Development of Mining Technology and Equipment for Seafloor Massive Sulfide Deposits

Seafloor massive sulfide(SMS) deposits which consist of Au, Ag, Cu, and other metal elements, have been a target of commercial mining in recent decades. The demand for established and reliable commercial mining system for SMS deposits is increasing within the marine mining industry. The current status and progress of mining technology and equipment for SMS deposits are introduced. First, the mining technology and other recent developments of SMS deposits are comprehensively explained and analyzed.The seafloor production tools manufactured by Nautilus Minerals and similar mining tools from Japan for SMS deposits are compared and discussed in turn. Second, SMS deposit mining technology research being conducted in China is described, and a new SMS deposits mining tool is designed according to the environmental requirement. Finally, some new trends of mining technology of SMS deposits are summarized and analyzed. All of these conclusions and results have reference value and guiding significance for the research of SMS deposit mining in China.

Ore-controlling Characteristics of Synchronous Faults of Dongshengmiao Polymetallic Sulfide Deposits in Inner Mongolia

1 Introduction The Dongshengmiao deposit is a super-large Zn-Pb polymetallic sulfide deposit which occurring in the Langshan-Zhaertaaishan metallogenic belt,and located in the western margin of the North China Platform.The ore-bodies of Dongshengmiao deposits are mainly hosted in the second Formation of Langshan Group.There are some studies on the geological characteristics(Peng et al.,2004),geological

The Voisey's Bay Ni-Cu-Co Sulfide Deposit, Labrador, Canada: Emplacement of Silicate and Sulfide-Laden Magmas into Spaces Created within a Structural Corridor

The Voisey's Bay Ni-Cu-Co sulfide deposit is hosted in a 1.34 Ga mafic intrusion that is part of the Nain Plutonic Suite in Labrador, Canada.The Ni-Cu-Co sulfide mineralization is associated with magmatic breccias that are typically contained in weakly mineralized olivine gabbros, troctolites and ferrogabbros, but also occur as veins in adjacent paragneiss.The mineralization is associated with a dyke-like body which is termed the feeder dyke.This dyke connects the shallow differentiated Eastern Deeps chamber in the east to a deeper intrusion in the west termed the Western Deeps Intrusion.Where the conduit is connected to the Eastern Deeps Intrusion, the Eastern Deeps Deposit is developed at the entry line of the dyke along the steep north wall of the Eastern Deeps Intrusion.The Eastern Deeps Deposit is surrounded by a halo of moderately to weakly mineralized Variable-Textured Troctolite (VTT) that reaches a maximum thickness above the ENE-WSW axis of the Eastern Deeps Deposit. At depth to the west, the conduit is adjacent to the south side of the Western Deeps Intrusion, where the dyke and intrusion contain disseminated magmatic sulfide mineralization.The Reid Brook Zone plunges to the east within the dyke, and both the dyke and adjacent paragneiss are mineralized.The Ovoid Deposit comprises a bowl-shaped body of massive sulfide where the dyke widens near to the present-day surface.It is not clear whether this deposit was developed as a widened-zone within the conduit or at the entry point into a chamber that is now lost to erosion. The massive sulfides and breccia sulfides of the Eastern Deeps are petrologically and chemically different when compared to the disseminated sulfides in the VTT; there is a marked break in Ni tenor (Ni content in 100% sulfide, abbreviated to [Ni]100) and Ni/Co of sulfide between the two.The boundary of the sulfide types is often marked by strong sub-horizontal alignment of heavily digested and metamorphosed paragneiss fragments, development of barren olivine gabbro, and by a change from typically massive sulfides and breccias sulfides into more typical variable-textured troctolites with heavy to weak disseminated sulfide.Sulfides hosted in the feeder dyke tend to have low metal tenors ([Ni]100=2.5%-3.5%); sulfides in Eastern Deeps massive and breccia ores have intermediate Ni tenors ([Ni]100=3.5%-4%) and disseminated sulfides in overlying rocks have high Ni tenors ([Ni] 100=4%-8%) . Conduit-hosted mineralization and mineral zones in the paragneiss adjacent to the Reid Brook Deposit tend to have lower Ni tenor than the Ovoid and Eastern Deeps Deposits.The tenor of mineral hosted in the country rock gneisses tends to be the same as that developed in the conduit ; the injection of the sulfide into the country rocks likely occurred before formation of monosulfide solid solution.The Ovoid Deposit is characterized by coarse-grained loop-textured ores consisting of 10cm-2msized pyrrhotite crystals separated by chalcopyrite and pentlandite.A small lens of massive cubanite surrounded by more magnetite-rich sulfide assemblages represents what appears to be the product of in-situ sulfide fractionation. Detailed exploration in the area between the Reid Brook Zone and the Eastern Deeps has shown that these intrusions and ore deposits are connected by a branched dyke and chamber system in a major westeast fault zone.The Eastern Deeps chamber may be controlled by graben-like fault structures , and the marginal structures appear to have controlled dykes which connect the chambers at different levels in the crust.The geological relationships in the intrusion are consistent with emplacement of the silicate and sulfide laden magma from a deeper sub-chamber (possibly a deep eastward extension of the Western Deeps Intrusion where S-saturation was initially achieved) .The silicate and sulfide magmas were likely emplaced through this conduit into the Eastern Deeps intrusion as a number of different fragment laden pulses of sulfide-silicate melt that evolved with different R factors and in response to some variation in the degree of evolution of the parental magma.S isotope and S/Se data coupled with geological evidence point to a crustal source for the sulfur , and the site of equilibration of mafic magma and crustal S is placed at depth in a sulfidic Tasiuyak Gneiss. The structural control on emplacement of small intrusions with transported sulfide is a feature found in different nickel sulfide deposits around the world.Champagne glass-shaped openings in sub-vertical chonoliths are a common morphology for this deposit type (e.g.the Jinchuan , Huangshan , Huangshandong , Jingbulake , Limahe , Hong Qi Ling deposits in China , the Eagle deposits in the United States , and the Double Eagle deposit in Canada) .Some of the structures of the Midcontinent Rift of North America also host Ni-Cu-(PGE) deposits of this type (e.g.the Current Lake Complex in the Quetico Fault Zone in Ontario , Canada and the Tamarac mineralisation in the Great Lakes Structural Zone of the United States) .Other major nickel deposits associated with flat structures adjacent to major mantle-penetrating structures include the Noril'sk , Noril'sk II , Kharaelakh , NW Talnakh , and NE Talnakh Intrusions of the Noril'sk Region of Russia , the Kalatongke deposit in NW China , and Babel-Nebo in Western Australia.These deposits are all formed in mantle-penetrating structural conduits that link into the roots of large igneous provinces near the edges of old cratons.

Genesis of Strata-bound Sulfide Orebodies in the Tongling Polymetallic Mineralization Cluster, SE China: Evidence from Colloform Pyrite

Colloform pyrite(CPy)is widely distributed in the Tongling mineralization cluster of the Middle-Lower Yangtze River Mineralization Belt(MLYRMB),China.There have many debates as to whether such CPy is associated with Late Mesozoic igneous or Carboniferous sedimentation.CPy from the Xinqiao deposit,a representative of the stratabound sulfide deposits in the MLYRMB,was studied by powder X-ray diffraction(XRD),field-emission scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(TEM).The results show that CPy mainly comprises pyrite,pyrrhotite,quartz,and illite.Pyrite in CPy shows cubic,globule,and xenomorphic morphologies.No octahedral or pyritohedron was observed.Most of the quartz crystals display xenomorphic morphology,where pyrite mold are popular on the surface.Organic matter(OM),which is usually bound to illite,is an important component in CPy.Morphological investigations which exhibit detrital features of quartz and clay minerals indicate that they were derived from continental weathering.Specially,some hexagonal pyrrhotite nanoparticles which show mackinawite morphology are coexisted with OM.The results indicate that the transformation process of sulfides possibly is mackinawite(the precursor)—hexagonal pyrrhotite-pyrite.Thus,compositional and micro-textural characteristics of CPy in Xinqiao deposit suggest it to be a sedimentary origin rather than a hydrothermal origin which is associated with Yanshanian magmatism.Moreover,the coexistence of CPy and stratabound sulfide orebodies in the MLYRMB suggests a causal link between the two.It is considered that CPy might have served as a Cu mineralization geochemical barrier for the Cu-bearing ore-forming fluids,which originated from the Mesozoic magma in the MLYRMB.

The Massive Sulfide Deposit of Siirt Madenkoy,South-Eastern Turkey--Geology,Geochemistry and Mineral Raw Material Potential

The Siirt Madenköy massive sulfide ore deposit has been in operation since 2005. With its approx. 39 Mt reserves (2.40% Cu), it represents the largest Cu deposit and the largest mining operation in the country (1.5 Mt ore/year). The thickness of the adjacent rocks is composed of olivine-pyroxenite basalts pillow lava, which is spilite, interchangeable ore lenses of chalcopyrite and pyrite is about 170 m and reaches a depth of 350 m. The mid-Eocene aged porphyritic, strongly altered spilites are locally interspersed with diabase and covered by conglomerates. The ores appear massive, stock work and disseminated. Main ore minerals are idiomorphic pyrite, cataclastic chalcopyrite and fine-grained magnetite. The geochemical composition of the Cu ores of the Siirt-Madenköy deposit shows in places high levels of Cu, Fe and S, as important trace elements, As, Ba, Co and Ti are listed. In relation to Clarke values, Se, Bi, Cu, Mo and Co are strongly enriched, while Na, K and Ca as well as their coherent trace elements Rb, Sr and Cd are depleted due to hydrothermal alteration. The elemental distribution is characterized by log-normal distribution, proportionality effect, high Cu/Ni ratio and significantly positive correlation between the element pairs MgO-Ni, Cr-Ni and Co/FeO-Co. The dependence of Cu and SO3 contents and Cu/FeO, SO3/FeO ratios are to be interpreted as an indication of the common origin of Cu, Fe and S. In general, Cu, Zn, Pb and S content decrease with depth, whereas those of Fe3O4 increase. The variograms of the ore distributions are characterized by hole effect, trend and zonal anisotropy, which reflect alternation of ores with host rocks and changes in elemental contents. The Siirt Madenköy deposit is attributable to Cu and Zn ratios of the Cu class of ophiolitic massive sulfide deposits. Due to the very high Cu/Pb and Cu/Zn ratios, it can be described as an analogous deposit of the mid oceanic ridge, for example comparable to ores of Galapagos Ridge. The Siirt Madenköy deposit is considered to be a syngenetic volcanogenic-exhalative massive sulfide ore deposit based on the results of the study. It belongs to the “Cyprus deposit type”. Similar deposits are Küre and Ergani-Maden in Turkey, Ermioni in Greece and Outukumpu in Finland.

Textures, trace element compositions, and sulfur isotopes of pyrite from the Honghai volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit:Implications for ore genesis and mineral exploration

In this paper, we present textures, trace element compositions, and sulfur isotope data for pyrite from the Honghai volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit to place new constraints on the source and evolution of the ore-forming fluids and provide insights into the ore genesis with implications for future exploration. The Honghai deposit consists of upper lenticular ores comprising massive sulfides that are underlain by stockwork and disseminated sulfides. The textural and isotopic characteristics of the synsedimentary framboidal pyrite(Syn-Py) indicate its formation by biogenetic processes. Coarse-grained pyrite generations(M-Py1, M-Py2, and M-Py3) from the massive sulfides have high Au, Ag, Cu, Zn, Pb, Sb, and Tl concentrations and low Co, Se, Te, Ti, and Sn concentrations, indicating that they precipitated from metal-rich, low-to intermediate-temperature,oxidizing fluids. The high Te, Ti, and Sn concentrations and high Co/Ni ratios in the massive pyrite(M-Py4) associated with magnetite in the massive sulfide lenses, as well as the high Ti, V, Cr, and Ni concentrations and low Al, Mn, and Zn concentrations in the magnetite, suggest that the coexisting M-Py4 and magnetite precipitated under oxidizing and hightemperature(300℃ to 500℃) conditions. In contrast, pyrite grains from the underlying stockwork and veins(V-Py1, V-Py2, and V-Py3) are characterized by low Au, Ag, Cu, Zn, Pb, Sb, and Tl concentrations coupled with high Co, Se, Te, and Ti concentrations and high Co/Ni ratios, which are interpreted in terms of reducing and high-temperature ore-forming fluids. The large variations in δ^(34)S values from-6.4‰ to +29.9‰ suggest that the ore-forming fluids were derived from magmatic source that were significantly modified by seawater. The spatial variations of trace element assemblages of pyrite from different levels of the main massive orebodies can be used as an indicator for mineral exploration of Cu-Zn ores in the Honghai deposit.Although no significant difference in δ34S values is observed between the upper massive sulfide lenses and lower stockwork/vein zone, the spiky δ34S pattern noted in the massive pyrite can be used as a marker for the main massive orebodies.

Composition of Pancarli Magmatic Ni-Cu±(PGE) Sulfide Deposit in the Cadomian-Avalonian Belt, Eastern Turkey

Pancarli Ni-Cu±(PGE)sulfide deposit occurs in the Neoproterozoic basement complex of the Bitlis massif,which is one of the Andean-type active continental margin fragments with arc-type assemblages represented by the Cadomian orogenic belt.Pancarli sulfides are associated with quartzo-feldspathic gneisses(country rock)and mafic intrusions(host rock).Composed of only semi-massive ore,the Ni-Cu±(PGE)sulfide deposit is a small-scale deposit,and it does not contain net-textured and disseminated ore.The mineral assemblage comprises pyrrhotite,pentlandite,and chalcopyrite.The semi-massive ore samples contain 2.2 wt.%-2.9 wt.%Ni,0.8 wt.%-2.2 wt.%Cu(Cu/(Cu+Ni)=0.2-0.5)and 0.13 wt.%-0.17 wt.%Co.The Cu/Ni ratios(average 0.57)are consistent with the segregation of sulfides from a basaltic magma.Low Pt+Pd100%S values of 0.08 ppm-0.89 ppm,relatively low Pt/Pd ratios of 0.2-1.4,and Pd/Ir ratios of 4.5-39 have also been revealed.These values demonstrate that the magma reached S saturation before its emplacement and the mineralization with high Cu/Pd ratios formed by sulfides segregated from a PGE-depleted magma.δ^34S isotope values(average-3.1‰)of Pancarli sulfides are lower than mantle source.Negativeδ^34S value indicates contamination from surrounding rocks.Concerning the composition,remobilization style and magma type,the Pancarli Ni-Cu±(PGE)sulfide deposit is similar to the deposits associated with Andean-type magmatic arcs located in the convergent plate margin settings.

Dynamic Magma Conduit System Related to the Jinchuan Ni-Cu Sulfide Deposit,NW China

The Jinchuan Ni-Cu sulfide deposits,NW China,are hosted in small ultramafic intrusions that were emplaced into Paleoproterozoic metamorphic rocks. The ultramafic intrusions were previously thought to be the segments of a single elongate intrusion that was dismembered by late faults into eastern and western portions,each of which have distinct stratigraphic sequences.