Al hematites prepared by homogeneous precipitation of oxinates: material characterization and determination of the Morin transition

A novel method for synthesis of aluminium hematites, based upon the homogeneous precipitation of Fe and Al oxinates in various proportions, is presented. The precursor precipitates are heated in air at 700?°C. X-ray diffraction, thermal analyses, BET, FTIR, optical reflection analysis, TEM and Mössbauer spectroscopy at room temperature and 80?K of the resulting products indicate that single-phase hematites are formed with structural Al substitution of up to 10 at%. Interestingly, the particle size (>100?nm) is not substantially reduced by the Al content. Although it remains difficult to obtain a homogeneously distributed Al substitution in the final hematite, this processing line offers a unique opportunity to separate the effects of grain size and Al substitution on the Morin transition temperature (T _M) of Al hematite. From the comparison between the present hematites and a series of Al-substituted hematites with lepidocrocite as precursor, it could be shown that the effect on T _M, associated with a change of a factor 10 in grain size, is about 1/3 of the effect caused by a change of 10 in the degree of substitution. Finally, it is suggested that proper thermal treatments under different conditions of the same precursors are likely to produce spinel phases.     

Sequestration of molybdate during transformation of 2-line ferrihydrite under alkaline conditions

Hematite is a thermodynamically stable iron oxide under the aerobic conditions present in most natural surface soils and sediments. Most studies to date have focused on the capacity of hematite to adsorb trace metals and metalloids, but structural incorporation of trace metals within hematite is less recognized. This study assessed the incorporation of molybdenum within the structure of hematite during the phase transformation of 2-line ferrihydrite under alkaline conditions (pH ∼10). Extended X-ray absorption fine structure analyses show molybdenum incorporated into hematite, with two Mo-O shells having a coordination number (CN) of 3 and average bond distances of 1.78 ± 0.01 and 2.08 ± 0.02 Å, respectively, as well as two Mo-Fe shells with a CN of 3 and average bond distances of 3.10 ± 0.02 Å and 3.44 ± 0.02 Å, respectively. This observation suggests the tetrahedrally-coordinated Mo in the molybdate that adsorbs onto the 2-line ferrihydrite changes to an octahedrally-coordinated Mo within the hematite with Mo possibly substituting for Fe in the hematite structure. Our findings suggest that molybdenum partitioning (low concentrations) to iron oxides in the environment can occur due to structural incorporation as well as adsorption.     

黄铁矿与沥青铀矿的共生条件及在沥青铀矿形成过程中所起作用的实验研究

高价铁与高价铀混合溶液在还原场中形成了共生的黄铁矿与沥青铀矿,该过程必须在弱酸性-中性-碱性介质中进行,其中在弱酸性至中性介质中易形成大的黄铁矿单晶。高价铀溶液流经黄铁矿矿区时,若在高温高压条件下,有新生的黄铁矿或白铁矿与沥青铀矿共生。黄铁矿还原六价铀形成沥青铀矿时,起还原作用的是二价硫。赤铁矿常与沥青铀矿共生,但它们是热液演化过程中不同阶段的产物,赤铁矿形成于体系氧逸度高的氧化环境,沥青铀矿形成于体系氧逸度低的还原环境,赤铁矿形成于沥青铀矿之前。     

Effect of hematite on thiosulphate leaching of gold

Hematite, as a typical iron oxide slime in sulphide ore slurries, was artificially added into the leaching systems of pure gold and a sulphide ore respectively, in an attempt to investigate the effect of iron oxide slimes on the ammoniacal thiosulphate leaching of gold. The presence of hematite significantly reduced the dissolution of gold and this detrimental effect became more pronounced with increasing hematite concentration. Hematite formed coatings on gold surfaces, which could prevent leach solution from diffusing to the gold surfaces and hence, inhibit gold dissolution. Hematite catalysed the oxidative decomposition of thiosulphate to polythionates with oxygen present. XPS studies indicated a thin layer of iron oxide coating as well as the deposition of some copper and sulphur species on gold surfaces. SEM images revealed a lesser extent of corrosion for gold after leaching in the presence of hematite. The gold extraction from the sulphide ore was reduced with the addition of hematite and this effect became more noticeable with an addition of hematite at a higher concentration. A natural guar type surfactant (Gempolym M47) reduced the detrimental effect of hematite on gold extraction likely due to the prevention of hematite coating on gold and mineral particles and the dispersion of the mineral slurry. Gempolym M47 stabilised thiosulphate by weakening the interaction between cupric ions and thiosulphate and by minimising the catalytic effect of hematite on thiosulphate decomposition.     

Oxidation of CO on surface hematite in high CO2 atmospheres

We propose a mechanism for the oxidation of gaseous CO into CO₂ occurring on the surface mineral hematite (Fe₂O₃(s)) in hot, CO₂-rich planetary atmospheres, such as Venus. This mechanism is likely to constitute an important source of tropospheric CO₂ on Venus and could at least partly address the CO₂ stability problem in Venus’ stratosphere, since our results suggest that atmospheric CO₂ is produced from CO oxidation via surface hematite at a rate of 0.4 petagrammes (Pg) CO₂ per (Earth) year on Venus which is about 45% of the mass loss of CO₂ via photolysis in the Venusian stratosphere. We also investigated CO oxidation via the hematite mechanism for a range of planetary scenarios and found that modern Earth and Mars are probably too cold for the mechanism to be important because the rate-limiting step, involving CO(g) reacting onto the hematite surface, proceeds much slower at lower temperatures. The mechanism may feature on extrasolar planets such as Gliese 581c or CoRoT-7b assuming they can maintain solid surface hematite which, e.g. starts to melt above about 1200 K. The mechanism may also be important for hot Hadean-type environments and for the emerging class of hot Super-Earths with planetary surface temperatures between about 600 and 900 K.     

Meridiani Planum hematite deposit and the search for evidence of life on Mars—iron mineralization of microorganisms in rock varnish

The extensive hematite deposit in Meridiani Planum was selected as the landing site for the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity because the site may have been favorable to the preservation of evidence of possible prebiotic or biotic processes. One of the proposed mechanisms for formation of this deposit involves surface weathering and coatings, exemplified on Earth by rock varnish. Microbial life, including microcolonial fungi and bacteria, is documented in rock varnish matrices from the southwestern United States and Australia. Limited evidence of this life is preserved as cells and cell molds mineralized by iron oxides and hydroxides, as well as by manganese oxides. Such mineralization of microbial cells has previously been demonstrated experimentally and documented in banded iron formations, hot spring deposits, and ferricrete soils. These types of deposits are examples of the four “water-rock interaction” scenarios proposed for formation of the hematite deposit on Mars. The instrument suite on Opportunity has the capability to distinguish among these proposed formation scenarios and, possibly, to detect traces that are suggestive of preserved martian microbiota. However, the confirmation of microfossils or preserved biosignatures will likely require the return of samples to terrestrial laboratories.     

云南西双版纳曼远铁矿矿床地质

曼远铁矿以磁铁矿、赤铁矿、磁赤铁矿为主,赋存于澜沧群勐井山组上段中部。该组地层中夹多层中性—基性火山岩、火山凝灰岩,属典型的火山沉积变质型铁矿。     

Domainal fabrics of hematite in schistose,shear zone-hosted high-grade Fe ores: The product of the interplay between deformation and mineralization

Schistose high-grade hematite orebodies (>64 wt % Fe) in the Iron Quadrangle, Minas Gerais, were formed in shear zones by hydrothermal alteration of the Paleoproterozoic Cauê BIF during the Transamazonian orogenesis. The ore is comprised of platy hematite (specularite) grains that define the foliation and overprint a relict banded martite-hematite fabric resembling, at first sight, a mylonite. The EBSD analyses of a m-scale schistose orebody from the Pau Branco mine show that specularite grew as elongated plates with the (00.1) plane parallel to the foliation. The population of the measured grain aspect ratio (GAR) is homogenous in different scales, and the longest axes of the crystals align with the stretching lineation (L//X) building continuous domains, or anastomose around stretched iron oxide aggregates and rootless fold hinges. The pole figure of the (00.1) plane shows usually a maximum centered on the pole of the foliation Z often elongated on a girdle perpendicular to the lineation L. The {10.4} pole figure has the configuration of a symmetric cleft girdle and the corresponding {11.0} and {10.0} pole figures present well developed girdles parallel to the foliation with an elongated maximum centered on X. Microstructures associated with crystal-plastic behavior and dynamic recrystallization are missing and the fabric of the orebody probably results from precipitation of strain-controlled oriented hematite plates and anisotropic syntaxial growth of favorably oriented grains with the intervention of hydrothermal fluids during Fe enrichment. The shear zone provided pathways for the percolation of mineralizing fluids under temperatures that varied from 140 to 350 °C or higher, under ductile or ductile–brittle conditions. The orthorhombic fabric and CPO (crystallographic preferred orientation) of the ore nevertheless contrast with the asymmetry of simple shear as observed in the torsion experiments by Siemes et al., 2010, Siemes et al., 2011, probably due to volume loss and possibly a flattening component of deformation in the ore zone.     

Texture development during progressive deformation of hematite aggregates: Constraints from VPSC models and naturally deformed iron oxides from Minas Gerais,Brazil

We show that naturally-deformed hematite from the Quadrilátero Ferrífero Province, Minas Gerais, Brazil, develops CPOs by dislocation creep, strongly influenced by basal plane parallel glide, even when this is not the favored slip system. Characterization of microstructure and texture, particularly intragranular misorientations, of naturally deformed hematite aggregates by EBSD allowed us to determine the importance of different slip systems, and confirm dislocation creep as the dominant deformation mechanism. Viscoplastic self-consistent (VPSC) models were constructed to constrain the slip systems required to operate for the observed CPO to develop, and its rheological implications. Changes in the CRSS ratio of hematite prism and basal slip systems and deformation regime lead to the development of distinct patterns of hematite crystallographic orientations. The basal slip-dominated simple shear model is the only one that can develop quasi-single-crystal CPO of the kind observed in highly deformed rocks from Quadrilátero Ferrífero. Comparison between naturally deformed hematite aggregates and VPSC models shows that CPO development of hematite is strongly influenced by a highly viscoplastic anisotropy through dislocation creep on hematite basal plane. Nonetheless, our results demonstrate that even the unfavorable slip systems should be regarded when the bulk rheology of mineral aggregates is evaluated.     

Fluid inclusion characteristics of hematite-bearing quartz vein from the Daenam mine, Republic of Korea

The Daenam mine, which produced over 9250 tons of iron oxide ore from 1958 to 1962, is situated in the Early Cretaceous Yeongyang subbasin of the Gyeongsang basin. It consists of two lens-shaped, hematite-bearing quartz veins that occur along faults in Cretaceous leucocratic granite. The hematite-bearing quartz veins are mainly composed of massive and euhedral quartz and hematite with minor amounts of pyrite, pyrrhotite, mica, feldspar and chlorite.Fluid inclusions in quartz can be divided into three main types: CO₂-rich, CO₂–H₂O, and H₂O-rich. Hydrothermal fluids related to the formation of hematite are composed of either H₂O–CO₂–NaCl ± CH₄ (homogenization temperature: 262–455 °C, salinity <7 eq. wt.% NaCl) or H₂O–NaCl (homogenization temperature: 182–266 °C, and salinity <5.1 eq. wt.% NaCl), both of which evolved by mixing with deeply circulating meteoric water. Hematite from the quartz veins in the Daenam mine was mainly deposited by unmixing of H₂O–CO₂–NaCl ± CH₄ fluids with loss of the CO₂ + CH₄ vapor phase and mixing with downward percolating meteoric water providing oxidizing conditions.