Geological,Mineralogical and Geochemical Studies of Pyrite Deposits in the Eastern Part of Douala Sub-Basin(Cameroon,Central Africa)

Pyrite deposit of pK27, Douala sub-basin (Cameroon, Central Africa) was studied in a tropical forest setting physically and using X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) in order to characterize the mineralization for his industrial utilization. The sedimentary materials from the pyrite deposit were grouped into five (05) main lithofacies, including four claystone facies and one conglomeratic facies. The mineralization occurs along the low slopes of valleys in?light grey claystone facies situated on the bottom of outcrops with 80 to 200 cm thickness. The?particle size distribution of clayey materials host rocks shows that they are essentially constituted of clay and silts fractions. However, their Sorting index (So) more than 4.5 corresponds to poorly sorted sediments and the torrential type;whereas their Coefficient of asymmetry (A) more than 1?indicates that the sorting is carried out towards fine particles. Macroscopically, pyrite in these?materials is in crumbly and consolidated piles with aggregate pyrites in oolithic concretions, and?globular, cubic, octaedric, massive and fossiliferous forms. The mineralogical compositions of?these clayey materials indicate that they are essentially kaolinitic and illitic, followed by goethite, quartz, pyrite, halloysite, anatase and rutile with hematite as accessory minerals. Pyrite in sand fractions is associated with kyanite, grenat, rutile, diopside, muscovite and tourmaline the minerals which?recognize the regional metamorphism. However, the specific chemical signature of SO3content?high in clayey materials and abundant (50.86% - 57.64% SO3) in pyrite is characteristic of the pK27 pyritic formations in the eastern part of Douala sub-basin. Moreover, the Co:Ni ratios of pyrites approximately 0.25 to 0.8 are characteristic of sedimentary pyrites and also suggest an anoxic environment.

Early Silurian Wuchuan–Sihui–Shaoguan exhalative sedimentary pyrite belt, South China: constraints from zircon dating for K-bentonite of the giant Dajiangping deposit

The Wuchuan-Sihui-Shaoguan(WSS)exhalative sedimentary pyrite belt in the southwestern part of the Qinzhou-Hangzhou(Qin-Hang)belt is the most important sulfur industry base in China.However,a wide range of metallogenetic ages spanning from Ediacaran to Devonian has been reported in the literature.This age range does not support the idea that the typical character of"coeval mineralization"in an exhalative sedimentary mineralization belt in China and worldwide.Therefore,the precise determination of mineralization ages of representative deposits is necessary to provide guides for exploration and metallogenetic models.The Dajiangping pyrite deposit is a typical example of this kind of deposits and is also the largest deposit with a proven reserve of 210 Mt.This deposit was thought to have formed in Ediacaran or Devonian.In this study,2-3 layers of 10-25 cm thick 2M1-type microcrystalline muscovite slate abruptly embedded in the No.Ⅳmassive orebody of the deposit has been identified to be low-grade metamorphic K-bentonite.A Concordia zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb age of 432.5±1.3 Ma(mean standard weighted deviation of concordance and equivalence=1.2;N=11)has been yielded for the low-grade metamorphic K-bentonite.This age is distinctly different from the Rb-Sr isochron age of630.1±7.3 Ma for siliceous rock at the top of the No.Ⅲbanded orebody and the Re-Os isochron age of 389±62 Ma for pyrites from a laminated orebody.Instead,it is close to the intercept age(429 Ma)of the youngest detrital zircons from sandstone interlayers of the No.Ⅲbanded orebody.The Concordia age is also coincident with those of the Late Caledonian(400-460 Ma)magmatism-metamorphism events which are widely distributed in Cathaysia Block.Particularly,it agrees well with that of the Early Silurian extensional volcanism(434-444 Ma)which have been revealed in the Dabaoshan,Siqian-Hekou,and Nanjing volcanic basins in northern Guangdong Province and southern Jiangxi Province.Hence,the dating result in this study confirms that the sedimentary time of the ore-host Daganshan Formation is Early Silurian,and implies that the mineralization age of the Dajiangping pyrite deposit should also be Early Silurian.In combination with the Early Silurian age of Shezui pyrite deposit and the Dabaoshan volcanic basin along the WSS pyrite belt,it could be inferred that the WSS pyrite belt provides a record of the northern expanding of Qinzhou-Fangcheng trough in Early Silurian and that the exhalative pyrite mineralization was triggered by the postcollisional extension of the margin of Cathaysia Block after the intracontinental collision between Cathaysia Block and Yangtze Block during Late Caledonian stage.

Mineral chemistry and isotope geochemistry of pyrite from the Heilangou gold deposit, Jiaodong Peninsula, Eastern China

The Heilangou gold deposit is located in the northern QixiaePenglai gold belt, which is one amongst the three large gold belts in the eastern Shandong Province （Jiaodong Peninsula）. The ore body has formed within the Guojialing granite. In this study, we report the mineral chemistry of pyrite, as well as the S, Pb, and HeO isotope data of the Heilangou gold deposit. The chemical composition of pyrite in the Heilangou gold deposit indicates that the associated gold deposit is a typical magmatic hydrothermal one. The geochemical signatures and crystal structure of pyrite show that the ore-forming materials have been derived from the crust. The S isotope data of the pyrites from Heilangou show an overall range from 5.5 to 7.8＆amp;and an average of 6.7＆amp;. The S isotope data in this deposit are similar to those from the deposits in the Jiaodong gold belt. The Pb and S isotope variations are small in the Heilangou gold deposit. The 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb ratios are 17.4653e17.5958, 15.5105e15.5746 and 38.0749e38.4361, respec-tively. These data plot between the lower crust and the orogenic belt. The Pb isotope data in the Heilangou gold deposit are similar to those in the Linglong gold deposit. From the Qixia gold area （the Liukou and Majiayao gold deposits） to the MupingeRushan gold belt （Rushan gold deposit） to the ZhaoeYe gold belt （the Linglong, Sanshandao and Jiaojia gold deposits）, the 206Pb/204Pb ratios progressively increase. The DeO isotope data obtained from quartz separates suggest that the ore-forming fluid was similar to a mixture of magmatic and meteoric waters. These results suggest that the ore-forming elements were primarily from source fluids derived from the lower crust.

Growth Pattern and Its Indication of Spheroidal Nano-Micro Crystal Aggregates of Pyrite in the Baiyunpu Pb-Zn Polymetallic Deposit, Central Hunan

The Baiyunpu deposit lies in the southwest plunging Dachengshan anticline in central Hunan, which is a large Pb-Zn polymetallic deposit. The orebodies were surrounded by the Qiziqiao Formation limestone in the Middle Devonian, and its geological occurrence is consistent with the wall rocks. A large number of spheroidal pyrite aggregates are found unevenly distributed in the ores. The spheroidal aggregates are made up of kernels and concentric rings. The kernels are composed of approximately epigranular pyrite nanocrystals, while the rings are composed of accumulated pyrite microcrystals growing along the radial direction. The spheroidal pyrite aggregate and its outer zones can be divided into five areas（A–E）. The results of electron probe micro analysis（EPMA） show that from the zone A1 to B, Co/Ni 〈1, the sum of Co and Ni is 0.08%–0.26%, S/Fe increases from 2.06 to 2.15. While from the zone C to E, Ni cannot be detected and S/Fe decreases from 2.22 to 2.08. Powder X-ray diffraction（XRD） analysis in the micro zone shows obvious crystalline characteristics in the aggregates. Moving from the inside outwards, the maximum diffraction peak intensity of the（111） and（220） crystal planes of pyrite increases, and the crystallinity improves. The degree of change in the（111） plane is the most prominent. Considering the theory of crystal growth along with the geologic features of the depositional environment where the spheroidal pyrite aggregates developed, we confirm that the spheroidal aggregates are the result of nano-micro crystalline gathering and growth occurring by the following sequence of processes：nano-crystalline nucleation and growth, gathering into a ball, oriented growth of microcrystals, continuous accumulation, and adjustment of grain boundaries. The formation of the spheroidal pyrite aggregates in the late Qiziqiao Formation of the Middle Devonian occurred in a neutral to weak alkaline and reductive sedimentary environment in the normal oxygen-rich shallowwater carbonate platform edge. The variations in the S/Fe ratio and crystallisation characteristics indicate that during pyrite crystal growth, the sulphur fugacity was high locally and rose constantly, the degree of supersaturation decreased locally and the growth environment was stable relatively.

The Occurrence Mechanism of Gold in Pyrite from the Qiucun Gold Deposit in Fujian Province, China

1 Introduction Precipitation and enrichment of gold is an important subject in the study of gold deposits.As the most common sulphide in gold deposits,pyrite is not only a good indicator of the evolution of mineralizing fluids,but also the important gold-bearing mineral.In this paper,

Sulphur and Lead Isotope Compositions of the Dajiangping Deposit in Western Guangdong Province

The Dajiangping pyrite deposit located in the middle sector of the Yunkai uplift in western Guangdong is a stratiform sulphide deposit occurring in Sinian marine clastic and fine clastic rocks. The formation of the deposit was related to submarine exhalation and hot brine deposition. A part of it was reformed by late-stage hydrothermal solution. The δ34S values of pyrite vary from - 25.55‰ to +21.07‰, which are inversely proportional to the content of organic carbon in ore and pyrite. Passing from striped fine-grained pyrite ore to massive coarse-grained pyrite ore, i.e. from south to north, the sulphur isotopic composition changes from the light sulphur-enriched one to the heavy sulphur-enriched one. The lead isotopic composition of striped ore is consistent with that of the country rocks of orebodies and the lead is radiogenic lead derived from the upper crust. The lead isotopic composition of massive ore is relatively homogeneous and its 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb ratios are a bit lower than those of striped ore;the lead result from mixing of synsedimentary ore lead with that derived from basement migmatlte brought by late-stage hydrothermal solutions.