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Mineralogical and Elemental Trends in the Stibnite Hill Mine Sanders County Montana

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Mineralogical and Elemental Trends in the Stibnite Hill Mine Sanders County Montana University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1977 Mineralogical and elemental trends in the Stibnite Hill Mine Sanders County Montana William A. Bratney The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Bratney, William A., "Mineralogical and elemental trends in the Stibnite Hill Mine Sanders County Montana" (1977). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 8123. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/8123 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MINERALOGICAL AND -ELEMENTAL TRENDS IN THE STIBNITE HILL MINE SANDERS COUNTY, MONTANA by William A. Bratney B.S., The University of Iowa, 1973 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 1977 Approved by: Chairman, BoarcWof Examiner lean. Graduate School Date UMl Number: EP38924 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT OwMTtation Publishing UMl EP38924 Published by ProQuest LLC (2013). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code uesf ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 -1346 ABSTRACT Bratney, William A., M. S., 1977 Geology Mineralogical and Elemental Trends in the Stibnite Hill Mine, Sanders County, Montana Chairman: Dr. Ian M. Lange The mineralization studied in the Stibnite Hill Mine consists of abundant stibnite and quartz superimposed on an earlier, minor arseno- pyrite, sphalerite, and pyrite mineral assemblage. Trace amounts of chalcopyrite exsolved from sphalerite, and realgar associated with arsenic-saturated stibnite were also observed. Forty-nine samples of stibnite collected from 17 vein exposures in the Babbit Vein were anal­ yzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry for their content of the major non-stoichiometric elements— arsenic, iron, zinc, lead, and copper. The variability shown by the results obtained for the individual ele­ ments and the total metals supports an earlier suggestion that stibnite may be a valuable indicator of subtle changes in low temperature, anti­ mony-rich, aqueous alkaline sulfide solutions. The lead values were most abundant in the older workings of the mine, closest to the pre­ sumed source of the antimony mineralization within the Thompson Pass Fault. The trend established for the total metals values was similar to that of lead, in that both decreased along the strike of the vein to the northeast. Zinc was most abundant in the central portions of the deposit. Copper, iron, and arsenic increased along strike. The total metals values varied from about 1500 ppm to about 11,800 ppm. This trace element zonation pattern (lead--zinc--copper--iron--arsenic) may be related to the relative stabilities of the trace metal complexes in alkaline sulfide solutions, and hence may indicate the source of the mineralization. Sulfide complexes of lead have been shown to have only a very limited solubility in this type of ore solution. Thus, it is not surprising that it is most abundant closest to the presumed source. Zinc and copper form more stable sulfide complexes than lead, and were deposited most rapidly farther from the source. Iron is known to form stable complexes in the presence of abundant sulfide ion, and although there is a great deal of overlap between the different trace elements, it seems to have been deposited most abundantly even further from the Thompson Pass Fault than copper or zinc. Arsenic is known to form very stable sulfide complexes, and is found in greatest amounts farthest from the source. Thus, this explanation of the trace metals distribu­ tion indicates that the most likely direction of ore solution trans­ port was to the northeast. Application of these findings may prove to be a valuable tool in the development of this property and other stib- nite-bearing mineral deposits. i i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many individuals have materially aided the author during the course of this investigation. Special appreciation is given to Mr. John C. Lawrence and the staff of United States Antimony Corporation for in itially proposing a trace element study of this type, and for valuable assistance during sampling. Many thanks are extended to Dr. Jack P. Wehrenberg for his interest through­ out the study, and for his many helpful suggestions concerning both the mineralogical development of the deposit and the in­ terpretation of the geochemical data. Dr. Wayne P. VanMeter offered many helpful comments during the atomic absorption analysis of the stibnite separates, and also made valuable suggestions regarding the trace element zonation patterns. Pedro Marin, John Robinson, Elmer Palmer, and Edward Houser helped during sampling and provided a great deal of encouragement during the study. Dr. Ian M. Lange, in his capacity as thesis director, was involved in all aspects of the investigation. Finally, special appreciation is given to my loving wife, Joni, for her understanding and moral support, which made the completion of this thesis possible. 111 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT....................................................................................................1i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................................................................ü i LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................... LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................ CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... 1 Purpose ............................................................................ 2 II.. REGIONAL AND MINE GEOLOGY................................................ 6 Stratigraphy ................................................................... 6 Regional Structure ....................................................... 8 Mine Geology ........................................................................ 9 III. ANALYTICAL METHODS ............................................................ 12 IV. MINERALOGY AND PARAGENESIS OF THE STIBNITE HILL ORE..................................................................19 Arsenopyrite ................................................................... 21 Chalcopyrite ................................................................... 23 P y rite ...................................................................................24 Quartz...................................................................................25 R e a lg a r...............................................................................26 Sphalerite.......................................................................... 27 S tib n ite ...............................................................................30 i V TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) CHAPTER Page Paragenetic Sequence ............................................ 32 Secondary Antimony Minerals .............................. 33 V. SUBSTITUTIONS IN STIBNITE ....................................... 41 VI. RESULTS OF THE STIBNITE ANALYSES............................. 50 Lead................................................................................ 55 Copper...................................................... 56 A rs e n ic ....................................................................... 69 Ir o n ................................................................................ 72 Z in c ................................................................................ 75 Total M etals............................................................... 78 VII. DISCUSSION......................................................................... 82 VIII. CONCLUSIONS.................................................................... 98 REFERENCES CITED ........................................................................ 102 APPENDIX A MINERALOGICAL DATA AND SAMPLE LOCATIONS . 108 APPENDIX B PHOTOMICROGRAPHS OFTHE STIBNITE HILL ORE 115 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Generalized Mineral Separation Procedures .... 14 2. Operating Parameters for the Varian AA-6D Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer ......................... 18 3. Primary Mineralogy of the Stibnite Hill Mine . 20 4. Bulk Compositions of Sphalerites Determined by X-Ray Di ffractometry ......................... 29 5. Paragenetic Sequence of Mineral Deposition in the Stibnite Hill M ine....................................................34 6. Secondary Antimony Minerals ........................................... 36 7. Analyses of Stibnites from the Stibnite Hill M ine.....................................................................................51 8. Elemental Variations
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