Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T20:51:31.862Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sulfide partial melting and galena–tetrahedrite intergrowth texture: An experimental study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 October 2020

Boddepalli Govindarao ,
Kamal Lochan Pruseth Open the ORCID record for Kamal Lochan Pruseth [Opens in a new window]  and
Biswajit Mishra
Boddepalli Govindarao
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India
Kamal Lochan Pruseth*
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India
Biswajit Mishra
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India
*
*Author for correspondence: Kamal Lochan Pruseth, Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Galena–tetrahedrite intergrowth textures have been observed in some quenched run products of melting experiments conducted at 500 and 600°C in the systems ZnS–PbS–FeS–Cu2S–Sb2S3 and ZnS–PbS–FeS–Cu2S–Sb2S3–As2S3, using the evacuated silica-tube method. At 600°C the intergrowth formed an interface between sulfide melt and galena, whereas at 500°C it existed as inclusions partially embedded or completely embedded within tetrahedrite. At 600°C tetrahedrite was absent in PbS-bearing experiments, instead galena and melt were a part of the equilibrium phase assemblage. From the disposition of the galena–tetrahedrite intergrowths at 500°C it is evident that droplets of galena–tetrahedrite melt coexisted with tetrahedrite or tetrahedrite + galena and gave rise to these intergrowths upon quenching. The intergrowths coexisting with galena probably represent compositions on the galena-rich liquidus in the galena–tetrahedrite binary and those coexisting with tetrahedrite represent points on the tetrahedrite-rich liquidus. A eutectic at galena:tetrahedrite = ~30:70, very close to 500°C is apparent. It is clearly indicated that galena–tetrahedrite intergrowths can be formed by sulfide partial melting, and could be used as a potential indicator of partial melting in metamorphosed sulfide ore deposits.

Keywords

partial meltingeutecticco-crystallisationco-precipitationreplacement
Type
Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 84 , Issue 6 , December 2020 , pp. 859 - 868
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Associate Editor: Makoto Arima

References

Anderson, A.L. (1934) Some pseudo-eutectic ore textures. Economic Geology, 29, 577–589.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Basu, K., Bortnikov, N.S., Mishra, B., Mookherjee, A., Mozgova, N.N. and Tzepin, A.I. (1984) Significance of transformation textures in fahlores from Rajpura-Dariba polymetallic deposit, Rajasthan, India. Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie Abhandlungen, 149, 143–161.Google Scholar
Biagioni, C., George, L.L., Cook, N.J., Makovicky, E., Moëlo, Y., Pasero, M., Sejkora, J., Stanley, C.J., Welch, M.D. and Bosi, F. (2020) The tetrahedrite group: Nomenclature and classification. American Mineralogist, 105, 109–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brueckner, S.M., Piercey, S.J., Pilote, J.L., Layne, G.D. and Sylvester, P.J. (2016) Mineralogy and mineral chemistry of the metamorphosed and precious metal-bearing Ming deposit, Canada. Ore Geology Reviews, 72, 914–939.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cabri, L.J., Hall, S.R., Szymanski, J.T. and Stewart, J.M. (1973) On the transformation of cubanite. The Canadian Mineralogist, 12, 33–38.Google Scholar
Cook, N.J. (1996) Mineralogy of the sulphide deposits at Sulitjelma, northern Norway. Ore Geology Reviews, 11, 303–338.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cook, N.J., Spry, P.G. and Vokes, F.M. (1998) Mineralogy and textural relationships among sulphosalts and related minerals in the Bleikvassli Zn-Pb-(Cu) deposit, Nordland, Norway. Mineralium Deposita, 34, 35–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cook, N.J., Ciobanu, C.L., Danyushevsky, L.V. and Gilbert, S. (2011) Minor and trace elements in bornite and associated Cu–(Fe)-sulfides. A LA-ICP-MS study. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 75, 6473–6496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fleet, M.E. (1970) Refinement of the crystal structure of cubanite and polymorphism of CuFe2S3. Zeitschrift für Kristallografie, 132, 276–287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frost, B.R., Swapp, S.M. and Mavrogenes, J.A. (2011) Textural evidence for extensive melting of the Broken Hill ore body. Economic Geology, 106, 869–882.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frost, B.R., Mavrogenes, J.A. and Tomkins, A.G. (2002) Partial melting of sulfide ore deposits during medium- and high-grade metamorphism. The Canadian Mineralogist, 40, 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frost, B.R., Swapp, S.M. and Gregory, R.W. (2005) Prolonged existence of sulfide melt in the Broken Hill orebody, New South Wales, Australia. The Canadian Mineralogist, 43, 479–493.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gemmell, J.B., Zantop, H. and Birnie, R.W. (1989) Silver sulfosalts of the Santo Niño vein, Fresnillo District, Zacatecas, Mexico. The Canadian Mineralogist, 27, 401–418.Google Scholar
Govinda Rao, B., Parihar, R., Pruseth, K.L. and Mishra, B. (2017) The occurrence of breithauptite and nisbite-like Sb-Ni phases at Sindesar-Khurd, Rajasthan, India: implications for melt assisted sulfide remobilization. The Canadian Mineralogist, 55, 75–87.Google Scholar
Govindarao, B., Pruseth, K.L. and Mishra, B. (2018) Sulfide partial melting and chalcopyrite disease: An experimental study. American Mineralogist, 103, 1200–1207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoda, S.N. and Chang, L.L.Y. (1975) Phase relations in the pseudo-ternary system PbS–Cu2S–Sb2S3 and the synthesis of meneghinite. The Canadian Mineralogist, 13, 388–393.Google Scholar
Kojima, S. and Sugaki, A. (1984) Phase relations in the central portion of the Cu–Fe–Zn–S system between 800° and 500°C. Mineralogical Journal, 12, 15–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kouzmanov, K. (2004) Galena-bearing myrmekitic intergrowths from the Radka deposit, Bulgaria: Origin and mechanisms of formation. Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Petrology, 41, 17–30.Google Scholar
Lindgren, W. (1930) Pseudo-eutectic textures. Economic Geology, 25, 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maske, S. and Skinner, B.J. (1971) Studies of the sulfosalts of copper. I. Phases and phase relations in the system Cu–As–S. Economic Geology, 66, 901–918.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matt, P., Powell, W., deLorraine, W.F. and Chiarenzelli, J. (2019) Sulfide and silicate anatexis in the Balmat zinc deposit (New York, USA) and its implications for ore remobilization. Ore Geology Reviews, 107, 392–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mavrogenes, J.A., MacIntosh, W.I. and Ellis, D. (2001) Partial melting of the Broken Hill galena-sphalerite ore: experimental studies in the system PbS-FeS-ZnS-(Ag2S). Economic Geology, 96, 205–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mavrogenes, J.A., Frost, R. and Sparks, H.A. (2013) Experimental evidence of sulfide melt evolution via immiscibility and fractional crystallization. The Canadian Mineralogist, 51, 841–850.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mishra, B. and Bernhardt, H.-J. (2009) Metamorphism, graphite crystallinity and sulfide anatexis of the Rampura-Agucha massive sulfide deposit, northwestern India. Mineralium Deposita, 44, 183–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pruseth, K.L., Mishra, B. and Bernhardt, H.-J. (1997) Phase relations in the Cu2S-PbS-Sb2S3 system: an experimental appraisal and application to natural polymetallic sulfide ores. Economic Geology, 92, 720–732.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pruseth, K.L., Jehan, N., Sahu, P. and Mishra, B. (2014) The possibility of a ZnS-bearing sulfide melt at 600°C: Evidence from the Rajpura–Dariba deposit, India, supported by laboratory melting experiment. Ore Geology Reviews, 60, 50–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pruseth, K.L., Mishra, B., Jehan, N. and Kumar, B. (2016) Evidence of sulfide melting and melt fractionation during amphibolite facies metamorphism of the Rajpura-Dariba polymetallic sulfide ores. Ore Geology Reviews, 72, 1213–1223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Putnis, A. (1977) Electron microscope study of phase transformation in cubanite. Physics and Chemistry of Minerals, 1, 335–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramdohr, P. (1969) The Ore Minerals and Their Intergrowths. 3rd edn. Pergamon, Oxford, UK.Google Scholar
Schwartz, G.M. (1939) Significance of bornite-chalcocite microtexture. Economic Geology, 34, 399–418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwartz, G.M. and Park, C.F. (1932) A microscopic study of ores from the Campbell Mine, Bisbee, Arizona. Economic Geology, 27, 39–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scott, S.D. (1974) Experimental methods in sulfide synthesis. Pp. S1–S38 in: Sulfide Mineralogy (Ribbe, P.H., editor). Reviews in Mineralogy, Vol. 1. Mineralogical Association of America, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Sparks, H.A. and Mavrogenes, J.A. (2005) Sulfide melt inclusions as evidence for the existence of a sulfide partial melt at Broken Hill, Australia. Economic Geology, 100, 773–779.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Szymanski, J.T. (1974) The crystal structure of high temperature CuFe2S3. Zeitschrift für Kristallografie, 140, 240–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tatsuka, K. and Morimoto, N. (1977) Tetrahedrite stability relation in the Cu-Fe-Sb-S system. American Mineralogist, 62, 1101–1109.Google Scholar
Tomkins, A.G. and Mavrogenes, J.A. (2002) Mobilization of gold as a polymetallic melt during pelite anatexis at the Challenger deposit, South Australia: a metamorphosed Archean gold deposit. Economic Geology, 97, 1249–1271.Google Scholar
Tomkins, A.G. and Mavrogenes, J.A. (2003) Generation of metal-rich felsic magmas during crustal anatexis. Geology, 31, 765–768.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tomkins, A.G., Pattison, D.R.M. and Frost, B.R. (2007) On the initiation of metamorphic sulfide anatexis. Journal of Petrology, 48, 511–535.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitney, D.L. and Evans, B.W. (2010) Abbreviations for names of rock-forming minerals. American Mineralogist, 195, 185–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar