isomers of a triaromatic hydrocarbon based on the oleanane skeleton which has been previously identified in Victorian brown coal are present in the Funan coals. The more oxidizing the environment the less advanced is the isomerization of cis to trans and again the environment of deposition is the controlling factor. This study emphasizes the importance of understanding pathways of early diagenesis for the interpretation of data derived from more mature samples.     

Fluid salinities obtained by infrared microthermometry of opaque minerals: Implications for ore deposit modeling — A note of caution

Infrared microthermometry of opaque minerals has revealed that temperatures of phase changes vary with the infrared light source intensity, resulting in an overestimate of fluid salinities and an underestimate of homogenization temperatures. Failing to recognize this analytical artifact during infrared microthermometry may result in meaningless geological models. A fluid inclusion investigation on enargite from a high-sulfidation epithermal deposit is used as an example to document this. Fluid salinities obtained during an early investigation ranged between 6.3 and 20.4 wt.% NaCl, which were interpreted as intense boiling or as evidence for the involvement of a magmatic brine during ore formation. Fluid inclusion salinities obtained with improved analytical settings, i.e. low light intensities, fall between 1.1 and 1.7 wt.% NaCl and are in better agreement with fluid salinities obtained in quartz from similar deposits, and recent modeling suggesting vapor transport of Au and Cu from deep porphyry-Cu environments to shallower high-sulfidation epithermal deposits.     

金川岩浆铜镍硫化物矿床中的镍钴分布规律及其控制因素

幔源岩浆形成与演化过程中镍(Ni)、钴(Co)具有相似的地球化学行为。金川岩浆铜镍硫化物矿床以Ni、铜(Cu)为主要矿种, Co为伴生, Ni、Co在金川矿床中的空间分布规律同步变化, 然而其Ni/Co比值(36.7)远高于地幔值(18.2)。这表明在金川矿床形成过程中Ni-Co发生了共生分离, 但Ni-Co分布特征尚不清楚、其控制因素尚不明确。本文对该矿床中主要矿石矿物的Ni、Co含量及分布进行了系统总结, 并与脉石矿物进行对比。结果表明矿石矿物镍黄铁矿是最重要的含Ni、Co矿物相, 其Ni、Co含量均远高于磁黄铁矿、黄铜矿及脉石矿物。对于脉石矿物, Ni在橄榄石、磁铁矿、铬铁矿内的含量依次降低, 在斜方辉石与单斜辉石中含量最低。Co则在铬铁矿、橄榄石内含量依次降低, 在斜方辉石、单斜辉石、磁铁矿中含量最低。在硫化物熔离过程中, Ni在硫化物熔体内相容性更强, 更加倾向于进入硫化物熔体, 使Ni显著富集于硫化物熔体内, 而Co则相对富集于硅酸盐熔体内, 由此导致Ni-Co解耦。硫化物冷却结晶过程中, Ni、Co倾向于进入最早结晶的单硫化物固溶体(MSS), 并在随后分解作用中集中进入镍黄铁矿内, 使镍黄铁矿成为金川矿床中最重要的含Ni-Co矿物相, 并使Ni、Co在金川矿床中具有相似的空间分布规律。在硅酸盐熔体结晶分异过程中, Ni在橄榄石中的相容性最强, Co在铬铁矿中相容性最强, 因此Ni倾向于进入橄榄石, 而Co倾向于进入铬铁矿, 由此导致Ni-Co发生解耦。硫化物熔离、橄榄石堆晶均会造成残余熔体Ni亏损程度高于Co, 且Ni在斜方辉石与单斜辉石中相容性高于Co将导致残余熔体随冷却结晶Ni/Co比值逐渐降低, 因此在粒间硅酸盐矿物结晶过程中Ni、Co倾向于共生。脉石矿物亚固相下与硫化物熔体反应对于Ni-Co共生分离的影响则与结晶作用完全相反。镍黄铁矿和磁黄铁矿出溶于硫化物矿浆结晶早期形成的MSS, 在不同岩/矿石类型内Ni、Co含量同步变化, 表明镍黄铁矿和磁黄铁矿成分可以用来指示岩浆铜镍硫化物矿床成矿过程中硫化物熔体成分的演变。

     

Anomalous gold contents in brown coals and peat in the south-eastern region of the Western-Siberian platform

One hundred twenty-two samples of Jurassic and Paleogene brown coals and 1254 peat samples from the south-eastern region of the Western-Siberian platform were analyzed for gold by the neutron-activation method. Mean content of Au in Jurassic coals is 30 ± 8 ppb, in Paleogene coals is 10.6 ± 4.8 ppb, and in peat is 6 ± 1.4 ppb. Concentrations of gold as high as 4.4 ppm were found in coal ash and 0.48 ppm in the peat ash. Coal beds with anomalous gold contents were found at Western-Siberian platform for the first time.Negative correlation between gold and ash yield in coals and peat and highest gold concentrations were found in low-ash and ultra-low-ash coals and peat. Primarily this is due to gold's association with organic matter.For the investigation of mode of occurrence of Au in peat the bitumen, water-soluble and high-hydrolyzed substances, humic acids, cellulose and lignin were extracted from it. It was determined that in peat about 95% of gold is combined with organic matter. Forty to sixty percent of Au is contained in humic acids and the same content is in lignin. Bitumens, water-soluble and high-hydrolyzed substances contain no more than 1% of general gold quantity in peat.The conditions of accumulation of high gold concentrations were considered. The authors suggest that Au accumulation in peat and brown coals and the connection between anomalous gold concentrations and organic matter in low-ash coals and peat can explain a biogenic–sorption mechanism of Au accumulation. The sources of formation of Au high concentration were various Au–Sb, Au–Ag Au–As–Sb deposits that are abundant in the Southern and South-Eastern peripheries of the coal basin.     

贵金属资源的应用及开发

将贵金属的应用,资源分布,生产和贵金属的分析化学结合在一起进行了综述,由于贵金属资源的短缺性及考虑可持续发展战略,特别介绍了贵金属资源的二次回收问题,并对其将来的发展作了一定的评价和展望。     

Comparison between natural and artificial maturation series of humic coals from the Mahakam delta,Indonesia

Type III (humic) organic matter from the Mahakam delta (Indonesia) was chosen to compare artificial and natural coal series. Powdered and concentrated immature organic matter was heated in sealed gold tubes for 24 hr at temperatures ranging from 250 to 550°C and under pressures ranging from 0.5 to 4 kb, with and without water. Both elemental and Rock-Eval analyses were used to characterize the products. A comparison between our results, published data and the natural model shows that, quantitatively, natural maturation is simulated better when pyrolysis is performed under confined conditions (no free volume, no diluting inert gas). Thus, pyrolysis in a medium swept by an inert gas, vacuum pyrolysis and some pyrolysis in sealed glass tubes must be considered to be poor simulation tools. The presence of water does not seem to have an essential effect. Allowing the hydrocarbons formed to reach a certain value of partial pressure seems to be important. Results are unchanged when external pressure varies from 0.5 to 4 kb.     

A geochemical record of Late Cenozoic sedimentation history in the southern Netherlands

A sediment-geochemical study was performed on unconsolidated Upper Cenozoic siliclastic sediments from an area in the south of the Netherlands. Glauconite-rich sediments (Breda Fm) show high K contents and low Ba/K ratios. Major shifts in sediment composition as a result of changes in the Rhine system and of shifts between Rhine and Scheldt provenance, as known from heavy-mineral studies, are also recorded in changes in the grain-size-dependent variations between Al, Na and K. Pleistocene Rhine sediments (Tegelen Fm) show higher Na contents than Pliocene Rhine sediments (Oosterhout and Kiezeloöliet Fms) and Scheldt-derived material (Kedichem Fm), probably as a result of larger contents of sodic plagioclase. Scheldt-derived sediments show low K/Al ratios as a result of a smectite-dominated clay-mineralogical composition and low contents of micas, whereas Rhine-derived sediments have high K/Al ratios which reflect an illite-kaolinite-dominated clay mineralogy and higher contents of muscovite. The presence of siderite causes high Fe contents in the Tegelen Fm in the east of the area, suggesting a fresh-water depositional environment. Increased Mg contents in the siderite-bearing sections of the Tegelen Fm and in parts of the Oosterhout and Kiezeloöliet Fms are probably caused by the presence of minor amounts of dolomite. Localized high concentrations of (pyrite-) S are not only found in the marine Oosterhout Fm and the estuarine Tegelen Fm, but also in the fluviatile Kiezeloöliet and Kedichem Fms, which indicates at least minor marine transgressions during their deposition.     

Geomorphological-sedimentological studies of landform types and modern placer deposits in the savanna (Southern Malawi)

Semi-arid climatic conditions were responsible for the evolution of the vast savanna that stretches across central Africa and for the evolution of placers in this area that carry gemstones, rare earth element minerals and zircon- and titanium-bearing minerals. In combination with a polystage peneplanation, chemical weathering contributed to the emplacement of four different types of placer deposits during the Cenozoic in Malawi. Eight landform types have been defined by their geomorphological form, geometry, grain size parameters, stratification, fabric and rock contacts. Each type describes the landscape of the savanna and can be related to the emplacement of placer types within this morphoclimatic zone. Residual to eluvial placers, represented geomorphologically by landform type V, came into existence under strong chemical weathering during a period of alternating peneplanation and valley incision into soil and saprolite. Gentle valley-side slopes or elongated interfluves have a low gradient favorable for the formation and preservation of eluvial to colluvial placers (landform type Ic). Fluvial placers become economic only on outwash plains of tributaries near the confluence with their trunk rivers, beyond the point of inflection (landform types III, II). In the lower reaches of fluvial drainage systems around shallow lakes, fluvio-deltaic placers evolved during periods of rapid uplift and regression of the lake (landform type IV). Other landform types established throughout this study are cast in the role of ‘ore guides’ or, alternatively, have a negative impact on the likelihood of placer formation. The key associations of landforms discussed in this paper may be used as a geomorphological-sedimentological tool in search of modern continental placer deposits in areas where semi-arid climatic conditions occur(red) during the Cenozoic.     

新一轮全球地球化学填图:中国的机遇和挑战

论述从1988年联合国教科文组织相继批准实施国际地球化学填图(IGCP259)和全球地球化学基准(IGCP360)项目以来,中国和欧洲在制定全球地球化学填图的方法指南及技术标准方面作出的决定性贡献。文中指出,中国的"环境地球化学监控网络及动态地球化学填图"项目、欧洲的FOREGS地球化学基准值填图项目为全球其他国家开展类似工作提供了示范,但地球化学家预期10年内获得全球地表地球化学概貌的愿望至今未能实现。挪威和中国的地球化学家通过IAHS/ICCE正在酝酿"Global geochemical mapping and the sediment-bound flux of major world rivers"重大国际合作项目,以开展新一轮全球地球化学填图。通过国际极地年,IPY317项目首先从北极地区启动。新一轮全球地球化学填图项目计划以中国提出的"全球地球化学填图的泛滥平原沉积物采样草案"和挪威提出的"三角洲中河漫滩沉积物的采样草案"作为实施方案,因而巩固和扩大了中国地球化学填图技术在全球的优势地位。论文在分析中国面临的机遇与挑战后,建议政府主管部门对新一轮全球地球化学填图给予优先支持。     

全球铬铁矿床成因类型、地质特征及时空分布规律初探

全球铬铁矿资源丰富,但分布极不均衡.铬铁矿的成因类型主要有层状和豆荚状2种,这2种类型的铬铁矿床地质特征、成因模式差异显著.在全球范围内铬铁矿矿床的成矿时代和空间分布具有明显的时空规律性,古元古代是铬铁矿最重要成矿期,该期形成的铬铁矿占总资源量的58.5％,以形成大型-超大型层状铬铁矿为主,中-新生代是全球铬铁矿床形成数量最多、分布范围最广的重要成矿期,该期形成的铬铁矿占总资源量的24.9％,以形成中小型豆荚状铬铁矿为主.铬铁矿在全球的分布可划分为5个重要层状铬铁矿矿田(南非布什维尔德-津巴布韦大岩墙、北美斯蒂尔沃特、南美坎坡福莫索、印度苏金达、芬兰凯米-俄罗斯普拉科夫斯科)和7个豆荚状铬铁矿带(津巴布韦舒鲁圭、东北非、乌拉尔、特提斯、西太平洋岛弧、加勒比岛弧和马达加斯加),并对各重要成矿区带的资源潜力进行了探讨.通过对全球铬铁矿成因类型、地质特征和时空分布规律的探讨,对深入了解地幔的物质组成、物理化学环境、地幔物质的运移、深部地质作用及板块运动的动力学机制、深俯冲和地球深部再循环轨迹有重要的理论意义.     

Metals and polyaromatic hydrocarbons in the drinking water of the Sydney Basin, Nova Scotia, Canada: a preliminary assessment of their source

Twenty-five drinking water samples collected from the household property and from the Sydney Regional Municipality well bores and lakes were analyzed to evaluate the various inorganic parameters, level of concentrations of the priority elements and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The pH of the majority of the water samples was below the guidelines adopted by Health and Welfare Canada (1996), although the drinking waters supplied by the Sydney Regional Municipality were within the guidelines. Only three water samples (13 and 14: Point Aconi area and 16: Port Morien fish plant) have elevated concentrations of various PAHs compared to the detection limit. Eight samples have higher concentrations of manganese and two samples (number 7: Sydney Airport and number 1: RCMP Office; Reserve Mines) have higher concentrations of priority elements (especially lead) than the recommended guidelines (>0.05 mg/l). These priority elements and the PAHs in the drinking water samples may have originated from the leaching of the individual coal seams within that part of the Sydney Basin. Other potential sources of these elements and PAHs (Power Plant disposal, Sydney Tar Pond, metalliferous rocks, hydrocarbon reservoir rocks) are not located close enough to the sampling sites of the water samples. Therefore, they are not considered the source of these elements and PAHs.     

Geochemistry, mineralogy, and technological properties of the main Stephanian (Carboniferous) coal seams from the Puertollano Basin, Spain

This study is focused on the occurrence and distribution of mineral matter and major and trace elements in the high volatile bituminous coal from Puertollano (south-central Spain). The relationship between ash behaviour and inorganic composition, as well as the possible formation of fouling and slagging deposits in boilers during the conversion process, were investigated. The Puertollano coals do not exhibit plastic properties, despite their rank, probably because of their high ash and inertinite contents.The Puertollano coal has medium to low total S content (0.48% to 1.63% db, with a mean of 1.0% db) and is characterised by relatively high contents of Si, Pb, Sb, and Cs. Some elements such as As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ge, Li, Mn, Ni, W, and Zn are also present in relatively high contents. The enrichment in a number of heavy metals could be attributed to the common sulphide ores occurring near the Puertollano coal deposit.The following trace elements affinities are deduced: (a) sulphide affinity: As, Co, Cd, Cu, Ni, Sb, Tl, and Zn; (b) aluminum–silicate affinity: K, Ti, B, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu Ga, Hf, Li, Nb, Rb, Sn, Ta, Th, V, Zr, and LREE; (c) Carbonate affinity: Ca, Mg, Mn, and B; (d) organic affinity: B.The very high Si levels and the anomalous enrichment in Cs, Ge, Pb, Sb, and Zn shown by the Puertollano coals account for the high contents of these elements in the Puertollano fly ash when compared with the other Spanish coal fly ashes.The chemical composition of the high temperature ash (HTA) is consistent with the trend shown by the ash fusion temperatures (AFT) and also with the predictive indices related to slagging and fouling propensities. Thus, the ash fusion temperatures increase with high values of Al₂O₃ as well as with the decrease in Fe₂O₃, CaO, and MgO.     

The oxygen isotopic composition of uranium minerals: A review

Uranium ore is an essential material in the preparation of nuclear fuel for civilian as well as military uses. Uranium is first extracted from uranium-bearing minerals using a variety of reagents, and is precipitated from solutions as yellow cake prior to isotope enrichment processes. The disintegration of the former Eastern Bloc in the 1990s and frequent unrest in the Middle East have underscored the need for better characterizing source uranium ores for forensic and attribution purposes.The world's major deposits of U occur in several distinctly different geological environments. Fourteen principal types of U deposits and rocks with elevated uranium contents are recognized with more than 40 subtypes. Combining our own analysis and literature data, we have amassed over 250 oxygen isotope data from 13 major U-producing countries, which vary widely from − 32 to + 11‰. However, interpreting the oxygen isotopic composition of uraninite in terms of the composition of the fluid from which it precipitated, or interacted with, requires knowledge of the fractionation factor and temperature of interactions, which are not always available. Since each deposit type occurs within a unique geologic setting and is generally formed from chemically distinct fluids, the chemical compositions of the uranium ores are also distinct: uranium deposits that form in igneous rocks have higher trace element compositions relative to sandstone-hosted deposits. Our data shows that one of the most useful techniques for distinguishing between uranium ore is to use a combination of δ¹⁸O values and rare-earth elements (e.g., La/Yb ratios). These methods may allow investigators to trace uranium ore back to the source.     

安徽大团山层状铜矿床地质特征及成因探讨

大团山层状铜矿床位于铜陵狮子山矿田内,矿体主要呈透镜状、似层状赋存于三叠系殷坑组地层中,与矿化有关的岩浆岩为燕山中晚期石英闪长岩。在前人研究工作的基础上,试图通过大团山层状矿床的矿床地质特征、矿石矿物稀土元素组成和硫同位素示踪研究,深入探讨大团山层状铜矿的成因。     

黑龙江省五星Cu-Ni-Pt-Pd矿床的PGE-Au元素地球化学特征与成因探讨

对黑龙江省东部五星Cu-Ni-Pt-Pd矿床的矿体和与成矿有关的镁铁质杂岩的PGE-Au以及铁族、亲铜元素的地球化学特征研究表明：它们均以亏损Cr、IPGE和富集Ni、Co、Cu、Pt和Pd（Pt     

Natural iron oxalates and their analogous synthetic counterparts: A review

Four iron-containing natural oxalates, usually classified as organic minerals, are known (humboldtine, minguzzite, stepanovite and zhemchuzhnikovite). Their occurrences and general properties are presented and briefly discussed. The subsequent part of the review is devoted to the discussion of synthetic oxalato-complexes, analogous to these natural species, including usual synthetic procedures and a thorough analysis of their crystallographic and structural peculiarities. The thermal, spectroscopic and magnetic properties of these complexes are also analyzed in detail and comparisons with other closely related complexes are also included in the discussions.     

郯庐断裂带山东段金伯利岩和碱性岩浆岩的深源特征矿物信息及其资源能源意义

郯庐断裂带是太平洋西岸的中国东部乃至东北亚最重要的一条深断裂带,影响着中国东部的岩浆活动和有关固体矿产(金多金属、金刚石等)和能源(油气)的产出。该断裂的山东段被称为沂沭断裂带,其东侧的胶东金矿带是中国最重要的金矿床集中区,西侧则分布有金刚石(蒙阴金伯利岩群)、石油(胜利油田)等资源-能源,其研究的理论意义和经济意义重大。借助于场发射扫描电镜支持下的自动矿物识别表征系统(AMICS),笔者从郯庐断裂带西侧的深部岩浆岩(金伯利岩和碳酸岩-碱性杂岩)矿物组合中,识别出具有标志性的矿物组合,主要包括:(1)金伯利岩的典型矿物组合为镁铝榴石-钙铁榴石-钙钛矿-金云母-磁铁矿-铬铁矿±斜硅镁石±自然硅±金刚石等,并首次观察到自然硅,蚀变矿物组合——金云母-富钛磁铁矿-钛铁矿-富钛尖晶石-绿泥石等,这种矿物组合充分反映了较为还原的深部流体条件;(2)碱性杂岩的典型矿物组合——方解石-氟碳铈矿-氟碳钙铈矿,叠加改造矿物组合——重晶石-天青石-白云石等。在碱性杂岩中,还观察到黄铁矿中含有异常高的深源的稀贵金属元素(Au、Co、Pt、Ru、Os、Ir、 Re等)。郯庐断裂带山东段(沂沭断裂带)岩浆岩中深...