Skarn formation and trace elements in garnet and associated minerals from Zhibula copper deposit, Gangdese Belt, southern Tibet

Xu, Jing; Ciobanu, Cristiana L.; Cook, Nigel J.; Zheng, Youye; Sun, Xiang; Wade, Benjamin P.

doi:10.1016/j.lithos.2016.07.010

Cited by 71 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Similarly, LA-ICP-MS element maps of skarn garnet [53,95], for example, reveal recognizable patterns and measurable concentrations of more than half the periodic table (Figure 7), including several elements that were unexpected (Sb, In, etc.). The choice of elements to be analyzed can be narrowed down somewhat by considering whether the elements are present in the standard(s) to be employed, and excluding those which are not, or by considering the likelihood that concentrations are, in any case below detection limit.…”

Section: How Many Analyses?-and Which Elements?mentioning

confidence: 94%

“…In a study on the Zhibula Cu skarn deposit, Tibet, Xu et al (in press) [95] have shown that garnet colors are largely defined by trace element concentrations. Chondrite-normalized REY fractionation trends in garnet can be correlated with the evolving salinity of ore-forming fluids.…”

Section: Skarn Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These studies have also highlighted that the skarn minerals, rather than sulphides, can be significant sinks for minor metals of potential economic interest. Examples include the extraordinary enrichment of Ga in clinozosite [53], and of Mo, W and Sn is some skarn garnets [95,115], or magnetite [116].…”

Section: Skarn Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Scales in counts-per-second (×10 3 except for Ce and Nb). Measured isotopes: 238 U, 206 Pb, 95 Mo, 182 W, 140 Ce, 93 Nb, 51 V, 47 Ti.…”

Section: Iron-oxide-apatite (Ioa) and Iron-oxide Copper Gold (Iocg) Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Trace Element Analysis of Minerals in Magmatic-Hydrothermal Ores by Laser Ablation Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry: Approaches and Opportunities

et al. 2016

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Laser ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) has rapidly established itself as the method of choice for generation of multi-element datasets for specific minerals, with broad applications in Earth science. Variation in absolute concentrations of different trace elements within common, widely distributed phases, such as pyrite, iron-oxides (magnetite and hematite), and key accessory minerals, such as apatite and titanite, can be particularly valuable for understanding processes of ore formation, and when trace element distributions vary systematically within a mineral system, for a vector approach in mineral exploration. LA-ICP-MS trace element data can assist in element deportment and geometallurgical studies, providing proof of which minerals host key elements of economic relevance, or elements that are deleterious to various metallurgical processes. This contribution reviews recent advances in LA-ICP-MS methodology, reference standards, the application of the method to new mineral matrices, outstanding analytical uncertainties that impact on the quality and usefulness of trace element data, and future applications of the technique. We illustrate how data interpretation is highly dependent on an adequate understanding of prevailing mineral textures, geological history, and in some cases, crystal structure.

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Section: How Many Analyses?-and Which Elements?mentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Skarn Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Skarn Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Scales in counts-per-second (×10 3 except for Ce and Nb). Measured isotopes: 238 U, 206 Pb, 95 Mo, 182 W, 140 Ce, 93 Nb, 51 V, 47 Ti.…”

Section: Iron-oxide-apatite (Ioa) and Iron-oxide Copper Gold (Iocg) Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Trace Element Analysis of Minerals in Magmatic-Hydrothermal Ores by Laser Ablation Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry: Approaches and Opportunities

et al. 2016

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“…However, the fundamental mechanisms by which many of these elements are incorporated within the oxides remain poorly constrained. Garnets are a further mineral group that displays extensive ranges of trace and minor element substitution, often complex substitution mechanisms, and they have a tendency, particularly in skarn systems, to host elements of petrogenetic and/or economic interest [108,109].…”

Section: Implications and Outlookmentioning

confidence: 99%

Focused Ion Beam and Advanced Electron Microscopy for Minerals: Insights and Outlook from Bismuth Sulphosalts

et al. 2016

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This paper comprises a review of the rapidly expanding application of nanoscale mineral characterization methodology to the study of ore deposits. Utilising bismuth sulphosalt minerals from a reaction front in a skarn assemblage as an example, we illustrate how a complex problem in ore petrology, can be approached at scales down to that of single atoms. We demonstrate the interpretive opportunities that can be realised by doing this for other minerals within their petrogenetic contexts. From an area defined as Au-rich within a sulphosalt-sulphide assemblage, and using samples prepared on a Focused Ion Beam-Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) platform, we identify mineral species and trace the evolution of their intergrowths down to the atomic scale. Our approach progresses from a petrographic and trace element study of a larger polished block, to high-resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and High Angle Annular Dark Field (HAADF) Scanning-TEM (STEM) studies. Lattice-scale heterogeneity imaged in HAADF STEM mode is expressed by changes in composition of unit cell slabs followed by nanoparticle formation and their growth into "veins". We report a progressive transition from sulphosalt species which host lattice-bound Au (neyite, lillianite homologues; Pb-Bi-sulphosalts), to those that cannot accept Au (aikinite). This transition acts as a crystal structural barrier for Au. Fine particles of native gold track this progression over the scale of several hundred microns, leading to Au enrichment at the reaction front defined by an increase in the Cu gradient (several wt %), and abrupt changes in sulphosalt speciation from Pb-Bi-sulphosalts to aikinite. Atom-scale resolution imaging in HAADF STEM mode allows for the direct visualisation of the three component slabs in the neyite crystal structure, one of the largest and complex sulphosalts of boxwork-type. We show for the first time the presence of aikinite nanoparticles a few nanometres in size, occurring on distinct (111) PbS slabs in the neyite. This directly explains the non-stoichiometry of this phase, particularly with respect to Cu. Such non-stoichiometry is discussed elsewhere as defining distinct mineral species. The interplay between modular crystal structures and trace element behaviour, as discussed here for Au and Cu, has applications for other mineral systems. These include the incorporation and release of critical metals in sulphides, heavy elements (U, Pb, W) in iron oxides, the distribution of rare earth elements (REE), Y, and chalcophile elements (Mo, As) in calcic garnets, and the identification of nanometre-sized particles containing daughter products of radioactive decay in ores, concentrates, and tailings.

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Indium distribution in sphalerite from sulfide–oxide–silicate skarn assemblages: a case study of the Dulong Zn–Sn–In deposit, Southwest China

Cook

Ciobanu

et al. 2020

Miner Deposita

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Skarn formation and trace elements in garnet and associated minerals from Zhibula copper deposit, Gangdese Belt, southern Tibet

Cited by 71 publications

References 33 publications

Trace Element Analysis of Minerals in Magmatic-Hydrothermal Ores by Laser Ablation Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry: Approaches and Opportunities

Trace Element Analysis of Minerals in Magmatic-Hydrothermal Ores by Laser Ablation Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry: Approaches and Opportunities

Focused Ion Beam and Advanced Electron Microscopy for Minerals: Insights and Outlook from Bismuth Sulphosalts

Indium distribution in sphalerite from sulfide–oxide–silicate skarn assemblages: a case study of the Dulong Zn–Sn–In deposit, Southwest China

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