Distribution and Genesis of Platinum Group Minerals in Nickel Ores of the Sakhara and Elizavet Deposits in the Urals

• Published in: Lithology and Mineral Resources Vol. 36; no. 2; p. 116
• Main Authors: Talovina, I V, Lazarenkov, V G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Springer Nature B.V 01-04-2001
• Subjects: Cobalt; Geochemistry; Iron oxides; Manganese; Mineralogy; Minerals; Natural waters; Nickel; Palladium; Petrology; Platinum; Substrates; Weathering
• ISSN: 0024-4902; 1573-8892
• DOI: 10.1023/A:1004870316406

Nickel and iron-cobalt ores from weathering crusts on ultramafic massifs in the Urals contain elevated PGE concentrations. Platinum group minerals first found in weathering crusts in Russia are primarily represented by Pt-palladium, native platinum, and compounds of Pd and Pt with Bi, Sb, and Te. Platinum group elements are characterized by a high differentiated mobility in the weathering profile. This is manifested by a difference in values of the PGE accumulation coefficient and a spatial separation of local accumulation zones of different PGE. This is also experimentally confirmed by different values of the PGE solubility in natural waters. An important factor of the formation of PGE-rich zones in weathering crusts at the Sakhara and Elizavet ore deposits is their substrate represented by the Sakhara and Uktus massifs of the Ural Platinum Belt. It is supposed that geochemical barriers for the PGE concentration in these weathering crusts were provided by the iron oxide zone and horizons enriched in manganese minerals.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]