Scar Crags and Dale Head North in the English Lake District host mineralised veins enriched in ‘Energy Critical Elements’ (ECEs) specifically, bismuth, cobalt and copper. A limited number of studies in the 1970s investigated the mineralogy and inferred the genesis of these veins as being related to the intrusion of the Lake District batholith.

This study investigates the geology, mineralogy, composition and paragenesis of these two mineralised areas. The results highlight the ubiquitous presence of Co–Fe–Ni-sulfarsenides in both deposits and the presence of some mineral species, hitherto unreported. Scar Crags samples contained high concentrations of cobalt, commonly present within arsenopyrite, whereas cobalt is of minor importance at Dale Head North, where copper and arsenic are the primary metals. A sequence of events, with As–Co–Ni-bearing fluids infilling the veins after an initial stage of quartz and chlorite precipitation is the most striking resemblance between the two mineralised systems, potentially indicating a common process for Co-rich vein-type deposits in the area. If so, understanding such processes could prove vital in aiding exploration in other terranes.

Gold in Early Proterozoic Birimian greenstone at Prestea in Ghana is associated with base metal sulphides and sulphosalts including arsenopyrite, pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, galena, tetrahedrite, bournonite, boulangerite and jamesonite. The occurrence of the gold is intimately associated with arsenopyrite and the sulphosalts, and to a lesser extent with the other sulphides. The tetrahedrites at Prestea constitute the major component of sulphosalts associated with gold and occurring in two distinct types. Type I show ideal stoichiometric composition. Type II tetrahedrites deviated from the ideal stoichiometry and are represented approximately by the average formula (Cu,Ag)9.61(Fe,Zn)2.39(Sb,As)4S13. The tetrahedrites co-precipitated with gold exhibit ideal characteristics indicating an equilibruim state of the mineralizing fluid during precipitation. Three types of pyrites were distinguished by electron-microprobe analyses based on their As, Co and Ni composition. The As content in type I vary from 0.15 to 0.37 wt%, and contain up to 2 wt.% Co.Type II pyrites are As-rich and form the most dominant with As content ranging from 0.2 to 2.69 wt.%. Ni content varies from below-detection to 1000 ppm. Type III pyrites are poor in the trace elements and consistent with the stoichiometric composition. The mineralization occurred in three paragenetic stages from at least a two-phase hydrothermal fluid, with stage II forming a prolonged and main stage of the ore and gold mineralization. Redox changes in ore fluid which were triggered by episodic pressure releases during fissuring and fracturing caused fluctuation of the activity of the As/Ni ratio and subsequent oscillatory zoning of Ni in As-rich ores.

Multispectral imaging of ore minerals under the microscope is a logical extension of quantitative colour analysis and microspectrophotometric analysis of minerals. This paper describes, step by step, how the proper calibration of a scientific video camera can be performed in order to obtain precise reflectance measurements at each pixel within the field of view. After having reviewed the different sources of noise and aberration, practical formulae are presented that allow for the acquisition of a set of images at different wavelengths in the visible spectrum.

The advantage of using a multispectral image acquisition system based on narrow bandwidth (10 nm) interference filters is discussed and quantitatively compared to colour imaging using tristimulus (red, green, blue) filters.

Images taken from major sulphide parageneses are shown as examples of well contrasted multispectral images. Finally, the potential for automatic identification of ore minerals is discussed with reference to supervised multivariate image classification algorithms similar to those used in remote sensing. Additional comments on extending the principles for handling optical anisotropy and developing a multiradial imaging system are made.