Abstract
A significant resource of vanadium and molybdenum exists near Julia Creek, Australia, where the middle Cretaceous organic-rich Toolebuc Formation lies between 0 and 25 m of the surface. We present and discuss a comprehensive geochemical study of the Toolebuc Formation and its enclosing stratigraphy near Julia Creek to understand this ore deposit. V and Mo contents in fresh facies are strongly associated with total organic carbon (TOC) contents, but not with Al or CaCO3; this suggests that V and Mo were originally concentrated in the organic fraction. However, chemical extractions using H2O2 indicate that Mo was originally concentrated in pyrite. The data also suggest that V was mobilised from organic matter during early diagenesis and became associated with clays as little V was extracted by H2O2 in the fresh samples. TOC contents in the Toolebuc Formation were removed during weathering, residually enriching trace metals including V and Mo, and as a result, the TOC relationship with V and Mo disintegrates. With weathering, both V and Mo predominantly became associated with iron oxide/hydroxide phases (and possibly other unidentified phases) as these elements in the weathered facies were highly soluble in the sodium citrate–sodium dithionite digestion. Large shale-hosted V and Mo deposits such as Julia Creek offer a potentially viable alternative to the currently mined magnetite-hosted deposits. A thorough understanding of the formation and host mineral phases for V and Mo of these shale deposits, however, is critical to ensure that these valuable metals can be feasibly extracted.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Fimiston Resources NL for supporting this project. The study was also partially funded by an Australian Research Council grant to RAH (grant A39933019). Staff of the Zillmere core storage facility of the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines are thanked for their assistance in making cores available for inspection. We thank Steve Hovan for supplying the sodium citrate–sodium dithionite method. We are grateful to the skilled staff at the Advanced Analytical Centre, James Cook University for their assistance in the XRF, XRD and ICP analyses, particularly to Dr Yi Hu, Dr Elvy Grigolato and Mr Alan Chappell. We thank Dr Enrico Mocellin at the Chemical and MicroAnalytical Services Pty. Ltd laboratory for total carbon analysis. The comments from three anonymous reviewers and Gary Davidson greatly improved the manuscript.
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Lewis, S.E., Henderson, R.A., Dickens, G.R. et al. The geochemistry of primary and weathered oil shale and coquina across the Julia Creek vanadium deposit (Queensland, Australia). Miner Deposita 45, 599–620 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-010-0287-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-010-0287-6