Summary
Platinum-group minerals (PGM) and native gold are reported in association with gersdorffite ± nickeline from the Thompson mine, Thompson Nickel Belt, Manitoba, Canada. Four PGM-gold-bearing ore types are distinguished on the basis of mineral assemblages and host rocks: I. Irarsite in massive Ni sulphide ore hosted by metapelite; II. Gold, sudburyite, testibiopalladite-antimonian michenerite, unnamed PGM, and merenskyite in As-rich Ni ore hosted by metapelite from the T-1 mine; III. Gold with tellurides in As-rich Ni ore hosted by metapelite from the open pit; and, IV. Gold, majakite, kotulskite, merenskyite, and michenerite in As-rich Ni ore hosted by pegmatite from the T-1 mine. Limited whole-rock assays of II yielded Pt < 10 ppb, Pd 18 ppm, and Au 13 ppm. Native gold is argentian (Ag22-Ag32), and most Ag-rich in pegmatite-hosted samples. Testibiopalladite compositions straddle the previously inferred miscibility gap with michenerite. The unnamed PGM has a composition of (Pd, Ni)0.44(Te, Sb)0.56, and is distinctly anisotropic. Sporadic, minor amounts of PGE (Ru excepted) are present in gersdorffite and nickeline.
All ore types are associated with a pervasive hydrothermal alteration of gangue minerals and host rocks, that is characterised by allanite (ubiquitously present in Thompson mine ores and up to 5 vol% in II), and high contents of Cl, in ferropyrosmalite, allanite, biotite, and amphibole. The PGE-Au-As mineralisation was deposited at 250–300°C, 3–4 kbar, from Cl-rich fluids, which locally remobilised rare-earth elements (REE). It may represent a late overprint on the Thompson mine ores during the late retrograde alteration event of the Trans-Hudsonian orogeny in the Thompson Nickel Belt.
Zusammenfassung
Platingruppen-Minerale (PGM) und gediegenes Gold kommen mit Gersdorffit und Nickelin in Erzen der Thompson Mine, Thompson Nickel-Gürtel, Manitoba, Kanada vor. Auf der Basis von Mineralassoziationen und Nebengesteinen lassen sich vier PGM und Gold-führende Erztypen unterscheiden: I. Irarsit in massiven Nickelsulfid-Erzen in Metapeliten. II. Gold, Sudburyit, Testibiopalladit-Antimon-Michenerit, ein unbenanntes PGM und Merenskyit in As-reichen Nickelerzen in Metapeliten der T-1 Mine. III. Gold mit Telluriden in Arsen-reichen Nickelerzen in Metapeliten aus dem Tagebau; und IV. Gold, Majakit, Kotulskit, Merenskyit und Michenerit in Arsen-reichen Nickelerzen in Pegmatiten der T-1 Mine. Gesamtgesteinsanalysen des Types II ergaben Pt < 10 ppb, Pd 18 ppm und Gold 13 ppm. Gediegenes Gold ist silberführend (Ag22-Ag32) und zeigt die höchsten Silbergehalte in Proben aus dem Pegmatit. Die Zusammensetzungen von Testibiopalladit liegen entlang der früher vermuteten Mischungslücke mit Michenerit. Das noch nicht benannte PGM hat die Zusammensetzung (Pd, Ni)0.44(Te, Sb)0.56, und ist deutlich anisotrop. Gelegentlich kommen kleinere Mengen von PGE (mit Ausname von Ru) in Gersdorffit und Nickelin vor.
Alle Erztypen sind mit einer intensiven hydrothermalen Umwandlung der Nebengesteine und der Gangarten verbunden. Diese wird durch Allanit (der überall in den Erzen der Thompson Mine vorkommt und bis zu 5 vol.% in II ausmacht) und hohe Cl-Gehalte in Ferropyrosmalit, Allanit, Biotit und Amphibol charakterisiert. Die PGE-Au-As Vererzung war bei 250–300°C 3 bis 4 kbar von Cl-reichen Fluiden abgesetzt worden, welche lokal REE (seltene Erd-Elemente) remobilisiert haben. Diese könnte auf eine späte Überprägung der Erze der Thompson Mine während der letzten retrograden Umwandlung im Zuge der Trans-Hudsonian Gebirgsbildung im Thompson-Nickel-Gürtel zorückgehen.
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Chen, Y., Fleet, M.E. & Pan, Y. Platinum-group minerals and gold in Arsenic-rich ore at the Thompson mine, Thompson Nickel Belt, Manitoba, Canada. Mineralogy and Petrology 49, 127–146 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01162931
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01162931