Garnierite in nickel deposits of the Urals

Oxide-silicate ore deposits containing approximately 10% of Ni reserves of Russia are located in the Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, and Orenburg districts of the Urals. Garnierite is among the most important industrial minerals of supergene nickel deposits. We studied this mineral in metasomatites and ores of the Cheremshan, Sinar, Elov, Sakhara, and Buruktal deposits based on the chemical, thermal, and X-ray phase analysis data. It is shown for the first time that garnierites of the Ural province are composed of both exogenous and hydrothermal mineral associations. The spatial distribution of minerals suggests that the hydrothermal association is a lateral and vertical (depth) continuation of mineralization in the Uralian supergene deposits. This conclusion widens significantly the scope of prospecting for new mineralized sectors in old deposits and the possibility of discovery of new deposits.     

Platinoids and Gold in Oxide–Silicate Nickel Ores of the Buruktal and Ufalei Deposits in the Urals

Contents of platinum group elements (PGE) and gold in oxide–silicate nickel ores of the Buruktal and Ufalei deposits are determined. Mineral phases of PGE and Au in ores of the Ufalei deposit are observed as native palladium, Pd-platinum, native platinum, and native gold (fineness 948).     

Dykes of the Kuru Vaara deposit in the Kola alkaline province

The results of examination of intrusive rocks of the Kuru Vaara deposit, which is located in the Kola alkaline province within the Kovdor area, are presented. Microprobe and chemical analyses have been conducted in order to determine the composition of the rocks. As a result of a microprobe analysis of thin sections, at least three intrusion phases have been identified. The examined rocks correspond to differentiated series and form a group of rocks that are convergent to kimberlites. The rocks are represented by picrites, phlogopite-pyroxene picrites, and olivine melilithites. Melilithites are only contained in three rock complexes of the Kola alkaline province: Sal’magora, Kovdor, and Turii Mys.