Recent Studies on the Phase Equilibrium of Sulfide Minerals

Abstract

The investigation of sulfide systems have been advanced during the past twenty years. As the results it has been made clear various interesting matters about the phase relation among sulfide minerals as follows:
1. Determination of the stable P⋅T field of sulfide minerals.
2. Stable mineral assemblages.
3. The relationship between composition of solid solution and temperatures (application as geothermometer).
4. Existence of minerals being only stable at low temperature or in limited temperature range (existence of secondary minerals formed by solid state reaction).
However, there have been many unsolved problems about sulfide system from a standpoint of interpretation for the natural process of ore deposition. Therefore, the sulfide studies during the last several years tend to cover the experiments mentioned below, presenting phisico-chemical data which are useful for an explanation of ore genesis.
a) Phase equilibrium at low temperature.
b) Influence of sulfur fugacity on the mutual relationship between sulfide minerals, and composition of solid solution.
c) Extension to quaternary or more component sulfide system.
d) Phase relations between sulfide and oxide, carbonate or silicate systems, and their stable mineral assemblages.