Concentrations of Platinum.Group Elements and Gold in Sulfides from the Strathcona Deposit, Sudburv, Ontario
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523 Canadian Mineralogist Vol.30, pp. 523-531 (1993) CONCENTRATIONSOF PLATINUM.GROUPELEMENTS AND GOLD IN SULFIDESFROM THE STRATHCONA DEPOSIT, SUDBURV, ONTARIO CHUSI LI, ANTHOI\IY J. NALDRETT ANDJOHN C. RUCKLIDGE Departmzntof Geology,University of Toronto,Toronto, Ontario MSS 3BI LINASR. KILruS IsoTracelaboratory, Universityof Toronto,Toronto, Ontarto MSS 1A7 ABSTRAc"T Sulfide mineralsand magnetitefrom the Strathconadeposig Sudbury, Ontario, have beenanalyzed for the platinum-group elements(PGE) and Au with iz siar, ultra-sensitiveaccelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). $rrhotite containsk, Rh and Ru at levels closeto thoseofthe bulk sulfide ores (recalculatedto 1007osulfides), ranging from tensto more than 100ppb; Pt, Pd and Au are presentin the pyrrhotite at much lower levels than in the bulk sulfide ores. Among all the other minerals,including pentlandite,chalcopy'rite, cubanite, bomite and magnetite,pentlandite is the only phasethat accommodatessignificant amounts of Pd, with concentrationsin the rangefrom hundredsto thousandsof ppb. The concentrationsof the other PGE and Au are extremelylow in all ofthe sulfidesand magnetite in comparisonwith thevalues ofthe ores.They rangefrom severalppb to sub-ppb levels.Although pentlanditecontains significant amounts ofPd, its overall contributionto the ore ofthe DeepCopper Zone is not greatbecause the ore containsonly small amountsofthis mineral.Mass-balance calculations indicate that most ofthe Pt, Pd and Au in the ore is not presentin the sulfidesand magnetite,but mustoccur in discreteaccessory rninerals. The partition coefficients ofPGE benveenMss and sulfide liquid havebeen estimated from the compositionsofminerals and ore to be 6.5 x t0-3 to 4.6 l0-2forPt,6.8xl0-3to3.9x10-2forPd,4.7x10-3to8.0x10-2forAu,and5.gto6.Tforlr.Thevariationsintheconcenuations of ft and Ir in the depositcan be explainedby a processinvolving fractional crystallizaiionof monosulfidesolid solution (Mss) from a parentalsulfide liquid andmixing of varyingproportions of variablyfractionated liquid with Mss,if thepartition coefficients betweenMss and sulfide liquid are lessthan 0.1 for Pt andfrom 6.7 to 3.5 for Ir. Keywords:platinum-group elements, partition coefficient, fractionation. sulfides, acceleratormass sp€ctrometry,Strathcona deposit,Sudbury, Ontario. SoNrlaerns Nous avonsanalysd les sulfureset la magn6titeprovenant du gisementde Strathconad Sudbury,en Ontario,pour les 6l6ments du groupedu platineetpourl'orparspectrom6trie de masse avec acceldrateur, m6thode rn silz ultra sensible.I-a pyrrhotitecontient h, Rh et Ru i desniveaux semblablesi ceux dansles €chantillonsde minerai (recalcul6ssur une basede I@Vosulfures), dans I'intervalle de dizainesi plus de l@ ppb. Par contre,Pt, Pd et Au sont pr6sentsdans la pyrrhotite i desniveaux beaucoup plus faiblesque dans le mineraiglobal. De tousles autresmin6raux, y comprispentlandite, chalcopyrite, cubanite, bomite et magndtite, seulela pentlanditepeut accommoderdes concentrations appr6ciables de Pd, dansl'intervalle de centainesi desmillien de ppb. la concentrationdes autres mindraux du groupedu platineet de l'or estextr6mement faible danstous les sulfureset la magn6tite en comparaisondes valeurs pour les 6chantillonsde minerai, de quelquesppb d des niveaux infdrieurs au ppb. Quoique la pentlanditecontienne des concentrations importantes de Pd, sa contributioni la constitutiondu minerai dansla zonedite "Deep Coppe/' n'est pasimportante. Des calculsdu bilan desmasses montrent que la plupart du Pt, du Pd et de I'Au dansle minerai se trouveraitnon dansles sulfuresni la magn6tite,mais plutdt sousforme demin6raux accessoires distincts. Le coefficientde partage des6l6ments du groupedu platineentre solution solide monosulfurde et liquide sulfurda 6t6estim6 i partir de la compositiondes mindrauxet du minerai: entre6.5 x l0-3 et 8.6 x l0-2 oour le PL entre6,8 x l0-3 et 3.9 x l0-2 oour le Pd- entre4.7 x 10-3et 8.0 2 x l0 pourI'Au, et entre5.9 et 6.7 pourI'lr. t-esvariations dans la concentrationde Pt et de Ir dansle gisements'expliquenr par un processusimpliquant cristallisationfractionn6e d'une solution solide monosulfur6eA partir d'un liquide sulfurd parent, et m6langeen proportions variablesd'un liquide variablementdvolud et du monosulfure,si les coefficients de partageentre monosulfureet liquide sulfur6sont inf6rieursa 0.1 pour le Pt, et entre6.7 et 3.5 pour I'Ir. (Traduit par la Rddaction) Mots-clds:6ldments du groupe du platine, coefficient de partage, fractionnement,sulfures, spectromdtriede masseavec acc6l6rateur,gisement de Strathcona,Sudbury, Ontario. Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/canmin/article-pdf/31/2/523/4802592/i1499-1276-31-2-523.pdf by guest on 27 September 2021 524 TTIE CANADIAN MINERALOGIST INTRoDUCnoN results in the elimination of all moleculeswhose mass could matchthat ofthe selectedisotope. This procedure Knowledge of the distribution of platinum-group reducesthe backgroundto vanishinglysmall levels,and elements(PGE) in sulfideminerals is importantnot only thus givesextraordinarily good sensitivities for the trace for mineralprocessing, but alsofor a full understanding elementsbeing studied. The light group of isotopes, of the fractionationof theseelements during the crystal- l06Pd,I03Rh and lolRu,were analyzed in the 5+ charge lization of a sulfideliquid. hevious attemptsto establish state,energy 12 MeV, whereastheheaviergroup, le7Au, whetherthe PGE,other than thoseoccurring as discrete le6lt, le3lr and l88os,were analyzedin the 6+ charge platinum-groupminerals (PGM), also occur as dilute state,energy 14 MeV. Mean countrales were converted solid-solutionsin the mineralsfrom the Sudburyores, to elementconcentrations with referenceto the sulfide were made with the electron microprobe (Cabri & beadof the SARM-7 standard. Laflamme 1976) and proton microprobe (Cabi et al. The detectionlimits, quoted on the basis of equal 1984).Pt, Pd or Rh were not detectedin chalcopyrite, counting times of 100 seconds,are down to Au 0.003 pe[tlandite and pyrrhotite becausethe analyseswere ppb,I't 0.18 ppb, Rh 0.57 ppb, Ir 0.6 ppb, Pd 2.1ppb, limited by detectionlimits in the ranges30G-500 ppm Ru 4.6 ppb,and Os 48 ppb. (electron microprobe) and l-60 ppm (proton micro- probe). Recently,iz siru analysisof sulfidesfor heavy Ne utron- activ ation analys is elementsby acceleratormass spectrometry (AMS) at the IsoTraceLaboratory" University of Toronto, has been PGE and Au were determinedwith a fire-assayand developedto thepoint at which samplescan be routinely neufon-activation technique modified after that of analyzedfor the PGE and Au at the ppb and sub-ppb Hoffrnan et al. (1978). Cu-rich ore samples were levels(Wilson et al. l99l).T\is techniquehas been used reducedto l0 grams, and additional Ni was addedto as a complementarytool to the electron and proton achievea ratio Ni/Cu greaterthan 3 in the fire-assay microprobesin the measurementof concentrationsof bead.The contentof sulfur in themixture was calculated PGE and Au in sulfide minerals from Sudbury (Li & to achievethe stoichiometricratio of NiS andCurS. The Naldrett 1990).As a follow-up to the initial AMS study, sulfide beadswere then dissolvedin hydrochloricacid, base-metalsulfide mineralsfrom different ore-zonesof and the residues were collected in plastic bags for the Strathconadeposit at Sudburywere analyzed.The irradiation.Samples were irradiated for threeminutes at selectedsamples of oresalso were analyzedfor whole- theNuclear Reactor Center of McMasterUnivenity, and rock PGE and Au using the technique of neutron then countedthree minutes for Pd and Rh after a decay activation combined with fue-assaypreconcentration. of threeminutes. For the other elements,samples were The distribution of PGE and Au in individual minerals irradiatedfor onehour andthen counted about 1.5hours and its significanceto the metal zonationin the deposit after one week decay in the Departmentof Geology, form the main subjectofthis paper. Universityof Toronto.Samples with low levelsof Os, Ir and Ru (<0.2 ppb) were countedanew for Os, Ir and Axarvrrcar TScHNIeIJ'Es Ru after approximately four weeks of decay. The dgtectionlimits (threesigma times the squareroot of the Acce le rator mass spe ctrometry background)are down to Ir 0.01,Au 0.02,Rh 0.5, Os 1.0,Ru 3, Pd 3 andft 5 ppb. Specimensused in this analysisare polished mineral surfaces.The preparationtechnique has been described Gsor-octcal BACKGRoUNDAmo Seuplrs SEtsglEn by Wilsonet al. (1991).Inclusion-freeareas of coarse- grained crystals selectedwith an optical microscope The Strathconadeposit is locatedon the North Range werefurther examinedby scanningelectron microprobe of SudburyIgneous Complex (SIC) (Fig. l). Theore lies to assessthe presenceof very small inclusionsof PGM. at the basalcontact of the complex and in the footwall Selectedtargets were then drilled out under water with (Fig. 2). The geologyofthis deposithas been described a hollow, diamond-edgedcore drill of 4 mm internal by Naldrett& Kullerud(1967), Cowan (1968), Abel et diameter at a speed of 4750 rpm. The cylindrical al. (1979),Abel (1981),Coaa & Snddr(1984) and Li "minicores"were washed and driedin air. A setof 12 et al. (1992). Four types of ore are observed.Dissemi- such cores, including standardsof pure copper and natedsulfides of the HangingwallZone occur within the SARM-7 in a sulfide bead,were loaded into the sample Sublayer norite. This zone is underlain by the Main chamber of the acceleratormass spectrometerand Zone, which consistsof massiveand disseminatedore alignedoptically prior to bombardingwith