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An overview of chalcophile element contents of pyrrhotite, pentlandite, chalcopyrite, and pyrite from magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE sulfide deposits

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Abstract

We have compiled the trace element concentrations in pyrrhotite, pentlandite, chalcopyrite, and pyrite from magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE ore deposits with the aim of understanding their petrogenesis and whether these minerals can be used as indicator minerals. Among the samples, there are some of the most studied world-class Ni-Cu- (Aguablanca, Duluth, Jinchuan, Noril’sk-Talnakh-Kharaelakh, Sudbury, Voisey’s Bay, and others) and PGE-dominated (Bushveld, Lac des Iles, Stillwater, Great Dyke, and Penikat) deposits. Crustal assimilation may be constrained using As/Se and Sb/Se ratios in pentlandite. The degree of interaction between the silicate and sulfide liquids (R-factor) can be estimated by the content of highly chalcophile elements (Dsulf liq/sil liq above 1000) in sulfide minerals. The fractional crystallization of the sulfide liquid can be traced using Se/Te ratios of pentlandite. Pyrite formed by exsolution from MSS has higher Rh, Ru, Ir, and Os than co-existing pyrrhotite, whereas pyrite formed by hydrothermal alteration of pyrrhotite inherits the Rh, Ru, Ir, and Os contents of the pyrrhotite it replaced. Sulfide minerals are preserved in transported glacial cover and their trace element chemistry can be used to discriminate their source. Pentlandite from Ni-Cu deposits has much lower Rh and Pd concentrations than those from PGE-dominated deposits, pyrite from magmatic deposits has higher Co/Sb and Se/As ratios relative to pyrite from hydrothermal deposits, and chalcopyrite from magmatic deposits has much higher Ni and lower Cd concentrations than those from hydrothermal deposits.

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Acknowledgments

We greatly appreciate the insightful discussions we had over the years with our colleagues Dany Savard, Belinda Godel, Philippe Pagé, Sarah Dare, Rubén Piña, Lionnel Djon, Matthias Queffurus, Clifford Patten, Jean-Philippe Arguin, Ben Cave, Luiz Felipe Salim Amaral, Renato Henrique-Pinto, Nadège Samalens, and Pape Doudou Tague. This manuscript benefited from insightful comments from the reviewers Margaux Le Vaillant and Malte Junge, and careful editorial handling by the editors Wolfgang Maier and Georges Beaudoin.

Funding

This work was supported by a Canada Research Chair program grant to Sarah-Jane Barnes (215503) and Discovery Grant 1884-2013. This contribution represents a synthesis of some work conducted over more than a decade by the Canada Research Chair in Magmatic Metallogeny after implementation of the LA-ICP-MS facility at LabMaTer, UQAC.

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  1. Sciences de la Terre, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Québec, G7H 2B1, Canada

    Eduardo T. Mansur, Sarah-Jane Barnes & Charley J. Duran

  2. IGO Limited, South Perth, Western Australia, 6151, Australia

    Charley J. Duran

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  1. Eduardo T. Mansur
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Correspondence to Eduardo T. Mansur.

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Mansur, E.T., Barnes, SJ. & Duran, C.J. An overview of chalcophile element contents of pyrrhotite, pentlandite, chalcopyrite, and pyrite from magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE sulfide deposits. Miner Deposita 56, 179–204 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-020-01014-3

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