Mineral assemblages of titanium-zirconium sands at the Central deposit,the east European platform

The study of mineral assemblages at the Central deposit allowed us to substantially refine the evolutionary model of the deposit and reveal the two main factors that control the variability of its mineralic space: (1) heterogeneity of the ore layer, consisting of a sublittoral bottom placer (the lower part) and a subaerial dune complex partly reworked in the course of a new transgression (the upper part), and (2) postore epigenetic alteration of the ore constituent of sands, which affected the quality of ore concentrates. The results obtained will be used in geological and technological mapping and development of the production program.     

Phase distribution of elements in ferromanganese nodules of the Kara Sea

Doklady Earth Sciences - The relation of nonferrous metals and other elements to the main mineral phases in iron–manganese ore is a matter of interest in theoretical and practical terms and...     

Composition of ferromanganese nodules from Riga Bay (Baltic Sea)

An average sample of ferromanganese nodules from Riga Bay was investigated by analytical electron microscopy coupled with atomic absorption, neutron activation, and ICP-MS methods. It is established that the nodules consist of colloform and poorly crystallized Fe and Mn hydroxides with an admixture of dispersed inclusions of better crystallized particles allowing revealing their mineralogical nature by the microdiffraction method. The major mineral phases are ferroxigite and Fe-vernadite with subordinate magnetite, asbolane, and todorokite. The chemical composition of the nodules is dominated by iron followed by cobalt and lead, while nickel, molybdenum, and tungsten associate with the manganese phase. The concentration of several minor elements in the Riga Bay nodules is slightly lower as compared with their average values for the entire Baltic Sea; some elements such as silver, bismuth, cadmium, niobium, tin, and thallium were never analyzed before.     

Hydrothermal manganese mineralization in the Peterbourgskoye ore field (North Atlantic)

The manganese crust covered by pelagic sediment was recovered from the 3 km depth from the Peterbourgskoye ore field located on the eastern flank of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The crust comprises a platy brittle aggregate 1–5 cm thick made of black heterogeneous and partly porous material. The inner structure consists of aggregated parallel microplaits several micrometers to 0.2 mm thick consisting of well-crystallized bisnessite with a minor admixture of colloform vernadite. The chemical composition of the crust is dominated by manganese (more than 60% MnO) with minor iron (1.7% Fe₂O₃) and somewhat notable sodium and sulfur. The trace element composition is characterized by very high molybdenum, moderate gallium and uranium, and very low values of 40 other trace elements. Compared to previous publications, the composition of this crust is fairly different from the average values previously defined for hydrothermal crusts. On the other hand, it is rather close to some crusts recovered from subsea volcanoes in the Sea of Japan.     

Mineralogy and chemistry of ferromanganese crusts from the Atlantic Ocean

The mineral and chemical compositions of a set of crust samples collected from the North, Central and South Atlantic were examined by means of analytical electron microscopy and ICP-MS, chemical, and microchemical elemental analysis. The dominant mineral phases of the crusts are vernadite, asbolane, and goethite, with minor ferrihydrite, and rare hematite and feroxyhyte. The samples show wide variability in major and trace elements; however, their characteristic geochemical signatures indicate hydrogenetic origin. A comparison between the compositions of oceanic hydrogenetic and hydrothermal crusts and metalliferous hydrothermal sediments from different ocean areas suggests that the geochemical approach may be insufficient in some cases and fail to identify a hydrothermal input in ferromanganese crusts of a mixed composition.     

The composition of ferromanganese nodules of the Chukchi and East Siberian seas

Ferromanganese nodules from the floors of the Chukchi and East Siberian seas were examined by means of analytical electron microscopy and plasmic and chemical analysis. It was found that the nodules consisted of aggregates of colloform and poorly crystallized matter of globular and irregular shapes, in which the minerals of iron and manganese were mainly presented by hematite, vernadite, and asbolane. The samples from the Chukchi Sea contained single micrograins of native gold. The tested nodules were comparable to oceanic ones in iron content. The contents of manganese, ore elements, and most of microelements are well below those of the ocean. The comparison of the composition of bottom sediments and considered nodules showed that the latter were enriched during their formation by factors of 100–200 in manganese, of 10–18 in cobalt, and of 4–8 in iron, nickel, and zinc. However, the process of diagenetic accumulation of metals by nodules in the marine environment is less effective than in the open ocean with the sediments of higher con-tent of mobile element forms and of higher exposure time compared to marine sediments.     

Origin of uranium and rare earth minerals in bone detritus from rare metal deposits

In order to ascertain the forms in which uranium is present in ores of the Melovoe rare metal sedimentary deposit of uranium and rare earth minerals (South Mangyshlak), we investigated a series of typical ore samples that were collected earlier; both the uranium content and the total content of rare earth metals in them lay within 0.1–0.3%. The study was carried out by analytical electron microscopy using transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, electron microdiffraction, and microprobing. It was ascertained that both uranium and rare earth elements are present in ore mostly associated with biogenic phosphate in the form of natural minerals, such as uraninite, ningyoite, coffinite, autenite, and churchite. Iron hydroxides and graphitized organic matter are present in some samples. It is assumed that the co-occurrence of uranium and rare earth elements, which is nontypical for the sedimentary process, resulted from secondary epigenetic processes and alternation of reducing and oxidizing environmental conditions.