Structural analysis and 3D modelling of major mineralizing structures at the Phalaborwa copper deposit

The c. 2060 Ma Phalaborwa Igneous Complex forms an elongate intrusion into Archean granitic gneiss. The carbonatite within the central pyroxenite core of the complex (Loolekop) is well-mineralized in copper. Open pit mining operations started in 1965, followed by underground block caving in 2003. Although little attention has been paid to large-scale structures associated with intrusive phases and mineralization, ongoing infrastructure development and block caving, as part of the new Lift II Project, require far greater resolution of structural discontinuities. 3D modelling of these structures, from over 50 years of data, reveals that Loolekop occurs at the confluence of several major shears or fault zones. Of these, five major structures were pivotal in the emplacement of banded carbonatite, transgressive carbonatite and very late-stage, narrow, E-W trending, sulphide veinlets with short down-dip and along-strike extensions, which form the bulk of mineralization. Modelled structures typically have two or more segments, which are rotated with respect to one another, in turn suggesting repeated rotation or torsion of the entire intrusive volume, aided by cross-cutting structures. The oldest structure is the N-S trending Mica Fault Zone, which shows the same trend as the entire carbonatite complex and the nearby eastern edge of the Kaapvaal Craton and the Lebombo Lineament. The youngest structure is the Central Fault, which shows an E-W inflection that is co-incident with the carbonatite and the E-W, vein-hosted Cu mineralization trend. Based on cross-cutting relationships, sinistral movement along the Central Fault Zone and its localized E-W dilational jog is invoked as a mechanism for transgressive carbonatite emplacement and the introduction of late-stage Cu-rich fluids into numerous tensional veinlets. This shearing would have been caused by an E-W trending maximum principal stress orientation. In turn, this corresponds with the orientation of near-field, eastward-directed stress along the eastern lobe of the Bushveld Complex during its emplacement and subsequent deformation.     

Antifouling biocides in discarded marine paint particles

Antifouling paint fragments collected from marinas and leisure boat maintenance facilities and in the vicinity of abandoned boats have been chemically characterised. High concentrations of Cu (23-380 mg g⁻¹) and Zn (14-160 mg g⁻¹) in the samples (n = 14) are consistent with the use of these metals in the principal biocidal and non-biocidal pigments in contemporary antifouling formulations. Up to about 2% and 7% of the respective metals were solvent-extractable, suggesting that organo-forms of Cu and Zn (e.g. pyrithiones) were also present. Of the organic biocides, dichlofluanid was present in most samples and at concentrations up to about 20 mg g⁻¹. Chlorothalonil and Irgarol 1051® were only detected in one and four cases, respectively, and Sea Nine 211® was not detected in any sample. Results are discussed in terms of UK legislation regarding biocide usage and the likely effects and fate of discarded paint particles in coastal environments where boats are repaired or moored.     

The Plat Sjambok Anorthosite and its tonalitic country rocks: Mesoproterozoic pre-tectonic intrusions in the Kaaien Terrane,Namaqua–Natal Province,southern Africa

The Plat Sjambok Anorthosite crops out near Prieska Copper Mines in the Namaqua–Natal Province of southern Africa. It is a massif-type anorthosite, previously regarded as a late-tectonic intrusion and part of the ca. 1100 Ma bimodal Keimoes Suite. Our new ion probe U–Pb zircon data show that the Plat Sjambok massif intruded at 1259 ± 5 Ma, before the 1220 Ma Namaqua collision events and is thus approximately 150 million years older than the Keimoes Suite. Despite the proximity to Prieska Mines, the anorthosite is located in the Kaaien Terrane close to the Brakbos Fault, which is the boundary with the Areachap Terrane in which Prieska Mines is situated. We dated the Nelspoortjie Tonalite, the main country rock of the Plat Sjambok Anorthosite, by laser ablation ICPMS at 1273 ± 13 Ma. Both intrusions thus originated concurrently with the 1286–1241 Ma volcanic rocks of the Areachap Group, which developed in a subduction-related arc setting, prior to its collision with the Kaaien Terrane and Kaapvaal Craton. Metamorphic zircon rims in the Plat Sjambok Anorthosite give an age of 1122 ± 7 Ma, a time that corresponds to a quiet period in the Areachap Terrane. We propose a tectonic model in which formation of the Nelspoortjie Tonalite and Plat Sjambok Anorthosite was driven by intrusions from the mantle into a back-arc related tensional environment within the Kaaien Terrane, possibly situated above an Archaean crustal tongue. This led to heating in a thickened crustal setting in which the tonalite originated as a partial melt of amphibolite. The anorthosite then formed as a mixture of mantle-derived gabbro and Archaean crustal rocks, which explains the 2100–2600 Ma zircon–Hf crustal residence ages and the Sm–Nd trend towards an old crustal source. The anorthosite and its country rocks were only juxtaposed with the Prieska Copper Mining District by late-tectonic uplift and transpressional movements on the Brakbos Fault towards the end of the Namaqua tectogenesis.     

Geochemical anomaly structure of South Mining District of Fenghuangshan Copper Mine

To study the geochemical anomaly structure of multi-element associations in the South Mining District of the Fenghuangshan Copper Mine,samples were collected and analyzed for their trace element contents.Multi-element anomaly associations were divided according to the correlations between Cu and each of the other elements,and the distribution characteristics of multi-element anomaly associations were also described.Among them,the anomaly distribution of metallogenic element Cu indicates the environment of mineralization.This study provided the basis for research on the metallogenic prediction and geochemistry of the Fenghuangshan Copper Mine.     

Global distributions of Fe,Al, Cu,and Zn contained in Earth's derma layers

To improve the usefulness and accuracy of modeling Earth's anthrobiogeochemical metal cycles, global maps at approximately 1° × 1° are produced of the concentrations and masses of Fe, Al, Cu, and Zn contained in continental sediments and soils. The maps generated utilize inverse distance weighting (IDW) and cokriging to generate new estimates for geospatially weighted mean global concentrations for these metallic micronutrients. Sediment metal concentration maps are generated from IDW of sediment samples; global soil maps are produced via cokriging upon an underlying parent rock dataset composed of both surface bedrock and sediment samples. Derived are independent estimates for the global mean concentrations in continental sediments (Fe = 3.1 wt.%, Al = 6.1 wt.%, Cu = 45 μg/g, Zn = 86 μg/g) and soils (Fe = 2.5 wt.%, Al = 3.9 wt.%, Cu = 17 μg/g, Zn = 50 μg/g). While continental sediment concentrations for Cu are within the range of previous estimates, Zn concentrations are relatively higher, ~ 20 μg/g above previous estimates. Fe and Al are slightly depleted (~ 1 wt.%) in continental sediments relative to previous estimates, likely ascribable to sampling bias and error inherent in the comparative methodologies. Besides an estimated global mean, metal concentrations in soils are also broken down by FAO soil group. Metal masses in sediments and soils remain within 30% of previous, non-spatial estimates. These maps also illustrate the discernable spatial variability across the Earth's surface. Despite data gaps, maps of metal mass show regional patterns such as the high quantities of Al in the soils and biomass of the Amazonia and Congo regions. Concentrations of metals are relatively high in the anthrosols of China. Finally, this analysis highlights those areas for which generating and providing publically available geochemical data should be prioritized. For instance, gypsisols, lixisols, and nitisols have little to no analytical data available on metal contents. A sensitivity analysis suggests that the most poorly constrained soil metal concentrations occur in the thick, old tropical soils of central Africa and the anthrosols of eastern China.     

Heavy metal contamination of an arid river environment: Gruben River, Namibia

The dispersal of metalliferous pollution from several spoil heaps produced during 20th century copper mining in the Gruben River valley, Namibia is examined. The Gruben River flows through an extremely arid environment with an average rainfall of ˜25 mm p.a. The potential for physical and chemical remobilisation of Cu, Zn and Ni is assessed by examining the spatial and temporal distribution of metal-contaminated sediment deposited within the confines of the channel. The relationships between metal content, grain size, geomorphic environment and the downstream distribution of metals are discussed. The phase-specific heavy metal concentrations of sediments, collected as part of the downstream sampling programme, are also examined using progressively more aggressive sequential acid extractions. In addition, metal concentrations are compared with Dutch guidelines for soil contamination to ascertain the extent of environmental risk.Total metal concentrations show that the Gruben valley is highly contaminated, particularly with respect to Cu and Ni concentrations, which exceed Dutch target values for Cu (36 ppm) in 94.7% and Ni (35 ppm) in 90.5% of samples, respectively. Zn concentrations are much lower with only 6.3% of the samples exceeding the target value (140 ppm). As might be expected, the metal–sediment concentrations of Cu are the most highly elevated, with a peak value of 10,500 ppm being recorded from material collected from suspended sediment transported during a minor flow event that occurred in March 1999. Lower energy and fine-grained sedimentary environments are shown to be clearly associated with higher metal concentrations. Sequential extractions of metals show that of the three principal elements considered in this study, only a negligible proportion of Cu (0.41%) is held in the exchangeable phase. Ni and Zn were below detection limits. Although the total metal concentrations in the Gruben River valley sediments are extremely high and are in themselves a concern, the small percentage of metals held in the exchangeable phase and the low potential for remobilisation under the arid conditions would suggest that they pose only a minor risk to the environment.     

闹牛山铜矿床火山机构控矿特征及次火山岩系列演化

闹牛山铜矿床受火山机构控制,反映了成矿作用从供矿→运矿→集中→定位的全过程,次火山岩从基中性→中性→酸性方向演化,铜矿与次火山岩具有同空间,同时间（或稍后）,同源的特征。     

河北寿王坟铜矿碳-氧同位素地球化学特征及其意义

系统研究寿王坟矿区矽卡岩型矿石和斑岩型矿石中热液成因碳酸盐矿物的碳免同位素组成，结合矿区蚀变白云质围岩地层碳免同位素组成特征，提出：1)尽管矽卡岩矿床产在碳酸盐地层与中酸性侵入体的接触带上，是碳酸盐地层受热液交代作用的产物，但矽卡岩矿石中热液碳酸盐矿物的碳同位素组成却主要反映了深部岩浆(甚或地馒)来源碳的特征，基本可以排除沉积碳酸盐的碳大规模加入的可能性。2)寿王坟矿田对应着一个与高侵位岩浆岩有关的热液成矿系列，其浅部的下渗大气降水加热环流体系和深部上升的岩浆热液体系，均能在不同部位通过系统的碳免同位素地球化学研究加以揭示。作为矿山开采主体的矽卡岩型矿体和部分斑岩型矿体都是上升岩浆热液(甚或更深的馒源流体)的产物。     

Quantitative assessment of future development of cooper/silver resources in the Kootenai National Forest,Idaho/Montana: Part I—Estimation of the copper and silver endowments

Faced with an ever-increasing diversity of demand for the use of public lands, managers and planners are turning more often to a multiple-use approach to meet those demands. This approach requires the uses to be mutually compatible and to utilize the more valuable attributes or resource values of the land. Therefore, it is imperative that planners be provided with all available information on attribute and resource values in a timely fashion and in a format that facilitates a comparative evaluation.The Kootenai National Forest administration enlisted the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Bureau of Mines to perform a quantitative assessment of future copper/silver production potential within the forest from sediment-hosted copper deposits in the Revett Formation that are similar to those being mined at the Troy Mine near Spar Lake. The U.S. Geological Survey employed a quantitative assessment technique that compared the favorable host terrane in the Kootenai area with worldwide examples of known sediment-hosted copper deposits. The assessment produced probabilistic estimates of the number of undiscovered deposits that may be present in the area and of the copper and silver endowment that might be contained in them.Results of the assessment suggest that the copper/silver deposit potential is highest in the southwestern one-third of the forest. In this area there is an estimated 50 percent probability of at least 50 additional deposits occurring mostly within approximately 260,000 acres where the Revett Formation is thought to be present in the subsurface at depths of less than 1,500 meters. A Monte Carlo type simulation using data on the grade and tonnage characteristics of other known silver-rich, sediment-hosted copper deposits predicts a 50 percent probability that these undiscovered deposits will contain at least 19 million tonnes of copper and 100,000 tonnes of silver. Combined with endowments estimated for identified, but not thoroughly explored deposits, and deposits that might also occur in the remaining area of the forest, the endowment potential increases to 23 million tonnes of copper and 190,000 tonnes of silver.     

豫南铜多金属贵金属矿床类型及找矿前景

豫南地区发育着铜多金属及贵金属矿床，在空间上矿化与断裂构造破碎带密切有关，使“矿体、矿群、矿带”呈间距平行展布的特征。矿床可分为产于前寒武纪变质碳酸盐岩系中、产于变质中、基性岩系中和产于燕山期酸性侵入岩体内外接触带中三类铜多金属和贵金属矿床。提出了在围山城、银洞坡、刘山崖和杜家畈矿区外围以及银洞沟—马大庄、河嘴—驼店、犁铧寨—南湾—皇城山和南马畈—柳林等找矿远景区段。