Minor Elements in Some Sulfide Minerals (II)
Sphalerite, Galena, Pyrite, Chalcopyrite and Tennantite from the Shakanai Mine
1973 Volume 23 Issue 119 Pages 205-211
Details
1973 Volume 23 Issue 119 Pages 205-211
Distribution of minor elements (Ag, Co, Ni, Mn, Bi, Cr, Cd, Hg, In, Ga, Ge, Sb, As) in, some sulfide minerals from the Kuroko-type deposits of the Shakanai Mine, Akita Prefecture, has been investigated with atomic absorption spectroscopy. The specimens include 12 sphalerites, 7 galenas, 22 pyrites, 12 chalcopyrites and 1 tennantite. They were taken from various representative parts of the deposits, namely, black ores, yellow ores, siliceous ores, veins and gypsum ores, as well as from the hanging and footwall rocks. The results are summarized as follows:
(1) There is a general trend that Ag is concentrated in tennantite and galena; Cd, Mn and Ga in sphalerite; In in chalcopyrite; and Hg in tennantite and sphalerite.
(2) As to the distribution among the different parts of the deposits, concentrations of Mn, Ag and Hg are found to be relatively high in black ores, while Bi and In are predominant in yellow ores and siliceous ores.
(3) Cd and Fe in sphalerite are in the range of 0.1 - 1 wt% and Mn is in 0.008 - 0.1 wt%. Lattice constants of sphalerites were calculated by the function, a0 = 5.4093 + 0.000456X + 0.0042 Y+ 0.00202Z, where X, Y and Z are the contents of FeS, CdS and MnS in mole percent and a0, is in Angstroms (SKINNER, 1961). The calculated values show good agreement with those obtained by X-ray measurements, indicating that the lattice constant of sphalerite from this deposit varies mainly with the variation ;in Cd content rather than Fe and Mn contents.
(4) The colour of sphalerite from the deposits has no apparent correlation with the Fe content.
