iron sulphides at the epithermal gold-copper deposit of ...hera.ugr.es/doi/14976353.pdf · au-cu...
TRANSCRIPT
Iron sulphides at the epithermalgold-copper deposit of Palai-Islica (Almer|a SE Spain)
F J CARRILLO ROSUA S MORALES RUANO AND P FENOLL HACH-ALI
Department of Mineralogy and Petrology University of Granada and Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra(CSIC-UGR) Avda Fuentenueva sn E-18002 Granada Spain
ABSTRACT
Au-Cu mineralization at Palai-Islica occurs as disseminations in massive silicified volcanic rocks andmore abundantly in sulphide-bearing quartz veins The major ore minerals in the deposit are pyrite plusmnchalcopyrite sphalerite and galena and there is a great variety of accessory minerals including Au-Agalloys and native gold Pyrite the most abundant sulphide is closely associated with gold Sevendifferent types of pyrite have been distinguished with a variable concentration of different traceelements Among these the only one free of trace elements (type IV) is related to Au-Ag alloys Pyriteassociated with these Au-Ag alloys has cubic and pentagonal dodecahedral habits whereas pyrite withpentagonal dodecahedral habit only is from barren zones In addition there is no significant invisiblegold in the pyrite but there is a relatively large amount of Ag in collomorphic pyrite (up to 020 wt)or type III pyrite (up to 147 wt) Arsenic is the most abundant trace element in pyrite (up to611 wt) present as a metastable solid solution or as a non-stoichiometric element A variety ofmarcasite related to the gold levels also has a considerable amount of trace elements (As up to115 wt Sb up to 040 wt)
KEY WORDS pyrite gold epithermal deposit Spain
Introduction
PYRITE is the most common sulphide in theEarthrsquos crust and it forms under a wide range ofconditions (Craig et al 1998) eg in sedimen-tary metamorphic igneous and hydrothermalenvironments It reaches its greatest abundanceand is the most common mineral in hydrothermalenvironments (Ramdohr 1980) It displayssigni cant textural and morphological diversity(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) and its chemicalcomposition can also vary considerably particu-larly with respect to Co Ni and As (Rosler 1983)The Co and Ni can enter into its crystallinestructure forming a solid solution with vaesiteand catierite (Kostov and Minceva-Stefanova1981) Although As occurs in equilibrium in
minor amounts (up to 05 wt) in syntheticpyrite (Clark 1960) natural pyrite may contain asmuch as 944 wt As (Ashley et al 2000) Moreimportant is the fact that pyrite is a collector ofprecious metals such as Au and Ag (Boyle 1979Roberts 1982) as well as platinum groupelements (Rypley and Chryssoulis 1994)Therefore its chemistry has been investigated inmany deposits using diverse analytical techniques(eg Grif n et al 1991 Arehart et al 1993Morales Ruano 1994 Rypley and Chryssoulis1994 Huston et al 1995 Ashley et al 2000)Study of pyrite chemistry may also be useful inforeseeing planning and if needed minimizingthe environmental impact that can be caused byheavy-element contaminants produced byleaching of mine tailings
In the Cu-Au deposit at Palai-Islica pyrite isthe main Fe sulphide where it is closelyassociated with gold (Carrillo Rosua et al2001b 2002) The present work aims to establish
E-mail smoralesugresDOI 1011800026461036750143
Mineralogical Magazine October 2003 Vol 67(5) pp 1059ndash1080
2003 The Mineralogical Society
FIG 1 (a) Location of the main groups of volcanic rocks in the Cabo de Gata-Cartagena volcanic belt (adapted fromLopez Ruiz and Rodriguez Badiola 1980) (A) calc-alkaline volcanism (B) calc-alkaline potassic and shoshoniticvolcanism (C) ultrapotassic volcanism (D) basaltic volcanism The most important ore deposits are (1) Cabo deGata (2) Rodalquilar (3) Carboneras (Palai-Islica) (4) Herrer otilde as and Sierra Almagrera (5) Aguilas (6) Mazarron(7) Cartagena (b) Schematic geological map showing the location of the Palai-Islica deposit (adapted from IGME1974) Main geological units (1) Upper Miocene volcanic rocks of the Cabo de Gata calco-alkaline series(2) Palaeozoic-Mesozoic basement rocks belonging to the Alpujarride and Malaguide Complexes (3) Tertiarysedimentary rocks (4) Quaternary sediments (a) alluvial and (c) colluvial (5) Outcropping Palai-Islicamineralization and zone of hydrothermal alteration Faults are indicated by solid black lines (Figure slightly
modi ed from Morales et al 2000)
1060
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
possible mineralogical textural and chemicalaf nities between gold and the distinct varietiesof pyrite We focus on the textural and mineralchemistry characteristics of pyrite and otherassociated Fe sulphides (pyrrhotite and marcasite)and their crystallochemical and geochemicalimplications Pyrite also contains potentiallysigni cant amounts of trace element contaminantswhich are an important factor since the Palai-Islica deposit is located in the vicinity of the Cabode Gata Natural Park
Geological context
The main geological features of the area of thePalai-Islica deposit are well known (Arribas andTosdal 1994 Fernandez Soler 1996 Turner etal 1999) and only a summary is given here (seealso Morales Ruano et al 2000) The Palai-Islicadeposit lies within the volcanic belt of Cabo deGata-Cartagena (Fig 1a) which comprises partof the eastern end of the Internal Zone of the BeticCordilleras This Neogene volcanic belt withdifferent series of volcanic rocks (calc-alkalineshoshonitic potassic calc-alkaline ultrapotassicand basaltic series (Lopez Ruiz and RodriguezBadiola 1980)) formed within the context of asubduction zone followed by an extensionalevent (Dewey 1988 Garc otildeacutea Duenas et al1992) During the Miocene a series of magma-tism-related hydrothermal systems developedbeing controlled by a system of faults andfractures The hot uids (up to 400 ndash450ordmCMorales Ruano (1994)) reacted strongly with thehost rocks and in some districts gave rise tobroad areas of mineralization and alteration(Fig 1a) usually zoned (Fernandez Soler 1996)as in the Rodalquilar deposit where propyliticargillic advanced argillic and silicic alterationhave been observed from the outer to inner zones(Arribas et al 1995) The Palai-Islica is one ofthese areas which has become a recent target ofmineral exploration companies (Morales Ruano etal 2000) The Cu-Au epithermal mineralizationof Palai-Islica (Fig 1b) is hosted by hydrother-mally alterated calc-alkaline volcanic rocks(mainly dacites and andesites of Miocene age)related to regional strike-slip faults (N40 ndash50E)(Fernandez Soler 1996) The alteration area(propylitic sericitic argillic silici cation)consists of an oval E ndashW-striking zone 2500 mlong by 1700 m wide to which the goldmineralization is invariably related (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Sampling and methodology
Samples were obtained from various areas ofhigh-grade gold and barren mineralization atPalai-Islica Two hundred and twenty-twopolished thin-sections of samples collected from21 drill cores were prepared to determine themineralogy and the paragenetic relationships inthis deposit
The mineralogical chemical and textural char-acteristics of Fe sulphides were determined byre ected and transmitted light microscopy scan-ning electron microscopy SEM (ZEISS DSM 950)and FESEM (LEO GEMINI) and electron micro-probe EPMA (CAMECA SX50) at the Centro deInstrumentacion Cientotilde ca of the University ofGranada Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)was used to detect As-rich zones followed bybetter-quality backscattered images using electronprobe microanalysis (EPMA) on chosen eldsX-ray mapping with EPMA identi ed zonings ofother elements (eg Co and Ni) that are not easilydetectable by SEM The operating conditions forthe X-ray mapping were 30 kV acceleratingpotential 200 nA beam current 2 mm scandistance and 300 ms X-ray peak acquisition timeper point The information obtained by electronicimages qualitative EPMA pro les was used toperform the analysis of Fe sulphides in selectedpoints of representative areas A total of 399analysis were obtained by EPMA
Natural and synthetic-certied standards wereused to calibrate the quantitative analysis Theoperating conditions were 30 kV acceleratingpotential 30 nA beam current and acquisitiontime between 60 and 300 s for X-ray peak andbackground Fifteen selected analyses of Au witha lower detection limit (475 ppm 95 con dent)were performed for pyrite (100 nA bean currentwith acquisition times of 2000 s for X-ray peakand background) The acquired X-ray intensitieswere corrected for atomic number mass absorp-tion and secondary uorescence effects using theCAMECA-PAP version of the Pouchou andPichoir (1984) procedure
Ore mineralization
The mineralization at Palai-Islica is (1) dissemi-nated in massively silici ed volcanic rockslocated exclusively in the highest part of thedeposit (2) disseminated within the ubiquitouslyhydrothermally altered rocks and (3) mostabundantly in sulphide-bearing quartz veins
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1061
The occurrences in veins have been describedby Morales Ruano et al (2000) and CarrilloRosua et al (2001a) for three subhorizontallevels They are characterized by Au-Ag alloysgreater mineralogical diversity enrichment in AuAg Zn Pb Cd As and Sb and uids with distinctcharacteristics (wide variation in salinity over anarrow temperature range) relative to the rest ofthe deposit
The ore minerals in the deposit (Morales Ruanoet al 1999 Carrillo Rosua et al 2001a) consistprimarily of pyrite with occasionally largechalcopyrite sphalerite and galena contentsThere is also a number of accessory mineralssuch as gold tetrahedrite-tennantite bismuthiniteAgplusmnBiplusmnPbplusmn(Cu) sulphosalts Ag and Bi tell-urides Ag sulphides and sulphosalts (achantitepolybasite-pearcite proustite-pyrargyrite stepha-nite) pyrrhotite marcasite Cu sulphides (bornitechalcocite covellite) stannite niccolite arseno-pyrite native copper and Fe-Ti-Sn oxides (rutilemagnetite hematite cassiterite)
According to Carrillo Rosua et al (2001a2002) the gold occurs as native gold (dissemi-nated exclusively in the massive silici cations)and as Au-Ag alloys in the sulphide-bearingquartz veins These alloys are relatively abundantand are always closely associated with pyriteeither included within it (Au-rich alloys) or asovergrowths (Ag-rich alloys) (Fig 2)
Mineralogical textural and chemicalcharacteristics of the Fe sulphides
Fe sulphides and in particular pyrite are by farthe most abundant sulphides in this deposit
displaying a great variety of textural and chemicaltypes There are three varieties of Fe sulphides
(1) Pyrrhotite (diameter lt100 mm) appearsincluded within porous pyrite sometimes inter-grown with chalcopyrite or magnetite Chemicalanalysis of pyrrhotite gave the formulaFe084ndash091S with very low concentrations oftrace elements (Table 1)
(2) Marcasite also occurs in minor amounts lling late microveins disseminated crystals inthe massive silci cation disseminated in thevolcanic rock of the deepest zones of thedeposit intergrown with pyrite in micro-geodesor as idiomorphic crystals in a peculiar associa-tion with pyrite and chalcopyrite as follows(Fig 3a) (a) pyrite cores sometimes with tinyinclusions of a Ag-bearing phases (b) not alwayspresent elongated chalcopyrite crystals followingthe limit between pyrite and marcasite (c) idio-morphic marcasite crystals (d) collomorphicpyrite overgrown on marcasite This mineralassociation is located at the top of Au-Ag alloybearing levels Marcasite does not show chemicalzonation as it is quite pure (Table 1) with theexception of the last textural case (Fig 3b) Thishas signi cant quantities of As (up to 115 wt)and Sb (up to 040 wt) concentrated in irregularzones in marcasite (Fig 3cd) corresponding tothe maximum concentration of Sb with theintermediate of As (Fig 4a) The increase of Asis accompanied by a decrease in the sulphurconcentration of the same order (Fig 4b) Incontrast with associated pyrite marcasite hassmall Cu and Ag contents (Fig 3fg)
(3) Pyrite is by far the most abundant phaseTwo groups of pyrite are recognized based on
FIG 2 Photomicrographs of Au-Ag alloy (a) Crystal of homogeneous Au-Ag alloy (Au) included in a non-poroustype IV pyrite (Py) (b) Crystal of Au-Ag alloy (Au) overgrowing type IV pyrite (Py)
1062
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
grain size ne- (lt20 mm) and medium- to coarse-grained (gt20 mm) pyrites
Tables 2 and 3 display the results of pyriteanalyses obtained by EPMA Among the traceelements As has signi cant concentrations of upto 611 wt Other elements have lower concen-trations rarely exceeding 1 wt There arenotable differences in the compositions of thetextural varieties of mediumndashcoarse and ne-grained pyrites as noted below
Table 4 presents the large acquisition-timeanalyses for Au in different types of pyrite thesealways being less than the detection limit450 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites
Medium- to coarse-grained pyrite (gt20 mm)
Generally these pyrites are disseminated in thevolcanic host rocks in zones of massive silici ca-tion and in quartz veins In the veins the pyriteaggregates may display diverse textures dissemi-nations stockwork-like veinlets brecciated crusti-form and massive aggregatesThere are three main
morphologies of idiomorphic and subidiomorphicpyrites cubic (with or without striations) penta-gonal dodecahedral and octahedral (Fig 5) Thepentagonal dodecahedralmorphology is ubiquitousthroughout the deposit the octahedral morphologyis related to near surface native gold-bearingmassively silici ed zones and the cubicmorphology occurs in the veins related to deepseated Au-Ag alloy-bearing zones
These pyrites may be differentiated into at leastfour chemical types As-bearing pyrites (type I)Co-Ni-bearing pyrites (type II) Cu-Ag bearingpyrites (type III) as well as pyrite which islacking in trace elements (type IV)
Type I As-bearing pyriteThis type of pyrite is found only within
pentagonal dodecahedral or xenomorphic crystalsin which As is enriched in cores (up to 400 mm indiameter) as well as in polygonal to irregularbands (lt20 mm in thickness)
The cores can be compact or porous (Fig 6a)and occasionally show complex irregular textures
TABLE 1 Chemistry of pyrrhotite and marcasite
A (n = 8) B (n = 31) C (n = 3)Wt Min Max Ave sd (1s) Min Max Ave sd (1s) Min Max Ave sd (1s)
Au 000 006 003 002 000 005 002 002 002 004 003 001Ag 000 003 002 001 000 005 002 001 000 002 001 001S 3787 3993 3864 065 5163 5381 5292 055 5260 5284 5271 010Sb 001 002 001 000 000 040 007 010 001 002 002 000Fe 5869 5992 5948 037 4494 4669 4598 044 4561 4633 4605 031Co 003 005 005 001 001 004 002 001 002 004 003 001Ni 000 005 001 002 000 002 000 001 000 000 000 000Cu 000 009 003 003 000 010 001 002 001 010 005 003Zn 000 002 001 001 000 018 003 003 002 004 003 001As 000 003 001 001 000 115 020 027 001 003 002 001
Total 9737 9884 9829 046 9774 10067 9929 071 987 992 989 018
AtAu 000 001 001 000 000 001 001 000 000 001 000 000Ag 000 001 001 000 000 002 001 000 000 001 000 000S 5235 5417 5302 054 6616 6696 6657 022 6639 6669 6650 013Sb 000 001 001 000 000 013 002 003 000 001 001 000Fe 4572 4753 4686 053 3294 3353 3321 017 3306 3352 3336 021Co 002 004 003 000 001 003 001 000 001 002 002 000Ni 000 004 001 001 000 001 000 000 000 000 000 000Cu 000 006 002 002 000 007 001 001 001 006 003 002Zn 000 001 001 001 000 011 002 002 001 003 002 001As 000 002 001 001 000 063 011 015 000 002 001 000
A Pyrrhotite B Idiomorphic marcasite C Non-idiomorphic marcasite n number of analyses Min minimumMax maximum Ave average sd standard deviation
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1063
FIG 3 Photomicrograph (a) backscattered electron (BSE) (b) and X-ray images of As (c) Sb (d) Cu (e) and Ag (f)of the association type III pyrite (Py III) with Ag sulphide inclusions (Ag sul) chalcopyrite (Cp) idiomorphic
marcasite (Mc) and collomorphic pyrite (Py VI)
1064
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
(Fig 6b) in which tiny crystals of arsenopyritecan sometimes be found
Polygonal bands are scarce and occur aspentagonal dodecahedrons or cubes (Figs 6a and7a) These bands which occasionally containtennantite crystals (Fig 6a) are thin (1 ndash2 mm)with clear boundaries although they occasionallygroup together thus appearing to be thicker
Irregular bands (Fig 7b) are more commonthan the polygonal bands and are more diffuseThey show continuous variations in thicknessfrequent truncations and features typical ofdissolution or uneven growth They are normallyfound in the internal parts of the crystals rarely inthe rims
In contrast with other deposits (eg Fleet et al1989) where oscillatory As zoning affects theentire pyrite crystal the As enrichment (type Ipyrite) is restricted mainly to the most internalparts of the pyrite grains This type of pyrite canbe dissolved and overgrown by coarse pyritelacking trace elements (Fig 7b)
The chemistry of type I pyrite (Table 2) ischaracterized by a clear enrichment in As (up to338 wt) negatively correlated with S (Fig 8a)whereas no correlation exists between As and Fe(Fig 8b) In some cases there is a sporadicincrease in Cu (up to 019) particularly in thecores (Fig 6ab) Figure 8c shows that (1) the Asvalues in the cores are lower than in the bands and(2) the irregular bands are poorer in As than thepolygonal bands
Type II Co-Ni-bearing pyriteThis type of pyrite detectable only by X-ray
maps is prior to or occasionally coeval with As-bearing type I pyrite The type II pyrite(Table 2) is found in the internal parts of thepyrite crystals lacking trace elements as Co- orNi-cores or bands (Fig 7ab) This type showsthe highest Co (001 ndash069 wt) and Ni(000ndash101 wt) values and an increase inthese elements involves a slight decrease in theFe content of pyrite
000
004
008
012
016
000 020 040 060 080
As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
070
6600 6650 6700
S (at)
Sb
(at
)
As
(at
)
a b
FIG 4 (a) As vs Sb diagram showing the relationship between both elements in idiomorphic marcasite (b) S vs Asdiagram showing the inverse correlation between As and S in idiomorphic marcasite
FIG 5 SEM secondary electron images showing pyrite morphology (a) cubic habit (b) pentagonal dodecahedralhabit and (c) octahedral habit
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1065
TA
BL
E2
Che
mis
try
ofm
ediu
m-
toco
arse
-gra
ined
pyri
te(gt
20m m
)
A(n
=19
)B
(n=
21)
C(n
=39
)D
(n=
37)
E(n
=18
)F
(n=
107)
Wt
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Au
000
016
003
004
000
006
003
002
000
016
003
003
000
005
002
001
000
005
002
001
000
010
002
002
Ag
000
006
001
001
000
003
001
001
000
009
002
002
000
005
001
001
000
147
018
035
000
017
002
002
S51
31
530
352
16
043
505
052
62
515
90
6449
39
536
152
10
078
508
753
83
527
20
7952
07
535
352
79
044
515
554
85
533
00
54Sb
000
003
001
001
000
011
002
002
000
019
003
004
000
004
001
001
000
004
001
001
000
006
001
001
Fe45
38
465
646
10
032
443
946
06
453
30
5344
51
467
546
05
049
443
946
41
456
60
6044
42
465
245
78
052
446
846
98
461
90
43C
o0
000
090
030
020
020
510
170
160
000
070
020
010
010
690
250
190
010
030
020
010
000
120
030
02N
i0
000
030
000
010
000
900
170
270
000
050
010
010
001
010
210
260
000
010
000
000
000
080
010
01C
u0
000
190
020
040
000
160
020
030
000
140
020
030
000
080
010
020
010
620
200
160
000
700
040
11Z
n0
000
300
030
070
000
020
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
390
020
04A
s0
242
270
990
661
033
382
270
600
282
761
280
800
003
380
831
180
000
100
020
020
000
230
040
05
Tot
al97
78
100
0999
32
063
985
110
067
996
20
5693
94
100
5299
33
110
989
610
063
997
30
3796
52
102
4099
03
153
982
010
248
999
70
80
At
Au
000
003
001
001
000
001
001
000
000
003
000
00
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
002
000
000
Ag
000
002
001
001
000
001
001
000
000
004
001
00
000
002
001
000
000
056
007
013
000
006
001
001
S65
44
665
065
93
029
646
966
26
654
50
4164
91
667
765
87
04
649
266
88
662
40
5866
32
668
366
58
016
658
367
36
667
00
32Sb
000
001
000
000
000
004
001
001
000
006
001
00
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
002
000
000
Fe33
07
338
533
45
020
322
133
94
330
20
4332
92
342
733
43
03
321
433
48
329
40
3132
54
335
133
15
021
323
834
08
331
90
32C
o0
000
060
020
010
010
350
110
110
000
040
010
00
000
460
170
130
010
020
010
000
000
080
010
01N
i0
000
020
000
010
000
620
120
180
000
040
000
00
000
700
150
180
000
010
000
000
000
050
010
01C
u0
000
130
010
030
000
110
010
020
000
090
010
00
000
050
010
010
010
400
130
100
000
440
020
07Z
n0
000
180
020
040
000
010
010
010
000
020
010
00
000
020
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
240
010
03A
s0
131
230
530
350
561
841
230
330
151
510
630
430
001
840
450
640
000
050
010
010
000
120
020
03
A
type
I(c
ores
)B
ty
peI
(pol
ygon
alba
nds)
C
ty
peI
(irr
egul
arba
nds)
D
ty
peII
E
ty
peII
IF
type
IV
nnu
mbe
rof
anal
yses
M
in
min
imum
M
ax
max
imum
A
ve
aver
age
sd
st
anda
rdde
viat
ion
TA
BL
E3
Che
mis
try
of
ne-g
rain
edpy
rite
(lt20
m m)
A(n
=17
)B
(n=
9)C
(n=
18)
D(n
=33
)E
(n=
11)
F(n
=13
)W
tM
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)
Au
000
006
003
001
000
005
002
002
000
004
002
001
000
005
002
001
000
004
002
001
000
005
002
001
Ag
000
006
003
002
000
006
002
002
000
016
007
005
000
020
004
004
000
005
002
001
000
008
003
003
S52
46
537
953
23
036
486
053
09
518
61
4550
25
530
851
85
068
496
253
79
514
51
2151
75
534
652
68
057
517
553
66
530
60
53Sb
001
003
002
001
000
002
001
001
007
046
018
008
000
141
030
042
000
003
001
001
000
008
002
002
Fe44
53
465
245
91
043
411
145
43
441
91
4441
93
461
644
50
119
416
146
29
437
31
4245
68
466
246
27
024
452
746
33
457
30
37C
o0
010
050
020
010
040
100
070
020
010
040
020
010
000
040
020
010
010
050
030
010
010
030
020
01N
i0
000
020
000
010
010
110
040
030
000
140
050
050
000
010
000
000
000
040
010
010
000
080
020
03C
u0
000
050
020
010
000
020
000
010
000
940
250
270
001
260
190
270
010
390
130
110
001
320
570
39Z
n0
000
030
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
180
060
060
000
100
010
020
000
070
020
020
000
190
040
05A
s0
110
660
210
130
000
290
110
080
534
492
361
100
086
113
761
840
000
080
020
030
000
120
020
03
Tot
al97
44
100
6499
50
073
899
698
76
963
32
9198
20
100
4499
37
058
980
610
056
995
30
7197
95
999
299
22
058
980
610
092
995
30
93
At
Au
000
001
001
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
Ag
000
002
001
001
000
002
001
001
000
006
003
002
000
008
002
002
000
002
001
000
000
003
001
001
S66
45
672
066
75
019
667
367
28
670
20
1865
27
666
565
88
030
647
566
93
656
20
6466
03
667
766
35
026
660
566
97
665
80
29Sb
000
001
001
000
000
001
000
000
003
015
006
003
000
049
010
014
000
001
000
000
000
003
001
001
Fe32
64
332
833
05
017
325
233
03
327
90
1831
27
332
032
46
060
311
833
08
320
10
6133
09
337
933
47
025
326
133
89
329
50
35C
o0
000
030
010
010
020
070
050
020
010
030
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
030
020
010
000
020
010
01N
i0
000
010
000
000
010
080
030
020
000
100
030
040
000
010
000
000
000
030
010
010
000
050
010
02C
u0
000
030
010
010
000
010
000
000
000
610
160
170
000
830
130
180
010
250
080
070
000
830
360
25Z
n0
000
020
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
110
040
030
000
060
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
120
020
03A
s0
060
350
120
070
000
160
060
050
292
501
290
610
043
362
061
020
000
050
010
010
000
070
010
02
A
type
V(f
ram
boid
sse
nsu
stri
cto)
B
ty
peV
(pse
udof
ram
boid
s)
C
type
VI
(col
lom
orph
icpo
rous
pyri
te)
Dt
ype
VI
(bro
wn
collo
mor
phic
pyri
te)
E
type
VII
(mic
ro-g
eode
s)
Fty
peV
II(p
yrit
ein
terg
row
ths
inch
alco
pyri
te)
nnu
mbe
rof
anal
yses
M
in
min
imum
M
ax
max
imum
A
ve
aver
age
sd
st
anda
rdde
viat
ion
Type III pyrite with Cu and Ag
Associated with idiomorphic marcasite in theabove-described marcasite there are pyrites(Table 2) which have signi cant amounts of Cu(up to 062 wt) and Ag (up to 147 wt)
Figure 3e and f shows extended enrichments ofCu and minor in Ag throughout all pyrite grainswhereas in Fig 9 we observed that the Cu and Aglevels are approximately equal with a lsquoback-groundrsquo of Cu of 010 at
FIG 6 (a) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite overgrown by nearly stoichiometric pyrite type IV (1) coreof type I pyrite with porous character (dark areas) (2) thin polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a tennantite (Ten)inclusion On the right hand side of the gure note the As Cu and Sb X-ray images where Cu and Sb are slightlyenriched in the type I pyrite core (b) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite core with a complex texture anda tiny arsenopyrite inclusion (Apy) On the right hand side of the gure note the As and Cu X-ray images from the
marked area
1068
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Type IV pyrite lackingtrace elementsThis type of pyrite volumetrically the most
abundant is characterized by neglible concentra-tions of trace elements (Table 2) Type IV pyrite is
found as disseminations throughout the volcanichost rock or in quartz veins and silici ed zoneswhere it can contain types I and II pyrites or elseappear as homogeneous crystals Type IV pyrite
FIG 7 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyrite hosted by type IV pyrite(1) polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a pentagonal dodecahedral morphology overgrown by (2) a polygonal bandwith cubic morphology As Co and Ni X-ray images on the right hand side of the gure reveal Co-Ni bearing typeII pyrite in core and bands (3) (b) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyritehosted by type IV pyrite (1) irregular bands of type I with abundant truncations in the inner part of the crystal(2) irregular bands of type I in the rim of the crystal On the right hand side of the gure note the As Co and Ni
X-ray images with the non-coincident Co-rich and Ni-rich pyrite (3)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1069
frequently has pore-rich zones that generallycoincide with the central parts of the crystalswhich also have high concentrations of mineralmicroinclusions especially pyrrhotite chalco-pyrite rutile and magnetite
It should be noted that Au-Ag alloys are hostedby the type IV pyrite preferentially included inthe pore-free zones (Fig 2a)
Fine-grained pyrites (lt20 mm)
This group comprises framboidal (type V) andcollomorphic (type VI) pyrites as well as micro-
geodes and intergrowths of pyrite in chalcopyrite(type VII)
Type V framboidal pyriteThis type is relatively rare and occurs in two
varieties (1) As framboids sensu stricto(Fig 10a) generally spherical and lt50 mm insize The pyrite microcrystals very closelypacked are subidiomorphic and equigranular(plusmn2 mm) In some cases the framboidal pyrite isovergrown by coarse-grained type IV pyrite(2) As lsquopseudoframboidsrsquo (Fig 10b) that areloosely packed or even disaggregated with sizes
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
6 4 5 65 0 6 55 6 6 0 6 6 5 6 7 0 S (at)
Type I
Type VI
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
31 0 31 5 32 0 32 5 33 0 33 5 Fe (at)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 02 04 06 08 1 12 14 As (at)
Type I (ii)
(iii)
(i)
As
(at
)Fr
eque
ncy
As
(at
)
Type I
Type VI
a
b
c
FIG 8 (a) S vs As diagram showing inverse correlation with different slopes for type I and type VI pyrite (b) Fe vsAs diagram showing no correlation in type I pyrite but good inverse correlation in type VI pyrite (c) Arseniccontent frequency histogram in type I pyrite (i) cores (ii) polygonal bands (iii) irregular bands Observe that the
cores have the lowest As content while the highest As values are in the polygonal bands
1070
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of up to 50 mm In contrast to the framboids sensustricto the pyrite microcrystals here are roundedor oval-shaped and vary in size from lt1 to 5 mmThe outermost crystals are the largest
Both types of framboidal pyrites show smallamounts of trace elements As being the mostabundant (average of 018 wt Table 3)
Type VI collomorphic pyriteThese pyrites occur principally in two genera-
tions of overgrowth on previous pyrite crystalsalthough they can also overgrow idiomorphicmarcasite and exceptionally chalcopyrite TypeVI occurs as either porous collomorphic pyrite(Fig 10c) or as brown collomorphic pyrite underre ected light microscope (Fig 10d)
These pyrites have the largest amounts of As(008ndash611 wt) Cu (000ndash126 wt) Sb(000ndash141 wt) and Ag (000 ndash020 wt)but the smallest Fe contents (419ndash462 wt)of all the pyrites analysed in the deposit Nickeland Zn have also been detected (Table 3) Arsenicis negatively correlated with S with a slope( ndash158) more pronounced than for the type Ipyrite (Fig 8a) The As is also negativelycorrelated with Fe (Fig 8b)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
000 010 020 030 040
Cu (at)
Ag
(at
)
FIG 9 (a) Cu vs Ag diagram showing two types ofbehaviour (represented by ellipses) of the relation
between both elements in type III pyrite
FIG 10 Photomicrographs of type V and type VI pyrite (a) Framboids sensu stricto closely packed withsubidiomorphic coalescing microcrystals (b) lsquoPseudoframboidrsquo of loosely packed pyrite of rounded or oval shapes(c) Porous collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing marcasite and coarse pyrite (2) (d) Bands of brown collomorphic
pyrite showing graded shading (1) overgrowing coarse pyrite (2)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1071
Within the overgrowths of collomorphic pyritethe rst generation is usually richer in As than thesecond one (Fig 11ab) with some chemicaldifferences between the two textural varieties
The porous collomorphic pyrite contains lessAs (053ndash449 wt) than the brown collo-morphic pyrite It also has relatively largeamounts of Ag Cu Ni and Zn and these aredirectly correlated with As concentration
(Fig 12) a feature that is evident from theX-ray maps in Fig 10a for Cu Ag and Ni
The brown collomorphic pyrite has the highestAs content (008ndash611 wt) It is is alsoenriched in Ag Cu and Sb but not in Zn or NiIn contrast with the porous variety there is nodirect correlation between these elements and As(Fig 12) However at high As concentrationsthere is an enrichment in Ag Cu and Sb and the
FIG 11 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type VI pyrite There are two bands (1) and (2) of collomorphic pyriteovergrowing marcasite (Mc) with the former being richer in Cu Ag As and Ni than the latter (b) BSE and X-rayimages of type VI pyrite Collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing coarse type IV pyrite (2) The As concentration isrelatively homogeneous in this collomorphic pyrite just the opposite of the Cu and Sb concentrations which are
enriched in the ner bands
1072
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
000
002
004
006
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
645
650
655
660
665
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
020
040
060
080
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
010
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
S (
at
)
Ag
(at
)
Cu
(at
)
Sb
(at
)
Zn
(at
)
Ni (
at
)
(a)
(b)
FIG 12 Binary diagrams showing variations between different elements in type VI pyrite (a) porous collomorphicpyrite and (b) brown collomorphic pyrite
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1073
nature of Cu and Sb distributed in As-rich bandsis shown in the X-ray maps in Fig 11b
Type VII pyrite micro-geodes and intergrowths inchalcopyrite
In both cases (Fig 13) pyrite occurs aschemically homogeneous xenomorphic ne-grained (lt15 mm) aggregates located in chalco-pyrite crystals The micro-geodes tend to be up to400 mm in diameter and sometimes host marcasitecrystals The pyrite intergrowths are distributedalong elongated zones within the chalcopyrite
The trace-element concentration is quite low inboth cases similar to that of the coarse-grainedpyrite of type IV
Based on the textural evidence summarizedabove we propose a paragenetic sequence for thedistinct types of Fe-sulphides at veins presentedin Fig 14
Genetic considerations
Origin of pyriteThe pyrite of the Palai-Islica deposit originatedfrom hydrothermal uids However the formationpathways of pyrite from hydrothermal uids arecontroversial and an intermediate precursor isthought to be necessary (eg Benning et al2000) Moreover certain textural characteristicsobserved in the pyrite of this deposit (eg relics ofpyrrhotite presence of framboids) should beconsidered in evaluating possible processes ofpyrite formation such as (1) the transformationofpyrrhotite and marcasite and (2) the formation ofpyrite framboids
The transformation of pyrrhotite and marcasite
Some of the pyrite in this deposit may initiallyhave crystallized as pyrrhotite proper andsubsequently been transformed into pyrite byone of the mechanisms proposed by Fleet (1978)and by Murowchick and Barnes (1986) Due tothe smaller molar volume of pyrite thistransformation could account for the existenceof the high-porosity zones particularly in thepyrite lsquolackingrsquo trace elements Marcasite hadalso been a precursor of type VII pyrite as shownby the textural evidence
The formation of framboids
Occasionally the precursor of the medium- tocoarse-grained pyrite may have been framboidal
pyrite which in turn may have had greigite as aprecursor (Wilkin and Barnes 1997) Thepresence of zones in the porous type IV pyritewould correspond to zones where the recrystalli-zation was incomplete whereas the abundantmicro-inclusions in the porous pyrite could beinterpreted as crystals that were trapped in theframboidal spaces According to Wilkin andBarnes (1997) the maximum temperature atwhich framboidal pyrite may nucleate is 225ordmCThis temperature is consistent with the lowerrange of temperatures determined by microther-mometry of uid inclusions (between 120 and465ordmC) in quartz associated with pyrite (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Evolution of As contents in the pyrite
Pyrites in other hydrothermal deposits havecharacteristic oscillatory banding due to varia-tions in a relatively continuous supply of Asduring precipitation (eg Fleet et al 1989)However the As supply to the Palai-Islicapyrites seems to have been more episodicconcentrated in the mineralization areas espe-cially in relation to gold-bearing levels but not inthe hydrothermal alteration Based on textural andmineral chemistry data there have been two mainepisodes of well-de ned As enrichment
The rst As-rich episode associated with theinitial stages of formation of the depositproduced the As-rich cores and bands of type Ipyrite with some related tiny crystals ofarsenopyrite (main stage of pyrite precipitation)It was occasionally accompanied by the incor-poration of Cu which is sometimes linked to theformation of the tennantite inclusions The As-rich cores and bands are the product ofcontinuous pyrite growth as indicated by theconcentric nature of the banding the coherencebetween the morphology of the banding and thecrystal habits
Following this rst As-rich episode there was astage of As-free pyrite crystallization (type IV)The type IV pyrite is not only volumetricallysigni cant in places forming massive aggregatesbut it also hosts gold alloys
The second As-rich episode associated withthe nal stages of the Fe sulphide deposition ischaracterized by the presence of idiomorphicmarcasite and two varieties of collomorphicpyrite(type VI) the most As-rich pyrites of Palai-IslicaTwo consecutive bands can be distinguishedwiththe rst one mainly richer in As
1074
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Accordingly the As entered into the pyritestructure in two stages and appears to beincorporated by two different mechanisms assuggested by the relationship between As S andFe (1) in pyrites from the rst episode the Ascontent of the pyrite is negatively correlated withS while the Fe content is constant (Fig 7ab) TheAs was incorporated in a metastable solid solutionin the S positions It could be related to layers oflsquomarcasite-likersquo structure with high As content
(Fleet et al 1989 Simon et al 1999) or else asclusters with a lower As content in the pyritestructure (Savage et al 2000) (2) In contrast inpyrites produced during the second episode the Asis negatively correlated with both the S and the Fe(Fig 7ab) and the increase in the As concentra-tion is accompanied by increasing contents of CuAg Sb Zn and Ni In this case there are nocrystallochemical studies on the entrance of Asinto pyrite associated with decreasing S and Fe
PRE-ORESTAGE
ORESTAGE
Pyrrhotite
Pyrite type IV
Cores of pyritewith As (type I)
Pyrite type II
Polygonal bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Irregular bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Pyrite type III
Pyrite type V
Pyrite type VI
Pyrite type VII
Gold precipitation
Marcasite microveins
Idiomorphic marcasiteassociated with type III pyrite
FIG 14 Paragenetic sequence of the different types of Fe-sulphides showing their relationship with the gold at Palai-Islica mineralization
FIG 13 Photomicrographs of type VII pyrite (a) Micro-geodes of pyrite (py) in chalcopyrite (cp) (b) Bands ofmicrocrystals of pyrite (py) in coarse-grained chalcopyrite (cp)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1075
contents However this correlation might beexplained by either the entrance of cationic Asandor non-stoichiometric As (Fleet and Mumin1997) Although the presence of collomorphictextures does not necessarily imply colloidalorigin (Roedder 1968) colloidal precipitation isnonetheless an attractive hypothesis to explain theparticular textural and chemical characteristics ofthe collomorphic pyrite overgrowths sincecolloidal particles might be quite effective intrapping As ions Colloidal particles with an Ascovering (negatively charged) could in turn act aslsquotrapsrsquo for cations This mechanism could explainthe relatively large amounts of Cu Ag Sb Zn andNi as well as the Fe de cit found in thecollomorphic pyrite overgrowths
Type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite association
The mineral association of type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite could be related to theformation of Au-Ag alloy horizons because of itslocation at the top of the horizons The low d34Ssignature of these sulphides different from therest of the deposit (author data) could be causedby another kind of uid implicated in the mixingprocesses mentioned by Morales Ruano et al(2000)
The high Ag and Cu contents of type III pyriteand of As and Sb in marcasite are notable We caninfer from Fig 9 two paths for the entry of Cuinto pyrite (1) below 010 at Cu (with whichthere is no concomitant increase in Ag) It iswidely spread through the pyrite crystals (Fig 3)(2) Above 010 at Cu the increase in Cu is in a11 relationship with Ag These high concentra-tions of Cu and Ag not are due to the presence ofmicroscopic inclusions as optical study shows sothey must be produced by (a) very abundantsubmicroscopic inclusions of chalcopyrite andorCu-Ag phases always intergrown with chalco-pyrite and (b) a true solid solution of Cu and Ag
The entry of As in marcasite is the same as fortype I pyrite due to the 11 correlation betweenAs and S In addition a small amount of Sb entersthe marcasite when the concentration of As isgt010 at It seems that the maximum Sb occursat ~020 at of As
We explain the chalcopyrite dispositionbetween marcasite and pyrite as the result of adiffusion process in which Cu migrates to thelimit between pyrite and marcasite This processalso liberates Ag to form Ag mineral inclusions(Ag suphides and sulphosalts)
Relationshipsbetween pyrite habit and gold crystalsWe have found a close relationship between thepyrite habit and the presence of gold crystalsSpeci cally the gold is found on the mineralizedlevels containing type IV pyrite displaying a greatvariety of crystallographic habits (cubes andpentagonal dodecahedrons or octahedrons andpentagonal dodecahedrons) In contrast barrenzones occur where only the pentagonal dodecahe-dral morphology is developed
Correlations between pyrite morphology andmetal-enriched zones has also been described inother deposits (eg Sunagawa 1957 Bush et al1960 Amstutz 1963) Pyrite morphology isdetermined by crystalline growth mechanisms(primarily screw dislocation and layer-by-layer)which are dependent on the temperature anddegree of supersa turat ion of the uid(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) Pyrite deposi-tion in the Au-mineralized zones in Palai-Islicamay have been associated with a change in thedegree of supersaturation of the mineralizing uid possibly due to mixing of uids suggestedby the uid inclusion data reported by MoralesRuano et al (2000)
Au and Ag contents in pyrite
The Au contents obtained by EPMA for thedifferent pyrite types are uniformly low (Tables 2and 3) Selected high-acquisition-time analysis ofdifferent pyrite types (Table 4) also present lowAu contents never greater than the detection limitof 475 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites which areconsidered to be potentially invisible-gold-bearing (eg Cook and Chryssoulis 1990)These results in addition to the abundance ofvisible gold grains suggest that invisible goldmay not be volumetrically signi cant in theoverall deposit (Carrillo Rosua et al 2002) asin other deposits where Au in pyrite reaches morethan 1000 ppm (eg Mao 1991 Fleet et al 1993Asadi et al 1999 Simon et al 1999)
The relatively large values of Ag found in thetype III pyrite (up to 147 wt) and in the typeVI collomorphic pyrite (up to 02 wt) areworthy of note This Ag concentration is one ofthe highest found in pyrite to date (Larocque etal 1995 up to 1426 ppm Grif n et al 1991 upto 625 ppm Tompkins et al 1997 up to200 ppm Roberts 1982 up to 300 ppm Ashleyet al 2000 up to 88 ppm) In our case the supplyof Ag by the pyrite to the deposit as a whole couldbe noteworthy especially in the super cial zones
1076
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
FIG 1 (a) Location of the main groups of volcanic rocks in the Cabo de Gata-Cartagena volcanic belt (adapted fromLopez Ruiz and Rodriguez Badiola 1980) (A) calc-alkaline volcanism (B) calc-alkaline potassic and shoshoniticvolcanism (C) ultrapotassic volcanism (D) basaltic volcanism The most important ore deposits are (1) Cabo deGata (2) Rodalquilar (3) Carboneras (Palai-Islica) (4) Herrer otilde as and Sierra Almagrera (5) Aguilas (6) Mazarron(7) Cartagena (b) Schematic geological map showing the location of the Palai-Islica deposit (adapted from IGME1974) Main geological units (1) Upper Miocene volcanic rocks of the Cabo de Gata calco-alkaline series(2) Palaeozoic-Mesozoic basement rocks belonging to the Alpujarride and Malaguide Complexes (3) Tertiarysedimentary rocks (4) Quaternary sediments (a) alluvial and (c) colluvial (5) Outcropping Palai-Islicamineralization and zone of hydrothermal alteration Faults are indicated by solid black lines (Figure slightly
modi ed from Morales et al 2000)
1060
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
possible mineralogical textural and chemicalaf nities between gold and the distinct varietiesof pyrite We focus on the textural and mineralchemistry characteristics of pyrite and otherassociated Fe sulphides (pyrrhotite and marcasite)and their crystallochemical and geochemicalimplications Pyrite also contains potentiallysigni cant amounts of trace element contaminantswhich are an important factor since the Palai-Islica deposit is located in the vicinity of the Cabode Gata Natural Park
Geological context
The main geological features of the area of thePalai-Islica deposit are well known (Arribas andTosdal 1994 Fernandez Soler 1996 Turner etal 1999) and only a summary is given here (seealso Morales Ruano et al 2000) The Palai-Islicadeposit lies within the volcanic belt of Cabo deGata-Cartagena (Fig 1a) which comprises partof the eastern end of the Internal Zone of the BeticCordilleras This Neogene volcanic belt withdifferent series of volcanic rocks (calc-alkalineshoshonitic potassic calc-alkaline ultrapotassicand basaltic series (Lopez Ruiz and RodriguezBadiola 1980)) formed within the context of asubduction zone followed by an extensionalevent (Dewey 1988 Garc otildeacutea Duenas et al1992) During the Miocene a series of magma-tism-related hydrothermal systems developedbeing controlled by a system of faults andfractures The hot uids (up to 400 ndash450ordmCMorales Ruano (1994)) reacted strongly with thehost rocks and in some districts gave rise tobroad areas of mineralization and alteration(Fig 1a) usually zoned (Fernandez Soler 1996)as in the Rodalquilar deposit where propyliticargillic advanced argillic and silicic alterationhave been observed from the outer to inner zones(Arribas et al 1995) The Palai-Islica is one ofthese areas which has become a recent target ofmineral exploration companies (Morales Ruano etal 2000) The Cu-Au epithermal mineralizationof Palai-Islica (Fig 1b) is hosted by hydrother-mally alterated calc-alkaline volcanic rocks(mainly dacites and andesites of Miocene age)related to regional strike-slip faults (N40 ndash50E)(Fernandez Soler 1996) The alteration area(propylitic sericitic argillic silici cation)consists of an oval E ndashW-striking zone 2500 mlong by 1700 m wide to which the goldmineralization is invariably related (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Sampling and methodology
Samples were obtained from various areas ofhigh-grade gold and barren mineralization atPalai-Islica Two hundred and twenty-twopolished thin-sections of samples collected from21 drill cores were prepared to determine themineralogy and the paragenetic relationships inthis deposit
The mineralogical chemical and textural char-acteristics of Fe sulphides were determined byre ected and transmitted light microscopy scan-ning electron microscopy SEM (ZEISS DSM 950)and FESEM (LEO GEMINI) and electron micro-probe EPMA (CAMECA SX50) at the Centro deInstrumentacion Cientotilde ca of the University ofGranada Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)was used to detect As-rich zones followed bybetter-quality backscattered images using electronprobe microanalysis (EPMA) on chosen eldsX-ray mapping with EPMA identi ed zonings ofother elements (eg Co and Ni) that are not easilydetectable by SEM The operating conditions forthe X-ray mapping were 30 kV acceleratingpotential 200 nA beam current 2 mm scandistance and 300 ms X-ray peak acquisition timeper point The information obtained by electronicimages qualitative EPMA pro les was used toperform the analysis of Fe sulphides in selectedpoints of representative areas A total of 399analysis were obtained by EPMA
Natural and synthetic-certied standards wereused to calibrate the quantitative analysis Theoperating conditions were 30 kV acceleratingpotential 30 nA beam current and acquisitiontime between 60 and 300 s for X-ray peak andbackground Fifteen selected analyses of Au witha lower detection limit (475 ppm 95 con dent)were performed for pyrite (100 nA bean currentwith acquisition times of 2000 s for X-ray peakand background) The acquired X-ray intensitieswere corrected for atomic number mass absorp-tion and secondary uorescence effects using theCAMECA-PAP version of the Pouchou andPichoir (1984) procedure
Ore mineralization
The mineralization at Palai-Islica is (1) dissemi-nated in massively silici ed volcanic rockslocated exclusively in the highest part of thedeposit (2) disseminated within the ubiquitouslyhydrothermally altered rocks and (3) mostabundantly in sulphide-bearing quartz veins
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1061
The occurrences in veins have been describedby Morales Ruano et al (2000) and CarrilloRosua et al (2001a) for three subhorizontallevels They are characterized by Au-Ag alloysgreater mineralogical diversity enrichment in AuAg Zn Pb Cd As and Sb and uids with distinctcharacteristics (wide variation in salinity over anarrow temperature range) relative to the rest ofthe deposit
The ore minerals in the deposit (Morales Ruanoet al 1999 Carrillo Rosua et al 2001a) consistprimarily of pyrite with occasionally largechalcopyrite sphalerite and galena contentsThere is also a number of accessory mineralssuch as gold tetrahedrite-tennantite bismuthiniteAgplusmnBiplusmnPbplusmn(Cu) sulphosalts Ag and Bi tell-urides Ag sulphides and sulphosalts (achantitepolybasite-pearcite proustite-pyrargyrite stepha-nite) pyrrhotite marcasite Cu sulphides (bornitechalcocite covellite) stannite niccolite arseno-pyrite native copper and Fe-Ti-Sn oxides (rutilemagnetite hematite cassiterite)
According to Carrillo Rosua et al (2001a2002) the gold occurs as native gold (dissemi-nated exclusively in the massive silici cations)and as Au-Ag alloys in the sulphide-bearingquartz veins These alloys are relatively abundantand are always closely associated with pyriteeither included within it (Au-rich alloys) or asovergrowths (Ag-rich alloys) (Fig 2)
Mineralogical textural and chemicalcharacteristics of the Fe sulphides
Fe sulphides and in particular pyrite are by farthe most abundant sulphides in this deposit
displaying a great variety of textural and chemicaltypes There are three varieties of Fe sulphides
(1) Pyrrhotite (diameter lt100 mm) appearsincluded within porous pyrite sometimes inter-grown with chalcopyrite or magnetite Chemicalanalysis of pyrrhotite gave the formulaFe084ndash091S with very low concentrations oftrace elements (Table 1)
(2) Marcasite also occurs in minor amounts lling late microveins disseminated crystals inthe massive silci cation disseminated in thevolcanic rock of the deepest zones of thedeposit intergrown with pyrite in micro-geodesor as idiomorphic crystals in a peculiar associa-tion with pyrite and chalcopyrite as follows(Fig 3a) (a) pyrite cores sometimes with tinyinclusions of a Ag-bearing phases (b) not alwayspresent elongated chalcopyrite crystals followingthe limit between pyrite and marcasite (c) idio-morphic marcasite crystals (d) collomorphicpyrite overgrown on marcasite This mineralassociation is located at the top of Au-Ag alloybearing levels Marcasite does not show chemicalzonation as it is quite pure (Table 1) with theexception of the last textural case (Fig 3b) Thishas signi cant quantities of As (up to 115 wt)and Sb (up to 040 wt) concentrated in irregularzones in marcasite (Fig 3cd) corresponding tothe maximum concentration of Sb with theintermediate of As (Fig 4a) The increase of Asis accompanied by a decrease in the sulphurconcentration of the same order (Fig 4b) Incontrast with associated pyrite marcasite hassmall Cu and Ag contents (Fig 3fg)
(3) Pyrite is by far the most abundant phaseTwo groups of pyrite are recognized based on
FIG 2 Photomicrographs of Au-Ag alloy (a) Crystal of homogeneous Au-Ag alloy (Au) included in a non-poroustype IV pyrite (Py) (b) Crystal of Au-Ag alloy (Au) overgrowing type IV pyrite (Py)
1062
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
grain size ne- (lt20 mm) and medium- to coarse-grained (gt20 mm) pyrites
Tables 2 and 3 display the results of pyriteanalyses obtained by EPMA Among the traceelements As has signi cant concentrations of upto 611 wt Other elements have lower concen-trations rarely exceeding 1 wt There arenotable differences in the compositions of thetextural varieties of mediumndashcoarse and ne-grained pyrites as noted below
Table 4 presents the large acquisition-timeanalyses for Au in different types of pyrite thesealways being less than the detection limit450 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites
Medium- to coarse-grained pyrite (gt20 mm)
Generally these pyrites are disseminated in thevolcanic host rocks in zones of massive silici ca-tion and in quartz veins In the veins the pyriteaggregates may display diverse textures dissemi-nations stockwork-like veinlets brecciated crusti-form and massive aggregatesThere are three main
morphologies of idiomorphic and subidiomorphicpyrites cubic (with or without striations) penta-gonal dodecahedral and octahedral (Fig 5) Thepentagonal dodecahedralmorphology is ubiquitousthroughout the deposit the octahedral morphologyis related to near surface native gold-bearingmassively silici ed zones and the cubicmorphology occurs in the veins related to deepseated Au-Ag alloy-bearing zones
These pyrites may be differentiated into at leastfour chemical types As-bearing pyrites (type I)Co-Ni-bearing pyrites (type II) Cu-Ag bearingpyrites (type III) as well as pyrite which islacking in trace elements (type IV)
Type I As-bearing pyriteThis type of pyrite is found only within
pentagonal dodecahedral or xenomorphic crystalsin which As is enriched in cores (up to 400 mm indiameter) as well as in polygonal to irregularbands (lt20 mm in thickness)
The cores can be compact or porous (Fig 6a)and occasionally show complex irregular textures
TABLE 1 Chemistry of pyrrhotite and marcasite
A (n = 8) B (n = 31) C (n = 3)Wt Min Max Ave sd (1s) Min Max Ave sd (1s) Min Max Ave sd (1s)
Au 000 006 003 002 000 005 002 002 002 004 003 001Ag 000 003 002 001 000 005 002 001 000 002 001 001S 3787 3993 3864 065 5163 5381 5292 055 5260 5284 5271 010Sb 001 002 001 000 000 040 007 010 001 002 002 000Fe 5869 5992 5948 037 4494 4669 4598 044 4561 4633 4605 031Co 003 005 005 001 001 004 002 001 002 004 003 001Ni 000 005 001 002 000 002 000 001 000 000 000 000Cu 000 009 003 003 000 010 001 002 001 010 005 003Zn 000 002 001 001 000 018 003 003 002 004 003 001As 000 003 001 001 000 115 020 027 001 003 002 001
Total 9737 9884 9829 046 9774 10067 9929 071 987 992 989 018
AtAu 000 001 001 000 000 001 001 000 000 001 000 000Ag 000 001 001 000 000 002 001 000 000 001 000 000S 5235 5417 5302 054 6616 6696 6657 022 6639 6669 6650 013Sb 000 001 001 000 000 013 002 003 000 001 001 000Fe 4572 4753 4686 053 3294 3353 3321 017 3306 3352 3336 021Co 002 004 003 000 001 003 001 000 001 002 002 000Ni 000 004 001 001 000 001 000 000 000 000 000 000Cu 000 006 002 002 000 007 001 001 001 006 003 002Zn 000 001 001 001 000 011 002 002 001 003 002 001As 000 002 001 001 000 063 011 015 000 002 001 000
A Pyrrhotite B Idiomorphic marcasite C Non-idiomorphic marcasite n number of analyses Min minimumMax maximum Ave average sd standard deviation
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1063
FIG 3 Photomicrograph (a) backscattered electron (BSE) (b) and X-ray images of As (c) Sb (d) Cu (e) and Ag (f)of the association type III pyrite (Py III) with Ag sulphide inclusions (Ag sul) chalcopyrite (Cp) idiomorphic
marcasite (Mc) and collomorphic pyrite (Py VI)
1064
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
(Fig 6b) in which tiny crystals of arsenopyritecan sometimes be found
Polygonal bands are scarce and occur aspentagonal dodecahedrons or cubes (Figs 6a and7a) These bands which occasionally containtennantite crystals (Fig 6a) are thin (1 ndash2 mm)with clear boundaries although they occasionallygroup together thus appearing to be thicker
Irregular bands (Fig 7b) are more commonthan the polygonal bands and are more diffuseThey show continuous variations in thicknessfrequent truncations and features typical ofdissolution or uneven growth They are normallyfound in the internal parts of the crystals rarely inthe rims
In contrast with other deposits (eg Fleet et al1989) where oscillatory As zoning affects theentire pyrite crystal the As enrichment (type Ipyrite) is restricted mainly to the most internalparts of the pyrite grains This type of pyrite canbe dissolved and overgrown by coarse pyritelacking trace elements (Fig 7b)
The chemistry of type I pyrite (Table 2) ischaracterized by a clear enrichment in As (up to338 wt) negatively correlated with S (Fig 8a)whereas no correlation exists between As and Fe(Fig 8b) In some cases there is a sporadicincrease in Cu (up to 019) particularly in thecores (Fig 6ab) Figure 8c shows that (1) the Asvalues in the cores are lower than in the bands and(2) the irregular bands are poorer in As than thepolygonal bands
Type II Co-Ni-bearing pyriteThis type of pyrite detectable only by X-ray
maps is prior to or occasionally coeval with As-bearing type I pyrite The type II pyrite(Table 2) is found in the internal parts of thepyrite crystals lacking trace elements as Co- orNi-cores or bands (Fig 7ab) This type showsthe highest Co (001 ndash069 wt) and Ni(000ndash101 wt) values and an increase inthese elements involves a slight decrease in theFe content of pyrite
000
004
008
012
016
000 020 040 060 080
As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
070
6600 6650 6700
S (at)
Sb
(at
)
As
(at
)
a b
FIG 4 (a) As vs Sb diagram showing the relationship between both elements in idiomorphic marcasite (b) S vs Asdiagram showing the inverse correlation between As and S in idiomorphic marcasite
FIG 5 SEM secondary electron images showing pyrite morphology (a) cubic habit (b) pentagonal dodecahedralhabit and (c) octahedral habit
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1065
TA
BL
E2
Che
mis
try
ofm
ediu
m-
toco
arse
-gra
ined
pyri
te(gt
20m m
)
A(n
=19
)B
(n=
21)
C(n
=39
)D
(n=
37)
E(n
=18
)F
(n=
107)
Wt
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Au
000
016
003
004
000
006
003
002
000
016
003
003
000
005
002
001
000
005
002
001
000
010
002
002
Ag
000
006
001
001
000
003
001
001
000
009
002
002
000
005
001
001
000
147
018
035
000
017
002
002
S51
31
530
352
16
043
505
052
62
515
90
6449
39
536
152
10
078
508
753
83
527
20
7952
07
535
352
79
044
515
554
85
533
00
54Sb
000
003
001
001
000
011
002
002
000
019
003
004
000
004
001
001
000
004
001
001
000
006
001
001
Fe45
38
465
646
10
032
443
946
06
453
30
5344
51
467
546
05
049
443
946
41
456
60
6044
42
465
245
78
052
446
846
98
461
90
43C
o0
000
090
030
020
020
510
170
160
000
070
020
010
010
690
250
190
010
030
020
010
000
120
030
02N
i0
000
030
000
010
000
900
170
270
000
050
010
010
001
010
210
260
000
010
000
000
000
080
010
01C
u0
000
190
020
040
000
160
020
030
000
140
020
030
000
080
010
020
010
620
200
160
000
700
040
11Z
n0
000
300
030
070
000
020
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
390
020
04A
s0
242
270
990
661
033
382
270
600
282
761
280
800
003
380
831
180
000
100
020
020
000
230
040
05
Tot
al97
78
100
0999
32
063
985
110
067
996
20
5693
94
100
5299
33
110
989
610
063
997
30
3796
52
102
4099
03
153
982
010
248
999
70
80
At
Au
000
003
001
001
000
001
001
000
000
003
000
00
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
002
000
000
Ag
000
002
001
001
000
001
001
000
000
004
001
00
000
002
001
000
000
056
007
013
000
006
001
001
S65
44
665
065
93
029
646
966
26
654
50
4164
91
667
765
87
04
649
266
88
662
40
5866
32
668
366
58
016
658
367
36
667
00
32Sb
000
001
000
000
000
004
001
001
000
006
001
00
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
002
000
000
Fe33
07
338
533
45
020
322
133
94
330
20
4332
92
342
733
43
03
321
433
48
329
40
3132
54
335
133
15
021
323
834
08
331
90
32C
o0
000
060
020
010
010
350
110
110
000
040
010
00
000
460
170
130
010
020
010
000
000
080
010
01N
i0
000
020
000
010
000
620
120
180
000
040
000
00
000
700
150
180
000
010
000
000
000
050
010
01C
u0
000
130
010
030
000
110
010
020
000
090
010
00
000
050
010
010
010
400
130
100
000
440
020
07Z
n0
000
180
020
040
000
010
010
010
000
020
010
00
000
020
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
240
010
03A
s0
131
230
530
350
561
841
230
330
151
510
630
430
001
840
450
640
000
050
010
010
000
120
020
03
A
type
I(c
ores
)B
ty
peI
(pol
ygon
alba
nds)
C
ty
peI
(irr
egul
arba
nds)
D
ty
peII
E
ty
peII
IF
type
IV
nnu
mbe
rof
anal
yses
M
in
min
imum
M
ax
max
imum
A
ve
aver
age
sd
st
anda
rdde
viat
ion
TA
BL
E3
Che
mis
try
of
ne-g
rain
edpy
rite
(lt20
m m)
A(n
=17
)B
(n=
9)C
(n=
18)
D(n
=33
)E
(n=
11)
F(n
=13
)W
tM
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)
Au
000
006
003
001
000
005
002
002
000
004
002
001
000
005
002
001
000
004
002
001
000
005
002
001
Ag
000
006
003
002
000
006
002
002
000
016
007
005
000
020
004
004
000
005
002
001
000
008
003
003
S52
46
537
953
23
036
486
053
09
518
61
4550
25
530
851
85
068
496
253
79
514
51
2151
75
534
652
68
057
517
553
66
530
60
53Sb
001
003
002
001
000
002
001
001
007
046
018
008
000
141
030
042
000
003
001
001
000
008
002
002
Fe44
53
465
245
91
043
411
145
43
441
91
4441
93
461
644
50
119
416
146
29
437
31
4245
68
466
246
27
024
452
746
33
457
30
37C
o0
010
050
020
010
040
100
070
020
010
040
020
010
000
040
020
010
010
050
030
010
010
030
020
01N
i0
000
020
000
010
010
110
040
030
000
140
050
050
000
010
000
000
000
040
010
010
000
080
020
03C
u0
000
050
020
010
000
020
000
010
000
940
250
270
001
260
190
270
010
390
130
110
001
320
570
39Z
n0
000
030
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
180
060
060
000
100
010
020
000
070
020
020
000
190
040
05A
s0
110
660
210
130
000
290
110
080
534
492
361
100
086
113
761
840
000
080
020
030
000
120
020
03
Tot
al97
44
100
6499
50
073
899
698
76
963
32
9198
20
100
4499
37
058
980
610
056
995
30
7197
95
999
299
22
058
980
610
092
995
30
93
At
Au
000
001
001
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
Ag
000
002
001
001
000
002
001
001
000
006
003
002
000
008
002
002
000
002
001
000
000
003
001
001
S66
45
672
066
75
019
667
367
28
670
20
1865
27
666
565
88
030
647
566
93
656
20
6466
03
667
766
35
026
660
566
97
665
80
29Sb
000
001
001
000
000
001
000
000
003
015
006
003
000
049
010
014
000
001
000
000
000
003
001
001
Fe32
64
332
833
05
017
325
233
03
327
90
1831
27
332
032
46
060
311
833
08
320
10
6133
09
337
933
47
025
326
133
89
329
50
35C
o0
000
030
010
010
020
070
050
020
010
030
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
030
020
010
000
020
010
01N
i0
000
010
000
000
010
080
030
020
000
100
030
040
000
010
000
000
000
030
010
010
000
050
010
02C
u0
000
030
010
010
000
010
000
000
000
610
160
170
000
830
130
180
010
250
080
070
000
830
360
25Z
n0
000
020
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
110
040
030
000
060
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
120
020
03A
s0
060
350
120
070
000
160
060
050
292
501
290
610
043
362
061
020
000
050
010
010
000
070
010
02
A
type
V(f
ram
boid
sse
nsu
stri
cto)
B
ty
peV
(pse
udof
ram
boid
s)
C
type
VI
(col
lom
orph
icpo
rous
pyri
te)
Dt
ype
VI
(bro
wn
collo
mor
phic
pyri
te)
E
type
VII
(mic
ro-g
eode
s)
Fty
peV
II(p
yrit
ein
terg
row
ths
inch
alco
pyri
te)
nnu
mbe
rof
anal
yses
M
in
min
imum
M
ax
max
imum
A
ve
aver
age
sd
st
anda
rdde
viat
ion
Type III pyrite with Cu and Ag
Associated with idiomorphic marcasite in theabove-described marcasite there are pyrites(Table 2) which have signi cant amounts of Cu(up to 062 wt) and Ag (up to 147 wt)
Figure 3e and f shows extended enrichments ofCu and minor in Ag throughout all pyrite grainswhereas in Fig 9 we observed that the Cu and Aglevels are approximately equal with a lsquoback-groundrsquo of Cu of 010 at
FIG 6 (a) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite overgrown by nearly stoichiometric pyrite type IV (1) coreof type I pyrite with porous character (dark areas) (2) thin polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a tennantite (Ten)inclusion On the right hand side of the gure note the As Cu and Sb X-ray images where Cu and Sb are slightlyenriched in the type I pyrite core (b) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite core with a complex texture anda tiny arsenopyrite inclusion (Apy) On the right hand side of the gure note the As and Cu X-ray images from the
marked area
1068
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Type IV pyrite lackingtrace elementsThis type of pyrite volumetrically the most
abundant is characterized by neglible concentra-tions of trace elements (Table 2) Type IV pyrite is
found as disseminations throughout the volcanichost rock or in quartz veins and silici ed zoneswhere it can contain types I and II pyrites or elseappear as homogeneous crystals Type IV pyrite
FIG 7 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyrite hosted by type IV pyrite(1) polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a pentagonal dodecahedral morphology overgrown by (2) a polygonal bandwith cubic morphology As Co and Ni X-ray images on the right hand side of the gure reveal Co-Ni bearing typeII pyrite in core and bands (3) (b) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyritehosted by type IV pyrite (1) irregular bands of type I with abundant truncations in the inner part of the crystal(2) irregular bands of type I in the rim of the crystal On the right hand side of the gure note the As Co and Ni
X-ray images with the non-coincident Co-rich and Ni-rich pyrite (3)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1069
frequently has pore-rich zones that generallycoincide with the central parts of the crystalswhich also have high concentrations of mineralmicroinclusions especially pyrrhotite chalco-pyrite rutile and magnetite
It should be noted that Au-Ag alloys are hostedby the type IV pyrite preferentially included inthe pore-free zones (Fig 2a)
Fine-grained pyrites (lt20 mm)
This group comprises framboidal (type V) andcollomorphic (type VI) pyrites as well as micro-
geodes and intergrowths of pyrite in chalcopyrite(type VII)
Type V framboidal pyriteThis type is relatively rare and occurs in two
varieties (1) As framboids sensu stricto(Fig 10a) generally spherical and lt50 mm insize The pyrite microcrystals very closelypacked are subidiomorphic and equigranular(plusmn2 mm) In some cases the framboidal pyrite isovergrown by coarse-grained type IV pyrite(2) As lsquopseudoframboidsrsquo (Fig 10b) that areloosely packed or even disaggregated with sizes
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
6 4 5 65 0 6 55 6 6 0 6 6 5 6 7 0 S (at)
Type I
Type VI
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
31 0 31 5 32 0 32 5 33 0 33 5 Fe (at)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 02 04 06 08 1 12 14 As (at)
Type I (ii)
(iii)
(i)
As
(at
)Fr
eque
ncy
As
(at
)
Type I
Type VI
a
b
c
FIG 8 (a) S vs As diagram showing inverse correlation with different slopes for type I and type VI pyrite (b) Fe vsAs diagram showing no correlation in type I pyrite but good inverse correlation in type VI pyrite (c) Arseniccontent frequency histogram in type I pyrite (i) cores (ii) polygonal bands (iii) irregular bands Observe that the
cores have the lowest As content while the highest As values are in the polygonal bands
1070
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of up to 50 mm In contrast to the framboids sensustricto the pyrite microcrystals here are roundedor oval-shaped and vary in size from lt1 to 5 mmThe outermost crystals are the largest
Both types of framboidal pyrites show smallamounts of trace elements As being the mostabundant (average of 018 wt Table 3)
Type VI collomorphic pyriteThese pyrites occur principally in two genera-
tions of overgrowth on previous pyrite crystalsalthough they can also overgrow idiomorphicmarcasite and exceptionally chalcopyrite TypeVI occurs as either porous collomorphic pyrite(Fig 10c) or as brown collomorphic pyrite underre ected light microscope (Fig 10d)
These pyrites have the largest amounts of As(008ndash611 wt) Cu (000ndash126 wt) Sb(000ndash141 wt) and Ag (000 ndash020 wt)but the smallest Fe contents (419ndash462 wt)of all the pyrites analysed in the deposit Nickeland Zn have also been detected (Table 3) Arsenicis negatively correlated with S with a slope( ndash158) more pronounced than for the type Ipyrite (Fig 8a) The As is also negativelycorrelated with Fe (Fig 8b)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
000 010 020 030 040
Cu (at)
Ag
(at
)
FIG 9 (a) Cu vs Ag diagram showing two types ofbehaviour (represented by ellipses) of the relation
between both elements in type III pyrite
FIG 10 Photomicrographs of type V and type VI pyrite (a) Framboids sensu stricto closely packed withsubidiomorphic coalescing microcrystals (b) lsquoPseudoframboidrsquo of loosely packed pyrite of rounded or oval shapes(c) Porous collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing marcasite and coarse pyrite (2) (d) Bands of brown collomorphic
pyrite showing graded shading (1) overgrowing coarse pyrite (2)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1071
Within the overgrowths of collomorphic pyritethe rst generation is usually richer in As than thesecond one (Fig 11ab) with some chemicaldifferences between the two textural varieties
The porous collomorphic pyrite contains lessAs (053ndash449 wt) than the brown collo-morphic pyrite It also has relatively largeamounts of Ag Cu Ni and Zn and these aredirectly correlated with As concentration
(Fig 12) a feature that is evident from theX-ray maps in Fig 10a for Cu Ag and Ni
The brown collomorphic pyrite has the highestAs content (008ndash611 wt) It is is alsoenriched in Ag Cu and Sb but not in Zn or NiIn contrast with the porous variety there is nodirect correlation between these elements and As(Fig 12) However at high As concentrationsthere is an enrichment in Ag Cu and Sb and the
FIG 11 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type VI pyrite There are two bands (1) and (2) of collomorphic pyriteovergrowing marcasite (Mc) with the former being richer in Cu Ag As and Ni than the latter (b) BSE and X-rayimages of type VI pyrite Collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing coarse type IV pyrite (2) The As concentration isrelatively homogeneous in this collomorphic pyrite just the opposite of the Cu and Sb concentrations which are
enriched in the ner bands
1072
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
000
002
004
006
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
645
650
655
660
665
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
020
040
060
080
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
010
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
S (
at
)
Ag
(at
)
Cu
(at
)
Sb
(at
)
Zn
(at
)
Ni (
at
)
(a)
(b)
FIG 12 Binary diagrams showing variations between different elements in type VI pyrite (a) porous collomorphicpyrite and (b) brown collomorphic pyrite
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1073
nature of Cu and Sb distributed in As-rich bandsis shown in the X-ray maps in Fig 11b
Type VII pyrite micro-geodes and intergrowths inchalcopyrite
In both cases (Fig 13) pyrite occurs aschemically homogeneous xenomorphic ne-grained (lt15 mm) aggregates located in chalco-pyrite crystals The micro-geodes tend to be up to400 mm in diameter and sometimes host marcasitecrystals The pyrite intergrowths are distributedalong elongated zones within the chalcopyrite
The trace-element concentration is quite low inboth cases similar to that of the coarse-grainedpyrite of type IV
Based on the textural evidence summarizedabove we propose a paragenetic sequence for thedistinct types of Fe-sulphides at veins presentedin Fig 14
Genetic considerations
Origin of pyriteThe pyrite of the Palai-Islica deposit originatedfrom hydrothermal uids However the formationpathways of pyrite from hydrothermal uids arecontroversial and an intermediate precursor isthought to be necessary (eg Benning et al2000) Moreover certain textural characteristicsobserved in the pyrite of this deposit (eg relics ofpyrrhotite presence of framboids) should beconsidered in evaluating possible processes ofpyrite formation such as (1) the transformationofpyrrhotite and marcasite and (2) the formation ofpyrite framboids
The transformation of pyrrhotite and marcasite
Some of the pyrite in this deposit may initiallyhave crystallized as pyrrhotite proper andsubsequently been transformed into pyrite byone of the mechanisms proposed by Fleet (1978)and by Murowchick and Barnes (1986) Due tothe smaller molar volume of pyrite thistransformation could account for the existenceof the high-porosity zones particularly in thepyrite lsquolackingrsquo trace elements Marcasite hadalso been a precursor of type VII pyrite as shownby the textural evidence
The formation of framboids
Occasionally the precursor of the medium- tocoarse-grained pyrite may have been framboidal
pyrite which in turn may have had greigite as aprecursor (Wilkin and Barnes 1997) Thepresence of zones in the porous type IV pyritewould correspond to zones where the recrystalli-zation was incomplete whereas the abundantmicro-inclusions in the porous pyrite could beinterpreted as crystals that were trapped in theframboidal spaces According to Wilkin andBarnes (1997) the maximum temperature atwhich framboidal pyrite may nucleate is 225ordmCThis temperature is consistent with the lowerrange of temperatures determined by microther-mometry of uid inclusions (between 120 and465ordmC) in quartz associated with pyrite (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Evolution of As contents in the pyrite
Pyrites in other hydrothermal deposits havecharacteristic oscillatory banding due to varia-tions in a relatively continuous supply of Asduring precipitation (eg Fleet et al 1989)However the As supply to the Palai-Islicapyrites seems to have been more episodicconcentrated in the mineralization areas espe-cially in relation to gold-bearing levels but not inthe hydrothermal alteration Based on textural andmineral chemistry data there have been two mainepisodes of well-de ned As enrichment
The rst As-rich episode associated with theinitial stages of formation of the depositproduced the As-rich cores and bands of type Ipyrite with some related tiny crystals ofarsenopyrite (main stage of pyrite precipitation)It was occasionally accompanied by the incor-poration of Cu which is sometimes linked to theformation of the tennantite inclusions The As-rich cores and bands are the product ofcontinuous pyrite growth as indicated by theconcentric nature of the banding the coherencebetween the morphology of the banding and thecrystal habits
Following this rst As-rich episode there was astage of As-free pyrite crystallization (type IV)The type IV pyrite is not only volumetricallysigni cant in places forming massive aggregatesbut it also hosts gold alloys
The second As-rich episode associated withthe nal stages of the Fe sulphide deposition ischaracterized by the presence of idiomorphicmarcasite and two varieties of collomorphicpyrite(type VI) the most As-rich pyrites of Palai-IslicaTwo consecutive bands can be distinguishedwiththe rst one mainly richer in As
1074
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Accordingly the As entered into the pyritestructure in two stages and appears to beincorporated by two different mechanisms assuggested by the relationship between As S andFe (1) in pyrites from the rst episode the Ascontent of the pyrite is negatively correlated withS while the Fe content is constant (Fig 7ab) TheAs was incorporated in a metastable solid solutionin the S positions It could be related to layers oflsquomarcasite-likersquo structure with high As content
(Fleet et al 1989 Simon et al 1999) or else asclusters with a lower As content in the pyritestructure (Savage et al 2000) (2) In contrast inpyrites produced during the second episode the Asis negatively correlated with both the S and the Fe(Fig 7ab) and the increase in the As concentra-tion is accompanied by increasing contents of CuAg Sb Zn and Ni In this case there are nocrystallochemical studies on the entrance of Asinto pyrite associated with decreasing S and Fe
PRE-ORESTAGE
ORESTAGE
Pyrrhotite
Pyrite type IV
Cores of pyritewith As (type I)
Pyrite type II
Polygonal bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Irregular bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Pyrite type III
Pyrite type V
Pyrite type VI
Pyrite type VII
Gold precipitation
Marcasite microveins
Idiomorphic marcasiteassociated with type III pyrite
FIG 14 Paragenetic sequence of the different types of Fe-sulphides showing their relationship with the gold at Palai-Islica mineralization
FIG 13 Photomicrographs of type VII pyrite (a) Micro-geodes of pyrite (py) in chalcopyrite (cp) (b) Bands ofmicrocrystals of pyrite (py) in coarse-grained chalcopyrite (cp)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1075
contents However this correlation might beexplained by either the entrance of cationic Asandor non-stoichiometric As (Fleet and Mumin1997) Although the presence of collomorphictextures does not necessarily imply colloidalorigin (Roedder 1968) colloidal precipitation isnonetheless an attractive hypothesis to explain theparticular textural and chemical characteristics ofthe collomorphic pyrite overgrowths sincecolloidal particles might be quite effective intrapping As ions Colloidal particles with an Ascovering (negatively charged) could in turn act aslsquotrapsrsquo for cations This mechanism could explainthe relatively large amounts of Cu Ag Sb Zn andNi as well as the Fe de cit found in thecollomorphic pyrite overgrowths
Type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite association
The mineral association of type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite could be related to theformation of Au-Ag alloy horizons because of itslocation at the top of the horizons The low d34Ssignature of these sulphides different from therest of the deposit (author data) could be causedby another kind of uid implicated in the mixingprocesses mentioned by Morales Ruano et al(2000)
The high Ag and Cu contents of type III pyriteand of As and Sb in marcasite are notable We caninfer from Fig 9 two paths for the entry of Cuinto pyrite (1) below 010 at Cu (with whichthere is no concomitant increase in Ag) It iswidely spread through the pyrite crystals (Fig 3)(2) Above 010 at Cu the increase in Cu is in a11 relationship with Ag These high concentra-tions of Cu and Ag not are due to the presence ofmicroscopic inclusions as optical study shows sothey must be produced by (a) very abundantsubmicroscopic inclusions of chalcopyrite andorCu-Ag phases always intergrown with chalco-pyrite and (b) a true solid solution of Cu and Ag
The entry of As in marcasite is the same as fortype I pyrite due to the 11 correlation betweenAs and S In addition a small amount of Sb entersthe marcasite when the concentration of As isgt010 at It seems that the maximum Sb occursat ~020 at of As
We explain the chalcopyrite dispositionbetween marcasite and pyrite as the result of adiffusion process in which Cu migrates to thelimit between pyrite and marcasite This processalso liberates Ag to form Ag mineral inclusions(Ag suphides and sulphosalts)
Relationshipsbetween pyrite habit and gold crystalsWe have found a close relationship between thepyrite habit and the presence of gold crystalsSpeci cally the gold is found on the mineralizedlevels containing type IV pyrite displaying a greatvariety of crystallographic habits (cubes andpentagonal dodecahedrons or octahedrons andpentagonal dodecahedrons) In contrast barrenzones occur where only the pentagonal dodecahe-dral morphology is developed
Correlations between pyrite morphology andmetal-enriched zones has also been described inother deposits (eg Sunagawa 1957 Bush et al1960 Amstutz 1963) Pyrite morphology isdetermined by crystalline growth mechanisms(primarily screw dislocation and layer-by-layer)which are dependent on the temperature anddegree of supersa turat ion of the uid(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) Pyrite deposi-tion in the Au-mineralized zones in Palai-Islicamay have been associated with a change in thedegree of supersaturation of the mineralizing uid possibly due to mixing of uids suggestedby the uid inclusion data reported by MoralesRuano et al (2000)
Au and Ag contents in pyrite
The Au contents obtained by EPMA for thedifferent pyrite types are uniformly low (Tables 2and 3) Selected high-acquisition-time analysis ofdifferent pyrite types (Table 4) also present lowAu contents never greater than the detection limitof 475 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites which areconsidered to be potentially invisible-gold-bearing (eg Cook and Chryssoulis 1990)These results in addition to the abundance ofvisible gold grains suggest that invisible goldmay not be volumetrically signi cant in theoverall deposit (Carrillo Rosua et al 2002) asin other deposits where Au in pyrite reaches morethan 1000 ppm (eg Mao 1991 Fleet et al 1993Asadi et al 1999 Simon et al 1999)
The relatively large values of Ag found in thetype III pyrite (up to 147 wt) and in the typeVI collomorphic pyrite (up to 02 wt) areworthy of note This Ag concentration is one ofthe highest found in pyrite to date (Larocque etal 1995 up to 1426 ppm Grif n et al 1991 upto 625 ppm Tompkins et al 1997 up to200 ppm Roberts 1982 up to 300 ppm Ashleyet al 2000 up to 88 ppm) In our case the supplyof Ag by the pyrite to the deposit as a whole couldbe noteworthy especially in the super cial zones
1076
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
possible mineralogical textural and chemicalaf nities between gold and the distinct varietiesof pyrite We focus on the textural and mineralchemistry characteristics of pyrite and otherassociated Fe sulphides (pyrrhotite and marcasite)and their crystallochemical and geochemicalimplications Pyrite also contains potentiallysigni cant amounts of trace element contaminantswhich are an important factor since the Palai-Islica deposit is located in the vicinity of the Cabode Gata Natural Park
Geological context
The main geological features of the area of thePalai-Islica deposit are well known (Arribas andTosdal 1994 Fernandez Soler 1996 Turner etal 1999) and only a summary is given here (seealso Morales Ruano et al 2000) The Palai-Islicadeposit lies within the volcanic belt of Cabo deGata-Cartagena (Fig 1a) which comprises partof the eastern end of the Internal Zone of the BeticCordilleras This Neogene volcanic belt withdifferent series of volcanic rocks (calc-alkalineshoshonitic potassic calc-alkaline ultrapotassicand basaltic series (Lopez Ruiz and RodriguezBadiola 1980)) formed within the context of asubduction zone followed by an extensionalevent (Dewey 1988 Garc otildeacutea Duenas et al1992) During the Miocene a series of magma-tism-related hydrothermal systems developedbeing controlled by a system of faults andfractures The hot uids (up to 400 ndash450ordmCMorales Ruano (1994)) reacted strongly with thehost rocks and in some districts gave rise tobroad areas of mineralization and alteration(Fig 1a) usually zoned (Fernandez Soler 1996)as in the Rodalquilar deposit where propyliticargillic advanced argillic and silicic alterationhave been observed from the outer to inner zones(Arribas et al 1995) The Palai-Islica is one ofthese areas which has become a recent target ofmineral exploration companies (Morales Ruano etal 2000) The Cu-Au epithermal mineralizationof Palai-Islica (Fig 1b) is hosted by hydrother-mally alterated calc-alkaline volcanic rocks(mainly dacites and andesites of Miocene age)related to regional strike-slip faults (N40 ndash50E)(Fernandez Soler 1996) The alteration area(propylitic sericitic argillic silici cation)consists of an oval E ndashW-striking zone 2500 mlong by 1700 m wide to which the goldmineralization is invariably related (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Sampling and methodology
Samples were obtained from various areas ofhigh-grade gold and barren mineralization atPalai-Islica Two hundred and twenty-twopolished thin-sections of samples collected from21 drill cores were prepared to determine themineralogy and the paragenetic relationships inthis deposit
The mineralogical chemical and textural char-acteristics of Fe sulphides were determined byre ected and transmitted light microscopy scan-ning electron microscopy SEM (ZEISS DSM 950)and FESEM (LEO GEMINI) and electron micro-probe EPMA (CAMECA SX50) at the Centro deInstrumentacion Cientotilde ca of the University ofGranada Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)was used to detect As-rich zones followed bybetter-quality backscattered images using electronprobe microanalysis (EPMA) on chosen eldsX-ray mapping with EPMA identi ed zonings ofother elements (eg Co and Ni) that are not easilydetectable by SEM The operating conditions forthe X-ray mapping were 30 kV acceleratingpotential 200 nA beam current 2 mm scandistance and 300 ms X-ray peak acquisition timeper point The information obtained by electronicimages qualitative EPMA pro les was used toperform the analysis of Fe sulphides in selectedpoints of representative areas A total of 399analysis were obtained by EPMA
Natural and synthetic-certied standards wereused to calibrate the quantitative analysis Theoperating conditions were 30 kV acceleratingpotential 30 nA beam current and acquisitiontime between 60 and 300 s for X-ray peak andbackground Fifteen selected analyses of Au witha lower detection limit (475 ppm 95 con dent)were performed for pyrite (100 nA bean currentwith acquisition times of 2000 s for X-ray peakand background) The acquired X-ray intensitieswere corrected for atomic number mass absorp-tion and secondary uorescence effects using theCAMECA-PAP version of the Pouchou andPichoir (1984) procedure
Ore mineralization
The mineralization at Palai-Islica is (1) dissemi-nated in massively silici ed volcanic rockslocated exclusively in the highest part of thedeposit (2) disseminated within the ubiquitouslyhydrothermally altered rocks and (3) mostabundantly in sulphide-bearing quartz veins
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1061
The occurrences in veins have been describedby Morales Ruano et al (2000) and CarrilloRosua et al (2001a) for three subhorizontallevels They are characterized by Au-Ag alloysgreater mineralogical diversity enrichment in AuAg Zn Pb Cd As and Sb and uids with distinctcharacteristics (wide variation in salinity over anarrow temperature range) relative to the rest ofthe deposit
The ore minerals in the deposit (Morales Ruanoet al 1999 Carrillo Rosua et al 2001a) consistprimarily of pyrite with occasionally largechalcopyrite sphalerite and galena contentsThere is also a number of accessory mineralssuch as gold tetrahedrite-tennantite bismuthiniteAgplusmnBiplusmnPbplusmn(Cu) sulphosalts Ag and Bi tell-urides Ag sulphides and sulphosalts (achantitepolybasite-pearcite proustite-pyrargyrite stepha-nite) pyrrhotite marcasite Cu sulphides (bornitechalcocite covellite) stannite niccolite arseno-pyrite native copper and Fe-Ti-Sn oxides (rutilemagnetite hematite cassiterite)
According to Carrillo Rosua et al (2001a2002) the gold occurs as native gold (dissemi-nated exclusively in the massive silici cations)and as Au-Ag alloys in the sulphide-bearingquartz veins These alloys are relatively abundantand are always closely associated with pyriteeither included within it (Au-rich alloys) or asovergrowths (Ag-rich alloys) (Fig 2)
Mineralogical textural and chemicalcharacteristics of the Fe sulphides
Fe sulphides and in particular pyrite are by farthe most abundant sulphides in this deposit
displaying a great variety of textural and chemicaltypes There are three varieties of Fe sulphides
(1) Pyrrhotite (diameter lt100 mm) appearsincluded within porous pyrite sometimes inter-grown with chalcopyrite or magnetite Chemicalanalysis of pyrrhotite gave the formulaFe084ndash091S with very low concentrations oftrace elements (Table 1)
(2) Marcasite also occurs in minor amounts lling late microveins disseminated crystals inthe massive silci cation disseminated in thevolcanic rock of the deepest zones of thedeposit intergrown with pyrite in micro-geodesor as idiomorphic crystals in a peculiar associa-tion with pyrite and chalcopyrite as follows(Fig 3a) (a) pyrite cores sometimes with tinyinclusions of a Ag-bearing phases (b) not alwayspresent elongated chalcopyrite crystals followingthe limit between pyrite and marcasite (c) idio-morphic marcasite crystals (d) collomorphicpyrite overgrown on marcasite This mineralassociation is located at the top of Au-Ag alloybearing levels Marcasite does not show chemicalzonation as it is quite pure (Table 1) with theexception of the last textural case (Fig 3b) Thishas signi cant quantities of As (up to 115 wt)and Sb (up to 040 wt) concentrated in irregularzones in marcasite (Fig 3cd) corresponding tothe maximum concentration of Sb with theintermediate of As (Fig 4a) The increase of Asis accompanied by a decrease in the sulphurconcentration of the same order (Fig 4b) Incontrast with associated pyrite marcasite hassmall Cu and Ag contents (Fig 3fg)
(3) Pyrite is by far the most abundant phaseTwo groups of pyrite are recognized based on
FIG 2 Photomicrographs of Au-Ag alloy (a) Crystal of homogeneous Au-Ag alloy (Au) included in a non-poroustype IV pyrite (Py) (b) Crystal of Au-Ag alloy (Au) overgrowing type IV pyrite (Py)
1062
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
grain size ne- (lt20 mm) and medium- to coarse-grained (gt20 mm) pyrites
Tables 2 and 3 display the results of pyriteanalyses obtained by EPMA Among the traceelements As has signi cant concentrations of upto 611 wt Other elements have lower concen-trations rarely exceeding 1 wt There arenotable differences in the compositions of thetextural varieties of mediumndashcoarse and ne-grained pyrites as noted below
Table 4 presents the large acquisition-timeanalyses for Au in different types of pyrite thesealways being less than the detection limit450 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites
Medium- to coarse-grained pyrite (gt20 mm)
Generally these pyrites are disseminated in thevolcanic host rocks in zones of massive silici ca-tion and in quartz veins In the veins the pyriteaggregates may display diverse textures dissemi-nations stockwork-like veinlets brecciated crusti-form and massive aggregatesThere are three main
morphologies of idiomorphic and subidiomorphicpyrites cubic (with or without striations) penta-gonal dodecahedral and octahedral (Fig 5) Thepentagonal dodecahedralmorphology is ubiquitousthroughout the deposit the octahedral morphologyis related to near surface native gold-bearingmassively silici ed zones and the cubicmorphology occurs in the veins related to deepseated Au-Ag alloy-bearing zones
These pyrites may be differentiated into at leastfour chemical types As-bearing pyrites (type I)Co-Ni-bearing pyrites (type II) Cu-Ag bearingpyrites (type III) as well as pyrite which islacking in trace elements (type IV)
Type I As-bearing pyriteThis type of pyrite is found only within
pentagonal dodecahedral or xenomorphic crystalsin which As is enriched in cores (up to 400 mm indiameter) as well as in polygonal to irregularbands (lt20 mm in thickness)
The cores can be compact or porous (Fig 6a)and occasionally show complex irregular textures
TABLE 1 Chemistry of pyrrhotite and marcasite
A (n = 8) B (n = 31) C (n = 3)Wt Min Max Ave sd (1s) Min Max Ave sd (1s) Min Max Ave sd (1s)
Au 000 006 003 002 000 005 002 002 002 004 003 001Ag 000 003 002 001 000 005 002 001 000 002 001 001S 3787 3993 3864 065 5163 5381 5292 055 5260 5284 5271 010Sb 001 002 001 000 000 040 007 010 001 002 002 000Fe 5869 5992 5948 037 4494 4669 4598 044 4561 4633 4605 031Co 003 005 005 001 001 004 002 001 002 004 003 001Ni 000 005 001 002 000 002 000 001 000 000 000 000Cu 000 009 003 003 000 010 001 002 001 010 005 003Zn 000 002 001 001 000 018 003 003 002 004 003 001As 000 003 001 001 000 115 020 027 001 003 002 001
Total 9737 9884 9829 046 9774 10067 9929 071 987 992 989 018
AtAu 000 001 001 000 000 001 001 000 000 001 000 000Ag 000 001 001 000 000 002 001 000 000 001 000 000S 5235 5417 5302 054 6616 6696 6657 022 6639 6669 6650 013Sb 000 001 001 000 000 013 002 003 000 001 001 000Fe 4572 4753 4686 053 3294 3353 3321 017 3306 3352 3336 021Co 002 004 003 000 001 003 001 000 001 002 002 000Ni 000 004 001 001 000 001 000 000 000 000 000 000Cu 000 006 002 002 000 007 001 001 001 006 003 002Zn 000 001 001 001 000 011 002 002 001 003 002 001As 000 002 001 001 000 063 011 015 000 002 001 000
A Pyrrhotite B Idiomorphic marcasite C Non-idiomorphic marcasite n number of analyses Min minimumMax maximum Ave average sd standard deviation
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1063
FIG 3 Photomicrograph (a) backscattered electron (BSE) (b) and X-ray images of As (c) Sb (d) Cu (e) and Ag (f)of the association type III pyrite (Py III) with Ag sulphide inclusions (Ag sul) chalcopyrite (Cp) idiomorphic
marcasite (Mc) and collomorphic pyrite (Py VI)
1064
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
(Fig 6b) in which tiny crystals of arsenopyritecan sometimes be found
Polygonal bands are scarce and occur aspentagonal dodecahedrons or cubes (Figs 6a and7a) These bands which occasionally containtennantite crystals (Fig 6a) are thin (1 ndash2 mm)with clear boundaries although they occasionallygroup together thus appearing to be thicker
Irregular bands (Fig 7b) are more commonthan the polygonal bands and are more diffuseThey show continuous variations in thicknessfrequent truncations and features typical ofdissolution or uneven growth They are normallyfound in the internal parts of the crystals rarely inthe rims
In contrast with other deposits (eg Fleet et al1989) where oscillatory As zoning affects theentire pyrite crystal the As enrichment (type Ipyrite) is restricted mainly to the most internalparts of the pyrite grains This type of pyrite canbe dissolved and overgrown by coarse pyritelacking trace elements (Fig 7b)
The chemistry of type I pyrite (Table 2) ischaracterized by a clear enrichment in As (up to338 wt) negatively correlated with S (Fig 8a)whereas no correlation exists between As and Fe(Fig 8b) In some cases there is a sporadicincrease in Cu (up to 019) particularly in thecores (Fig 6ab) Figure 8c shows that (1) the Asvalues in the cores are lower than in the bands and(2) the irregular bands are poorer in As than thepolygonal bands
Type II Co-Ni-bearing pyriteThis type of pyrite detectable only by X-ray
maps is prior to or occasionally coeval with As-bearing type I pyrite The type II pyrite(Table 2) is found in the internal parts of thepyrite crystals lacking trace elements as Co- orNi-cores or bands (Fig 7ab) This type showsthe highest Co (001 ndash069 wt) and Ni(000ndash101 wt) values and an increase inthese elements involves a slight decrease in theFe content of pyrite
000
004
008
012
016
000 020 040 060 080
As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
070
6600 6650 6700
S (at)
Sb
(at
)
As
(at
)
a b
FIG 4 (a) As vs Sb diagram showing the relationship between both elements in idiomorphic marcasite (b) S vs Asdiagram showing the inverse correlation between As and S in idiomorphic marcasite
FIG 5 SEM secondary electron images showing pyrite morphology (a) cubic habit (b) pentagonal dodecahedralhabit and (c) octahedral habit
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1065
TA
BL
E2
Che
mis
try
ofm
ediu
m-
toco
arse
-gra
ined
pyri
te(gt
20m m
)
A(n
=19
)B
(n=
21)
C(n
=39
)D
(n=
37)
E(n
=18
)F
(n=
107)
Wt
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Au
000
016
003
004
000
006
003
002
000
016
003
003
000
005
002
001
000
005
002
001
000
010
002
002
Ag
000
006
001
001
000
003
001
001
000
009
002
002
000
005
001
001
000
147
018
035
000
017
002
002
S51
31
530
352
16
043
505
052
62
515
90
6449
39
536
152
10
078
508
753
83
527
20
7952
07
535
352
79
044
515
554
85
533
00
54Sb
000
003
001
001
000
011
002
002
000
019
003
004
000
004
001
001
000
004
001
001
000
006
001
001
Fe45
38
465
646
10
032
443
946
06
453
30
5344
51
467
546
05
049
443
946
41
456
60
6044
42
465
245
78
052
446
846
98
461
90
43C
o0
000
090
030
020
020
510
170
160
000
070
020
010
010
690
250
190
010
030
020
010
000
120
030
02N
i0
000
030
000
010
000
900
170
270
000
050
010
010
001
010
210
260
000
010
000
000
000
080
010
01C
u0
000
190
020
040
000
160
020
030
000
140
020
030
000
080
010
020
010
620
200
160
000
700
040
11Z
n0
000
300
030
070
000
020
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
390
020
04A
s0
242
270
990
661
033
382
270
600
282
761
280
800
003
380
831
180
000
100
020
020
000
230
040
05
Tot
al97
78
100
0999
32
063
985
110
067
996
20
5693
94
100
5299
33
110
989
610
063
997
30
3796
52
102
4099
03
153
982
010
248
999
70
80
At
Au
000
003
001
001
000
001
001
000
000
003
000
00
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
002
000
000
Ag
000
002
001
001
000
001
001
000
000
004
001
00
000
002
001
000
000
056
007
013
000
006
001
001
S65
44
665
065
93
029
646
966
26
654
50
4164
91
667
765
87
04
649
266
88
662
40
5866
32
668
366
58
016
658
367
36
667
00
32Sb
000
001
000
000
000
004
001
001
000
006
001
00
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
002
000
000
Fe33
07
338
533
45
020
322
133
94
330
20
4332
92
342
733
43
03
321
433
48
329
40
3132
54
335
133
15
021
323
834
08
331
90
32C
o0
000
060
020
010
010
350
110
110
000
040
010
00
000
460
170
130
010
020
010
000
000
080
010
01N
i0
000
020
000
010
000
620
120
180
000
040
000
00
000
700
150
180
000
010
000
000
000
050
010
01C
u0
000
130
010
030
000
110
010
020
000
090
010
00
000
050
010
010
010
400
130
100
000
440
020
07Z
n0
000
180
020
040
000
010
010
010
000
020
010
00
000
020
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
240
010
03A
s0
131
230
530
350
561
841
230
330
151
510
630
430
001
840
450
640
000
050
010
010
000
120
020
03
A
type
I(c
ores
)B
ty
peI
(pol
ygon
alba
nds)
C
ty
peI
(irr
egul
arba
nds)
D
ty
peII
E
ty
peII
IF
type
IV
nnu
mbe
rof
anal
yses
M
in
min
imum
M
ax
max
imum
A
ve
aver
age
sd
st
anda
rdde
viat
ion
TA
BL
E3
Che
mis
try
of
ne-g
rain
edpy
rite
(lt20
m m)
A(n
=17
)B
(n=
9)C
(n=
18)
D(n
=33
)E
(n=
11)
F(n
=13
)W
tM
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)
Au
000
006
003
001
000
005
002
002
000
004
002
001
000
005
002
001
000
004
002
001
000
005
002
001
Ag
000
006
003
002
000
006
002
002
000
016
007
005
000
020
004
004
000
005
002
001
000
008
003
003
S52
46
537
953
23
036
486
053
09
518
61
4550
25
530
851
85
068
496
253
79
514
51
2151
75
534
652
68
057
517
553
66
530
60
53Sb
001
003
002
001
000
002
001
001
007
046
018
008
000
141
030
042
000
003
001
001
000
008
002
002
Fe44
53
465
245
91
043
411
145
43
441
91
4441
93
461
644
50
119
416
146
29
437
31
4245
68
466
246
27
024
452
746
33
457
30
37C
o0
010
050
020
010
040
100
070
020
010
040
020
010
000
040
020
010
010
050
030
010
010
030
020
01N
i0
000
020
000
010
010
110
040
030
000
140
050
050
000
010
000
000
000
040
010
010
000
080
020
03C
u0
000
050
020
010
000
020
000
010
000
940
250
270
001
260
190
270
010
390
130
110
001
320
570
39Z
n0
000
030
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
180
060
060
000
100
010
020
000
070
020
020
000
190
040
05A
s0
110
660
210
130
000
290
110
080
534
492
361
100
086
113
761
840
000
080
020
030
000
120
020
03
Tot
al97
44
100
6499
50
073
899
698
76
963
32
9198
20
100
4499
37
058
980
610
056
995
30
7197
95
999
299
22
058
980
610
092
995
30
93
At
Au
000
001
001
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
Ag
000
002
001
001
000
002
001
001
000
006
003
002
000
008
002
002
000
002
001
000
000
003
001
001
S66
45
672
066
75
019
667
367
28
670
20
1865
27
666
565
88
030
647
566
93
656
20
6466
03
667
766
35
026
660
566
97
665
80
29Sb
000
001
001
000
000
001
000
000
003
015
006
003
000
049
010
014
000
001
000
000
000
003
001
001
Fe32
64
332
833
05
017
325
233
03
327
90
1831
27
332
032
46
060
311
833
08
320
10
6133
09
337
933
47
025
326
133
89
329
50
35C
o0
000
030
010
010
020
070
050
020
010
030
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
030
020
010
000
020
010
01N
i0
000
010
000
000
010
080
030
020
000
100
030
040
000
010
000
000
000
030
010
010
000
050
010
02C
u0
000
030
010
010
000
010
000
000
000
610
160
170
000
830
130
180
010
250
080
070
000
830
360
25Z
n0
000
020
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
110
040
030
000
060
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
120
020
03A
s0
060
350
120
070
000
160
060
050
292
501
290
610
043
362
061
020
000
050
010
010
000
070
010
02
A
type
V(f
ram
boid
sse
nsu
stri
cto)
B
ty
peV
(pse
udof
ram
boid
s)
C
type
VI
(col
lom
orph
icpo
rous
pyri
te)
Dt
ype
VI
(bro
wn
collo
mor
phic
pyri
te)
E
type
VII
(mic
ro-g
eode
s)
Fty
peV
II(p
yrit
ein
terg
row
ths
inch
alco
pyri
te)
nnu
mbe
rof
anal
yses
M
in
min
imum
M
ax
max
imum
A
ve
aver
age
sd
st
anda
rdde
viat
ion
Type III pyrite with Cu and Ag
Associated with idiomorphic marcasite in theabove-described marcasite there are pyrites(Table 2) which have signi cant amounts of Cu(up to 062 wt) and Ag (up to 147 wt)
Figure 3e and f shows extended enrichments ofCu and minor in Ag throughout all pyrite grainswhereas in Fig 9 we observed that the Cu and Aglevels are approximately equal with a lsquoback-groundrsquo of Cu of 010 at
FIG 6 (a) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite overgrown by nearly stoichiometric pyrite type IV (1) coreof type I pyrite with porous character (dark areas) (2) thin polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a tennantite (Ten)inclusion On the right hand side of the gure note the As Cu and Sb X-ray images where Cu and Sb are slightlyenriched in the type I pyrite core (b) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite core with a complex texture anda tiny arsenopyrite inclusion (Apy) On the right hand side of the gure note the As and Cu X-ray images from the
marked area
1068
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Type IV pyrite lackingtrace elementsThis type of pyrite volumetrically the most
abundant is characterized by neglible concentra-tions of trace elements (Table 2) Type IV pyrite is
found as disseminations throughout the volcanichost rock or in quartz veins and silici ed zoneswhere it can contain types I and II pyrites or elseappear as homogeneous crystals Type IV pyrite
FIG 7 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyrite hosted by type IV pyrite(1) polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a pentagonal dodecahedral morphology overgrown by (2) a polygonal bandwith cubic morphology As Co and Ni X-ray images on the right hand side of the gure reveal Co-Ni bearing typeII pyrite in core and bands (3) (b) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyritehosted by type IV pyrite (1) irregular bands of type I with abundant truncations in the inner part of the crystal(2) irregular bands of type I in the rim of the crystal On the right hand side of the gure note the As Co and Ni
X-ray images with the non-coincident Co-rich and Ni-rich pyrite (3)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1069
frequently has pore-rich zones that generallycoincide with the central parts of the crystalswhich also have high concentrations of mineralmicroinclusions especially pyrrhotite chalco-pyrite rutile and magnetite
It should be noted that Au-Ag alloys are hostedby the type IV pyrite preferentially included inthe pore-free zones (Fig 2a)
Fine-grained pyrites (lt20 mm)
This group comprises framboidal (type V) andcollomorphic (type VI) pyrites as well as micro-
geodes and intergrowths of pyrite in chalcopyrite(type VII)
Type V framboidal pyriteThis type is relatively rare and occurs in two
varieties (1) As framboids sensu stricto(Fig 10a) generally spherical and lt50 mm insize The pyrite microcrystals very closelypacked are subidiomorphic and equigranular(plusmn2 mm) In some cases the framboidal pyrite isovergrown by coarse-grained type IV pyrite(2) As lsquopseudoframboidsrsquo (Fig 10b) that areloosely packed or even disaggregated with sizes
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
6 4 5 65 0 6 55 6 6 0 6 6 5 6 7 0 S (at)
Type I
Type VI
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
31 0 31 5 32 0 32 5 33 0 33 5 Fe (at)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 02 04 06 08 1 12 14 As (at)
Type I (ii)
(iii)
(i)
As
(at
)Fr
eque
ncy
As
(at
)
Type I
Type VI
a
b
c
FIG 8 (a) S vs As diagram showing inverse correlation with different slopes for type I and type VI pyrite (b) Fe vsAs diagram showing no correlation in type I pyrite but good inverse correlation in type VI pyrite (c) Arseniccontent frequency histogram in type I pyrite (i) cores (ii) polygonal bands (iii) irregular bands Observe that the
cores have the lowest As content while the highest As values are in the polygonal bands
1070
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of up to 50 mm In contrast to the framboids sensustricto the pyrite microcrystals here are roundedor oval-shaped and vary in size from lt1 to 5 mmThe outermost crystals are the largest
Both types of framboidal pyrites show smallamounts of trace elements As being the mostabundant (average of 018 wt Table 3)
Type VI collomorphic pyriteThese pyrites occur principally in two genera-
tions of overgrowth on previous pyrite crystalsalthough they can also overgrow idiomorphicmarcasite and exceptionally chalcopyrite TypeVI occurs as either porous collomorphic pyrite(Fig 10c) or as brown collomorphic pyrite underre ected light microscope (Fig 10d)
These pyrites have the largest amounts of As(008ndash611 wt) Cu (000ndash126 wt) Sb(000ndash141 wt) and Ag (000 ndash020 wt)but the smallest Fe contents (419ndash462 wt)of all the pyrites analysed in the deposit Nickeland Zn have also been detected (Table 3) Arsenicis negatively correlated with S with a slope( ndash158) more pronounced than for the type Ipyrite (Fig 8a) The As is also negativelycorrelated with Fe (Fig 8b)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
000 010 020 030 040
Cu (at)
Ag
(at
)
FIG 9 (a) Cu vs Ag diagram showing two types ofbehaviour (represented by ellipses) of the relation
between both elements in type III pyrite
FIG 10 Photomicrographs of type V and type VI pyrite (a) Framboids sensu stricto closely packed withsubidiomorphic coalescing microcrystals (b) lsquoPseudoframboidrsquo of loosely packed pyrite of rounded or oval shapes(c) Porous collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing marcasite and coarse pyrite (2) (d) Bands of brown collomorphic
pyrite showing graded shading (1) overgrowing coarse pyrite (2)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1071
Within the overgrowths of collomorphic pyritethe rst generation is usually richer in As than thesecond one (Fig 11ab) with some chemicaldifferences between the two textural varieties
The porous collomorphic pyrite contains lessAs (053ndash449 wt) than the brown collo-morphic pyrite It also has relatively largeamounts of Ag Cu Ni and Zn and these aredirectly correlated with As concentration
(Fig 12) a feature that is evident from theX-ray maps in Fig 10a for Cu Ag and Ni
The brown collomorphic pyrite has the highestAs content (008ndash611 wt) It is is alsoenriched in Ag Cu and Sb but not in Zn or NiIn contrast with the porous variety there is nodirect correlation between these elements and As(Fig 12) However at high As concentrationsthere is an enrichment in Ag Cu and Sb and the
FIG 11 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type VI pyrite There are two bands (1) and (2) of collomorphic pyriteovergrowing marcasite (Mc) with the former being richer in Cu Ag As and Ni than the latter (b) BSE and X-rayimages of type VI pyrite Collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing coarse type IV pyrite (2) The As concentration isrelatively homogeneous in this collomorphic pyrite just the opposite of the Cu and Sb concentrations which are
enriched in the ner bands
1072
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
000
002
004
006
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
645
650
655
660
665
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
020
040
060
080
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
010
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
S (
at
)
Ag
(at
)
Cu
(at
)
Sb
(at
)
Zn
(at
)
Ni (
at
)
(a)
(b)
FIG 12 Binary diagrams showing variations between different elements in type VI pyrite (a) porous collomorphicpyrite and (b) brown collomorphic pyrite
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1073
nature of Cu and Sb distributed in As-rich bandsis shown in the X-ray maps in Fig 11b
Type VII pyrite micro-geodes and intergrowths inchalcopyrite
In both cases (Fig 13) pyrite occurs aschemically homogeneous xenomorphic ne-grained (lt15 mm) aggregates located in chalco-pyrite crystals The micro-geodes tend to be up to400 mm in diameter and sometimes host marcasitecrystals The pyrite intergrowths are distributedalong elongated zones within the chalcopyrite
The trace-element concentration is quite low inboth cases similar to that of the coarse-grainedpyrite of type IV
Based on the textural evidence summarizedabove we propose a paragenetic sequence for thedistinct types of Fe-sulphides at veins presentedin Fig 14
Genetic considerations
Origin of pyriteThe pyrite of the Palai-Islica deposit originatedfrom hydrothermal uids However the formationpathways of pyrite from hydrothermal uids arecontroversial and an intermediate precursor isthought to be necessary (eg Benning et al2000) Moreover certain textural characteristicsobserved in the pyrite of this deposit (eg relics ofpyrrhotite presence of framboids) should beconsidered in evaluating possible processes ofpyrite formation such as (1) the transformationofpyrrhotite and marcasite and (2) the formation ofpyrite framboids
The transformation of pyrrhotite and marcasite
Some of the pyrite in this deposit may initiallyhave crystallized as pyrrhotite proper andsubsequently been transformed into pyrite byone of the mechanisms proposed by Fleet (1978)and by Murowchick and Barnes (1986) Due tothe smaller molar volume of pyrite thistransformation could account for the existenceof the high-porosity zones particularly in thepyrite lsquolackingrsquo trace elements Marcasite hadalso been a precursor of type VII pyrite as shownby the textural evidence
The formation of framboids
Occasionally the precursor of the medium- tocoarse-grained pyrite may have been framboidal
pyrite which in turn may have had greigite as aprecursor (Wilkin and Barnes 1997) Thepresence of zones in the porous type IV pyritewould correspond to zones where the recrystalli-zation was incomplete whereas the abundantmicro-inclusions in the porous pyrite could beinterpreted as crystals that were trapped in theframboidal spaces According to Wilkin andBarnes (1997) the maximum temperature atwhich framboidal pyrite may nucleate is 225ordmCThis temperature is consistent with the lowerrange of temperatures determined by microther-mometry of uid inclusions (between 120 and465ordmC) in quartz associated with pyrite (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Evolution of As contents in the pyrite
Pyrites in other hydrothermal deposits havecharacteristic oscillatory banding due to varia-tions in a relatively continuous supply of Asduring precipitation (eg Fleet et al 1989)However the As supply to the Palai-Islicapyrites seems to have been more episodicconcentrated in the mineralization areas espe-cially in relation to gold-bearing levels but not inthe hydrothermal alteration Based on textural andmineral chemistry data there have been two mainepisodes of well-de ned As enrichment
The rst As-rich episode associated with theinitial stages of formation of the depositproduced the As-rich cores and bands of type Ipyrite with some related tiny crystals ofarsenopyrite (main stage of pyrite precipitation)It was occasionally accompanied by the incor-poration of Cu which is sometimes linked to theformation of the tennantite inclusions The As-rich cores and bands are the product ofcontinuous pyrite growth as indicated by theconcentric nature of the banding the coherencebetween the morphology of the banding and thecrystal habits
Following this rst As-rich episode there was astage of As-free pyrite crystallization (type IV)The type IV pyrite is not only volumetricallysigni cant in places forming massive aggregatesbut it also hosts gold alloys
The second As-rich episode associated withthe nal stages of the Fe sulphide deposition ischaracterized by the presence of idiomorphicmarcasite and two varieties of collomorphicpyrite(type VI) the most As-rich pyrites of Palai-IslicaTwo consecutive bands can be distinguishedwiththe rst one mainly richer in As
1074
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Accordingly the As entered into the pyritestructure in two stages and appears to beincorporated by two different mechanisms assuggested by the relationship between As S andFe (1) in pyrites from the rst episode the Ascontent of the pyrite is negatively correlated withS while the Fe content is constant (Fig 7ab) TheAs was incorporated in a metastable solid solutionin the S positions It could be related to layers oflsquomarcasite-likersquo structure with high As content
(Fleet et al 1989 Simon et al 1999) or else asclusters with a lower As content in the pyritestructure (Savage et al 2000) (2) In contrast inpyrites produced during the second episode the Asis negatively correlated with both the S and the Fe(Fig 7ab) and the increase in the As concentra-tion is accompanied by increasing contents of CuAg Sb Zn and Ni In this case there are nocrystallochemical studies on the entrance of Asinto pyrite associated with decreasing S and Fe
PRE-ORESTAGE
ORESTAGE
Pyrrhotite
Pyrite type IV
Cores of pyritewith As (type I)
Pyrite type II
Polygonal bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Irregular bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Pyrite type III
Pyrite type V
Pyrite type VI
Pyrite type VII
Gold precipitation
Marcasite microveins
Idiomorphic marcasiteassociated with type III pyrite
FIG 14 Paragenetic sequence of the different types of Fe-sulphides showing their relationship with the gold at Palai-Islica mineralization
FIG 13 Photomicrographs of type VII pyrite (a) Micro-geodes of pyrite (py) in chalcopyrite (cp) (b) Bands ofmicrocrystals of pyrite (py) in coarse-grained chalcopyrite (cp)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1075
contents However this correlation might beexplained by either the entrance of cationic Asandor non-stoichiometric As (Fleet and Mumin1997) Although the presence of collomorphictextures does not necessarily imply colloidalorigin (Roedder 1968) colloidal precipitation isnonetheless an attractive hypothesis to explain theparticular textural and chemical characteristics ofthe collomorphic pyrite overgrowths sincecolloidal particles might be quite effective intrapping As ions Colloidal particles with an Ascovering (negatively charged) could in turn act aslsquotrapsrsquo for cations This mechanism could explainthe relatively large amounts of Cu Ag Sb Zn andNi as well as the Fe de cit found in thecollomorphic pyrite overgrowths
Type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite association
The mineral association of type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite could be related to theformation of Au-Ag alloy horizons because of itslocation at the top of the horizons The low d34Ssignature of these sulphides different from therest of the deposit (author data) could be causedby another kind of uid implicated in the mixingprocesses mentioned by Morales Ruano et al(2000)
The high Ag and Cu contents of type III pyriteand of As and Sb in marcasite are notable We caninfer from Fig 9 two paths for the entry of Cuinto pyrite (1) below 010 at Cu (with whichthere is no concomitant increase in Ag) It iswidely spread through the pyrite crystals (Fig 3)(2) Above 010 at Cu the increase in Cu is in a11 relationship with Ag These high concentra-tions of Cu and Ag not are due to the presence ofmicroscopic inclusions as optical study shows sothey must be produced by (a) very abundantsubmicroscopic inclusions of chalcopyrite andorCu-Ag phases always intergrown with chalco-pyrite and (b) a true solid solution of Cu and Ag
The entry of As in marcasite is the same as fortype I pyrite due to the 11 correlation betweenAs and S In addition a small amount of Sb entersthe marcasite when the concentration of As isgt010 at It seems that the maximum Sb occursat ~020 at of As
We explain the chalcopyrite dispositionbetween marcasite and pyrite as the result of adiffusion process in which Cu migrates to thelimit between pyrite and marcasite This processalso liberates Ag to form Ag mineral inclusions(Ag suphides and sulphosalts)
Relationshipsbetween pyrite habit and gold crystalsWe have found a close relationship between thepyrite habit and the presence of gold crystalsSpeci cally the gold is found on the mineralizedlevels containing type IV pyrite displaying a greatvariety of crystallographic habits (cubes andpentagonal dodecahedrons or octahedrons andpentagonal dodecahedrons) In contrast barrenzones occur where only the pentagonal dodecahe-dral morphology is developed
Correlations between pyrite morphology andmetal-enriched zones has also been described inother deposits (eg Sunagawa 1957 Bush et al1960 Amstutz 1963) Pyrite morphology isdetermined by crystalline growth mechanisms(primarily screw dislocation and layer-by-layer)which are dependent on the temperature anddegree of supersa turat ion of the uid(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) Pyrite deposi-tion in the Au-mineralized zones in Palai-Islicamay have been associated with a change in thedegree of supersaturation of the mineralizing uid possibly due to mixing of uids suggestedby the uid inclusion data reported by MoralesRuano et al (2000)
Au and Ag contents in pyrite
The Au contents obtained by EPMA for thedifferent pyrite types are uniformly low (Tables 2and 3) Selected high-acquisition-time analysis ofdifferent pyrite types (Table 4) also present lowAu contents never greater than the detection limitof 475 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites which areconsidered to be potentially invisible-gold-bearing (eg Cook and Chryssoulis 1990)These results in addition to the abundance ofvisible gold grains suggest that invisible goldmay not be volumetrically signi cant in theoverall deposit (Carrillo Rosua et al 2002) asin other deposits where Au in pyrite reaches morethan 1000 ppm (eg Mao 1991 Fleet et al 1993Asadi et al 1999 Simon et al 1999)
The relatively large values of Ag found in thetype III pyrite (up to 147 wt) and in the typeVI collomorphic pyrite (up to 02 wt) areworthy of note This Ag concentration is one ofthe highest found in pyrite to date (Larocque etal 1995 up to 1426 ppm Grif n et al 1991 upto 625 ppm Tompkins et al 1997 up to200 ppm Roberts 1982 up to 300 ppm Ashleyet al 2000 up to 88 ppm) In our case the supplyof Ag by the pyrite to the deposit as a whole couldbe noteworthy especially in the super cial zones
1076
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
The occurrences in veins have been describedby Morales Ruano et al (2000) and CarrilloRosua et al (2001a) for three subhorizontallevels They are characterized by Au-Ag alloysgreater mineralogical diversity enrichment in AuAg Zn Pb Cd As and Sb and uids with distinctcharacteristics (wide variation in salinity over anarrow temperature range) relative to the rest ofthe deposit
The ore minerals in the deposit (Morales Ruanoet al 1999 Carrillo Rosua et al 2001a) consistprimarily of pyrite with occasionally largechalcopyrite sphalerite and galena contentsThere is also a number of accessory mineralssuch as gold tetrahedrite-tennantite bismuthiniteAgplusmnBiplusmnPbplusmn(Cu) sulphosalts Ag and Bi tell-urides Ag sulphides and sulphosalts (achantitepolybasite-pearcite proustite-pyrargyrite stepha-nite) pyrrhotite marcasite Cu sulphides (bornitechalcocite covellite) stannite niccolite arseno-pyrite native copper and Fe-Ti-Sn oxides (rutilemagnetite hematite cassiterite)
According to Carrillo Rosua et al (2001a2002) the gold occurs as native gold (dissemi-nated exclusively in the massive silici cations)and as Au-Ag alloys in the sulphide-bearingquartz veins These alloys are relatively abundantand are always closely associated with pyriteeither included within it (Au-rich alloys) or asovergrowths (Ag-rich alloys) (Fig 2)
Mineralogical textural and chemicalcharacteristics of the Fe sulphides
Fe sulphides and in particular pyrite are by farthe most abundant sulphides in this deposit
displaying a great variety of textural and chemicaltypes There are three varieties of Fe sulphides
(1) Pyrrhotite (diameter lt100 mm) appearsincluded within porous pyrite sometimes inter-grown with chalcopyrite or magnetite Chemicalanalysis of pyrrhotite gave the formulaFe084ndash091S with very low concentrations oftrace elements (Table 1)
(2) Marcasite also occurs in minor amounts lling late microveins disseminated crystals inthe massive silci cation disseminated in thevolcanic rock of the deepest zones of thedeposit intergrown with pyrite in micro-geodesor as idiomorphic crystals in a peculiar associa-tion with pyrite and chalcopyrite as follows(Fig 3a) (a) pyrite cores sometimes with tinyinclusions of a Ag-bearing phases (b) not alwayspresent elongated chalcopyrite crystals followingthe limit between pyrite and marcasite (c) idio-morphic marcasite crystals (d) collomorphicpyrite overgrown on marcasite This mineralassociation is located at the top of Au-Ag alloybearing levels Marcasite does not show chemicalzonation as it is quite pure (Table 1) with theexception of the last textural case (Fig 3b) Thishas signi cant quantities of As (up to 115 wt)and Sb (up to 040 wt) concentrated in irregularzones in marcasite (Fig 3cd) corresponding tothe maximum concentration of Sb with theintermediate of As (Fig 4a) The increase of Asis accompanied by a decrease in the sulphurconcentration of the same order (Fig 4b) Incontrast with associated pyrite marcasite hassmall Cu and Ag contents (Fig 3fg)
(3) Pyrite is by far the most abundant phaseTwo groups of pyrite are recognized based on
FIG 2 Photomicrographs of Au-Ag alloy (a) Crystal of homogeneous Au-Ag alloy (Au) included in a non-poroustype IV pyrite (Py) (b) Crystal of Au-Ag alloy (Au) overgrowing type IV pyrite (Py)
1062
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
grain size ne- (lt20 mm) and medium- to coarse-grained (gt20 mm) pyrites
Tables 2 and 3 display the results of pyriteanalyses obtained by EPMA Among the traceelements As has signi cant concentrations of upto 611 wt Other elements have lower concen-trations rarely exceeding 1 wt There arenotable differences in the compositions of thetextural varieties of mediumndashcoarse and ne-grained pyrites as noted below
Table 4 presents the large acquisition-timeanalyses for Au in different types of pyrite thesealways being less than the detection limit450 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites
Medium- to coarse-grained pyrite (gt20 mm)
Generally these pyrites are disseminated in thevolcanic host rocks in zones of massive silici ca-tion and in quartz veins In the veins the pyriteaggregates may display diverse textures dissemi-nations stockwork-like veinlets brecciated crusti-form and massive aggregatesThere are three main
morphologies of idiomorphic and subidiomorphicpyrites cubic (with or without striations) penta-gonal dodecahedral and octahedral (Fig 5) Thepentagonal dodecahedralmorphology is ubiquitousthroughout the deposit the octahedral morphologyis related to near surface native gold-bearingmassively silici ed zones and the cubicmorphology occurs in the veins related to deepseated Au-Ag alloy-bearing zones
These pyrites may be differentiated into at leastfour chemical types As-bearing pyrites (type I)Co-Ni-bearing pyrites (type II) Cu-Ag bearingpyrites (type III) as well as pyrite which islacking in trace elements (type IV)
Type I As-bearing pyriteThis type of pyrite is found only within
pentagonal dodecahedral or xenomorphic crystalsin which As is enriched in cores (up to 400 mm indiameter) as well as in polygonal to irregularbands (lt20 mm in thickness)
The cores can be compact or porous (Fig 6a)and occasionally show complex irregular textures
TABLE 1 Chemistry of pyrrhotite and marcasite
A (n = 8) B (n = 31) C (n = 3)Wt Min Max Ave sd (1s) Min Max Ave sd (1s) Min Max Ave sd (1s)
Au 000 006 003 002 000 005 002 002 002 004 003 001Ag 000 003 002 001 000 005 002 001 000 002 001 001S 3787 3993 3864 065 5163 5381 5292 055 5260 5284 5271 010Sb 001 002 001 000 000 040 007 010 001 002 002 000Fe 5869 5992 5948 037 4494 4669 4598 044 4561 4633 4605 031Co 003 005 005 001 001 004 002 001 002 004 003 001Ni 000 005 001 002 000 002 000 001 000 000 000 000Cu 000 009 003 003 000 010 001 002 001 010 005 003Zn 000 002 001 001 000 018 003 003 002 004 003 001As 000 003 001 001 000 115 020 027 001 003 002 001
Total 9737 9884 9829 046 9774 10067 9929 071 987 992 989 018
AtAu 000 001 001 000 000 001 001 000 000 001 000 000Ag 000 001 001 000 000 002 001 000 000 001 000 000S 5235 5417 5302 054 6616 6696 6657 022 6639 6669 6650 013Sb 000 001 001 000 000 013 002 003 000 001 001 000Fe 4572 4753 4686 053 3294 3353 3321 017 3306 3352 3336 021Co 002 004 003 000 001 003 001 000 001 002 002 000Ni 000 004 001 001 000 001 000 000 000 000 000 000Cu 000 006 002 002 000 007 001 001 001 006 003 002Zn 000 001 001 001 000 011 002 002 001 003 002 001As 000 002 001 001 000 063 011 015 000 002 001 000
A Pyrrhotite B Idiomorphic marcasite C Non-idiomorphic marcasite n number of analyses Min minimumMax maximum Ave average sd standard deviation
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1063
FIG 3 Photomicrograph (a) backscattered electron (BSE) (b) and X-ray images of As (c) Sb (d) Cu (e) and Ag (f)of the association type III pyrite (Py III) with Ag sulphide inclusions (Ag sul) chalcopyrite (Cp) idiomorphic
marcasite (Mc) and collomorphic pyrite (Py VI)
1064
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
(Fig 6b) in which tiny crystals of arsenopyritecan sometimes be found
Polygonal bands are scarce and occur aspentagonal dodecahedrons or cubes (Figs 6a and7a) These bands which occasionally containtennantite crystals (Fig 6a) are thin (1 ndash2 mm)with clear boundaries although they occasionallygroup together thus appearing to be thicker
Irregular bands (Fig 7b) are more commonthan the polygonal bands and are more diffuseThey show continuous variations in thicknessfrequent truncations and features typical ofdissolution or uneven growth They are normallyfound in the internal parts of the crystals rarely inthe rims
In contrast with other deposits (eg Fleet et al1989) where oscillatory As zoning affects theentire pyrite crystal the As enrichment (type Ipyrite) is restricted mainly to the most internalparts of the pyrite grains This type of pyrite canbe dissolved and overgrown by coarse pyritelacking trace elements (Fig 7b)
The chemistry of type I pyrite (Table 2) ischaracterized by a clear enrichment in As (up to338 wt) negatively correlated with S (Fig 8a)whereas no correlation exists between As and Fe(Fig 8b) In some cases there is a sporadicincrease in Cu (up to 019) particularly in thecores (Fig 6ab) Figure 8c shows that (1) the Asvalues in the cores are lower than in the bands and(2) the irregular bands are poorer in As than thepolygonal bands
Type II Co-Ni-bearing pyriteThis type of pyrite detectable only by X-ray
maps is prior to or occasionally coeval with As-bearing type I pyrite The type II pyrite(Table 2) is found in the internal parts of thepyrite crystals lacking trace elements as Co- orNi-cores or bands (Fig 7ab) This type showsthe highest Co (001 ndash069 wt) and Ni(000ndash101 wt) values and an increase inthese elements involves a slight decrease in theFe content of pyrite
000
004
008
012
016
000 020 040 060 080
As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
070
6600 6650 6700
S (at)
Sb
(at
)
As
(at
)
a b
FIG 4 (a) As vs Sb diagram showing the relationship between both elements in idiomorphic marcasite (b) S vs Asdiagram showing the inverse correlation between As and S in idiomorphic marcasite
FIG 5 SEM secondary electron images showing pyrite morphology (a) cubic habit (b) pentagonal dodecahedralhabit and (c) octahedral habit
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1065
TA
BL
E2
Che
mis
try
ofm
ediu
m-
toco
arse
-gra
ined
pyri
te(gt
20m m
)
A(n
=19
)B
(n=
21)
C(n
=39
)D
(n=
37)
E(n
=18
)F
(n=
107)
Wt
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Au
000
016
003
004
000
006
003
002
000
016
003
003
000
005
002
001
000
005
002
001
000
010
002
002
Ag
000
006
001
001
000
003
001
001
000
009
002
002
000
005
001
001
000
147
018
035
000
017
002
002
S51
31
530
352
16
043
505
052
62
515
90
6449
39
536
152
10
078
508
753
83
527
20
7952
07
535
352
79
044
515
554
85
533
00
54Sb
000
003
001
001
000
011
002
002
000
019
003
004
000
004
001
001
000
004
001
001
000
006
001
001
Fe45
38
465
646
10
032
443
946
06
453
30
5344
51
467
546
05
049
443
946
41
456
60
6044
42
465
245
78
052
446
846
98
461
90
43C
o0
000
090
030
020
020
510
170
160
000
070
020
010
010
690
250
190
010
030
020
010
000
120
030
02N
i0
000
030
000
010
000
900
170
270
000
050
010
010
001
010
210
260
000
010
000
000
000
080
010
01C
u0
000
190
020
040
000
160
020
030
000
140
020
030
000
080
010
020
010
620
200
160
000
700
040
11Z
n0
000
300
030
070
000
020
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
390
020
04A
s0
242
270
990
661
033
382
270
600
282
761
280
800
003
380
831
180
000
100
020
020
000
230
040
05
Tot
al97
78
100
0999
32
063
985
110
067
996
20
5693
94
100
5299
33
110
989
610
063
997
30
3796
52
102
4099
03
153
982
010
248
999
70
80
At
Au
000
003
001
001
000
001
001
000
000
003
000
00
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
002
000
000
Ag
000
002
001
001
000
001
001
000
000
004
001
00
000
002
001
000
000
056
007
013
000
006
001
001
S65
44
665
065
93
029
646
966
26
654
50
4164
91
667
765
87
04
649
266
88
662
40
5866
32
668
366
58
016
658
367
36
667
00
32Sb
000
001
000
000
000
004
001
001
000
006
001
00
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
002
000
000
Fe33
07
338
533
45
020
322
133
94
330
20
4332
92
342
733
43
03
321
433
48
329
40
3132
54
335
133
15
021
323
834
08
331
90
32C
o0
000
060
020
010
010
350
110
110
000
040
010
00
000
460
170
130
010
020
010
000
000
080
010
01N
i0
000
020
000
010
000
620
120
180
000
040
000
00
000
700
150
180
000
010
000
000
000
050
010
01C
u0
000
130
010
030
000
110
010
020
000
090
010
00
000
050
010
010
010
400
130
100
000
440
020
07Z
n0
000
180
020
040
000
010
010
010
000
020
010
00
000
020
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
240
010
03A
s0
131
230
530
350
561
841
230
330
151
510
630
430
001
840
450
640
000
050
010
010
000
120
020
03
A
type
I(c
ores
)B
ty
peI
(pol
ygon
alba
nds)
C
ty
peI
(irr
egul
arba
nds)
D
ty
peII
E
ty
peII
IF
type
IV
nnu
mbe
rof
anal
yses
M
in
min
imum
M
ax
max
imum
A
ve
aver
age
sd
st
anda
rdde
viat
ion
TA
BL
E3
Che
mis
try
of
ne-g
rain
edpy
rite
(lt20
m m)
A(n
=17
)B
(n=
9)C
(n=
18)
D(n
=33
)E
(n=
11)
F(n
=13
)W
tM
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)
Au
000
006
003
001
000
005
002
002
000
004
002
001
000
005
002
001
000
004
002
001
000
005
002
001
Ag
000
006
003
002
000
006
002
002
000
016
007
005
000
020
004
004
000
005
002
001
000
008
003
003
S52
46
537
953
23
036
486
053
09
518
61
4550
25
530
851
85
068
496
253
79
514
51
2151
75
534
652
68
057
517
553
66
530
60
53Sb
001
003
002
001
000
002
001
001
007
046
018
008
000
141
030
042
000
003
001
001
000
008
002
002
Fe44
53
465
245
91
043
411
145
43
441
91
4441
93
461
644
50
119
416
146
29
437
31
4245
68
466
246
27
024
452
746
33
457
30
37C
o0
010
050
020
010
040
100
070
020
010
040
020
010
000
040
020
010
010
050
030
010
010
030
020
01N
i0
000
020
000
010
010
110
040
030
000
140
050
050
000
010
000
000
000
040
010
010
000
080
020
03C
u0
000
050
020
010
000
020
000
010
000
940
250
270
001
260
190
270
010
390
130
110
001
320
570
39Z
n0
000
030
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
180
060
060
000
100
010
020
000
070
020
020
000
190
040
05A
s0
110
660
210
130
000
290
110
080
534
492
361
100
086
113
761
840
000
080
020
030
000
120
020
03
Tot
al97
44
100
6499
50
073
899
698
76
963
32
9198
20
100
4499
37
058
980
610
056
995
30
7197
95
999
299
22
058
980
610
092
995
30
93
At
Au
000
001
001
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
Ag
000
002
001
001
000
002
001
001
000
006
003
002
000
008
002
002
000
002
001
000
000
003
001
001
S66
45
672
066
75
019
667
367
28
670
20
1865
27
666
565
88
030
647
566
93
656
20
6466
03
667
766
35
026
660
566
97
665
80
29Sb
000
001
001
000
000
001
000
000
003
015
006
003
000
049
010
014
000
001
000
000
000
003
001
001
Fe32
64
332
833
05
017
325
233
03
327
90
1831
27
332
032
46
060
311
833
08
320
10
6133
09
337
933
47
025
326
133
89
329
50
35C
o0
000
030
010
010
020
070
050
020
010
030
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
030
020
010
000
020
010
01N
i0
000
010
000
000
010
080
030
020
000
100
030
040
000
010
000
000
000
030
010
010
000
050
010
02C
u0
000
030
010
010
000
010
000
000
000
610
160
170
000
830
130
180
010
250
080
070
000
830
360
25Z
n0
000
020
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
110
040
030
000
060
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
120
020
03A
s0
060
350
120
070
000
160
060
050
292
501
290
610
043
362
061
020
000
050
010
010
000
070
010
02
A
type
V(f
ram
boid
sse
nsu
stri
cto)
B
ty
peV
(pse
udof
ram
boid
s)
C
type
VI
(col
lom
orph
icpo
rous
pyri
te)
Dt
ype
VI
(bro
wn
collo
mor
phic
pyri
te)
E
type
VII
(mic
ro-g
eode
s)
Fty
peV
II(p
yrit
ein
terg
row
ths
inch
alco
pyri
te)
nnu
mbe
rof
anal
yses
M
in
min
imum
M
ax
max
imum
A
ve
aver
age
sd
st
anda
rdde
viat
ion
Type III pyrite with Cu and Ag
Associated with idiomorphic marcasite in theabove-described marcasite there are pyrites(Table 2) which have signi cant amounts of Cu(up to 062 wt) and Ag (up to 147 wt)
Figure 3e and f shows extended enrichments ofCu and minor in Ag throughout all pyrite grainswhereas in Fig 9 we observed that the Cu and Aglevels are approximately equal with a lsquoback-groundrsquo of Cu of 010 at
FIG 6 (a) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite overgrown by nearly stoichiometric pyrite type IV (1) coreof type I pyrite with porous character (dark areas) (2) thin polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a tennantite (Ten)inclusion On the right hand side of the gure note the As Cu and Sb X-ray images where Cu and Sb are slightlyenriched in the type I pyrite core (b) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite core with a complex texture anda tiny arsenopyrite inclusion (Apy) On the right hand side of the gure note the As and Cu X-ray images from the
marked area
1068
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Type IV pyrite lackingtrace elementsThis type of pyrite volumetrically the most
abundant is characterized by neglible concentra-tions of trace elements (Table 2) Type IV pyrite is
found as disseminations throughout the volcanichost rock or in quartz veins and silici ed zoneswhere it can contain types I and II pyrites or elseappear as homogeneous crystals Type IV pyrite
FIG 7 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyrite hosted by type IV pyrite(1) polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a pentagonal dodecahedral morphology overgrown by (2) a polygonal bandwith cubic morphology As Co and Ni X-ray images on the right hand side of the gure reveal Co-Ni bearing typeII pyrite in core and bands (3) (b) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyritehosted by type IV pyrite (1) irregular bands of type I with abundant truncations in the inner part of the crystal(2) irregular bands of type I in the rim of the crystal On the right hand side of the gure note the As Co and Ni
X-ray images with the non-coincident Co-rich and Ni-rich pyrite (3)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1069
frequently has pore-rich zones that generallycoincide with the central parts of the crystalswhich also have high concentrations of mineralmicroinclusions especially pyrrhotite chalco-pyrite rutile and magnetite
It should be noted that Au-Ag alloys are hostedby the type IV pyrite preferentially included inthe pore-free zones (Fig 2a)
Fine-grained pyrites (lt20 mm)
This group comprises framboidal (type V) andcollomorphic (type VI) pyrites as well as micro-
geodes and intergrowths of pyrite in chalcopyrite(type VII)
Type V framboidal pyriteThis type is relatively rare and occurs in two
varieties (1) As framboids sensu stricto(Fig 10a) generally spherical and lt50 mm insize The pyrite microcrystals very closelypacked are subidiomorphic and equigranular(plusmn2 mm) In some cases the framboidal pyrite isovergrown by coarse-grained type IV pyrite(2) As lsquopseudoframboidsrsquo (Fig 10b) that areloosely packed or even disaggregated with sizes
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
6 4 5 65 0 6 55 6 6 0 6 6 5 6 7 0 S (at)
Type I
Type VI
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
31 0 31 5 32 0 32 5 33 0 33 5 Fe (at)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 02 04 06 08 1 12 14 As (at)
Type I (ii)
(iii)
(i)
As
(at
)Fr
eque
ncy
As
(at
)
Type I
Type VI
a
b
c
FIG 8 (a) S vs As diagram showing inverse correlation with different slopes for type I and type VI pyrite (b) Fe vsAs diagram showing no correlation in type I pyrite but good inverse correlation in type VI pyrite (c) Arseniccontent frequency histogram in type I pyrite (i) cores (ii) polygonal bands (iii) irregular bands Observe that the
cores have the lowest As content while the highest As values are in the polygonal bands
1070
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of up to 50 mm In contrast to the framboids sensustricto the pyrite microcrystals here are roundedor oval-shaped and vary in size from lt1 to 5 mmThe outermost crystals are the largest
Both types of framboidal pyrites show smallamounts of trace elements As being the mostabundant (average of 018 wt Table 3)
Type VI collomorphic pyriteThese pyrites occur principally in two genera-
tions of overgrowth on previous pyrite crystalsalthough they can also overgrow idiomorphicmarcasite and exceptionally chalcopyrite TypeVI occurs as either porous collomorphic pyrite(Fig 10c) or as brown collomorphic pyrite underre ected light microscope (Fig 10d)
These pyrites have the largest amounts of As(008ndash611 wt) Cu (000ndash126 wt) Sb(000ndash141 wt) and Ag (000 ndash020 wt)but the smallest Fe contents (419ndash462 wt)of all the pyrites analysed in the deposit Nickeland Zn have also been detected (Table 3) Arsenicis negatively correlated with S with a slope( ndash158) more pronounced than for the type Ipyrite (Fig 8a) The As is also negativelycorrelated with Fe (Fig 8b)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
000 010 020 030 040
Cu (at)
Ag
(at
)
FIG 9 (a) Cu vs Ag diagram showing two types ofbehaviour (represented by ellipses) of the relation
between both elements in type III pyrite
FIG 10 Photomicrographs of type V and type VI pyrite (a) Framboids sensu stricto closely packed withsubidiomorphic coalescing microcrystals (b) lsquoPseudoframboidrsquo of loosely packed pyrite of rounded or oval shapes(c) Porous collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing marcasite and coarse pyrite (2) (d) Bands of brown collomorphic
pyrite showing graded shading (1) overgrowing coarse pyrite (2)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1071
Within the overgrowths of collomorphic pyritethe rst generation is usually richer in As than thesecond one (Fig 11ab) with some chemicaldifferences between the two textural varieties
The porous collomorphic pyrite contains lessAs (053ndash449 wt) than the brown collo-morphic pyrite It also has relatively largeamounts of Ag Cu Ni and Zn and these aredirectly correlated with As concentration
(Fig 12) a feature that is evident from theX-ray maps in Fig 10a for Cu Ag and Ni
The brown collomorphic pyrite has the highestAs content (008ndash611 wt) It is is alsoenriched in Ag Cu and Sb but not in Zn or NiIn contrast with the porous variety there is nodirect correlation between these elements and As(Fig 12) However at high As concentrationsthere is an enrichment in Ag Cu and Sb and the
FIG 11 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type VI pyrite There are two bands (1) and (2) of collomorphic pyriteovergrowing marcasite (Mc) with the former being richer in Cu Ag As and Ni than the latter (b) BSE and X-rayimages of type VI pyrite Collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing coarse type IV pyrite (2) The As concentration isrelatively homogeneous in this collomorphic pyrite just the opposite of the Cu and Sb concentrations which are
enriched in the ner bands
1072
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
000
002
004
006
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
645
650
655
660
665
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
020
040
060
080
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
010
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
S (
at
)
Ag
(at
)
Cu
(at
)
Sb
(at
)
Zn
(at
)
Ni (
at
)
(a)
(b)
FIG 12 Binary diagrams showing variations between different elements in type VI pyrite (a) porous collomorphicpyrite and (b) brown collomorphic pyrite
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1073
nature of Cu and Sb distributed in As-rich bandsis shown in the X-ray maps in Fig 11b
Type VII pyrite micro-geodes and intergrowths inchalcopyrite
In both cases (Fig 13) pyrite occurs aschemically homogeneous xenomorphic ne-grained (lt15 mm) aggregates located in chalco-pyrite crystals The micro-geodes tend to be up to400 mm in diameter and sometimes host marcasitecrystals The pyrite intergrowths are distributedalong elongated zones within the chalcopyrite
The trace-element concentration is quite low inboth cases similar to that of the coarse-grainedpyrite of type IV
Based on the textural evidence summarizedabove we propose a paragenetic sequence for thedistinct types of Fe-sulphides at veins presentedin Fig 14
Genetic considerations
Origin of pyriteThe pyrite of the Palai-Islica deposit originatedfrom hydrothermal uids However the formationpathways of pyrite from hydrothermal uids arecontroversial and an intermediate precursor isthought to be necessary (eg Benning et al2000) Moreover certain textural characteristicsobserved in the pyrite of this deposit (eg relics ofpyrrhotite presence of framboids) should beconsidered in evaluating possible processes ofpyrite formation such as (1) the transformationofpyrrhotite and marcasite and (2) the formation ofpyrite framboids
The transformation of pyrrhotite and marcasite
Some of the pyrite in this deposit may initiallyhave crystallized as pyrrhotite proper andsubsequently been transformed into pyrite byone of the mechanisms proposed by Fleet (1978)and by Murowchick and Barnes (1986) Due tothe smaller molar volume of pyrite thistransformation could account for the existenceof the high-porosity zones particularly in thepyrite lsquolackingrsquo trace elements Marcasite hadalso been a precursor of type VII pyrite as shownby the textural evidence
The formation of framboids
Occasionally the precursor of the medium- tocoarse-grained pyrite may have been framboidal
pyrite which in turn may have had greigite as aprecursor (Wilkin and Barnes 1997) Thepresence of zones in the porous type IV pyritewould correspond to zones where the recrystalli-zation was incomplete whereas the abundantmicro-inclusions in the porous pyrite could beinterpreted as crystals that were trapped in theframboidal spaces According to Wilkin andBarnes (1997) the maximum temperature atwhich framboidal pyrite may nucleate is 225ordmCThis temperature is consistent with the lowerrange of temperatures determined by microther-mometry of uid inclusions (between 120 and465ordmC) in quartz associated with pyrite (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Evolution of As contents in the pyrite
Pyrites in other hydrothermal deposits havecharacteristic oscillatory banding due to varia-tions in a relatively continuous supply of Asduring precipitation (eg Fleet et al 1989)However the As supply to the Palai-Islicapyrites seems to have been more episodicconcentrated in the mineralization areas espe-cially in relation to gold-bearing levels but not inthe hydrothermal alteration Based on textural andmineral chemistry data there have been two mainepisodes of well-de ned As enrichment
The rst As-rich episode associated with theinitial stages of formation of the depositproduced the As-rich cores and bands of type Ipyrite with some related tiny crystals ofarsenopyrite (main stage of pyrite precipitation)It was occasionally accompanied by the incor-poration of Cu which is sometimes linked to theformation of the tennantite inclusions The As-rich cores and bands are the product ofcontinuous pyrite growth as indicated by theconcentric nature of the banding the coherencebetween the morphology of the banding and thecrystal habits
Following this rst As-rich episode there was astage of As-free pyrite crystallization (type IV)The type IV pyrite is not only volumetricallysigni cant in places forming massive aggregatesbut it also hosts gold alloys
The second As-rich episode associated withthe nal stages of the Fe sulphide deposition ischaracterized by the presence of idiomorphicmarcasite and two varieties of collomorphicpyrite(type VI) the most As-rich pyrites of Palai-IslicaTwo consecutive bands can be distinguishedwiththe rst one mainly richer in As
1074
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Accordingly the As entered into the pyritestructure in two stages and appears to beincorporated by two different mechanisms assuggested by the relationship between As S andFe (1) in pyrites from the rst episode the Ascontent of the pyrite is negatively correlated withS while the Fe content is constant (Fig 7ab) TheAs was incorporated in a metastable solid solutionin the S positions It could be related to layers oflsquomarcasite-likersquo structure with high As content
(Fleet et al 1989 Simon et al 1999) or else asclusters with a lower As content in the pyritestructure (Savage et al 2000) (2) In contrast inpyrites produced during the second episode the Asis negatively correlated with both the S and the Fe(Fig 7ab) and the increase in the As concentra-tion is accompanied by increasing contents of CuAg Sb Zn and Ni In this case there are nocrystallochemical studies on the entrance of Asinto pyrite associated with decreasing S and Fe
PRE-ORESTAGE
ORESTAGE
Pyrrhotite
Pyrite type IV
Cores of pyritewith As (type I)
Pyrite type II
Polygonal bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Irregular bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Pyrite type III
Pyrite type V
Pyrite type VI
Pyrite type VII
Gold precipitation
Marcasite microveins
Idiomorphic marcasiteassociated with type III pyrite
FIG 14 Paragenetic sequence of the different types of Fe-sulphides showing their relationship with the gold at Palai-Islica mineralization
FIG 13 Photomicrographs of type VII pyrite (a) Micro-geodes of pyrite (py) in chalcopyrite (cp) (b) Bands ofmicrocrystals of pyrite (py) in coarse-grained chalcopyrite (cp)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1075
contents However this correlation might beexplained by either the entrance of cationic Asandor non-stoichiometric As (Fleet and Mumin1997) Although the presence of collomorphictextures does not necessarily imply colloidalorigin (Roedder 1968) colloidal precipitation isnonetheless an attractive hypothesis to explain theparticular textural and chemical characteristics ofthe collomorphic pyrite overgrowths sincecolloidal particles might be quite effective intrapping As ions Colloidal particles with an Ascovering (negatively charged) could in turn act aslsquotrapsrsquo for cations This mechanism could explainthe relatively large amounts of Cu Ag Sb Zn andNi as well as the Fe de cit found in thecollomorphic pyrite overgrowths
Type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite association
The mineral association of type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite could be related to theformation of Au-Ag alloy horizons because of itslocation at the top of the horizons The low d34Ssignature of these sulphides different from therest of the deposit (author data) could be causedby another kind of uid implicated in the mixingprocesses mentioned by Morales Ruano et al(2000)
The high Ag and Cu contents of type III pyriteand of As and Sb in marcasite are notable We caninfer from Fig 9 two paths for the entry of Cuinto pyrite (1) below 010 at Cu (with whichthere is no concomitant increase in Ag) It iswidely spread through the pyrite crystals (Fig 3)(2) Above 010 at Cu the increase in Cu is in a11 relationship with Ag These high concentra-tions of Cu and Ag not are due to the presence ofmicroscopic inclusions as optical study shows sothey must be produced by (a) very abundantsubmicroscopic inclusions of chalcopyrite andorCu-Ag phases always intergrown with chalco-pyrite and (b) a true solid solution of Cu and Ag
The entry of As in marcasite is the same as fortype I pyrite due to the 11 correlation betweenAs and S In addition a small amount of Sb entersthe marcasite when the concentration of As isgt010 at It seems that the maximum Sb occursat ~020 at of As
We explain the chalcopyrite dispositionbetween marcasite and pyrite as the result of adiffusion process in which Cu migrates to thelimit between pyrite and marcasite This processalso liberates Ag to form Ag mineral inclusions(Ag suphides and sulphosalts)
Relationshipsbetween pyrite habit and gold crystalsWe have found a close relationship between thepyrite habit and the presence of gold crystalsSpeci cally the gold is found on the mineralizedlevels containing type IV pyrite displaying a greatvariety of crystallographic habits (cubes andpentagonal dodecahedrons or octahedrons andpentagonal dodecahedrons) In contrast barrenzones occur where only the pentagonal dodecahe-dral morphology is developed
Correlations between pyrite morphology andmetal-enriched zones has also been described inother deposits (eg Sunagawa 1957 Bush et al1960 Amstutz 1963) Pyrite morphology isdetermined by crystalline growth mechanisms(primarily screw dislocation and layer-by-layer)which are dependent on the temperature anddegree of supersa turat ion of the uid(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) Pyrite deposi-tion in the Au-mineralized zones in Palai-Islicamay have been associated with a change in thedegree of supersaturation of the mineralizing uid possibly due to mixing of uids suggestedby the uid inclusion data reported by MoralesRuano et al (2000)
Au and Ag contents in pyrite
The Au contents obtained by EPMA for thedifferent pyrite types are uniformly low (Tables 2and 3) Selected high-acquisition-time analysis ofdifferent pyrite types (Table 4) also present lowAu contents never greater than the detection limitof 475 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites which areconsidered to be potentially invisible-gold-bearing (eg Cook and Chryssoulis 1990)These results in addition to the abundance ofvisible gold grains suggest that invisible goldmay not be volumetrically signi cant in theoverall deposit (Carrillo Rosua et al 2002) asin other deposits where Au in pyrite reaches morethan 1000 ppm (eg Mao 1991 Fleet et al 1993Asadi et al 1999 Simon et al 1999)
The relatively large values of Ag found in thetype III pyrite (up to 147 wt) and in the typeVI collomorphic pyrite (up to 02 wt) areworthy of note This Ag concentration is one ofthe highest found in pyrite to date (Larocque etal 1995 up to 1426 ppm Grif n et al 1991 upto 625 ppm Tompkins et al 1997 up to200 ppm Roberts 1982 up to 300 ppm Ashleyet al 2000 up to 88 ppm) In our case the supplyof Ag by the pyrite to the deposit as a whole couldbe noteworthy especially in the super cial zones
1076
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
grain size ne- (lt20 mm) and medium- to coarse-grained (gt20 mm) pyrites
Tables 2 and 3 display the results of pyriteanalyses obtained by EPMA Among the traceelements As has signi cant concentrations of upto 611 wt Other elements have lower concen-trations rarely exceeding 1 wt There arenotable differences in the compositions of thetextural varieties of mediumndashcoarse and ne-grained pyrites as noted below
Table 4 presents the large acquisition-timeanalyses for Au in different types of pyrite thesealways being less than the detection limit450 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites
Medium- to coarse-grained pyrite (gt20 mm)
Generally these pyrites are disseminated in thevolcanic host rocks in zones of massive silici ca-tion and in quartz veins In the veins the pyriteaggregates may display diverse textures dissemi-nations stockwork-like veinlets brecciated crusti-form and massive aggregatesThere are three main
morphologies of idiomorphic and subidiomorphicpyrites cubic (with or without striations) penta-gonal dodecahedral and octahedral (Fig 5) Thepentagonal dodecahedralmorphology is ubiquitousthroughout the deposit the octahedral morphologyis related to near surface native gold-bearingmassively silici ed zones and the cubicmorphology occurs in the veins related to deepseated Au-Ag alloy-bearing zones
These pyrites may be differentiated into at leastfour chemical types As-bearing pyrites (type I)Co-Ni-bearing pyrites (type II) Cu-Ag bearingpyrites (type III) as well as pyrite which islacking in trace elements (type IV)
Type I As-bearing pyriteThis type of pyrite is found only within
pentagonal dodecahedral or xenomorphic crystalsin which As is enriched in cores (up to 400 mm indiameter) as well as in polygonal to irregularbands (lt20 mm in thickness)
The cores can be compact or porous (Fig 6a)and occasionally show complex irregular textures
TABLE 1 Chemistry of pyrrhotite and marcasite
A (n = 8) B (n = 31) C (n = 3)Wt Min Max Ave sd (1s) Min Max Ave sd (1s) Min Max Ave sd (1s)
Au 000 006 003 002 000 005 002 002 002 004 003 001Ag 000 003 002 001 000 005 002 001 000 002 001 001S 3787 3993 3864 065 5163 5381 5292 055 5260 5284 5271 010Sb 001 002 001 000 000 040 007 010 001 002 002 000Fe 5869 5992 5948 037 4494 4669 4598 044 4561 4633 4605 031Co 003 005 005 001 001 004 002 001 002 004 003 001Ni 000 005 001 002 000 002 000 001 000 000 000 000Cu 000 009 003 003 000 010 001 002 001 010 005 003Zn 000 002 001 001 000 018 003 003 002 004 003 001As 000 003 001 001 000 115 020 027 001 003 002 001
Total 9737 9884 9829 046 9774 10067 9929 071 987 992 989 018
AtAu 000 001 001 000 000 001 001 000 000 001 000 000Ag 000 001 001 000 000 002 001 000 000 001 000 000S 5235 5417 5302 054 6616 6696 6657 022 6639 6669 6650 013Sb 000 001 001 000 000 013 002 003 000 001 001 000Fe 4572 4753 4686 053 3294 3353 3321 017 3306 3352 3336 021Co 002 004 003 000 001 003 001 000 001 002 002 000Ni 000 004 001 001 000 001 000 000 000 000 000 000Cu 000 006 002 002 000 007 001 001 001 006 003 002Zn 000 001 001 001 000 011 002 002 001 003 002 001As 000 002 001 001 000 063 011 015 000 002 001 000
A Pyrrhotite B Idiomorphic marcasite C Non-idiomorphic marcasite n number of analyses Min minimumMax maximum Ave average sd standard deviation
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1063
FIG 3 Photomicrograph (a) backscattered electron (BSE) (b) and X-ray images of As (c) Sb (d) Cu (e) and Ag (f)of the association type III pyrite (Py III) with Ag sulphide inclusions (Ag sul) chalcopyrite (Cp) idiomorphic
marcasite (Mc) and collomorphic pyrite (Py VI)
1064
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
(Fig 6b) in which tiny crystals of arsenopyritecan sometimes be found
Polygonal bands are scarce and occur aspentagonal dodecahedrons or cubes (Figs 6a and7a) These bands which occasionally containtennantite crystals (Fig 6a) are thin (1 ndash2 mm)with clear boundaries although they occasionallygroup together thus appearing to be thicker
Irregular bands (Fig 7b) are more commonthan the polygonal bands and are more diffuseThey show continuous variations in thicknessfrequent truncations and features typical ofdissolution or uneven growth They are normallyfound in the internal parts of the crystals rarely inthe rims
In contrast with other deposits (eg Fleet et al1989) where oscillatory As zoning affects theentire pyrite crystal the As enrichment (type Ipyrite) is restricted mainly to the most internalparts of the pyrite grains This type of pyrite canbe dissolved and overgrown by coarse pyritelacking trace elements (Fig 7b)
The chemistry of type I pyrite (Table 2) ischaracterized by a clear enrichment in As (up to338 wt) negatively correlated with S (Fig 8a)whereas no correlation exists between As and Fe(Fig 8b) In some cases there is a sporadicincrease in Cu (up to 019) particularly in thecores (Fig 6ab) Figure 8c shows that (1) the Asvalues in the cores are lower than in the bands and(2) the irregular bands are poorer in As than thepolygonal bands
Type II Co-Ni-bearing pyriteThis type of pyrite detectable only by X-ray
maps is prior to or occasionally coeval with As-bearing type I pyrite The type II pyrite(Table 2) is found in the internal parts of thepyrite crystals lacking trace elements as Co- orNi-cores or bands (Fig 7ab) This type showsthe highest Co (001 ndash069 wt) and Ni(000ndash101 wt) values and an increase inthese elements involves a slight decrease in theFe content of pyrite
000
004
008
012
016
000 020 040 060 080
As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
070
6600 6650 6700
S (at)
Sb
(at
)
As
(at
)
a b
FIG 4 (a) As vs Sb diagram showing the relationship between both elements in idiomorphic marcasite (b) S vs Asdiagram showing the inverse correlation between As and S in idiomorphic marcasite
FIG 5 SEM secondary electron images showing pyrite morphology (a) cubic habit (b) pentagonal dodecahedralhabit and (c) octahedral habit
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1065
TA
BL
E2
Che
mis
try
ofm
ediu
m-
toco
arse
-gra
ined
pyri
te(gt
20m m
)
A(n
=19
)B
(n=
21)
C(n
=39
)D
(n=
37)
E(n
=18
)F
(n=
107)
Wt
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Au
000
016
003
004
000
006
003
002
000
016
003
003
000
005
002
001
000
005
002
001
000
010
002
002
Ag
000
006
001
001
000
003
001
001
000
009
002
002
000
005
001
001
000
147
018
035
000
017
002
002
S51
31
530
352
16
043
505
052
62
515
90
6449
39
536
152
10
078
508
753
83
527
20
7952
07
535
352
79
044
515
554
85
533
00
54Sb
000
003
001
001
000
011
002
002
000
019
003
004
000
004
001
001
000
004
001
001
000
006
001
001
Fe45
38
465
646
10
032
443
946
06
453
30
5344
51
467
546
05
049
443
946
41
456
60
6044
42
465
245
78
052
446
846
98
461
90
43C
o0
000
090
030
020
020
510
170
160
000
070
020
010
010
690
250
190
010
030
020
010
000
120
030
02N
i0
000
030
000
010
000
900
170
270
000
050
010
010
001
010
210
260
000
010
000
000
000
080
010
01C
u0
000
190
020
040
000
160
020
030
000
140
020
030
000
080
010
020
010
620
200
160
000
700
040
11Z
n0
000
300
030
070
000
020
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
390
020
04A
s0
242
270
990
661
033
382
270
600
282
761
280
800
003
380
831
180
000
100
020
020
000
230
040
05
Tot
al97
78
100
0999
32
063
985
110
067
996
20
5693
94
100
5299
33
110
989
610
063
997
30
3796
52
102
4099
03
153
982
010
248
999
70
80
At
Au
000
003
001
001
000
001
001
000
000
003
000
00
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
002
000
000
Ag
000
002
001
001
000
001
001
000
000
004
001
00
000
002
001
000
000
056
007
013
000
006
001
001
S65
44
665
065
93
029
646
966
26
654
50
4164
91
667
765
87
04
649
266
88
662
40
5866
32
668
366
58
016
658
367
36
667
00
32Sb
000
001
000
000
000
004
001
001
000
006
001
00
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
002
000
000
Fe33
07
338
533
45
020
322
133
94
330
20
4332
92
342
733
43
03
321
433
48
329
40
3132
54
335
133
15
021
323
834
08
331
90
32C
o0
000
060
020
010
010
350
110
110
000
040
010
00
000
460
170
130
010
020
010
000
000
080
010
01N
i0
000
020
000
010
000
620
120
180
000
040
000
00
000
700
150
180
000
010
000
000
000
050
010
01C
u0
000
130
010
030
000
110
010
020
000
090
010
00
000
050
010
010
010
400
130
100
000
440
020
07Z
n0
000
180
020
040
000
010
010
010
000
020
010
00
000
020
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
240
010
03A
s0
131
230
530
350
561
841
230
330
151
510
630
430
001
840
450
640
000
050
010
010
000
120
020
03
A
type
I(c
ores
)B
ty
peI
(pol
ygon
alba
nds)
C
ty
peI
(irr
egul
arba
nds)
D
ty
peII
E
ty
peII
IF
type
IV
nnu
mbe
rof
anal
yses
M
in
min
imum
M
ax
max
imum
A
ve
aver
age
sd
st
anda
rdde
viat
ion
TA
BL
E3
Che
mis
try
of
ne-g
rain
edpy
rite
(lt20
m m)
A(n
=17
)B
(n=
9)C
(n=
18)
D(n
=33
)E
(n=
11)
F(n
=13
)W
tM
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)
Au
000
006
003
001
000
005
002
002
000
004
002
001
000
005
002
001
000
004
002
001
000
005
002
001
Ag
000
006
003
002
000
006
002
002
000
016
007
005
000
020
004
004
000
005
002
001
000
008
003
003
S52
46
537
953
23
036
486
053
09
518
61
4550
25
530
851
85
068
496
253
79
514
51
2151
75
534
652
68
057
517
553
66
530
60
53Sb
001
003
002
001
000
002
001
001
007
046
018
008
000
141
030
042
000
003
001
001
000
008
002
002
Fe44
53
465
245
91
043
411
145
43
441
91
4441
93
461
644
50
119
416
146
29
437
31
4245
68
466
246
27
024
452
746
33
457
30
37C
o0
010
050
020
010
040
100
070
020
010
040
020
010
000
040
020
010
010
050
030
010
010
030
020
01N
i0
000
020
000
010
010
110
040
030
000
140
050
050
000
010
000
000
000
040
010
010
000
080
020
03C
u0
000
050
020
010
000
020
000
010
000
940
250
270
001
260
190
270
010
390
130
110
001
320
570
39Z
n0
000
030
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
180
060
060
000
100
010
020
000
070
020
020
000
190
040
05A
s0
110
660
210
130
000
290
110
080
534
492
361
100
086
113
761
840
000
080
020
030
000
120
020
03
Tot
al97
44
100
6499
50
073
899
698
76
963
32
9198
20
100
4499
37
058
980
610
056
995
30
7197
95
999
299
22
058
980
610
092
995
30
93
At
Au
000
001
001
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
Ag
000
002
001
001
000
002
001
001
000
006
003
002
000
008
002
002
000
002
001
000
000
003
001
001
S66
45
672
066
75
019
667
367
28
670
20
1865
27
666
565
88
030
647
566
93
656
20
6466
03
667
766
35
026
660
566
97
665
80
29Sb
000
001
001
000
000
001
000
000
003
015
006
003
000
049
010
014
000
001
000
000
000
003
001
001
Fe32
64
332
833
05
017
325
233
03
327
90
1831
27
332
032
46
060
311
833
08
320
10
6133
09
337
933
47
025
326
133
89
329
50
35C
o0
000
030
010
010
020
070
050
020
010
030
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
030
020
010
000
020
010
01N
i0
000
010
000
000
010
080
030
020
000
100
030
040
000
010
000
000
000
030
010
010
000
050
010
02C
u0
000
030
010
010
000
010
000
000
000
610
160
170
000
830
130
180
010
250
080
070
000
830
360
25Z
n0
000
020
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
110
040
030
000
060
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
120
020
03A
s0
060
350
120
070
000
160
060
050
292
501
290
610
043
362
061
020
000
050
010
010
000
070
010
02
A
type
V(f
ram
boid
sse
nsu
stri
cto)
B
ty
peV
(pse
udof
ram
boid
s)
C
type
VI
(col
lom
orph
icpo
rous
pyri
te)
Dt
ype
VI
(bro
wn
collo
mor
phic
pyri
te)
E
type
VII
(mic
ro-g
eode
s)
Fty
peV
II(p
yrit
ein
terg
row
ths
inch
alco
pyri
te)
nnu
mbe
rof
anal
yses
M
in
min
imum
M
ax
max
imum
A
ve
aver
age
sd
st
anda
rdde
viat
ion
Type III pyrite with Cu and Ag
Associated with idiomorphic marcasite in theabove-described marcasite there are pyrites(Table 2) which have signi cant amounts of Cu(up to 062 wt) and Ag (up to 147 wt)
Figure 3e and f shows extended enrichments ofCu and minor in Ag throughout all pyrite grainswhereas in Fig 9 we observed that the Cu and Aglevels are approximately equal with a lsquoback-groundrsquo of Cu of 010 at
FIG 6 (a) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite overgrown by nearly stoichiometric pyrite type IV (1) coreof type I pyrite with porous character (dark areas) (2) thin polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a tennantite (Ten)inclusion On the right hand side of the gure note the As Cu and Sb X-ray images where Cu and Sb are slightlyenriched in the type I pyrite core (b) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite core with a complex texture anda tiny arsenopyrite inclusion (Apy) On the right hand side of the gure note the As and Cu X-ray images from the
marked area
1068
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Type IV pyrite lackingtrace elementsThis type of pyrite volumetrically the most
abundant is characterized by neglible concentra-tions of trace elements (Table 2) Type IV pyrite is
found as disseminations throughout the volcanichost rock or in quartz veins and silici ed zoneswhere it can contain types I and II pyrites or elseappear as homogeneous crystals Type IV pyrite
FIG 7 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyrite hosted by type IV pyrite(1) polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a pentagonal dodecahedral morphology overgrown by (2) a polygonal bandwith cubic morphology As Co and Ni X-ray images on the right hand side of the gure reveal Co-Ni bearing typeII pyrite in core and bands (3) (b) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyritehosted by type IV pyrite (1) irregular bands of type I with abundant truncations in the inner part of the crystal(2) irregular bands of type I in the rim of the crystal On the right hand side of the gure note the As Co and Ni
X-ray images with the non-coincident Co-rich and Ni-rich pyrite (3)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1069
frequently has pore-rich zones that generallycoincide with the central parts of the crystalswhich also have high concentrations of mineralmicroinclusions especially pyrrhotite chalco-pyrite rutile and magnetite
It should be noted that Au-Ag alloys are hostedby the type IV pyrite preferentially included inthe pore-free zones (Fig 2a)
Fine-grained pyrites (lt20 mm)
This group comprises framboidal (type V) andcollomorphic (type VI) pyrites as well as micro-
geodes and intergrowths of pyrite in chalcopyrite(type VII)
Type V framboidal pyriteThis type is relatively rare and occurs in two
varieties (1) As framboids sensu stricto(Fig 10a) generally spherical and lt50 mm insize The pyrite microcrystals very closelypacked are subidiomorphic and equigranular(plusmn2 mm) In some cases the framboidal pyrite isovergrown by coarse-grained type IV pyrite(2) As lsquopseudoframboidsrsquo (Fig 10b) that areloosely packed or even disaggregated with sizes
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
6 4 5 65 0 6 55 6 6 0 6 6 5 6 7 0 S (at)
Type I
Type VI
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
31 0 31 5 32 0 32 5 33 0 33 5 Fe (at)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 02 04 06 08 1 12 14 As (at)
Type I (ii)
(iii)
(i)
As
(at
)Fr
eque
ncy
As
(at
)
Type I
Type VI
a
b
c
FIG 8 (a) S vs As diagram showing inverse correlation with different slopes for type I and type VI pyrite (b) Fe vsAs diagram showing no correlation in type I pyrite but good inverse correlation in type VI pyrite (c) Arseniccontent frequency histogram in type I pyrite (i) cores (ii) polygonal bands (iii) irregular bands Observe that the
cores have the lowest As content while the highest As values are in the polygonal bands
1070
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of up to 50 mm In contrast to the framboids sensustricto the pyrite microcrystals here are roundedor oval-shaped and vary in size from lt1 to 5 mmThe outermost crystals are the largest
Both types of framboidal pyrites show smallamounts of trace elements As being the mostabundant (average of 018 wt Table 3)
Type VI collomorphic pyriteThese pyrites occur principally in two genera-
tions of overgrowth on previous pyrite crystalsalthough they can also overgrow idiomorphicmarcasite and exceptionally chalcopyrite TypeVI occurs as either porous collomorphic pyrite(Fig 10c) or as brown collomorphic pyrite underre ected light microscope (Fig 10d)
These pyrites have the largest amounts of As(008ndash611 wt) Cu (000ndash126 wt) Sb(000ndash141 wt) and Ag (000 ndash020 wt)but the smallest Fe contents (419ndash462 wt)of all the pyrites analysed in the deposit Nickeland Zn have also been detected (Table 3) Arsenicis negatively correlated with S with a slope( ndash158) more pronounced than for the type Ipyrite (Fig 8a) The As is also negativelycorrelated with Fe (Fig 8b)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
000 010 020 030 040
Cu (at)
Ag
(at
)
FIG 9 (a) Cu vs Ag diagram showing two types ofbehaviour (represented by ellipses) of the relation
between both elements in type III pyrite
FIG 10 Photomicrographs of type V and type VI pyrite (a) Framboids sensu stricto closely packed withsubidiomorphic coalescing microcrystals (b) lsquoPseudoframboidrsquo of loosely packed pyrite of rounded or oval shapes(c) Porous collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing marcasite and coarse pyrite (2) (d) Bands of brown collomorphic
pyrite showing graded shading (1) overgrowing coarse pyrite (2)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1071
Within the overgrowths of collomorphic pyritethe rst generation is usually richer in As than thesecond one (Fig 11ab) with some chemicaldifferences between the two textural varieties
The porous collomorphic pyrite contains lessAs (053ndash449 wt) than the brown collo-morphic pyrite It also has relatively largeamounts of Ag Cu Ni and Zn and these aredirectly correlated with As concentration
(Fig 12) a feature that is evident from theX-ray maps in Fig 10a for Cu Ag and Ni
The brown collomorphic pyrite has the highestAs content (008ndash611 wt) It is is alsoenriched in Ag Cu and Sb but not in Zn or NiIn contrast with the porous variety there is nodirect correlation between these elements and As(Fig 12) However at high As concentrationsthere is an enrichment in Ag Cu and Sb and the
FIG 11 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type VI pyrite There are two bands (1) and (2) of collomorphic pyriteovergrowing marcasite (Mc) with the former being richer in Cu Ag As and Ni than the latter (b) BSE and X-rayimages of type VI pyrite Collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing coarse type IV pyrite (2) The As concentration isrelatively homogeneous in this collomorphic pyrite just the opposite of the Cu and Sb concentrations which are
enriched in the ner bands
1072
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
000
002
004
006
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
645
650
655
660
665
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
020
040
060
080
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
010
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
S (
at
)
Ag
(at
)
Cu
(at
)
Sb
(at
)
Zn
(at
)
Ni (
at
)
(a)
(b)
FIG 12 Binary diagrams showing variations between different elements in type VI pyrite (a) porous collomorphicpyrite and (b) brown collomorphic pyrite
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1073
nature of Cu and Sb distributed in As-rich bandsis shown in the X-ray maps in Fig 11b
Type VII pyrite micro-geodes and intergrowths inchalcopyrite
In both cases (Fig 13) pyrite occurs aschemically homogeneous xenomorphic ne-grained (lt15 mm) aggregates located in chalco-pyrite crystals The micro-geodes tend to be up to400 mm in diameter and sometimes host marcasitecrystals The pyrite intergrowths are distributedalong elongated zones within the chalcopyrite
The trace-element concentration is quite low inboth cases similar to that of the coarse-grainedpyrite of type IV
Based on the textural evidence summarizedabove we propose a paragenetic sequence for thedistinct types of Fe-sulphides at veins presentedin Fig 14
Genetic considerations
Origin of pyriteThe pyrite of the Palai-Islica deposit originatedfrom hydrothermal uids However the formationpathways of pyrite from hydrothermal uids arecontroversial and an intermediate precursor isthought to be necessary (eg Benning et al2000) Moreover certain textural characteristicsobserved in the pyrite of this deposit (eg relics ofpyrrhotite presence of framboids) should beconsidered in evaluating possible processes ofpyrite formation such as (1) the transformationofpyrrhotite and marcasite and (2) the formation ofpyrite framboids
The transformation of pyrrhotite and marcasite
Some of the pyrite in this deposit may initiallyhave crystallized as pyrrhotite proper andsubsequently been transformed into pyrite byone of the mechanisms proposed by Fleet (1978)and by Murowchick and Barnes (1986) Due tothe smaller molar volume of pyrite thistransformation could account for the existenceof the high-porosity zones particularly in thepyrite lsquolackingrsquo trace elements Marcasite hadalso been a precursor of type VII pyrite as shownby the textural evidence
The formation of framboids
Occasionally the precursor of the medium- tocoarse-grained pyrite may have been framboidal
pyrite which in turn may have had greigite as aprecursor (Wilkin and Barnes 1997) Thepresence of zones in the porous type IV pyritewould correspond to zones where the recrystalli-zation was incomplete whereas the abundantmicro-inclusions in the porous pyrite could beinterpreted as crystals that were trapped in theframboidal spaces According to Wilkin andBarnes (1997) the maximum temperature atwhich framboidal pyrite may nucleate is 225ordmCThis temperature is consistent with the lowerrange of temperatures determined by microther-mometry of uid inclusions (between 120 and465ordmC) in quartz associated with pyrite (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Evolution of As contents in the pyrite
Pyrites in other hydrothermal deposits havecharacteristic oscillatory banding due to varia-tions in a relatively continuous supply of Asduring precipitation (eg Fleet et al 1989)However the As supply to the Palai-Islicapyrites seems to have been more episodicconcentrated in the mineralization areas espe-cially in relation to gold-bearing levels but not inthe hydrothermal alteration Based on textural andmineral chemistry data there have been two mainepisodes of well-de ned As enrichment
The rst As-rich episode associated with theinitial stages of formation of the depositproduced the As-rich cores and bands of type Ipyrite with some related tiny crystals ofarsenopyrite (main stage of pyrite precipitation)It was occasionally accompanied by the incor-poration of Cu which is sometimes linked to theformation of the tennantite inclusions The As-rich cores and bands are the product ofcontinuous pyrite growth as indicated by theconcentric nature of the banding the coherencebetween the morphology of the banding and thecrystal habits
Following this rst As-rich episode there was astage of As-free pyrite crystallization (type IV)The type IV pyrite is not only volumetricallysigni cant in places forming massive aggregatesbut it also hosts gold alloys
The second As-rich episode associated withthe nal stages of the Fe sulphide deposition ischaracterized by the presence of idiomorphicmarcasite and two varieties of collomorphicpyrite(type VI) the most As-rich pyrites of Palai-IslicaTwo consecutive bands can be distinguishedwiththe rst one mainly richer in As
1074
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Accordingly the As entered into the pyritestructure in two stages and appears to beincorporated by two different mechanisms assuggested by the relationship between As S andFe (1) in pyrites from the rst episode the Ascontent of the pyrite is negatively correlated withS while the Fe content is constant (Fig 7ab) TheAs was incorporated in a metastable solid solutionin the S positions It could be related to layers oflsquomarcasite-likersquo structure with high As content
(Fleet et al 1989 Simon et al 1999) or else asclusters with a lower As content in the pyritestructure (Savage et al 2000) (2) In contrast inpyrites produced during the second episode the Asis negatively correlated with both the S and the Fe(Fig 7ab) and the increase in the As concentra-tion is accompanied by increasing contents of CuAg Sb Zn and Ni In this case there are nocrystallochemical studies on the entrance of Asinto pyrite associated with decreasing S and Fe
PRE-ORESTAGE
ORESTAGE
Pyrrhotite
Pyrite type IV
Cores of pyritewith As (type I)
Pyrite type II
Polygonal bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Irregular bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Pyrite type III
Pyrite type V
Pyrite type VI
Pyrite type VII
Gold precipitation
Marcasite microveins
Idiomorphic marcasiteassociated with type III pyrite
FIG 14 Paragenetic sequence of the different types of Fe-sulphides showing their relationship with the gold at Palai-Islica mineralization
FIG 13 Photomicrographs of type VII pyrite (a) Micro-geodes of pyrite (py) in chalcopyrite (cp) (b) Bands ofmicrocrystals of pyrite (py) in coarse-grained chalcopyrite (cp)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1075
contents However this correlation might beexplained by either the entrance of cationic Asandor non-stoichiometric As (Fleet and Mumin1997) Although the presence of collomorphictextures does not necessarily imply colloidalorigin (Roedder 1968) colloidal precipitation isnonetheless an attractive hypothesis to explain theparticular textural and chemical characteristics ofthe collomorphic pyrite overgrowths sincecolloidal particles might be quite effective intrapping As ions Colloidal particles with an Ascovering (negatively charged) could in turn act aslsquotrapsrsquo for cations This mechanism could explainthe relatively large amounts of Cu Ag Sb Zn andNi as well as the Fe de cit found in thecollomorphic pyrite overgrowths
Type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite association
The mineral association of type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite could be related to theformation of Au-Ag alloy horizons because of itslocation at the top of the horizons The low d34Ssignature of these sulphides different from therest of the deposit (author data) could be causedby another kind of uid implicated in the mixingprocesses mentioned by Morales Ruano et al(2000)
The high Ag and Cu contents of type III pyriteand of As and Sb in marcasite are notable We caninfer from Fig 9 two paths for the entry of Cuinto pyrite (1) below 010 at Cu (with whichthere is no concomitant increase in Ag) It iswidely spread through the pyrite crystals (Fig 3)(2) Above 010 at Cu the increase in Cu is in a11 relationship with Ag These high concentra-tions of Cu and Ag not are due to the presence ofmicroscopic inclusions as optical study shows sothey must be produced by (a) very abundantsubmicroscopic inclusions of chalcopyrite andorCu-Ag phases always intergrown with chalco-pyrite and (b) a true solid solution of Cu and Ag
The entry of As in marcasite is the same as fortype I pyrite due to the 11 correlation betweenAs and S In addition a small amount of Sb entersthe marcasite when the concentration of As isgt010 at It seems that the maximum Sb occursat ~020 at of As
We explain the chalcopyrite dispositionbetween marcasite and pyrite as the result of adiffusion process in which Cu migrates to thelimit between pyrite and marcasite This processalso liberates Ag to form Ag mineral inclusions(Ag suphides and sulphosalts)
Relationshipsbetween pyrite habit and gold crystalsWe have found a close relationship between thepyrite habit and the presence of gold crystalsSpeci cally the gold is found on the mineralizedlevels containing type IV pyrite displaying a greatvariety of crystallographic habits (cubes andpentagonal dodecahedrons or octahedrons andpentagonal dodecahedrons) In contrast barrenzones occur where only the pentagonal dodecahe-dral morphology is developed
Correlations between pyrite morphology andmetal-enriched zones has also been described inother deposits (eg Sunagawa 1957 Bush et al1960 Amstutz 1963) Pyrite morphology isdetermined by crystalline growth mechanisms(primarily screw dislocation and layer-by-layer)which are dependent on the temperature anddegree of supersa turat ion of the uid(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) Pyrite deposi-tion in the Au-mineralized zones in Palai-Islicamay have been associated with a change in thedegree of supersaturation of the mineralizing uid possibly due to mixing of uids suggestedby the uid inclusion data reported by MoralesRuano et al (2000)
Au and Ag contents in pyrite
The Au contents obtained by EPMA for thedifferent pyrite types are uniformly low (Tables 2and 3) Selected high-acquisition-time analysis ofdifferent pyrite types (Table 4) also present lowAu contents never greater than the detection limitof 475 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites which areconsidered to be potentially invisible-gold-bearing (eg Cook and Chryssoulis 1990)These results in addition to the abundance ofvisible gold grains suggest that invisible goldmay not be volumetrically signi cant in theoverall deposit (Carrillo Rosua et al 2002) asin other deposits where Au in pyrite reaches morethan 1000 ppm (eg Mao 1991 Fleet et al 1993Asadi et al 1999 Simon et al 1999)
The relatively large values of Ag found in thetype III pyrite (up to 147 wt) and in the typeVI collomorphic pyrite (up to 02 wt) areworthy of note This Ag concentration is one ofthe highest found in pyrite to date (Larocque etal 1995 up to 1426 ppm Grif n et al 1991 upto 625 ppm Tompkins et al 1997 up to200 ppm Roberts 1982 up to 300 ppm Ashleyet al 2000 up to 88 ppm) In our case the supplyof Ag by the pyrite to the deposit as a whole couldbe noteworthy especially in the super cial zones
1076
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
FIG 3 Photomicrograph (a) backscattered electron (BSE) (b) and X-ray images of As (c) Sb (d) Cu (e) and Ag (f)of the association type III pyrite (Py III) with Ag sulphide inclusions (Ag sul) chalcopyrite (Cp) idiomorphic
marcasite (Mc) and collomorphic pyrite (Py VI)
1064
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
(Fig 6b) in which tiny crystals of arsenopyritecan sometimes be found
Polygonal bands are scarce and occur aspentagonal dodecahedrons or cubes (Figs 6a and7a) These bands which occasionally containtennantite crystals (Fig 6a) are thin (1 ndash2 mm)with clear boundaries although they occasionallygroup together thus appearing to be thicker
Irregular bands (Fig 7b) are more commonthan the polygonal bands and are more diffuseThey show continuous variations in thicknessfrequent truncations and features typical ofdissolution or uneven growth They are normallyfound in the internal parts of the crystals rarely inthe rims
In contrast with other deposits (eg Fleet et al1989) where oscillatory As zoning affects theentire pyrite crystal the As enrichment (type Ipyrite) is restricted mainly to the most internalparts of the pyrite grains This type of pyrite canbe dissolved and overgrown by coarse pyritelacking trace elements (Fig 7b)
The chemistry of type I pyrite (Table 2) ischaracterized by a clear enrichment in As (up to338 wt) negatively correlated with S (Fig 8a)whereas no correlation exists between As and Fe(Fig 8b) In some cases there is a sporadicincrease in Cu (up to 019) particularly in thecores (Fig 6ab) Figure 8c shows that (1) the Asvalues in the cores are lower than in the bands and(2) the irregular bands are poorer in As than thepolygonal bands
Type II Co-Ni-bearing pyriteThis type of pyrite detectable only by X-ray
maps is prior to or occasionally coeval with As-bearing type I pyrite The type II pyrite(Table 2) is found in the internal parts of thepyrite crystals lacking trace elements as Co- orNi-cores or bands (Fig 7ab) This type showsthe highest Co (001 ndash069 wt) and Ni(000ndash101 wt) values and an increase inthese elements involves a slight decrease in theFe content of pyrite
000
004
008
012
016
000 020 040 060 080
As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
070
6600 6650 6700
S (at)
Sb
(at
)
As
(at
)
a b
FIG 4 (a) As vs Sb diagram showing the relationship between both elements in idiomorphic marcasite (b) S vs Asdiagram showing the inverse correlation between As and S in idiomorphic marcasite
FIG 5 SEM secondary electron images showing pyrite morphology (a) cubic habit (b) pentagonal dodecahedralhabit and (c) octahedral habit
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1065
TA
BL
E2
Che
mis
try
ofm
ediu
m-
toco
arse
-gra
ined
pyri
te(gt
20m m
)
A(n
=19
)B
(n=
21)
C(n
=39
)D
(n=
37)
E(n
=18
)F
(n=
107)
Wt
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Au
000
016
003
004
000
006
003
002
000
016
003
003
000
005
002
001
000
005
002
001
000
010
002
002
Ag
000
006
001
001
000
003
001
001
000
009
002
002
000
005
001
001
000
147
018
035
000
017
002
002
S51
31
530
352
16
043
505
052
62
515
90
6449
39
536
152
10
078
508
753
83
527
20
7952
07
535
352
79
044
515
554
85
533
00
54Sb
000
003
001
001
000
011
002
002
000
019
003
004
000
004
001
001
000
004
001
001
000
006
001
001
Fe45
38
465
646
10
032
443
946
06
453
30
5344
51
467
546
05
049
443
946
41
456
60
6044
42
465
245
78
052
446
846
98
461
90
43C
o0
000
090
030
020
020
510
170
160
000
070
020
010
010
690
250
190
010
030
020
010
000
120
030
02N
i0
000
030
000
010
000
900
170
270
000
050
010
010
001
010
210
260
000
010
000
000
000
080
010
01C
u0
000
190
020
040
000
160
020
030
000
140
020
030
000
080
010
020
010
620
200
160
000
700
040
11Z
n0
000
300
030
070
000
020
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
390
020
04A
s0
242
270
990
661
033
382
270
600
282
761
280
800
003
380
831
180
000
100
020
020
000
230
040
05
Tot
al97
78
100
0999
32
063
985
110
067
996
20
5693
94
100
5299
33
110
989
610
063
997
30
3796
52
102
4099
03
153
982
010
248
999
70
80
At
Au
000
003
001
001
000
001
001
000
000
003
000
00
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
002
000
000
Ag
000
002
001
001
000
001
001
000
000
004
001
00
000
002
001
000
000
056
007
013
000
006
001
001
S65
44
665
065
93
029
646
966
26
654
50
4164
91
667
765
87
04
649
266
88
662
40
5866
32
668
366
58
016
658
367
36
667
00
32Sb
000
001
000
000
000
004
001
001
000
006
001
00
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
002
000
000
Fe33
07
338
533
45
020
322
133
94
330
20
4332
92
342
733
43
03
321
433
48
329
40
3132
54
335
133
15
021
323
834
08
331
90
32C
o0
000
060
020
010
010
350
110
110
000
040
010
00
000
460
170
130
010
020
010
000
000
080
010
01N
i0
000
020
000
010
000
620
120
180
000
040
000
00
000
700
150
180
000
010
000
000
000
050
010
01C
u0
000
130
010
030
000
110
010
020
000
090
010
00
000
050
010
010
010
400
130
100
000
440
020
07Z
n0
000
180
020
040
000
010
010
010
000
020
010
00
000
020
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
240
010
03A
s0
131
230
530
350
561
841
230
330
151
510
630
430
001
840
450
640
000
050
010
010
000
120
020
03
A
type
I(c
ores
)B
ty
peI
(pol
ygon
alba
nds)
C
ty
peI
(irr
egul
arba
nds)
D
ty
peII
E
ty
peII
IF
type
IV
nnu
mbe
rof
anal
yses
M
in
min
imum
M
ax
max
imum
A
ve
aver
age
sd
st
anda
rdde
viat
ion
TA
BL
E3
Che
mis
try
of
ne-g
rain
edpy
rite
(lt20
m m)
A(n
=17
)B
(n=
9)C
(n=
18)
D(n
=33
)E
(n=
11)
F(n
=13
)W
tM
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)
Au
000
006
003
001
000
005
002
002
000
004
002
001
000
005
002
001
000
004
002
001
000
005
002
001
Ag
000
006
003
002
000
006
002
002
000
016
007
005
000
020
004
004
000
005
002
001
000
008
003
003
S52
46
537
953
23
036
486
053
09
518
61
4550
25
530
851
85
068
496
253
79
514
51
2151
75
534
652
68
057
517
553
66
530
60
53Sb
001
003
002
001
000
002
001
001
007
046
018
008
000
141
030
042
000
003
001
001
000
008
002
002
Fe44
53
465
245
91
043
411
145
43
441
91
4441
93
461
644
50
119
416
146
29
437
31
4245
68
466
246
27
024
452
746
33
457
30
37C
o0
010
050
020
010
040
100
070
020
010
040
020
010
000
040
020
010
010
050
030
010
010
030
020
01N
i0
000
020
000
010
010
110
040
030
000
140
050
050
000
010
000
000
000
040
010
010
000
080
020
03C
u0
000
050
020
010
000
020
000
010
000
940
250
270
001
260
190
270
010
390
130
110
001
320
570
39Z
n0
000
030
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
180
060
060
000
100
010
020
000
070
020
020
000
190
040
05A
s0
110
660
210
130
000
290
110
080
534
492
361
100
086
113
761
840
000
080
020
030
000
120
020
03
Tot
al97
44
100
6499
50
073
899
698
76
963
32
9198
20
100
4499
37
058
980
610
056
995
30
7197
95
999
299
22
058
980
610
092
995
30
93
At
Au
000
001
001
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
Ag
000
002
001
001
000
002
001
001
000
006
003
002
000
008
002
002
000
002
001
000
000
003
001
001
S66
45
672
066
75
019
667
367
28
670
20
1865
27
666
565
88
030
647
566
93
656
20
6466
03
667
766
35
026
660
566
97
665
80
29Sb
000
001
001
000
000
001
000
000
003
015
006
003
000
049
010
014
000
001
000
000
000
003
001
001
Fe32
64
332
833
05
017
325
233
03
327
90
1831
27
332
032
46
060
311
833
08
320
10
6133
09
337
933
47
025
326
133
89
329
50
35C
o0
000
030
010
010
020
070
050
020
010
030
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
030
020
010
000
020
010
01N
i0
000
010
000
000
010
080
030
020
000
100
030
040
000
010
000
000
000
030
010
010
000
050
010
02C
u0
000
030
010
010
000
010
000
000
000
610
160
170
000
830
130
180
010
250
080
070
000
830
360
25Z
n0
000
020
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
110
040
030
000
060
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
120
020
03A
s0
060
350
120
070
000
160
060
050
292
501
290
610
043
362
061
020
000
050
010
010
000
070
010
02
A
type
V(f
ram
boid
sse
nsu
stri
cto)
B
ty
peV
(pse
udof
ram
boid
s)
C
type
VI
(col
lom
orph
icpo
rous
pyri
te)
Dt
ype
VI
(bro
wn
collo
mor
phic
pyri
te)
E
type
VII
(mic
ro-g
eode
s)
Fty
peV
II(p
yrit
ein
terg
row
ths
inch
alco
pyri
te)
nnu
mbe
rof
anal
yses
M
in
min
imum
M
ax
max
imum
A
ve
aver
age
sd
st
anda
rdde
viat
ion
Type III pyrite with Cu and Ag
Associated with idiomorphic marcasite in theabove-described marcasite there are pyrites(Table 2) which have signi cant amounts of Cu(up to 062 wt) and Ag (up to 147 wt)
Figure 3e and f shows extended enrichments ofCu and minor in Ag throughout all pyrite grainswhereas in Fig 9 we observed that the Cu and Aglevels are approximately equal with a lsquoback-groundrsquo of Cu of 010 at
FIG 6 (a) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite overgrown by nearly stoichiometric pyrite type IV (1) coreof type I pyrite with porous character (dark areas) (2) thin polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a tennantite (Ten)inclusion On the right hand side of the gure note the As Cu and Sb X-ray images where Cu and Sb are slightlyenriched in the type I pyrite core (b) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite core with a complex texture anda tiny arsenopyrite inclusion (Apy) On the right hand side of the gure note the As and Cu X-ray images from the
marked area
1068
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Type IV pyrite lackingtrace elementsThis type of pyrite volumetrically the most
abundant is characterized by neglible concentra-tions of trace elements (Table 2) Type IV pyrite is
found as disseminations throughout the volcanichost rock or in quartz veins and silici ed zoneswhere it can contain types I and II pyrites or elseappear as homogeneous crystals Type IV pyrite
FIG 7 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyrite hosted by type IV pyrite(1) polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a pentagonal dodecahedral morphology overgrown by (2) a polygonal bandwith cubic morphology As Co and Ni X-ray images on the right hand side of the gure reveal Co-Ni bearing typeII pyrite in core and bands (3) (b) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyritehosted by type IV pyrite (1) irregular bands of type I with abundant truncations in the inner part of the crystal(2) irregular bands of type I in the rim of the crystal On the right hand side of the gure note the As Co and Ni
X-ray images with the non-coincident Co-rich and Ni-rich pyrite (3)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1069
frequently has pore-rich zones that generallycoincide with the central parts of the crystalswhich also have high concentrations of mineralmicroinclusions especially pyrrhotite chalco-pyrite rutile and magnetite
It should be noted that Au-Ag alloys are hostedby the type IV pyrite preferentially included inthe pore-free zones (Fig 2a)
Fine-grained pyrites (lt20 mm)
This group comprises framboidal (type V) andcollomorphic (type VI) pyrites as well as micro-
geodes and intergrowths of pyrite in chalcopyrite(type VII)
Type V framboidal pyriteThis type is relatively rare and occurs in two
varieties (1) As framboids sensu stricto(Fig 10a) generally spherical and lt50 mm insize The pyrite microcrystals very closelypacked are subidiomorphic and equigranular(plusmn2 mm) In some cases the framboidal pyrite isovergrown by coarse-grained type IV pyrite(2) As lsquopseudoframboidsrsquo (Fig 10b) that areloosely packed or even disaggregated with sizes
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
6 4 5 65 0 6 55 6 6 0 6 6 5 6 7 0 S (at)
Type I
Type VI
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
31 0 31 5 32 0 32 5 33 0 33 5 Fe (at)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 02 04 06 08 1 12 14 As (at)
Type I (ii)
(iii)
(i)
As
(at
)Fr
eque
ncy
As
(at
)
Type I
Type VI
a
b
c
FIG 8 (a) S vs As diagram showing inverse correlation with different slopes for type I and type VI pyrite (b) Fe vsAs diagram showing no correlation in type I pyrite but good inverse correlation in type VI pyrite (c) Arseniccontent frequency histogram in type I pyrite (i) cores (ii) polygonal bands (iii) irregular bands Observe that the
cores have the lowest As content while the highest As values are in the polygonal bands
1070
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of up to 50 mm In contrast to the framboids sensustricto the pyrite microcrystals here are roundedor oval-shaped and vary in size from lt1 to 5 mmThe outermost crystals are the largest
Both types of framboidal pyrites show smallamounts of trace elements As being the mostabundant (average of 018 wt Table 3)
Type VI collomorphic pyriteThese pyrites occur principally in two genera-
tions of overgrowth on previous pyrite crystalsalthough they can also overgrow idiomorphicmarcasite and exceptionally chalcopyrite TypeVI occurs as either porous collomorphic pyrite(Fig 10c) or as brown collomorphic pyrite underre ected light microscope (Fig 10d)
These pyrites have the largest amounts of As(008ndash611 wt) Cu (000ndash126 wt) Sb(000ndash141 wt) and Ag (000 ndash020 wt)but the smallest Fe contents (419ndash462 wt)of all the pyrites analysed in the deposit Nickeland Zn have also been detected (Table 3) Arsenicis negatively correlated with S with a slope( ndash158) more pronounced than for the type Ipyrite (Fig 8a) The As is also negativelycorrelated with Fe (Fig 8b)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
000 010 020 030 040
Cu (at)
Ag
(at
)
FIG 9 (a) Cu vs Ag diagram showing two types ofbehaviour (represented by ellipses) of the relation
between both elements in type III pyrite
FIG 10 Photomicrographs of type V and type VI pyrite (a) Framboids sensu stricto closely packed withsubidiomorphic coalescing microcrystals (b) lsquoPseudoframboidrsquo of loosely packed pyrite of rounded or oval shapes(c) Porous collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing marcasite and coarse pyrite (2) (d) Bands of brown collomorphic
pyrite showing graded shading (1) overgrowing coarse pyrite (2)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1071
Within the overgrowths of collomorphic pyritethe rst generation is usually richer in As than thesecond one (Fig 11ab) with some chemicaldifferences between the two textural varieties
The porous collomorphic pyrite contains lessAs (053ndash449 wt) than the brown collo-morphic pyrite It also has relatively largeamounts of Ag Cu Ni and Zn and these aredirectly correlated with As concentration
(Fig 12) a feature that is evident from theX-ray maps in Fig 10a for Cu Ag and Ni
The brown collomorphic pyrite has the highestAs content (008ndash611 wt) It is is alsoenriched in Ag Cu and Sb but not in Zn or NiIn contrast with the porous variety there is nodirect correlation between these elements and As(Fig 12) However at high As concentrationsthere is an enrichment in Ag Cu and Sb and the
FIG 11 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type VI pyrite There are two bands (1) and (2) of collomorphic pyriteovergrowing marcasite (Mc) with the former being richer in Cu Ag As and Ni than the latter (b) BSE and X-rayimages of type VI pyrite Collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing coarse type IV pyrite (2) The As concentration isrelatively homogeneous in this collomorphic pyrite just the opposite of the Cu and Sb concentrations which are
enriched in the ner bands
1072
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
000
002
004
006
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
645
650
655
660
665
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
020
040
060
080
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
010
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
S (
at
)
Ag
(at
)
Cu
(at
)
Sb
(at
)
Zn
(at
)
Ni (
at
)
(a)
(b)
FIG 12 Binary diagrams showing variations between different elements in type VI pyrite (a) porous collomorphicpyrite and (b) brown collomorphic pyrite
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1073
nature of Cu and Sb distributed in As-rich bandsis shown in the X-ray maps in Fig 11b
Type VII pyrite micro-geodes and intergrowths inchalcopyrite
In both cases (Fig 13) pyrite occurs aschemically homogeneous xenomorphic ne-grained (lt15 mm) aggregates located in chalco-pyrite crystals The micro-geodes tend to be up to400 mm in diameter and sometimes host marcasitecrystals The pyrite intergrowths are distributedalong elongated zones within the chalcopyrite
The trace-element concentration is quite low inboth cases similar to that of the coarse-grainedpyrite of type IV
Based on the textural evidence summarizedabove we propose a paragenetic sequence for thedistinct types of Fe-sulphides at veins presentedin Fig 14
Genetic considerations
Origin of pyriteThe pyrite of the Palai-Islica deposit originatedfrom hydrothermal uids However the formationpathways of pyrite from hydrothermal uids arecontroversial and an intermediate precursor isthought to be necessary (eg Benning et al2000) Moreover certain textural characteristicsobserved in the pyrite of this deposit (eg relics ofpyrrhotite presence of framboids) should beconsidered in evaluating possible processes ofpyrite formation such as (1) the transformationofpyrrhotite and marcasite and (2) the formation ofpyrite framboids
The transformation of pyrrhotite and marcasite
Some of the pyrite in this deposit may initiallyhave crystallized as pyrrhotite proper andsubsequently been transformed into pyrite byone of the mechanisms proposed by Fleet (1978)and by Murowchick and Barnes (1986) Due tothe smaller molar volume of pyrite thistransformation could account for the existenceof the high-porosity zones particularly in thepyrite lsquolackingrsquo trace elements Marcasite hadalso been a precursor of type VII pyrite as shownby the textural evidence
The formation of framboids
Occasionally the precursor of the medium- tocoarse-grained pyrite may have been framboidal
pyrite which in turn may have had greigite as aprecursor (Wilkin and Barnes 1997) Thepresence of zones in the porous type IV pyritewould correspond to zones where the recrystalli-zation was incomplete whereas the abundantmicro-inclusions in the porous pyrite could beinterpreted as crystals that were trapped in theframboidal spaces According to Wilkin andBarnes (1997) the maximum temperature atwhich framboidal pyrite may nucleate is 225ordmCThis temperature is consistent with the lowerrange of temperatures determined by microther-mometry of uid inclusions (between 120 and465ordmC) in quartz associated with pyrite (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Evolution of As contents in the pyrite
Pyrites in other hydrothermal deposits havecharacteristic oscillatory banding due to varia-tions in a relatively continuous supply of Asduring precipitation (eg Fleet et al 1989)However the As supply to the Palai-Islicapyrites seems to have been more episodicconcentrated in the mineralization areas espe-cially in relation to gold-bearing levels but not inthe hydrothermal alteration Based on textural andmineral chemistry data there have been two mainepisodes of well-de ned As enrichment
The rst As-rich episode associated with theinitial stages of formation of the depositproduced the As-rich cores and bands of type Ipyrite with some related tiny crystals ofarsenopyrite (main stage of pyrite precipitation)It was occasionally accompanied by the incor-poration of Cu which is sometimes linked to theformation of the tennantite inclusions The As-rich cores and bands are the product ofcontinuous pyrite growth as indicated by theconcentric nature of the banding the coherencebetween the morphology of the banding and thecrystal habits
Following this rst As-rich episode there was astage of As-free pyrite crystallization (type IV)The type IV pyrite is not only volumetricallysigni cant in places forming massive aggregatesbut it also hosts gold alloys
The second As-rich episode associated withthe nal stages of the Fe sulphide deposition ischaracterized by the presence of idiomorphicmarcasite and two varieties of collomorphicpyrite(type VI) the most As-rich pyrites of Palai-IslicaTwo consecutive bands can be distinguishedwiththe rst one mainly richer in As
1074
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Accordingly the As entered into the pyritestructure in two stages and appears to beincorporated by two different mechanisms assuggested by the relationship between As S andFe (1) in pyrites from the rst episode the Ascontent of the pyrite is negatively correlated withS while the Fe content is constant (Fig 7ab) TheAs was incorporated in a metastable solid solutionin the S positions It could be related to layers oflsquomarcasite-likersquo structure with high As content
(Fleet et al 1989 Simon et al 1999) or else asclusters with a lower As content in the pyritestructure (Savage et al 2000) (2) In contrast inpyrites produced during the second episode the Asis negatively correlated with both the S and the Fe(Fig 7ab) and the increase in the As concentra-tion is accompanied by increasing contents of CuAg Sb Zn and Ni In this case there are nocrystallochemical studies on the entrance of Asinto pyrite associated with decreasing S and Fe
PRE-ORESTAGE
ORESTAGE
Pyrrhotite
Pyrite type IV
Cores of pyritewith As (type I)
Pyrite type II
Polygonal bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Irregular bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Pyrite type III
Pyrite type V
Pyrite type VI
Pyrite type VII
Gold precipitation
Marcasite microveins
Idiomorphic marcasiteassociated with type III pyrite
FIG 14 Paragenetic sequence of the different types of Fe-sulphides showing their relationship with the gold at Palai-Islica mineralization
FIG 13 Photomicrographs of type VII pyrite (a) Micro-geodes of pyrite (py) in chalcopyrite (cp) (b) Bands ofmicrocrystals of pyrite (py) in coarse-grained chalcopyrite (cp)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1075
contents However this correlation might beexplained by either the entrance of cationic Asandor non-stoichiometric As (Fleet and Mumin1997) Although the presence of collomorphictextures does not necessarily imply colloidalorigin (Roedder 1968) colloidal precipitation isnonetheless an attractive hypothesis to explain theparticular textural and chemical characteristics ofthe collomorphic pyrite overgrowths sincecolloidal particles might be quite effective intrapping As ions Colloidal particles with an Ascovering (negatively charged) could in turn act aslsquotrapsrsquo for cations This mechanism could explainthe relatively large amounts of Cu Ag Sb Zn andNi as well as the Fe de cit found in thecollomorphic pyrite overgrowths
Type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite association
The mineral association of type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite could be related to theformation of Au-Ag alloy horizons because of itslocation at the top of the horizons The low d34Ssignature of these sulphides different from therest of the deposit (author data) could be causedby another kind of uid implicated in the mixingprocesses mentioned by Morales Ruano et al(2000)
The high Ag and Cu contents of type III pyriteand of As and Sb in marcasite are notable We caninfer from Fig 9 two paths for the entry of Cuinto pyrite (1) below 010 at Cu (with whichthere is no concomitant increase in Ag) It iswidely spread through the pyrite crystals (Fig 3)(2) Above 010 at Cu the increase in Cu is in a11 relationship with Ag These high concentra-tions of Cu and Ag not are due to the presence ofmicroscopic inclusions as optical study shows sothey must be produced by (a) very abundantsubmicroscopic inclusions of chalcopyrite andorCu-Ag phases always intergrown with chalco-pyrite and (b) a true solid solution of Cu and Ag
The entry of As in marcasite is the same as fortype I pyrite due to the 11 correlation betweenAs and S In addition a small amount of Sb entersthe marcasite when the concentration of As isgt010 at It seems that the maximum Sb occursat ~020 at of As
We explain the chalcopyrite dispositionbetween marcasite and pyrite as the result of adiffusion process in which Cu migrates to thelimit between pyrite and marcasite This processalso liberates Ag to form Ag mineral inclusions(Ag suphides and sulphosalts)
Relationshipsbetween pyrite habit and gold crystalsWe have found a close relationship between thepyrite habit and the presence of gold crystalsSpeci cally the gold is found on the mineralizedlevels containing type IV pyrite displaying a greatvariety of crystallographic habits (cubes andpentagonal dodecahedrons or octahedrons andpentagonal dodecahedrons) In contrast barrenzones occur where only the pentagonal dodecahe-dral morphology is developed
Correlations between pyrite morphology andmetal-enriched zones has also been described inother deposits (eg Sunagawa 1957 Bush et al1960 Amstutz 1963) Pyrite morphology isdetermined by crystalline growth mechanisms(primarily screw dislocation and layer-by-layer)which are dependent on the temperature anddegree of supersa turat ion of the uid(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) Pyrite deposi-tion in the Au-mineralized zones in Palai-Islicamay have been associated with a change in thedegree of supersaturation of the mineralizing uid possibly due to mixing of uids suggestedby the uid inclusion data reported by MoralesRuano et al (2000)
Au and Ag contents in pyrite
The Au contents obtained by EPMA for thedifferent pyrite types are uniformly low (Tables 2and 3) Selected high-acquisition-time analysis ofdifferent pyrite types (Table 4) also present lowAu contents never greater than the detection limitof 475 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites which areconsidered to be potentially invisible-gold-bearing (eg Cook and Chryssoulis 1990)These results in addition to the abundance ofvisible gold grains suggest that invisible goldmay not be volumetrically signi cant in theoverall deposit (Carrillo Rosua et al 2002) asin other deposits where Au in pyrite reaches morethan 1000 ppm (eg Mao 1991 Fleet et al 1993Asadi et al 1999 Simon et al 1999)
The relatively large values of Ag found in thetype III pyrite (up to 147 wt) and in the typeVI collomorphic pyrite (up to 02 wt) areworthy of note This Ag concentration is one ofthe highest found in pyrite to date (Larocque etal 1995 up to 1426 ppm Grif n et al 1991 upto 625 ppm Tompkins et al 1997 up to200 ppm Roberts 1982 up to 300 ppm Ashleyet al 2000 up to 88 ppm) In our case the supplyof Ag by the pyrite to the deposit as a whole couldbe noteworthy especially in the super cial zones
1076
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
(Fig 6b) in which tiny crystals of arsenopyritecan sometimes be found
Polygonal bands are scarce and occur aspentagonal dodecahedrons or cubes (Figs 6a and7a) These bands which occasionally containtennantite crystals (Fig 6a) are thin (1 ndash2 mm)with clear boundaries although they occasionallygroup together thus appearing to be thicker
Irregular bands (Fig 7b) are more commonthan the polygonal bands and are more diffuseThey show continuous variations in thicknessfrequent truncations and features typical ofdissolution or uneven growth They are normallyfound in the internal parts of the crystals rarely inthe rims
In contrast with other deposits (eg Fleet et al1989) where oscillatory As zoning affects theentire pyrite crystal the As enrichment (type Ipyrite) is restricted mainly to the most internalparts of the pyrite grains This type of pyrite canbe dissolved and overgrown by coarse pyritelacking trace elements (Fig 7b)
The chemistry of type I pyrite (Table 2) ischaracterized by a clear enrichment in As (up to338 wt) negatively correlated with S (Fig 8a)whereas no correlation exists between As and Fe(Fig 8b) In some cases there is a sporadicincrease in Cu (up to 019) particularly in thecores (Fig 6ab) Figure 8c shows that (1) the Asvalues in the cores are lower than in the bands and(2) the irregular bands are poorer in As than thepolygonal bands
Type II Co-Ni-bearing pyriteThis type of pyrite detectable only by X-ray
maps is prior to or occasionally coeval with As-bearing type I pyrite The type II pyrite(Table 2) is found in the internal parts of thepyrite crystals lacking trace elements as Co- orNi-cores or bands (Fig 7ab) This type showsthe highest Co (001 ndash069 wt) and Ni(000ndash101 wt) values and an increase inthese elements involves a slight decrease in theFe content of pyrite
000
004
008
012
016
000 020 040 060 080
As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
070
6600 6650 6700
S (at)
Sb
(at
)
As
(at
)
a b
FIG 4 (a) As vs Sb diagram showing the relationship between both elements in idiomorphic marcasite (b) S vs Asdiagram showing the inverse correlation between As and S in idiomorphic marcasite
FIG 5 SEM secondary electron images showing pyrite morphology (a) cubic habit (b) pentagonal dodecahedralhabit and (c) octahedral habit
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1065
TA
BL
E2
Che
mis
try
ofm
ediu
m-
toco
arse
-gra
ined
pyri
te(gt
20m m
)
A(n
=19
)B
(n=
21)
C(n
=39
)D
(n=
37)
E(n
=18
)F
(n=
107)
Wt
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Au
000
016
003
004
000
006
003
002
000
016
003
003
000
005
002
001
000
005
002
001
000
010
002
002
Ag
000
006
001
001
000
003
001
001
000
009
002
002
000
005
001
001
000
147
018
035
000
017
002
002
S51
31
530
352
16
043
505
052
62
515
90
6449
39
536
152
10
078
508
753
83
527
20
7952
07
535
352
79
044
515
554
85
533
00
54Sb
000
003
001
001
000
011
002
002
000
019
003
004
000
004
001
001
000
004
001
001
000
006
001
001
Fe45
38
465
646
10
032
443
946
06
453
30
5344
51
467
546
05
049
443
946
41
456
60
6044
42
465
245
78
052
446
846
98
461
90
43C
o0
000
090
030
020
020
510
170
160
000
070
020
010
010
690
250
190
010
030
020
010
000
120
030
02N
i0
000
030
000
010
000
900
170
270
000
050
010
010
001
010
210
260
000
010
000
000
000
080
010
01C
u0
000
190
020
040
000
160
020
030
000
140
020
030
000
080
010
020
010
620
200
160
000
700
040
11Z
n0
000
300
030
070
000
020
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
390
020
04A
s0
242
270
990
661
033
382
270
600
282
761
280
800
003
380
831
180
000
100
020
020
000
230
040
05
Tot
al97
78
100
0999
32
063
985
110
067
996
20
5693
94
100
5299
33
110
989
610
063
997
30
3796
52
102
4099
03
153
982
010
248
999
70
80
At
Au
000
003
001
001
000
001
001
000
000
003
000
00
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
002
000
000
Ag
000
002
001
001
000
001
001
000
000
004
001
00
000
002
001
000
000
056
007
013
000
006
001
001
S65
44
665
065
93
029
646
966
26
654
50
4164
91
667
765
87
04
649
266
88
662
40
5866
32
668
366
58
016
658
367
36
667
00
32Sb
000
001
000
000
000
004
001
001
000
006
001
00
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
002
000
000
Fe33
07
338
533
45
020
322
133
94
330
20
4332
92
342
733
43
03
321
433
48
329
40
3132
54
335
133
15
021
323
834
08
331
90
32C
o0
000
060
020
010
010
350
110
110
000
040
010
00
000
460
170
130
010
020
010
000
000
080
010
01N
i0
000
020
000
010
000
620
120
180
000
040
000
00
000
700
150
180
000
010
000
000
000
050
010
01C
u0
000
130
010
030
000
110
010
020
000
090
010
00
000
050
010
010
010
400
130
100
000
440
020
07Z
n0
000
180
020
040
000
010
010
010
000
020
010
00
000
020
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
240
010
03A
s0
131
230
530
350
561
841
230
330
151
510
630
430
001
840
450
640
000
050
010
010
000
120
020
03
A
type
I(c
ores
)B
ty
peI
(pol
ygon
alba
nds)
C
ty
peI
(irr
egul
arba
nds)
D
ty
peII
E
ty
peII
IF
type
IV
nnu
mbe
rof
anal
yses
M
in
min
imum
M
ax
max
imum
A
ve
aver
age
sd
st
anda
rdde
viat
ion
TA
BL
E3
Che
mis
try
of
ne-g
rain
edpy
rite
(lt20
m m)
A(n
=17
)B
(n=
9)C
(n=
18)
D(n
=33
)E
(n=
11)
F(n
=13
)W
tM
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)
Au
000
006
003
001
000
005
002
002
000
004
002
001
000
005
002
001
000
004
002
001
000
005
002
001
Ag
000
006
003
002
000
006
002
002
000
016
007
005
000
020
004
004
000
005
002
001
000
008
003
003
S52
46
537
953
23
036
486
053
09
518
61
4550
25
530
851
85
068
496
253
79
514
51
2151
75
534
652
68
057
517
553
66
530
60
53Sb
001
003
002
001
000
002
001
001
007
046
018
008
000
141
030
042
000
003
001
001
000
008
002
002
Fe44
53
465
245
91
043
411
145
43
441
91
4441
93
461
644
50
119
416
146
29
437
31
4245
68
466
246
27
024
452
746
33
457
30
37C
o0
010
050
020
010
040
100
070
020
010
040
020
010
000
040
020
010
010
050
030
010
010
030
020
01N
i0
000
020
000
010
010
110
040
030
000
140
050
050
000
010
000
000
000
040
010
010
000
080
020
03C
u0
000
050
020
010
000
020
000
010
000
940
250
270
001
260
190
270
010
390
130
110
001
320
570
39Z
n0
000
030
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
180
060
060
000
100
010
020
000
070
020
020
000
190
040
05A
s0
110
660
210
130
000
290
110
080
534
492
361
100
086
113
761
840
000
080
020
030
000
120
020
03
Tot
al97
44
100
6499
50
073
899
698
76
963
32
9198
20
100
4499
37
058
980
610
056
995
30
7197
95
999
299
22
058
980
610
092
995
30
93
At
Au
000
001
001
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
Ag
000
002
001
001
000
002
001
001
000
006
003
002
000
008
002
002
000
002
001
000
000
003
001
001
S66
45
672
066
75
019
667
367
28
670
20
1865
27
666
565
88
030
647
566
93
656
20
6466
03
667
766
35
026
660
566
97
665
80
29Sb
000
001
001
000
000
001
000
000
003
015
006
003
000
049
010
014
000
001
000
000
000
003
001
001
Fe32
64
332
833
05
017
325
233
03
327
90
1831
27
332
032
46
060
311
833
08
320
10
6133
09
337
933
47
025
326
133
89
329
50
35C
o0
000
030
010
010
020
070
050
020
010
030
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
030
020
010
000
020
010
01N
i0
000
010
000
000
010
080
030
020
000
100
030
040
000
010
000
000
000
030
010
010
000
050
010
02C
u0
000
030
010
010
000
010
000
000
000
610
160
170
000
830
130
180
010
250
080
070
000
830
360
25Z
n0
000
020
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
110
040
030
000
060
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
120
020
03A
s0
060
350
120
070
000
160
060
050
292
501
290
610
043
362
061
020
000
050
010
010
000
070
010
02
A
type
V(f
ram
boid
sse
nsu
stri
cto)
B
ty
peV
(pse
udof
ram
boid
s)
C
type
VI
(col
lom
orph
icpo
rous
pyri
te)
Dt
ype
VI
(bro
wn
collo
mor
phic
pyri
te)
E
type
VII
(mic
ro-g
eode
s)
Fty
peV
II(p
yrit
ein
terg
row
ths
inch
alco
pyri
te)
nnu
mbe
rof
anal
yses
M
in
min
imum
M
ax
max
imum
A
ve
aver
age
sd
st
anda
rdde
viat
ion
Type III pyrite with Cu and Ag
Associated with idiomorphic marcasite in theabove-described marcasite there are pyrites(Table 2) which have signi cant amounts of Cu(up to 062 wt) and Ag (up to 147 wt)
Figure 3e and f shows extended enrichments ofCu and minor in Ag throughout all pyrite grainswhereas in Fig 9 we observed that the Cu and Aglevels are approximately equal with a lsquoback-groundrsquo of Cu of 010 at
FIG 6 (a) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite overgrown by nearly stoichiometric pyrite type IV (1) coreof type I pyrite with porous character (dark areas) (2) thin polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a tennantite (Ten)inclusion On the right hand side of the gure note the As Cu and Sb X-ray images where Cu and Sb are slightlyenriched in the type I pyrite core (b) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite core with a complex texture anda tiny arsenopyrite inclusion (Apy) On the right hand side of the gure note the As and Cu X-ray images from the
marked area
1068
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Type IV pyrite lackingtrace elementsThis type of pyrite volumetrically the most
abundant is characterized by neglible concentra-tions of trace elements (Table 2) Type IV pyrite is
found as disseminations throughout the volcanichost rock or in quartz veins and silici ed zoneswhere it can contain types I and II pyrites or elseappear as homogeneous crystals Type IV pyrite
FIG 7 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyrite hosted by type IV pyrite(1) polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a pentagonal dodecahedral morphology overgrown by (2) a polygonal bandwith cubic morphology As Co and Ni X-ray images on the right hand side of the gure reveal Co-Ni bearing typeII pyrite in core and bands (3) (b) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyritehosted by type IV pyrite (1) irregular bands of type I with abundant truncations in the inner part of the crystal(2) irregular bands of type I in the rim of the crystal On the right hand side of the gure note the As Co and Ni
X-ray images with the non-coincident Co-rich and Ni-rich pyrite (3)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1069
frequently has pore-rich zones that generallycoincide with the central parts of the crystalswhich also have high concentrations of mineralmicroinclusions especially pyrrhotite chalco-pyrite rutile and magnetite
It should be noted that Au-Ag alloys are hostedby the type IV pyrite preferentially included inthe pore-free zones (Fig 2a)
Fine-grained pyrites (lt20 mm)
This group comprises framboidal (type V) andcollomorphic (type VI) pyrites as well as micro-
geodes and intergrowths of pyrite in chalcopyrite(type VII)
Type V framboidal pyriteThis type is relatively rare and occurs in two
varieties (1) As framboids sensu stricto(Fig 10a) generally spherical and lt50 mm insize The pyrite microcrystals very closelypacked are subidiomorphic and equigranular(plusmn2 mm) In some cases the framboidal pyrite isovergrown by coarse-grained type IV pyrite(2) As lsquopseudoframboidsrsquo (Fig 10b) that areloosely packed or even disaggregated with sizes
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
6 4 5 65 0 6 55 6 6 0 6 6 5 6 7 0 S (at)
Type I
Type VI
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
31 0 31 5 32 0 32 5 33 0 33 5 Fe (at)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 02 04 06 08 1 12 14 As (at)
Type I (ii)
(iii)
(i)
As
(at
)Fr
eque
ncy
As
(at
)
Type I
Type VI
a
b
c
FIG 8 (a) S vs As diagram showing inverse correlation with different slopes for type I and type VI pyrite (b) Fe vsAs diagram showing no correlation in type I pyrite but good inverse correlation in type VI pyrite (c) Arseniccontent frequency histogram in type I pyrite (i) cores (ii) polygonal bands (iii) irregular bands Observe that the
cores have the lowest As content while the highest As values are in the polygonal bands
1070
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of up to 50 mm In contrast to the framboids sensustricto the pyrite microcrystals here are roundedor oval-shaped and vary in size from lt1 to 5 mmThe outermost crystals are the largest
Both types of framboidal pyrites show smallamounts of trace elements As being the mostabundant (average of 018 wt Table 3)
Type VI collomorphic pyriteThese pyrites occur principally in two genera-
tions of overgrowth on previous pyrite crystalsalthough they can also overgrow idiomorphicmarcasite and exceptionally chalcopyrite TypeVI occurs as either porous collomorphic pyrite(Fig 10c) or as brown collomorphic pyrite underre ected light microscope (Fig 10d)
These pyrites have the largest amounts of As(008ndash611 wt) Cu (000ndash126 wt) Sb(000ndash141 wt) and Ag (000 ndash020 wt)but the smallest Fe contents (419ndash462 wt)of all the pyrites analysed in the deposit Nickeland Zn have also been detected (Table 3) Arsenicis negatively correlated with S with a slope( ndash158) more pronounced than for the type Ipyrite (Fig 8a) The As is also negativelycorrelated with Fe (Fig 8b)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
000 010 020 030 040
Cu (at)
Ag
(at
)
FIG 9 (a) Cu vs Ag diagram showing two types ofbehaviour (represented by ellipses) of the relation
between both elements in type III pyrite
FIG 10 Photomicrographs of type V and type VI pyrite (a) Framboids sensu stricto closely packed withsubidiomorphic coalescing microcrystals (b) lsquoPseudoframboidrsquo of loosely packed pyrite of rounded or oval shapes(c) Porous collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing marcasite and coarse pyrite (2) (d) Bands of brown collomorphic
pyrite showing graded shading (1) overgrowing coarse pyrite (2)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1071
Within the overgrowths of collomorphic pyritethe rst generation is usually richer in As than thesecond one (Fig 11ab) with some chemicaldifferences between the two textural varieties
The porous collomorphic pyrite contains lessAs (053ndash449 wt) than the brown collo-morphic pyrite It also has relatively largeamounts of Ag Cu Ni and Zn and these aredirectly correlated with As concentration
(Fig 12) a feature that is evident from theX-ray maps in Fig 10a for Cu Ag and Ni
The brown collomorphic pyrite has the highestAs content (008ndash611 wt) It is is alsoenriched in Ag Cu and Sb but not in Zn or NiIn contrast with the porous variety there is nodirect correlation between these elements and As(Fig 12) However at high As concentrationsthere is an enrichment in Ag Cu and Sb and the
FIG 11 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type VI pyrite There are two bands (1) and (2) of collomorphic pyriteovergrowing marcasite (Mc) with the former being richer in Cu Ag As and Ni than the latter (b) BSE and X-rayimages of type VI pyrite Collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing coarse type IV pyrite (2) The As concentration isrelatively homogeneous in this collomorphic pyrite just the opposite of the Cu and Sb concentrations which are
enriched in the ner bands
1072
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
000
002
004
006
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
645
650
655
660
665
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
020
040
060
080
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
010
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
S (
at
)
Ag
(at
)
Cu
(at
)
Sb
(at
)
Zn
(at
)
Ni (
at
)
(a)
(b)
FIG 12 Binary diagrams showing variations between different elements in type VI pyrite (a) porous collomorphicpyrite and (b) brown collomorphic pyrite
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1073
nature of Cu and Sb distributed in As-rich bandsis shown in the X-ray maps in Fig 11b
Type VII pyrite micro-geodes and intergrowths inchalcopyrite
In both cases (Fig 13) pyrite occurs aschemically homogeneous xenomorphic ne-grained (lt15 mm) aggregates located in chalco-pyrite crystals The micro-geodes tend to be up to400 mm in diameter and sometimes host marcasitecrystals The pyrite intergrowths are distributedalong elongated zones within the chalcopyrite
The trace-element concentration is quite low inboth cases similar to that of the coarse-grainedpyrite of type IV
Based on the textural evidence summarizedabove we propose a paragenetic sequence for thedistinct types of Fe-sulphides at veins presentedin Fig 14
Genetic considerations
Origin of pyriteThe pyrite of the Palai-Islica deposit originatedfrom hydrothermal uids However the formationpathways of pyrite from hydrothermal uids arecontroversial and an intermediate precursor isthought to be necessary (eg Benning et al2000) Moreover certain textural characteristicsobserved in the pyrite of this deposit (eg relics ofpyrrhotite presence of framboids) should beconsidered in evaluating possible processes ofpyrite formation such as (1) the transformationofpyrrhotite and marcasite and (2) the formation ofpyrite framboids
The transformation of pyrrhotite and marcasite
Some of the pyrite in this deposit may initiallyhave crystallized as pyrrhotite proper andsubsequently been transformed into pyrite byone of the mechanisms proposed by Fleet (1978)and by Murowchick and Barnes (1986) Due tothe smaller molar volume of pyrite thistransformation could account for the existenceof the high-porosity zones particularly in thepyrite lsquolackingrsquo trace elements Marcasite hadalso been a precursor of type VII pyrite as shownby the textural evidence
The formation of framboids
Occasionally the precursor of the medium- tocoarse-grained pyrite may have been framboidal
pyrite which in turn may have had greigite as aprecursor (Wilkin and Barnes 1997) Thepresence of zones in the porous type IV pyritewould correspond to zones where the recrystalli-zation was incomplete whereas the abundantmicro-inclusions in the porous pyrite could beinterpreted as crystals that were trapped in theframboidal spaces According to Wilkin andBarnes (1997) the maximum temperature atwhich framboidal pyrite may nucleate is 225ordmCThis temperature is consistent with the lowerrange of temperatures determined by microther-mometry of uid inclusions (between 120 and465ordmC) in quartz associated with pyrite (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Evolution of As contents in the pyrite
Pyrites in other hydrothermal deposits havecharacteristic oscillatory banding due to varia-tions in a relatively continuous supply of Asduring precipitation (eg Fleet et al 1989)However the As supply to the Palai-Islicapyrites seems to have been more episodicconcentrated in the mineralization areas espe-cially in relation to gold-bearing levels but not inthe hydrothermal alteration Based on textural andmineral chemistry data there have been two mainepisodes of well-de ned As enrichment
The rst As-rich episode associated with theinitial stages of formation of the depositproduced the As-rich cores and bands of type Ipyrite with some related tiny crystals ofarsenopyrite (main stage of pyrite precipitation)It was occasionally accompanied by the incor-poration of Cu which is sometimes linked to theformation of the tennantite inclusions The As-rich cores and bands are the product ofcontinuous pyrite growth as indicated by theconcentric nature of the banding the coherencebetween the morphology of the banding and thecrystal habits
Following this rst As-rich episode there was astage of As-free pyrite crystallization (type IV)The type IV pyrite is not only volumetricallysigni cant in places forming massive aggregatesbut it also hosts gold alloys
The second As-rich episode associated withthe nal stages of the Fe sulphide deposition ischaracterized by the presence of idiomorphicmarcasite and two varieties of collomorphicpyrite(type VI) the most As-rich pyrites of Palai-IslicaTwo consecutive bands can be distinguishedwiththe rst one mainly richer in As
1074
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Accordingly the As entered into the pyritestructure in two stages and appears to beincorporated by two different mechanisms assuggested by the relationship between As S andFe (1) in pyrites from the rst episode the Ascontent of the pyrite is negatively correlated withS while the Fe content is constant (Fig 7ab) TheAs was incorporated in a metastable solid solutionin the S positions It could be related to layers oflsquomarcasite-likersquo structure with high As content
(Fleet et al 1989 Simon et al 1999) or else asclusters with a lower As content in the pyritestructure (Savage et al 2000) (2) In contrast inpyrites produced during the second episode the Asis negatively correlated with both the S and the Fe(Fig 7ab) and the increase in the As concentra-tion is accompanied by increasing contents of CuAg Sb Zn and Ni In this case there are nocrystallochemical studies on the entrance of Asinto pyrite associated with decreasing S and Fe
PRE-ORESTAGE
ORESTAGE
Pyrrhotite
Pyrite type IV
Cores of pyritewith As (type I)
Pyrite type II
Polygonal bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Irregular bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Pyrite type III
Pyrite type V
Pyrite type VI
Pyrite type VII
Gold precipitation
Marcasite microveins
Idiomorphic marcasiteassociated with type III pyrite
FIG 14 Paragenetic sequence of the different types of Fe-sulphides showing their relationship with the gold at Palai-Islica mineralization
FIG 13 Photomicrographs of type VII pyrite (a) Micro-geodes of pyrite (py) in chalcopyrite (cp) (b) Bands ofmicrocrystals of pyrite (py) in coarse-grained chalcopyrite (cp)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1075
contents However this correlation might beexplained by either the entrance of cationic Asandor non-stoichiometric As (Fleet and Mumin1997) Although the presence of collomorphictextures does not necessarily imply colloidalorigin (Roedder 1968) colloidal precipitation isnonetheless an attractive hypothesis to explain theparticular textural and chemical characteristics ofthe collomorphic pyrite overgrowths sincecolloidal particles might be quite effective intrapping As ions Colloidal particles with an Ascovering (negatively charged) could in turn act aslsquotrapsrsquo for cations This mechanism could explainthe relatively large amounts of Cu Ag Sb Zn andNi as well as the Fe de cit found in thecollomorphic pyrite overgrowths
Type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite association
The mineral association of type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite could be related to theformation of Au-Ag alloy horizons because of itslocation at the top of the horizons The low d34Ssignature of these sulphides different from therest of the deposit (author data) could be causedby another kind of uid implicated in the mixingprocesses mentioned by Morales Ruano et al(2000)
The high Ag and Cu contents of type III pyriteand of As and Sb in marcasite are notable We caninfer from Fig 9 two paths for the entry of Cuinto pyrite (1) below 010 at Cu (with whichthere is no concomitant increase in Ag) It iswidely spread through the pyrite crystals (Fig 3)(2) Above 010 at Cu the increase in Cu is in a11 relationship with Ag These high concentra-tions of Cu and Ag not are due to the presence ofmicroscopic inclusions as optical study shows sothey must be produced by (a) very abundantsubmicroscopic inclusions of chalcopyrite andorCu-Ag phases always intergrown with chalco-pyrite and (b) a true solid solution of Cu and Ag
The entry of As in marcasite is the same as fortype I pyrite due to the 11 correlation betweenAs and S In addition a small amount of Sb entersthe marcasite when the concentration of As isgt010 at It seems that the maximum Sb occursat ~020 at of As
We explain the chalcopyrite dispositionbetween marcasite and pyrite as the result of adiffusion process in which Cu migrates to thelimit between pyrite and marcasite This processalso liberates Ag to form Ag mineral inclusions(Ag suphides and sulphosalts)
Relationshipsbetween pyrite habit and gold crystalsWe have found a close relationship between thepyrite habit and the presence of gold crystalsSpeci cally the gold is found on the mineralizedlevels containing type IV pyrite displaying a greatvariety of crystallographic habits (cubes andpentagonal dodecahedrons or octahedrons andpentagonal dodecahedrons) In contrast barrenzones occur where only the pentagonal dodecahe-dral morphology is developed
Correlations between pyrite morphology andmetal-enriched zones has also been described inother deposits (eg Sunagawa 1957 Bush et al1960 Amstutz 1963) Pyrite morphology isdetermined by crystalline growth mechanisms(primarily screw dislocation and layer-by-layer)which are dependent on the temperature anddegree of supersa turat ion of the uid(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) Pyrite deposi-tion in the Au-mineralized zones in Palai-Islicamay have been associated with a change in thedegree of supersaturation of the mineralizing uid possibly due to mixing of uids suggestedby the uid inclusion data reported by MoralesRuano et al (2000)
Au and Ag contents in pyrite
The Au contents obtained by EPMA for thedifferent pyrite types are uniformly low (Tables 2and 3) Selected high-acquisition-time analysis ofdifferent pyrite types (Table 4) also present lowAu contents never greater than the detection limitof 475 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites which areconsidered to be potentially invisible-gold-bearing (eg Cook and Chryssoulis 1990)These results in addition to the abundance ofvisible gold grains suggest that invisible goldmay not be volumetrically signi cant in theoverall deposit (Carrillo Rosua et al 2002) asin other deposits where Au in pyrite reaches morethan 1000 ppm (eg Mao 1991 Fleet et al 1993Asadi et al 1999 Simon et al 1999)
The relatively large values of Ag found in thetype III pyrite (up to 147 wt) and in the typeVI collomorphic pyrite (up to 02 wt) areworthy of note This Ag concentration is one ofthe highest found in pyrite to date (Larocque etal 1995 up to 1426 ppm Grif n et al 1991 upto 625 ppm Tompkins et al 1997 up to200 ppm Roberts 1982 up to 300 ppm Ashleyet al 2000 up to 88 ppm) In our case the supplyof Ag by the pyrite to the deposit as a whole couldbe noteworthy especially in the super cial zones
1076
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
TA
BL
E2
Che
mis
try
ofm
ediu
m-
toco
arse
-gra
ined
pyri
te(gt
20m m
)
A(n
=19
)B
(n=
21)
C(n
=39
)D
(n=
37)
E(n
=18
)F
(n=
107)
Wt
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Min
M
ax
Ave
sd
(1
s)
Au
000
016
003
004
000
006
003
002
000
016
003
003
000
005
002
001
000
005
002
001
000
010
002
002
Ag
000
006
001
001
000
003
001
001
000
009
002
002
000
005
001
001
000
147
018
035
000
017
002
002
S51
31
530
352
16
043
505
052
62
515
90
6449
39
536
152
10
078
508
753
83
527
20
7952
07
535
352
79
044
515
554
85
533
00
54Sb
000
003
001
001
000
011
002
002
000
019
003
004
000
004
001
001
000
004
001
001
000
006
001
001
Fe45
38
465
646
10
032
443
946
06
453
30
5344
51
467
546
05
049
443
946
41
456
60
6044
42
465
245
78
052
446
846
98
461
90
43C
o0
000
090
030
020
020
510
170
160
000
070
020
010
010
690
250
190
010
030
020
010
000
120
030
02N
i0
000
030
000
010
000
900
170
270
000
050
010
010
001
010
210
260
000
010
000
000
000
080
010
01C
u0
000
190
020
040
000
160
020
030
000
140
020
030
000
080
010
020
010
620
200
160
000
700
040
11Z
n0
000
300
030
070
000
020
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
390
020
04A
s0
242
270
990
661
033
382
270
600
282
761
280
800
003
380
831
180
000
100
020
020
000
230
040
05
Tot
al97
78
100
0999
32
063
985
110
067
996
20
5693
94
100
5299
33
110
989
610
063
997
30
3796
52
102
4099
03
153
982
010
248
999
70
80
At
Au
000
003
001
001
000
001
001
000
000
003
000
00
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
002
000
000
Ag
000
002
001
001
000
001
001
000
000
004
001
00
000
002
001
000
000
056
007
013
000
006
001
001
S65
44
665
065
93
029
646
966
26
654
50
4164
91
667
765
87
04
649
266
88
662
40
5866
32
668
366
58
016
658
367
36
667
00
32Sb
000
001
000
000
000
004
001
001
000
006
001
00
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
002
000
000
Fe33
07
338
533
45
020
322
133
94
330
20
4332
92
342
733
43
03
321
433
48
329
40
3132
54
335
133
15
021
323
834
08
331
90
32C
o0
000
060
020
010
010
350
110
110
000
040
010
00
000
460
170
130
010
020
010
000
000
080
010
01N
i0
000
020
000
010
000
620
120
180
000
040
000
00
000
700
150
180
000
010
000
000
000
050
010
01C
u0
000
130
010
030
000
110
010
020
000
090
010
00
000
050
010
010
010
400
130
100
000
440
020
07Z
n0
000
180
020
040
000
010
010
010
000
020
010
00
000
020
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
240
010
03A
s0
131
230
530
350
561
841
230
330
151
510
630
430
001
840
450
640
000
050
010
010
000
120
020
03
A
type
I(c
ores
)B
ty
peI
(pol
ygon
alba
nds)
C
ty
peI
(irr
egul
arba
nds)
D
ty
peII
E
ty
peII
IF
type
IV
nnu
mbe
rof
anal
yses
M
in
min
imum
M
ax
max
imum
A
ve
aver
age
sd
st
anda
rdde
viat
ion
TA
BL
E3
Che
mis
try
of
ne-g
rain
edpy
rite
(lt20
m m)
A(n
=17
)B
(n=
9)C
(n=
18)
D(n
=33
)E
(n=
11)
F(n
=13
)W
tM
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)
Au
000
006
003
001
000
005
002
002
000
004
002
001
000
005
002
001
000
004
002
001
000
005
002
001
Ag
000
006
003
002
000
006
002
002
000
016
007
005
000
020
004
004
000
005
002
001
000
008
003
003
S52
46
537
953
23
036
486
053
09
518
61
4550
25
530
851
85
068
496
253
79
514
51
2151
75
534
652
68
057
517
553
66
530
60
53Sb
001
003
002
001
000
002
001
001
007
046
018
008
000
141
030
042
000
003
001
001
000
008
002
002
Fe44
53
465
245
91
043
411
145
43
441
91
4441
93
461
644
50
119
416
146
29
437
31
4245
68
466
246
27
024
452
746
33
457
30
37C
o0
010
050
020
010
040
100
070
020
010
040
020
010
000
040
020
010
010
050
030
010
010
030
020
01N
i0
000
020
000
010
010
110
040
030
000
140
050
050
000
010
000
000
000
040
010
010
000
080
020
03C
u0
000
050
020
010
000
020
000
010
000
940
250
270
001
260
190
270
010
390
130
110
001
320
570
39Z
n0
000
030
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
180
060
060
000
100
010
020
000
070
020
020
000
190
040
05A
s0
110
660
210
130
000
290
110
080
534
492
361
100
086
113
761
840
000
080
020
030
000
120
020
03
Tot
al97
44
100
6499
50
073
899
698
76
963
32
9198
20
100
4499
37
058
980
610
056
995
30
7197
95
999
299
22
058
980
610
092
995
30
93
At
Au
000
001
001
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
Ag
000
002
001
001
000
002
001
001
000
006
003
002
000
008
002
002
000
002
001
000
000
003
001
001
S66
45
672
066
75
019
667
367
28
670
20
1865
27
666
565
88
030
647
566
93
656
20
6466
03
667
766
35
026
660
566
97
665
80
29Sb
000
001
001
000
000
001
000
000
003
015
006
003
000
049
010
014
000
001
000
000
000
003
001
001
Fe32
64
332
833
05
017
325
233
03
327
90
1831
27
332
032
46
060
311
833
08
320
10
6133
09
337
933
47
025
326
133
89
329
50
35C
o0
000
030
010
010
020
070
050
020
010
030
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
030
020
010
000
020
010
01N
i0
000
010
000
000
010
080
030
020
000
100
030
040
000
010
000
000
000
030
010
010
000
050
010
02C
u0
000
030
010
010
000
010
000
000
000
610
160
170
000
830
130
180
010
250
080
070
000
830
360
25Z
n0
000
020
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
110
040
030
000
060
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
120
020
03A
s0
060
350
120
070
000
160
060
050
292
501
290
610
043
362
061
020
000
050
010
010
000
070
010
02
A
type
V(f
ram
boid
sse
nsu
stri
cto)
B
ty
peV
(pse
udof
ram
boid
s)
C
type
VI
(col
lom
orph
icpo
rous
pyri
te)
Dt
ype
VI
(bro
wn
collo
mor
phic
pyri
te)
E
type
VII
(mic
ro-g
eode
s)
Fty
peV
II(p
yrit
ein
terg
row
ths
inch
alco
pyri
te)
nnu
mbe
rof
anal
yses
M
in
min
imum
M
ax
max
imum
A
ve
aver
age
sd
st
anda
rdde
viat
ion
Type III pyrite with Cu and Ag
Associated with idiomorphic marcasite in theabove-described marcasite there are pyrites(Table 2) which have signi cant amounts of Cu(up to 062 wt) and Ag (up to 147 wt)
Figure 3e and f shows extended enrichments ofCu and minor in Ag throughout all pyrite grainswhereas in Fig 9 we observed that the Cu and Aglevels are approximately equal with a lsquoback-groundrsquo of Cu of 010 at
FIG 6 (a) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite overgrown by nearly stoichiometric pyrite type IV (1) coreof type I pyrite with porous character (dark areas) (2) thin polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a tennantite (Ten)inclusion On the right hand side of the gure note the As Cu and Sb X-ray images where Cu and Sb are slightlyenriched in the type I pyrite core (b) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite core with a complex texture anda tiny arsenopyrite inclusion (Apy) On the right hand side of the gure note the As and Cu X-ray images from the
marked area
1068
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Type IV pyrite lackingtrace elementsThis type of pyrite volumetrically the most
abundant is characterized by neglible concentra-tions of trace elements (Table 2) Type IV pyrite is
found as disseminations throughout the volcanichost rock or in quartz veins and silici ed zoneswhere it can contain types I and II pyrites or elseappear as homogeneous crystals Type IV pyrite
FIG 7 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyrite hosted by type IV pyrite(1) polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a pentagonal dodecahedral morphology overgrown by (2) a polygonal bandwith cubic morphology As Co and Ni X-ray images on the right hand side of the gure reveal Co-Ni bearing typeII pyrite in core and bands (3) (b) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyritehosted by type IV pyrite (1) irregular bands of type I with abundant truncations in the inner part of the crystal(2) irregular bands of type I in the rim of the crystal On the right hand side of the gure note the As Co and Ni
X-ray images with the non-coincident Co-rich and Ni-rich pyrite (3)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1069
frequently has pore-rich zones that generallycoincide with the central parts of the crystalswhich also have high concentrations of mineralmicroinclusions especially pyrrhotite chalco-pyrite rutile and magnetite
It should be noted that Au-Ag alloys are hostedby the type IV pyrite preferentially included inthe pore-free zones (Fig 2a)
Fine-grained pyrites (lt20 mm)
This group comprises framboidal (type V) andcollomorphic (type VI) pyrites as well as micro-
geodes and intergrowths of pyrite in chalcopyrite(type VII)
Type V framboidal pyriteThis type is relatively rare and occurs in two
varieties (1) As framboids sensu stricto(Fig 10a) generally spherical and lt50 mm insize The pyrite microcrystals very closelypacked are subidiomorphic and equigranular(plusmn2 mm) In some cases the framboidal pyrite isovergrown by coarse-grained type IV pyrite(2) As lsquopseudoframboidsrsquo (Fig 10b) that areloosely packed or even disaggregated with sizes
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
6 4 5 65 0 6 55 6 6 0 6 6 5 6 7 0 S (at)
Type I
Type VI
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
31 0 31 5 32 0 32 5 33 0 33 5 Fe (at)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 02 04 06 08 1 12 14 As (at)
Type I (ii)
(iii)
(i)
As
(at
)Fr
eque
ncy
As
(at
)
Type I
Type VI
a
b
c
FIG 8 (a) S vs As diagram showing inverse correlation with different slopes for type I and type VI pyrite (b) Fe vsAs diagram showing no correlation in type I pyrite but good inverse correlation in type VI pyrite (c) Arseniccontent frequency histogram in type I pyrite (i) cores (ii) polygonal bands (iii) irregular bands Observe that the
cores have the lowest As content while the highest As values are in the polygonal bands
1070
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of up to 50 mm In contrast to the framboids sensustricto the pyrite microcrystals here are roundedor oval-shaped and vary in size from lt1 to 5 mmThe outermost crystals are the largest
Both types of framboidal pyrites show smallamounts of trace elements As being the mostabundant (average of 018 wt Table 3)
Type VI collomorphic pyriteThese pyrites occur principally in two genera-
tions of overgrowth on previous pyrite crystalsalthough they can also overgrow idiomorphicmarcasite and exceptionally chalcopyrite TypeVI occurs as either porous collomorphic pyrite(Fig 10c) or as brown collomorphic pyrite underre ected light microscope (Fig 10d)
These pyrites have the largest amounts of As(008ndash611 wt) Cu (000ndash126 wt) Sb(000ndash141 wt) and Ag (000 ndash020 wt)but the smallest Fe contents (419ndash462 wt)of all the pyrites analysed in the deposit Nickeland Zn have also been detected (Table 3) Arsenicis negatively correlated with S with a slope( ndash158) more pronounced than for the type Ipyrite (Fig 8a) The As is also negativelycorrelated with Fe (Fig 8b)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
000 010 020 030 040
Cu (at)
Ag
(at
)
FIG 9 (a) Cu vs Ag diagram showing two types ofbehaviour (represented by ellipses) of the relation
between both elements in type III pyrite
FIG 10 Photomicrographs of type V and type VI pyrite (a) Framboids sensu stricto closely packed withsubidiomorphic coalescing microcrystals (b) lsquoPseudoframboidrsquo of loosely packed pyrite of rounded or oval shapes(c) Porous collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing marcasite and coarse pyrite (2) (d) Bands of brown collomorphic
pyrite showing graded shading (1) overgrowing coarse pyrite (2)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1071
Within the overgrowths of collomorphic pyritethe rst generation is usually richer in As than thesecond one (Fig 11ab) with some chemicaldifferences between the two textural varieties
The porous collomorphic pyrite contains lessAs (053ndash449 wt) than the brown collo-morphic pyrite It also has relatively largeamounts of Ag Cu Ni and Zn and these aredirectly correlated with As concentration
(Fig 12) a feature that is evident from theX-ray maps in Fig 10a for Cu Ag and Ni
The brown collomorphic pyrite has the highestAs content (008ndash611 wt) It is is alsoenriched in Ag Cu and Sb but not in Zn or NiIn contrast with the porous variety there is nodirect correlation between these elements and As(Fig 12) However at high As concentrationsthere is an enrichment in Ag Cu and Sb and the
FIG 11 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type VI pyrite There are two bands (1) and (2) of collomorphic pyriteovergrowing marcasite (Mc) with the former being richer in Cu Ag As and Ni than the latter (b) BSE and X-rayimages of type VI pyrite Collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing coarse type IV pyrite (2) The As concentration isrelatively homogeneous in this collomorphic pyrite just the opposite of the Cu and Sb concentrations which are
enriched in the ner bands
1072
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
000
002
004
006
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
645
650
655
660
665
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
020
040
060
080
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
010
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
S (
at
)
Ag
(at
)
Cu
(at
)
Sb
(at
)
Zn
(at
)
Ni (
at
)
(a)
(b)
FIG 12 Binary diagrams showing variations between different elements in type VI pyrite (a) porous collomorphicpyrite and (b) brown collomorphic pyrite
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1073
nature of Cu and Sb distributed in As-rich bandsis shown in the X-ray maps in Fig 11b
Type VII pyrite micro-geodes and intergrowths inchalcopyrite
In both cases (Fig 13) pyrite occurs aschemically homogeneous xenomorphic ne-grained (lt15 mm) aggregates located in chalco-pyrite crystals The micro-geodes tend to be up to400 mm in diameter and sometimes host marcasitecrystals The pyrite intergrowths are distributedalong elongated zones within the chalcopyrite
The trace-element concentration is quite low inboth cases similar to that of the coarse-grainedpyrite of type IV
Based on the textural evidence summarizedabove we propose a paragenetic sequence for thedistinct types of Fe-sulphides at veins presentedin Fig 14
Genetic considerations
Origin of pyriteThe pyrite of the Palai-Islica deposit originatedfrom hydrothermal uids However the formationpathways of pyrite from hydrothermal uids arecontroversial and an intermediate precursor isthought to be necessary (eg Benning et al2000) Moreover certain textural characteristicsobserved in the pyrite of this deposit (eg relics ofpyrrhotite presence of framboids) should beconsidered in evaluating possible processes ofpyrite formation such as (1) the transformationofpyrrhotite and marcasite and (2) the formation ofpyrite framboids
The transformation of pyrrhotite and marcasite
Some of the pyrite in this deposit may initiallyhave crystallized as pyrrhotite proper andsubsequently been transformed into pyrite byone of the mechanisms proposed by Fleet (1978)and by Murowchick and Barnes (1986) Due tothe smaller molar volume of pyrite thistransformation could account for the existenceof the high-porosity zones particularly in thepyrite lsquolackingrsquo trace elements Marcasite hadalso been a precursor of type VII pyrite as shownby the textural evidence
The formation of framboids
Occasionally the precursor of the medium- tocoarse-grained pyrite may have been framboidal
pyrite which in turn may have had greigite as aprecursor (Wilkin and Barnes 1997) Thepresence of zones in the porous type IV pyritewould correspond to zones where the recrystalli-zation was incomplete whereas the abundantmicro-inclusions in the porous pyrite could beinterpreted as crystals that were trapped in theframboidal spaces According to Wilkin andBarnes (1997) the maximum temperature atwhich framboidal pyrite may nucleate is 225ordmCThis temperature is consistent with the lowerrange of temperatures determined by microther-mometry of uid inclusions (between 120 and465ordmC) in quartz associated with pyrite (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Evolution of As contents in the pyrite
Pyrites in other hydrothermal deposits havecharacteristic oscillatory banding due to varia-tions in a relatively continuous supply of Asduring precipitation (eg Fleet et al 1989)However the As supply to the Palai-Islicapyrites seems to have been more episodicconcentrated in the mineralization areas espe-cially in relation to gold-bearing levels but not inthe hydrothermal alteration Based on textural andmineral chemistry data there have been two mainepisodes of well-de ned As enrichment
The rst As-rich episode associated with theinitial stages of formation of the depositproduced the As-rich cores and bands of type Ipyrite with some related tiny crystals ofarsenopyrite (main stage of pyrite precipitation)It was occasionally accompanied by the incor-poration of Cu which is sometimes linked to theformation of the tennantite inclusions The As-rich cores and bands are the product ofcontinuous pyrite growth as indicated by theconcentric nature of the banding the coherencebetween the morphology of the banding and thecrystal habits
Following this rst As-rich episode there was astage of As-free pyrite crystallization (type IV)The type IV pyrite is not only volumetricallysigni cant in places forming massive aggregatesbut it also hosts gold alloys
The second As-rich episode associated withthe nal stages of the Fe sulphide deposition ischaracterized by the presence of idiomorphicmarcasite and two varieties of collomorphicpyrite(type VI) the most As-rich pyrites of Palai-IslicaTwo consecutive bands can be distinguishedwiththe rst one mainly richer in As
1074
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Accordingly the As entered into the pyritestructure in two stages and appears to beincorporated by two different mechanisms assuggested by the relationship between As S andFe (1) in pyrites from the rst episode the Ascontent of the pyrite is negatively correlated withS while the Fe content is constant (Fig 7ab) TheAs was incorporated in a metastable solid solutionin the S positions It could be related to layers oflsquomarcasite-likersquo structure with high As content
(Fleet et al 1989 Simon et al 1999) or else asclusters with a lower As content in the pyritestructure (Savage et al 2000) (2) In contrast inpyrites produced during the second episode the Asis negatively correlated with both the S and the Fe(Fig 7ab) and the increase in the As concentra-tion is accompanied by increasing contents of CuAg Sb Zn and Ni In this case there are nocrystallochemical studies on the entrance of Asinto pyrite associated with decreasing S and Fe
PRE-ORESTAGE
ORESTAGE
Pyrrhotite
Pyrite type IV
Cores of pyritewith As (type I)
Pyrite type II
Polygonal bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Irregular bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Pyrite type III
Pyrite type V
Pyrite type VI
Pyrite type VII
Gold precipitation
Marcasite microveins
Idiomorphic marcasiteassociated with type III pyrite
FIG 14 Paragenetic sequence of the different types of Fe-sulphides showing their relationship with the gold at Palai-Islica mineralization
FIG 13 Photomicrographs of type VII pyrite (a) Micro-geodes of pyrite (py) in chalcopyrite (cp) (b) Bands ofmicrocrystals of pyrite (py) in coarse-grained chalcopyrite (cp)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1075
contents However this correlation might beexplained by either the entrance of cationic Asandor non-stoichiometric As (Fleet and Mumin1997) Although the presence of collomorphictextures does not necessarily imply colloidalorigin (Roedder 1968) colloidal precipitation isnonetheless an attractive hypothesis to explain theparticular textural and chemical characteristics ofthe collomorphic pyrite overgrowths sincecolloidal particles might be quite effective intrapping As ions Colloidal particles with an Ascovering (negatively charged) could in turn act aslsquotrapsrsquo for cations This mechanism could explainthe relatively large amounts of Cu Ag Sb Zn andNi as well as the Fe de cit found in thecollomorphic pyrite overgrowths
Type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite association
The mineral association of type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite could be related to theformation of Au-Ag alloy horizons because of itslocation at the top of the horizons The low d34Ssignature of these sulphides different from therest of the deposit (author data) could be causedby another kind of uid implicated in the mixingprocesses mentioned by Morales Ruano et al(2000)
The high Ag and Cu contents of type III pyriteand of As and Sb in marcasite are notable We caninfer from Fig 9 two paths for the entry of Cuinto pyrite (1) below 010 at Cu (with whichthere is no concomitant increase in Ag) It iswidely spread through the pyrite crystals (Fig 3)(2) Above 010 at Cu the increase in Cu is in a11 relationship with Ag These high concentra-tions of Cu and Ag not are due to the presence ofmicroscopic inclusions as optical study shows sothey must be produced by (a) very abundantsubmicroscopic inclusions of chalcopyrite andorCu-Ag phases always intergrown with chalco-pyrite and (b) a true solid solution of Cu and Ag
The entry of As in marcasite is the same as fortype I pyrite due to the 11 correlation betweenAs and S In addition a small amount of Sb entersthe marcasite when the concentration of As isgt010 at It seems that the maximum Sb occursat ~020 at of As
We explain the chalcopyrite dispositionbetween marcasite and pyrite as the result of adiffusion process in which Cu migrates to thelimit between pyrite and marcasite This processalso liberates Ag to form Ag mineral inclusions(Ag suphides and sulphosalts)
Relationshipsbetween pyrite habit and gold crystalsWe have found a close relationship between thepyrite habit and the presence of gold crystalsSpeci cally the gold is found on the mineralizedlevels containing type IV pyrite displaying a greatvariety of crystallographic habits (cubes andpentagonal dodecahedrons or octahedrons andpentagonal dodecahedrons) In contrast barrenzones occur where only the pentagonal dodecahe-dral morphology is developed
Correlations between pyrite morphology andmetal-enriched zones has also been described inother deposits (eg Sunagawa 1957 Bush et al1960 Amstutz 1963) Pyrite morphology isdetermined by crystalline growth mechanisms(primarily screw dislocation and layer-by-layer)which are dependent on the temperature anddegree of supersa turat ion of the uid(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) Pyrite deposi-tion in the Au-mineralized zones in Palai-Islicamay have been associated with a change in thedegree of supersaturation of the mineralizing uid possibly due to mixing of uids suggestedby the uid inclusion data reported by MoralesRuano et al (2000)
Au and Ag contents in pyrite
The Au contents obtained by EPMA for thedifferent pyrite types are uniformly low (Tables 2and 3) Selected high-acquisition-time analysis ofdifferent pyrite types (Table 4) also present lowAu contents never greater than the detection limitof 475 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites which areconsidered to be potentially invisible-gold-bearing (eg Cook and Chryssoulis 1990)These results in addition to the abundance ofvisible gold grains suggest that invisible goldmay not be volumetrically signi cant in theoverall deposit (Carrillo Rosua et al 2002) asin other deposits where Au in pyrite reaches morethan 1000 ppm (eg Mao 1991 Fleet et al 1993Asadi et al 1999 Simon et al 1999)
The relatively large values of Ag found in thetype III pyrite (up to 147 wt) and in the typeVI collomorphic pyrite (up to 02 wt) areworthy of note This Ag concentration is one ofthe highest found in pyrite to date (Larocque etal 1995 up to 1426 ppm Grif n et al 1991 upto 625 ppm Tompkins et al 1997 up to200 ppm Roberts 1982 up to 300 ppm Ashleyet al 2000 up to 88 ppm) In our case the supplyof Ag by the pyrite to the deposit as a whole couldbe noteworthy especially in the super cial zones
1076
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
TA
BL
E3
Che
mis
try
of
ne-g
rain
edpy
rite
(lt20
m m)
A(n
=17
)B
(n=
9)C
(n=
18)
D(n
=33
)E
(n=
11)
F(n
=13
)W
tM
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)M
in
Max
A
ves
d
(1s
)
Au
000
006
003
001
000
005
002
002
000
004
002
001
000
005
002
001
000
004
002
001
000
005
002
001
Ag
000
006
003
002
000
006
002
002
000
016
007
005
000
020
004
004
000
005
002
001
000
008
003
003
S52
46
537
953
23
036
486
053
09
518
61
4550
25
530
851
85
068
496
253
79
514
51
2151
75
534
652
68
057
517
553
66
530
60
53Sb
001
003
002
001
000
002
001
001
007
046
018
008
000
141
030
042
000
003
001
001
000
008
002
002
Fe44
53
465
245
91
043
411
145
43
441
91
4441
93
461
644
50
119
416
146
29
437
31
4245
68
466
246
27
024
452
746
33
457
30
37C
o0
010
050
020
010
040
100
070
020
010
040
020
010
000
040
020
010
010
050
030
010
010
030
020
01N
i0
000
020
000
010
010
110
040
030
000
140
050
050
000
010
000
000
000
040
010
010
000
080
020
03C
u0
000
050
020
010
000
020
000
010
000
940
250
270
001
260
190
270
010
390
130
110
001
320
570
39Z
n0
000
030
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
180
060
060
000
100
010
020
000
070
020
020
000
190
040
05A
s0
110
660
210
130
000
290
110
080
534
492
361
100
086
113
761
840
000
080
020
030
000
120
020
03
Tot
al97
44
100
6499
50
073
899
698
76
963
32
9198
20
100
4499
37
058
980
610
056
995
30
7197
95
999
299
22
058
980
610
092
995
30
93
At
Au
000
001
001
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
000
001
000
000
Ag
000
002
001
001
000
002
001
001
000
006
003
002
000
008
002
002
000
002
001
000
000
003
001
001
S66
45
672
066
75
019
667
367
28
670
20
1865
27
666
565
88
030
647
566
93
656
20
6466
03
667
766
35
026
660
566
97
665
80
29Sb
000
001
001
000
000
001
000
000
003
015
006
003
000
049
010
014
000
001
000
000
000
003
001
001
Fe32
64
332
833
05
017
325
233
03
327
90
1831
27
332
032
46
060
311
833
08
320
10
6133
09
337
933
47
025
326
133
89
329
50
35C
o0
000
030
010
010
020
070
050
020
010
030
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
030
020
010
000
020
010
01N
i0
000
010
000
000
010
080
030
020
000
100
030
040
000
010
000
000
000
030
010
010
000
050
010
02C
u0
000
030
010
010
000
010
000
000
000
610
160
170
000
830
130
180
010
250
080
070
000
830
360
25Z
n0
000
020
010
010
000
020
010
010
000
110
040
030
000
060
010
010
000
040
010
010
000
120
020
03A
s0
060
350
120
070
000
160
060
050
292
501
290
610
043
362
061
020
000
050
010
010
000
070
010
02
A
type
V(f
ram
boid
sse
nsu
stri
cto)
B
ty
peV
(pse
udof
ram
boid
s)
C
type
VI
(col
lom
orph
icpo
rous
pyri
te)
Dt
ype
VI
(bro
wn
collo
mor
phic
pyri
te)
E
type
VII
(mic
ro-g
eode
s)
Fty
peV
II(p
yrit
ein
terg
row
ths
inch
alco
pyri
te)
nnu
mbe
rof
anal
yses
M
in
min
imum
M
ax
max
imum
A
ve
aver
age
sd
st
anda
rdde
viat
ion
Type III pyrite with Cu and Ag
Associated with idiomorphic marcasite in theabove-described marcasite there are pyrites(Table 2) which have signi cant amounts of Cu(up to 062 wt) and Ag (up to 147 wt)
Figure 3e and f shows extended enrichments ofCu and minor in Ag throughout all pyrite grainswhereas in Fig 9 we observed that the Cu and Aglevels are approximately equal with a lsquoback-groundrsquo of Cu of 010 at
FIG 6 (a) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite overgrown by nearly stoichiometric pyrite type IV (1) coreof type I pyrite with porous character (dark areas) (2) thin polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a tennantite (Ten)inclusion On the right hand side of the gure note the As Cu and Sb X-ray images where Cu and Sb are slightlyenriched in the type I pyrite core (b) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite core with a complex texture anda tiny arsenopyrite inclusion (Apy) On the right hand side of the gure note the As and Cu X-ray images from the
marked area
1068
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Type IV pyrite lackingtrace elementsThis type of pyrite volumetrically the most
abundant is characterized by neglible concentra-tions of trace elements (Table 2) Type IV pyrite is
found as disseminations throughout the volcanichost rock or in quartz veins and silici ed zoneswhere it can contain types I and II pyrites or elseappear as homogeneous crystals Type IV pyrite
FIG 7 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyrite hosted by type IV pyrite(1) polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a pentagonal dodecahedral morphology overgrown by (2) a polygonal bandwith cubic morphology As Co and Ni X-ray images on the right hand side of the gure reveal Co-Ni bearing typeII pyrite in core and bands (3) (b) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyritehosted by type IV pyrite (1) irregular bands of type I with abundant truncations in the inner part of the crystal(2) irregular bands of type I in the rim of the crystal On the right hand side of the gure note the As Co and Ni
X-ray images with the non-coincident Co-rich and Ni-rich pyrite (3)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1069
frequently has pore-rich zones that generallycoincide with the central parts of the crystalswhich also have high concentrations of mineralmicroinclusions especially pyrrhotite chalco-pyrite rutile and magnetite
It should be noted that Au-Ag alloys are hostedby the type IV pyrite preferentially included inthe pore-free zones (Fig 2a)
Fine-grained pyrites (lt20 mm)
This group comprises framboidal (type V) andcollomorphic (type VI) pyrites as well as micro-
geodes and intergrowths of pyrite in chalcopyrite(type VII)
Type V framboidal pyriteThis type is relatively rare and occurs in two
varieties (1) As framboids sensu stricto(Fig 10a) generally spherical and lt50 mm insize The pyrite microcrystals very closelypacked are subidiomorphic and equigranular(plusmn2 mm) In some cases the framboidal pyrite isovergrown by coarse-grained type IV pyrite(2) As lsquopseudoframboidsrsquo (Fig 10b) that areloosely packed or even disaggregated with sizes
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
6 4 5 65 0 6 55 6 6 0 6 6 5 6 7 0 S (at)
Type I
Type VI
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
31 0 31 5 32 0 32 5 33 0 33 5 Fe (at)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 02 04 06 08 1 12 14 As (at)
Type I (ii)
(iii)
(i)
As
(at
)Fr
eque
ncy
As
(at
)
Type I
Type VI
a
b
c
FIG 8 (a) S vs As diagram showing inverse correlation with different slopes for type I and type VI pyrite (b) Fe vsAs diagram showing no correlation in type I pyrite but good inverse correlation in type VI pyrite (c) Arseniccontent frequency histogram in type I pyrite (i) cores (ii) polygonal bands (iii) irregular bands Observe that the
cores have the lowest As content while the highest As values are in the polygonal bands
1070
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of up to 50 mm In contrast to the framboids sensustricto the pyrite microcrystals here are roundedor oval-shaped and vary in size from lt1 to 5 mmThe outermost crystals are the largest
Both types of framboidal pyrites show smallamounts of trace elements As being the mostabundant (average of 018 wt Table 3)
Type VI collomorphic pyriteThese pyrites occur principally in two genera-
tions of overgrowth on previous pyrite crystalsalthough they can also overgrow idiomorphicmarcasite and exceptionally chalcopyrite TypeVI occurs as either porous collomorphic pyrite(Fig 10c) or as brown collomorphic pyrite underre ected light microscope (Fig 10d)
These pyrites have the largest amounts of As(008ndash611 wt) Cu (000ndash126 wt) Sb(000ndash141 wt) and Ag (000 ndash020 wt)but the smallest Fe contents (419ndash462 wt)of all the pyrites analysed in the deposit Nickeland Zn have also been detected (Table 3) Arsenicis negatively correlated with S with a slope( ndash158) more pronounced than for the type Ipyrite (Fig 8a) The As is also negativelycorrelated with Fe (Fig 8b)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
000 010 020 030 040
Cu (at)
Ag
(at
)
FIG 9 (a) Cu vs Ag diagram showing two types ofbehaviour (represented by ellipses) of the relation
between both elements in type III pyrite
FIG 10 Photomicrographs of type V and type VI pyrite (a) Framboids sensu stricto closely packed withsubidiomorphic coalescing microcrystals (b) lsquoPseudoframboidrsquo of loosely packed pyrite of rounded or oval shapes(c) Porous collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing marcasite and coarse pyrite (2) (d) Bands of brown collomorphic
pyrite showing graded shading (1) overgrowing coarse pyrite (2)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1071
Within the overgrowths of collomorphic pyritethe rst generation is usually richer in As than thesecond one (Fig 11ab) with some chemicaldifferences between the two textural varieties
The porous collomorphic pyrite contains lessAs (053ndash449 wt) than the brown collo-morphic pyrite It also has relatively largeamounts of Ag Cu Ni and Zn and these aredirectly correlated with As concentration
(Fig 12) a feature that is evident from theX-ray maps in Fig 10a for Cu Ag and Ni
The brown collomorphic pyrite has the highestAs content (008ndash611 wt) It is is alsoenriched in Ag Cu and Sb but not in Zn or NiIn contrast with the porous variety there is nodirect correlation between these elements and As(Fig 12) However at high As concentrationsthere is an enrichment in Ag Cu and Sb and the
FIG 11 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type VI pyrite There are two bands (1) and (2) of collomorphic pyriteovergrowing marcasite (Mc) with the former being richer in Cu Ag As and Ni than the latter (b) BSE and X-rayimages of type VI pyrite Collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing coarse type IV pyrite (2) The As concentration isrelatively homogeneous in this collomorphic pyrite just the opposite of the Cu and Sb concentrations which are
enriched in the ner bands
1072
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
000
002
004
006
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
645
650
655
660
665
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
020
040
060
080
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
010
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
S (
at
)
Ag
(at
)
Cu
(at
)
Sb
(at
)
Zn
(at
)
Ni (
at
)
(a)
(b)
FIG 12 Binary diagrams showing variations between different elements in type VI pyrite (a) porous collomorphicpyrite and (b) brown collomorphic pyrite
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1073
nature of Cu and Sb distributed in As-rich bandsis shown in the X-ray maps in Fig 11b
Type VII pyrite micro-geodes and intergrowths inchalcopyrite
In both cases (Fig 13) pyrite occurs aschemically homogeneous xenomorphic ne-grained (lt15 mm) aggregates located in chalco-pyrite crystals The micro-geodes tend to be up to400 mm in diameter and sometimes host marcasitecrystals The pyrite intergrowths are distributedalong elongated zones within the chalcopyrite
The trace-element concentration is quite low inboth cases similar to that of the coarse-grainedpyrite of type IV
Based on the textural evidence summarizedabove we propose a paragenetic sequence for thedistinct types of Fe-sulphides at veins presentedin Fig 14
Genetic considerations
Origin of pyriteThe pyrite of the Palai-Islica deposit originatedfrom hydrothermal uids However the formationpathways of pyrite from hydrothermal uids arecontroversial and an intermediate precursor isthought to be necessary (eg Benning et al2000) Moreover certain textural characteristicsobserved in the pyrite of this deposit (eg relics ofpyrrhotite presence of framboids) should beconsidered in evaluating possible processes ofpyrite formation such as (1) the transformationofpyrrhotite and marcasite and (2) the formation ofpyrite framboids
The transformation of pyrrhotite and marcasite
Some of the pyrite in this deposit may initiallyhave crystallized as pyrrhotite proper andsubsequently been transformed into pyrite byone of the mechanisms proposed by Fleet (1978)and by Murowchick and Barnes (1986) Due tothe smaller molar volume of pyrite thistransformation could account for the existenceof the high-porosity zones particularly in thepyrite lsquolackingrsquo trace elements Marcasite hadalso been a precursor of type VII pyrite as shownby the textural evidence
The formation of framboids
Occasionally the precursor of the medium- tocoarse-grained pyrite may have been framboidal
pyrite which in turn may have had greigite as aprecursor (Wilkin and Barnes 1997) Thepresence of zones in the porous type IV pyritewould correspond to zones where the recrystalli-zation was incomplete whereas the abundantmicro-inclusions in the porous pyrite could beinterpreted as crystals that were trapped in theframboidal spaces According to Wilkin andBarnes (1997) the maximum temperature atwhich framboidal pyrite may nucleate is 225ordmCThis temperature is consistent with the lowerrange of temperatures determined by microther-mometry of uid inclusions (between 120 and465ordmC) in quartz associated with pyrite (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Evolution of As contents in the pyrite
Pyrites in other hydrothermal deposits havecharacteristic oscillatory banding due to varia-tions in a relatively continuous supply of Asduring precipitation (eg Fleet et al 1989)However the As supply to the Palai-Islicapyrites seems to have been more episodicconcentrated in the mineralization areas espe-cially in relation to gold-bearing levels but not inthe hydrothermal alteration Based on textural andmineral chemistry data there have been two mainepisodes of well-de ned As enrichment
The rst As-rich episode associated with theinitial stages of formation of the depositproduced the As-rich cores and bands of type Ipyrite with some related tiny crystals ofarsenopyrite (main stage of pyrite precipitation)It was occasionally accompanied by the incor-poration of Cu which is sometimes linked to theformation of the tennantite inclusions The As-rich cores and bands are the product ofcontinuous pyrite growth as indicated by theconcentric nature of the banding the coherencebetween the morphology of the banding and thecrystal habits
Following this rst As-rich episode there was astage of As-free pyrite crystallization (type IV)The type IV pyrite is not only volumetricallysigni cant in places forming massive aggregatesbut it also hosts gold alloys
The second As-rich episode associated withthe nal stages of the Fe sulphide deposition ischaracterized by the presence of idiomorphicmarcasite and two varieties of collomorphicpyrite(type VI) the most As-rich pyrites of Palai-IslicaTwo consecutive bands can be distinguishedwiththe rst one mainly richer in As
1074
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Accordingly the As entered into the pyritestructure in two stages and appears to beincorporated by two different mechanisms assuggested by the relationship between As S andFe (1) in pyrites from the rst episode the Ascontent of the pyrite is negatively correlated withS while the Fe content is constant (Fig 7ab) TheAs was incorporated in a metastable solid solutionin the S positions It could be related to layers oflsquomarcasite-likersquo structure with high As content
(Fleet et al 1989 Simon et al 1999) or else asclusters with a lower As content in the pyritestructure (Savage et al 2000) (2) In contrast inpyrites produced during the second episode the Asis negatively correlated with both the S and the Fe(Fig 7ab) and the increase in the As concentra-tion is accompanied by increasing contents of CuAg Sb Zn and Ni In this case there are nocrystallochemical studies on the entrance of Asinto pyrite associated with decreasing S and Fe
PRE-ORESTAGE
ORESTAGE
Pyrrhotite
Pyrite type IV
Cores of pyritewith As (type I)
Pyrite type II
Polygonal bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Irregular bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Pyrite type III
Pyrite type V
Pyrite type VI
Pyrite type VII
Gold precipitation
Marcasite microveins
Idiomorphic marcasiteassociated with type III pyrite
FIG 14 Paragenetic sequence of the different types of Fe-sulphides showing their relationship with the gold at Palai-Islica mineralization
FIG 13 Photomicrographs of type VII pyrite (a) Micro-geodes of pyrite (py) in chalcopyrite (cp) (b) Bands ofmicrocrystals of pyrite (py) in coarse-grained chalcopyrite (cp)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1075
contents However this correlation might beexplained by either the entrance of cationic Asandor non-stoichiometric As (Fleet and Mumin1997) Although the presence of collomorphictextures does not necessarily imply colloidalorigin (Roedder 1968) colloidal precipitation isnonetheless an attractive hypothesis to explain theparticular textural and chemical characteristics ofthe collomorphic pyrite overgrowths sincecolloidal particles might be quite effective intrapping As ions Colloidal particles with an Ascovering (negatively charged) could in turn act aslsquotrapsrsquo for cations This mechanism could explainthe relatively large amounts of Cu Ag Sb Zn andNi as well as the Fe de cit found in thecollomorphic pyrite overgrowths
Type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite association
The mineral association of type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite could be related to theformation of Au-Ag alloy horizons because of itslocation at the top of the horizons The low d34Ssignature of these sulphides different from therest of the deposit (author data) could be causedby another kind of uid implicated in the mixingprocesses mentioned by Morales Ruano et al(2000)
The high Ag and Cu contents of type III pyriteand of As and Sb in marcasite are notable We caninfer from Fig 9 two paths for the entry of Cuinto pyrite (1) below 010 at Cu (with whichthere is no concomitant increase in Ag) It iswidely spread through the pyrite crystals (Fig 3)(2) Above 010 at Cu the increase in Cu is in a11 relationship with Ag These high concentra-tions of Cu and Ag not are due to the presence ofmicroscopic inclusions as optical study shows sothey must be produced by (a) very abundantsubmicroscopic inclusions of chalcopyrite andorCu-Ag phases always intergrown with chalco-pyrite and (b) a true solid solution of Cu and Ag
The entry of As in marcasite is the same as fortype I pyrite due to the 11 correlation betweenAs and S In addition a small amount of Sb entersthe marcasite when the concentration of As isgt010 at It seems that the maximum Sb occursat ~020 at of As
We explain the chalcopyrite dispositionbetween marcasite and pyrite as the result of adiffusion process in which Cu migrates to thelimit between pyrite and marcasite This processalso liberates Ag to form Ag mineral inclusions(Ag suphides and sulphosalts)
Relationshipsbetween pyrite habit and gold crystalsWe have found a close relationship between thepyrite habit and the presence of gold crystalsSpeci cally the gold is found on the mineralizedlevels containing type IV pyrite displaying a greatvariety of crystallographic habits (cubes andpentagonal dodecahedrons or octahedrons andpentagonal dodecahedrons) In contrast barrenzones occur where only the pentagonal dodecahe-dral morphology is developed
Correlations between pyrite morphology andmetal-enriched zones has also been described inother deposits (eg Sunagawa 1957 Bush et al1960 Amstutz 1963) Pyrite morphology isdetermined by crystalline growth mechanisms(primarily screw dislocation and layer-by-layer)which are dependent on the temperature anddegree of supersa turat ion of the uid(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) Pyrite deposi-tion in the Au-mineralized zones in Palai-Islicamay have been associated with a change in thedegree of supersaturation of the mineralizing uid possibly due to mixing of uids suggestedby the uid inclusion data reported by MoralesRuano et al (2000)
Au and Ag contents in pyrite
The Au contents obtained by EPMA for thedifferent pyrite types are uniformly low (Tables 2and 3) Selected high-acquisition-time analysis ofdifferent pyrite types (Table 4) also present lowAu contents never greater than the detection limitof 475 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites which areconsidered to be potentially invisible-gold-bearing (eg Cook and Chryssoulis 1990)These results in addition to the abundance ofvisible gold grains suggest that invisible goldmay not be volumetrically signi cant in theoverall deposit (Carrillo Rosua et al 2002) asin other deposits where Au in pyrite reaches morethan 1000 ppm (eg Mao 1991 Fleet et al 1993Asadi et al 1999 Simon et al 1999)
The relatively large values of Ag found in thetype III pyrite (up to 147 wt) and in the typeVI collomorphic pyrite (up to 02 wt) areworthy of note This Ag concentration is one ofthe highest found in pyrite to date (Larocque etal 1995 up to 1426 ppm Grif n et al 1991 upto 625 ppm Tompkins et al 1997 up to200 ppm Roberts 1982 up to 300 ppm Ashleyet al 2000 up to 88 ppm) In our case the supplyof Ag by the pyrite to the deposit as a whole couldbe noteworthy especially in the super cial zones
1076
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Type III pyrite with Cu and Ag
Associated with idiomorphic marcasite in theabove-described marcasite there are pyrites(Table 2) which have signi cant amounts of Cu(up to 062 wt) and Ag (up to 147 wt)
Figure 3e and f shows extended enrichments ofCu and minor in Ag throughout all pyrite grainswhereas in Fig 9 we observed that the Cu and Aglevels are approximately equal with a lsquoback-groundrsquo of Cu of 010 at
FIG 6 (a) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite overgrown by nearly stoichiometric pyrite type IV (1) coreof type I pyrite with porous character (dark areas) (2) thin polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a tennantite (Ten)inclusion On the right hand side of the gure note the As Cu and Sb X-ray images where Cu and Sb are slightlyenriched in the type I pyrite core (b) BSE and X-ray images of As-rich type I pyrite core with a complex texture anda tiny arsenopyrite inclusion (Apy) On the right hand side of the gure note the As and Cu X-ray images from the
marked area
1068
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Type IV pyrite lackingtrace elementsThis type of pyrite volumetrically the most
abundant is characterized by neglible concentra-tions of trace elements (Table 2) Type IV pyrite is
found as disseminations throughout the volcanichost rock or in quartz veins and silici ed zoneswhere it can contain types I and II pyrites or elseappear as homogeneous crystals Type IV pyrite
FIG 7 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyrite hosted by type IV pyrite(1) polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a pentagonal dodecahedral morphology overgrown by (2) a polygonal bandwith cubic morphology As Co and Ni X-ray images on the right hand side of the gure reveal Co-Ni bearing typeII pyrite in core and bands (3) (b) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyritehosted by type IV pyrite (1) irregular bands of type I with abundant truncations in the inner part of the crystal(2) irregular bands of type I in the rim of the crystal On the right hand side of the gure note the As Co and Ni
X-ray images with the non-coincident Co-rich and Ni-rich pyrite (3)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1069
frequently has pore-rich zones that generallycoincide with the central parts of the crystalswhich also have high concentrations of mineralmicroinclusions especially pyrrhotite chalco-pyrite rutile and magnetite
It should be noted that Au-Ag alloys are hostedby the type IV pyrite preferentially included inthe pore-free zones (Fig 2a)
Fine-grained pyrites (lt20 mm)
This group comprises framboidal (type V) andcollomorphic (type VI) pyrites as well as micro-
geodes and intergrowths of pyrite in chalcopyrite(type VII)
Type V framboidal pyriteThis type is relatively rare and occurs in two
varieties (1) As framboids sensu stricto(Fig 10a) generally spherical and lt50 mm insize The pyrite microcrystals very closelypacked are subidiomorphic and equigranular(plusmn2 mm) In some cases the framboidal pyrite isovergrown by coarse-grained type IV pyrite(2) As lsquopseudoframboidsrsquo (Fig 10b) that areloosely packed or even disaggregated with sizes
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
6 4 5 65 0 6 55 6 6 0 6 6 5 6 7 0 S (at)
Type I
Type VI
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
31 0 31 5 32 0 32 5 33 0 33 5 Fe (at)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 02 04 06 08 1 12 14 As (at)
Type I (ii)
(iii)
(i)
As
(at
)Fr
eque
ncy
As
(at
)
Type I
Type VI
a
b
c
FIG 8 (a) S vs As diagram showing inverse correlation with different slopes for type I and type VI pyrite (b) Fe vsAs diagram showing no correlation in type I pyrite but good inverse correlation in type VI pyrite (c) Arseniccontent frequency histogram in type I pyrite (i) cores (ii) polygonal bands (iii) irregular bands Observe that the
cores have the lowest As content while the highest As values are in the polygonal bands
1070
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of up to 50 mm In contrast to the framboids sensustricto the pyrite microcrystals here are roundedor oval-shaped and vary in size from lt1 to 5 mmThe outermost crystals are the largest
Both types of framboidal pyrites show smallamounts of trace elements As being the mostabundant (average of 018 wt Table 3)
Type VI collomorphic pyriteThese pyrites occur principally in two genera-
tions of overgrowth on previous pyrite crystalsalthough they can also overgrow idiomorphicmarcasite and exceptionally chalcopyrite TypeVI occurs as either porous collomorphic pyrite(Fig 10c) or as brown collomorphic pyrite underre ected light microscope (Fig 10d)
These pyrites have the largest amounts of As(008ndash611 wt) Cu (000ndash126 wt) Sb(000ndash141 wt) and Ag (000 ndash020 wt)but the smallest Fe contents (419ndash462 wt)of all the pyrites analysed in the deposit Nickeland Zn have also been detected (Table 3) Arsenicis negatively correlated with S with a slope( ndash158) more pronounced than for the type Ipyrite (Fig 8a) The As is also negativelycorrelated with Fe (Fig 8b)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
000 010 020 030 040
Cu (at)
Ag
(at
)
FIG 9 (a) Cu vs Ag diagram showing two types ofbehaviour (represented by ellipses) of the relation
between both elements in type III pyrite
FIG 10 Photomicrographs of type V and type VI pyrite (a) Framboids sensu stricto closely packed withsubidiomorphic coalescing microcrystals (b) lsquoPseudoframboidrsquo of loosely packed pyrite of rounded or oval shapes(c) Porous collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing marcasite and coarse pyrite (2) (d) Bands of brown collomorphic
pyrite showing graded shading (1) overgrowing coarse pyrite (2)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1071
Within the overgrowths of collomorphic pyritethe rst generation is usually richer in As than thesecond one (Fig 11ab) with some chemicaldifferences between the two textural varieties
The porous collomorphic pyrite contains lessAs (053ndash449 wt) than the brown collo-morphic pyrite It also has relatively largeamounts of Ag Cu Ni and Zn and these aredirectly correlated with As concentration
(Fig 12) a feature that is evident from theX-ray maps in Fig 10a for Cu Ag and Ni
The brown collomorphic pyrite has the highestAs content (008ndash611 wt) It is is alsoenriched in Ag Cu and Sb but not in Zn or NiIn contrast with the porous variety there is nodirect correlation between these elements and As(Fig 12) However at high As concentrationsthere is an enrichment in Ag Cu and Sb and the
FIG 11 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type VI pyrite There are two bands (1) and (2) of collomorphic pyriteovergrowing marcasite (Mc) with the former being richer in Cu Ag As and Ni than the latter (b) BSE and X-rayimages of type VI pyrite Collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing coarse type IV pyrite (2) The As concentration isrelatively homogeneous in this collomorphic pyrite just the opposite of the Cu and Sb concentrations which are
enriched in the ner bands
1072
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
000
002
004
006
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
645
650
655
660
665
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
020
040
060
080
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
010
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
S (
at
)
Ag
(at
)
Cu
(at
)
Sb
(at
)
Zn
(at
)
Ni (
at
)
(a)
(b)
FIG 12 Binary diagrams showing variations between different elements in type VI pyrite (a) porous collomorphicpyrite and (b) brown collomorphic pyrite
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1073
nature of Cu and Sb distributed in As-rich bandsis shown in the X-ray maps in Fig 11b
Type VII pyrite micro-geodes and intergrowths inchalcopyrite
In both cases (Fig 13) pyrite occurs aschemically homogeneous xenomorphic ne-grained (lt15 mm) aggregates located in chalco-pyrite crystals The micro-geodes tend to be up to400 mm in diameter and sometimes host marcasitecrystals The pyrite intergrowths are distributedalong elongated zones within the chalcopyrite
The trace-element concentration is quite low inboth cases similar to that of the coarse-grainedpyrite of type IV
Based on the textural evidence summarizedabove we propose a paragenetic sequence for thedistinct types of Fe-sulphides at veins presentedin Fig 14
Genetic considerations
Origin of pyriteThe pyrite of the Palai-Islica deposit originatedfrom hydrothermal uids However the formationpathways of pyrite from hydrothermal uids arecontroversial and an intermediate precursor isthought to be necessary (eg Benning et al2000) Moreover certain textural characteristicsobserved in the pyrite of this deposit (eg relics ofpyrrhotite presence of framboids) should beconsidered in evaluating possible processes ofpyrite formation such as (1) the transformationofpyrrhotite and marcasite and (2) the formation ofpyrite framboids
The transformation of pyrrhotite and marcasite
Some of the pyrite in this deposit may initiallyhave crystallized as pyrrhotite proper andsubsequently been transformed into pyrite byone of the mechanisms proposed by Fleet (1978)and by Murowchick and Barnes (1986) Due tothe smaller molar volume of pyrite thistransformation could account for the existenceof the high-porosity zones particularly in thepyrite lsquolackingrsquo trace elements Marcasite hadalso been a precursor of type VII pyrite as shownby the textural evidence
The formation of framboids
Occasionally the precursor of the medium- tocoarse-grained pyrite may have been framboidal
pyrite which in turn may have had greigite as aprecursor (Wilkin and Barnes 1997) Thepresence of zones in the porous type IV pyritewould correspond to zones where the recrystalli-zation was incomplete whereas the abundantmicro-inclusions in the porous pyrite could beinterpreted as crystals that were trapped in theframboidal spaces According to Wilkin andBarnes (1997) the maximum temperature atwhich framboidal pyrite may nucleate is 225ordmCThis temperature is consistent with the lowerrange of temperatures determined by microther-mometry of uid inclusions (between 120 and465ordmC) in quartz associated with pyrite (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Evolution of As contents in the pyrite
Pyrites in other hydrothermal deposits havecharacteristic oscillatory banding due to varia-tions in a relatively continuous supply of Asduring precipitation (eg Fleet et al 1989)However the As supply to the Palai-Islicapyrites seems to have been more episodicconcentrated in the mineralization areas espe-cially in relation to gold-bearing levels but not inthe hydrothermal alteration Based on textural andmineral chemistry data there have been two mainepisodes of well-de ned As enrichment
The rst As-rich episode associated with theinitial stages of formation of the depositproduced the As-rich cores and bands of type Ipyrite with some related tiny crystals ofarsenopyrite (main stage of pyrite precipitation)It was occasionally accompanied by the incor-poration of Cu which is sometimes linked to theformation of the tennantite inclusions The As-rich cores and bands are the product ofcontinuous pyrite growth as indicated by theconcentric nature of the banding the coherencebetween the morphology of the banding and thecrystal habits
Following this rst As-rich episode there was astage of As-free pyrite crystallization (type IV)The type IV pyrite is not only volumetricallysigni cant in places forming massive aggregatesbut it also hosts gold alloys
The second As-rich episode associated withthe nal stages of the Fe sulphide deposition ischaracterized by the presence of idiomorphicmarcasite and two varieties of collomorphicpyrite(type VI) the most As-rich pyrites of Palai-IslicaTwo consecutive bands can be distinguishedwiththe rst one mainly richer in As
1074
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Accordingly the As entered into the pyritestructure in two stages and appears to beincorporated by two different mechanisms assuggested by the relationship between As S andFe (1) in pyrites from the rst episode the Ascontent of the pyrite is negatively correlated withS while the Fe content is constant (Fig 7ab) TheAs was incorporated in a metastable solid solutionin the S positions It could be related to layers oflsquomarcasite-likersquo structure with high As content
(Fleet et al 1989 Simon et al 1999) or else asclusters with a lower As content in the pyritestructure (Savage et al 2000) (2) In contrast inpyrites produced during the second episode the Asis negatively correlated with both the S and the Fe(Fig 7ab) and the increase in the As concentra-tion is accompanied by increasing contents of CuAg Sb Zn and Ni In this case there are nocrystallochemical studies on the entrance of Asinto pyrite associated with decreasing S and Fe
PRE-ORESTAGE
ORESTAGE
Pyrrhotite
Pyrite type IV
Cores of pyritewith As (type I)
Pyrite type II
Polygonal bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Irregular bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Pyrite type III
Pyrite type V
Pyrite type VI
Pyrite type VII
Gold precipitation
Marcasite microveins
Idiomorphic marcasiteassociated with type III pyrite
FIG 14 Paragenetic sequence of the different types of Fe-sulphides showing their relationship with the gold at Palai-Islica mineralization
FIG 13 Photomicrographs of type VII pyrite (a) Micro-geodes of pyrite (py) in chalcopyrite (cp) (b) Bands ofmicrocrystals of pyrite (py) in coarse-grained chalcopyrite (cp)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1075
contents However this correlation might beexplained by either the entrance of cationic Asandor non-stoichiometric As (Fleet and Mumin1997) Although the presence of collomorphictextures does not necessarily imply colloidalorigin (Roedder 1968) colloidal precipitation isnonetheless an attractive hypothesis to explain theparticular textural and chemical characteristics ofthe collomorphic pyrite overgrowths sincecolloidal particles might be quite effective intrapping As ions Colloidal particles with an Ascovering (negatively charged) could in turn act aslsquotrapsrsquo for cations This mechanism could explainthe relatively large amounts of Cu Ag Sb Zn andNi as well as the Fe de cit found in thecollomorphic pyrite overgrowths
Type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite association
The mineral association of type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite could be related to theformation of Au-Ag alloy horizons because of itslocation at the top of the horizons The low d34Ssignature of these sulphides different from therest of the deposit (author data) could be causedby another kind of uid implicated in the mixingprocesses mentioned by Morales Ruano et al(2000)
The high Ag and Cu contents of type III pyriteand of As and Sb in marcasite are notable We caninfer from Fig 9 two paths for the entry of Cuinto pyrite (1) below 010 at Cu (with whichthere is no concomitant increase in Ag) It iswidely spread through the pyrite crystals (Fig 3)(2) Above 010 at Cu the increase in Cu is in a11 relationship with Ag These high concentra-tions of Cu and Ag not are due to the presence ofmicroscopic inclusions as optical study shows sothey must be produced by (a) very abundantsubmicroscopic inclusions of chalcopyrite andorCu-Ag phases always intergrown with chalco-pyrite and (b) a true solid solution of Cu and Ag
The entry of As in marcasite is the same as fortype I pyrite due to the 11 correlation betweenAs and S In addition a small amount of Sb entersthe marcasite when the concentration of As isgt010 at It seems that the maximum Sb occursat ~020 at of As
We explain the chalcopyrite dispositionbetween marcasite and pyrite as the result of adiffusion process in which Cu migrates to thelimit between pyrite and marcasite This processalso liberates Ag to form Ag mineral inclusions(Ag suphides and sulphosalts)
Relationshipsbetween pyrite habit and gold crystalsWe have found a close relationship between thepyrite habit and the presence of gold crystalsSpeci cally the gold is found on the mineralizedlevels containing type IV pyrite displaying a greatvariety of crystallographic habits (cubes andpentagonal dodecahedrons or octahedrons andpentagonal dodecahedrons) In contrast barrenzones occur where only the pentagonal dodecahe-dral morphology is developed
Correlations between pyrite morphology andmetal-enriched zones has also been described inother deposits (eg Sunagawa 1957 Bush et al1960 Amstutz 1963) Pyrite morphology isdetermined by crystalline growth mechanisms(primarily screw dislocation and layer-by-layer)which are dependent on the temperature anddegree of supersa turat ion of the uid(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) Pyrite deposi-tion in the Au-mineralized zones in Palai-Islicamay have been associated with a change in thedegree of supersaturation of the mineralizing uid possibly due to mixing of uids suggestedby the uid inclusion data reported by MoralesRuano et al (2000)
Au and Ag contents in pyrite
The Au contents obtained by EPMA for thedifferent pyrite types are uniformly low (Tables 2and 3) Selected high-acquisition-time analysis ofdifferent pyrite types (Table 4) also present lowAu contents never greater than the detection limitof 475 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites which areconsidered to be potentially invisible-gold-bearing (eg Cook and Chryssoulis 1990)These results in addition to the abundance ofvisible gold grains suggest that invisible goldmay not be volumetrically signi cant in theoverall deposit (Carrillo Rosua et al 2002) asin other deposits where Au in pyrite reaches morethan 1000 ppm (eg Mao 1991 Fleet et al 1993Asadi et al 1999 Simon et al 1999)
The relatively large values of Ag found in thetype III pyrite (up to 147 wt) and in the typeVI collomorphic pyrite (up to 02 wt) areworthy of note This Ag concentration is one ofthe highest found in pyrite to date (Larocque etal 1995 up to 1426 ppm Grif n et al 1991 upto 625 ppm Tompkins et al 1997 up to200 ppm Roberts 1982 up to 300 ppm Ashleyet al 2000 up to 88 ppm) In our case the supplyof Ag by the pyrite to the deposit as a whole couldbe noteworthy especially in the super cial zones
1076
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Type IV pyrite lackingtrace elementsThis type of pyrite volumetrically the most
abundant is characterized by neglible concentra-tions of trace elements (Table 2) Type IV pyrite is
found as disseminations throughout the volcanichost rock or in quartz veins and silici ed zoneswhere it can contain types I and II pyrites or elseappear as homogeneous crystals Type IV pyrite
FIG 7 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyrite hosted by type IV pyrite(1) polygonal bands of type I pyrite with a pentagonal dodecahedral morphology overgrown by (2) a polygonal bandwith cubic morphology As Co and Ni X-ray images on the right hand side of the gure reveal Co-Ni bearing typeII pyrite in core and bands (3) (b) BSE and X-ray images of type I (As-bearing) and type II (Co-Ni-bearing) pyritehosted by type IV pyrite (1) irregular bands of type I with abundant truncations in the inner part of the crystal(2) irregular bands of type I in the rim of the crystal On the right hand side of the gure note the As Co and Ni
X-ray images with the non-coincident Co-rich and Ni-rich pyrite (3)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1069
frequently has pore-rich zones that generallycoincide with the central parts of the crystalswhich also have high concentrations of mineralmicroinclusions especially pyrrhotite chalco-pyrite rutile and magnetite
It should be noted that Au-Ag alloys are hostedby the type IV pyrite preferentially included inthe pore-free zones (Fig 2a)
Fine-grained pyrites (lt20 mm)
This group comprises framboidal (type V) andcollomorphic (type VI) pyrites as well as micro-
geodes and intergrowths of pyrite in chalcopyrite(type VII)
Type V framboidal pyriteThis type is relatively rare and occurs in two
varieties (1) As framboids sensu stricto(Fig 10a) generally spherical and lt50 mm insize The pyrite microcrystals very closelypacked are subidiomorphic and equigranular(plusmn2 mm) In some cases the framboidal pyrite isovergrown by coarse-grained type IV pyrite(2) As lsquopseudoframboidsrsquo (Fig 10b) that areloosely packed or even disaggregated with sizes
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
6 4 5 65 0 6 55 6 6 0 6 6 5 6 7 0 S (at)
Type I
Type VI
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
31 0 31 5 32 0 32 5 33 0 33 5 Fe (at)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 02 04 06 08 1 12 14 As (at)
Type I (ii)
(iii)
(i)
As
(at
)Fr
eque
ncy
As
(at
)
Type I
Type VI
a
b
c
FIG 8 (a) S vs As diagram showing inverse correlation with different slopes for type I and type VI pyrite (b) Fe vsAs diagram showing no correlation in type I pyrite but good inverse correlation in type VI pyrite (c) Arseniccontent frequency histogram in type I pyrite (i) cores (ii) polygonal bands (iii) irregular bands Observe that the
cores have the lowest As content while the highest As values are in the polygonal bands
1070
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of up to 50 mm In contrast to the framboids sensustricto the pyrite microcrystals here are roundedor oval-shaped and vary in size from lt1 to 5 mmThe outermost crystals are the largest
Both types of framboidal pyrites show smallamounts of trace elements As being the mostabundant (average of 018 wt Table 3)
Type VI collomorphic pyriteThese pyrites occur principally in two genera-
tions of overgrowth on previous pyrite crystalsalthough they can also overgrow idiomorphicmarcasite and exceptionally chalcopyrite TypeVI occurs as either porous collomorphic pyrite(Fig 10c) or as brown collomorphic pyrite underre ected light microscope (Fig 10d)
These pyrites have the largest amounts of As(008ndash611 wt) Cu (000ndash126 wt) Sb(000ndash141 wt) and Ag (000 ndash020 wt)but the smallest Fe contents (419ndash462 wt)of all the pyrites analysed in the deposit Nickeland Zn have also been detected (Table 3) Arsenicis negatively correlated with S with a slope( ndash158) more pronounced than for the type Ipyrite (Fig 8a) The As is also negativelycorrelated with Fe (Fig 8b)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
000 010 020 030 040
Cu (at)
Ag
(at
)
FIG 9 (a) Cu vs Ag diagram showing two types ofbehaviour (represented by ellipses) of the relation
between both elements in type III pyrite
FIG 10 Photomicrographs of type V and type VI pyrite (a) Framboids sensu stricto closely packed withsubidiomorphic coalescing microcrystals (b) lsquoPseudoframboidrsquo of loosely packed pyrite of rounded or oval shapes(c) Porous collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing marcasite and coarse pyrite (2) (d) Bands of brown collomorphic
pyrite showing graded shading (1) overgrowing coarse pyrite (2)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1071
Within the overgrowths of collomorphic pyritethe rst generation is usually richer in As than thesecond one (Fig 11ab) with some chemicaldifferences between the two textural varieties
The porous collomorphic pyrite contains lessAs (053ndash449 wt) than the brown collo-morphic pyrite It also has relatively largeamounts of Ag Cu Ni and Zn and these aredirectly correlated with As concentration
(Fig 12) a feature that is evident from theX-ray maps in Fig 10a for Cu Ag and Ni
The brown collomorphic pyrite has the highestAs content (008ndash611 wt) It is is alsoenriched in Ag Cu and Sb but not in Zn or NiIn contrast with the porous variety there is nodirect correlation between these elements and As(Fig 12) However at high As concentrationsthere is an enrichment in Ag Cu and Sb and the
FIG 11 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type VI pyrite There are two bands (1) and (2) of collomorphic pyriteovergrowing marcasite (Mc) with the former being richer in Cu Ag As and Ni than the latter (b) BSE and X-rayimages of type VI pyrite Collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing coarse type IV pyrite (2) The As concentration isrelatively homogeneous in this collomorphic pyrite just the opposite of the Cu and Sb concentrations which are
enriched in the ner bands
1072
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
000
002
004
006
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
645
650
655
660
665
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
020
040
060
080
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
010
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
S (
at
)
Ag
(at
)
Cu
(at
)
Sb
(at
)
Zn
(at
)
Ni (
at
)
(a)
(b)
FIG 12 Binary diagrams showing variations between different elements in type VI pyrite (a) porous collomorphicpyrite and (b) brown collomorphic pyrite
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1073
nature of Cu and Sb distributed in As-rich bandsis shown in the X-ray maps in Fig 11b
Type VII pyrite micro-geodes and intergrowths inchalcopyrite
In both cases (Fig 13) pyrite occurs aschemically homogeneous xenomorphic ne-grained (lt15 mm) aggregates located in chalco-pyrite crystals The micro-geodes tend to be up to400 mm in diameter and sometimes host marcasitecrystals The pyrite intergrowths are distributedalong elongated zones within the chalcopyrite
The trace-element concentration is quite low inboth cases similar to that of the coarse-grainedpyrite of type IV
Based on the textural evidence summarizedabove we propose a paragenetic sequence for thedistinct types of Fe-sulphides at veins presentedin Fig 14
Genetic considerations
Origin of pyriteThe pyrite of the Palai-Islica deposit originatedfrom hydrothermal uids However the formationpathways of pyrite from hydrothermal uids arecontroversial and an intermediate precursor isthought to be necessary (eg Benning et al2000) Moreover certain textural characteristicsobserved in the pyrite of this deposit (eg relics ofpyrrhotite presence of framboids) should beconsidered in evaluating possible processes ofpyrite formation such as (1) the transformationofpyrrhotite and marcasite and (2) the formation ofpyrite framboids
The transformation of pyrrhotite and marcasite
Some of the pyrite in this deposit may initiallyhave crystallized as pyrrhotite proper andsubsequently been transformed into pyrite byone of the mechanisms proposed by Fleet (1978)and by Murowchick and Barnes (1986) Due tothe smaller molar volume of pyrite thistransformation could account for the existenceof the high-porosity zones particularly in thepyrite lsquolackingrsquo trace elements Marcasite hadalso been a precursor of type VII pyrite as shownby the textural evidence
The formation of framboids
Occasionally the precursor of the medium- tocoarse-grained pyrite may have been framboidal
pyrite which in turn may have had greigite as aprecursor (Wilkin and Barnes 1997) Thepresence of zones in the porous type IV pyritewould correspond to zones where the recrystalli-zation was incomplete whereas the abundantmicro-inclusions in the porous pyrite could beinterpreted as crystals that were trapped in theframboidal spaces According to Wilkin andBarnes (1997) the maximum temperature atwhich framboidal pyrite may nucleate is 225ordmCThis temperature is consistent with the lowerrange of temperatures determined by microther-mometry of uid inclusions (between 120 and465ordmC) in quartz associated with pyrite (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Evolution of As contents in the pyrite
Pyrites in other hydrothermal deposits havecharacteristic oscillatory banding due to varia-tions in a relatively continuous supply of Asduring precipitation (eg Fleet et al 1989)However the As supply to the Palai-Islicapyrites seems to have been more episodicconcentrated in the mineralization areas espe-cially in relation to gold-bearing levels but not inthe hydrothermal alteration Based on textural andmineral chemistry data there have been two mainepisodes of well-de ned As enrichment
The rst As-rich episode associated with theinitial stages of formation of the depositproduced the As-rich cores and bands of type Ipyrite with some related tiny crystals ofarsenopyrite (main stage of pyrite precipitation)It was occasionally accompanied by the incor-poration of Cu which is sometimes linked to theformation of the tennantite inclusions The As-rich cores and bands are the product ofcontinuous pyrite growth as indicated by theconcentric nature of the banding the coherencebetween the morphology of the banding and thecrystal habits
Following this rst As-rich episode there was astage of As-free pyrite crystallization (type IV)The type IV pyrite is not only volumetricallysigni cant in places forming massive aggregatesbut it also hosts gold alloys
The second As-rich episode associated withthe nal stages of the Fe sulphide deposition ischaracterized by the presence of idiomorphicmarcasite and two varieties of collomorphicpyrite(type VI) the most As-rich pyrites of Palai-IslicaTwo consecutive bands can be distinguishedwiththe rst one mainly richer in As
1074
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Accordingly the As entered into the pyritestructure in two stages and appears to beincorporated by two different mechanisms assuggested by the relationship between As S andFe (1) in pyrites from the rst episode the Ascontent of the pyrite is negatively correlated withS while the Fe content is constant (Fig 7ab) TheAs was incorporated in a metastable solid solutionin the S positions It could be related to layers oflsquomarcasite-likersquo structure with high As content
(Fleet et al 1989 Simon et al 1999) or else asclusters with a lower As content in the pyritestructure (Savage et al 2000) (2) In contrast inpyrites produced during the second episode the Asis negatively correlated with both the S and the Fe(Fig 7ab) and the increase in the As concentra-tion is accompanied by increasing contents of CuAg Sb Zn and Ni In this case there are nocrystallochemical studies on the entrance of Asinto pyrite associated with decreasing S and Fe
PRE-ORESTAGE
ORESTAGE
Pyrrhotite
Pyrite type IV
Cores of pyritewith As (type I)
Pyrite type II
Polygonal bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Irregular bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Pyrite type III
Pyrite type V
Pyrite type VI
Pyrite type VII
Gold precipitation
Marcasite microveins
Idiomorphic marcasiteassociated with type III pyrite
FIG 14 Paragenetic sequence of the different types of Fe-sulphides showing their relationship with the gold at Palai-Islica mineralization
FIG 13 Photomicrographs of type VII pyrite (a) Micro-geodes of pyrite (py) in chalcopyrite (cp) (b) Bands ofmicrocrystals of pyrite (py) in coarse-grained chalcopyrite (cp)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1075
contents However this correlation might beexplained by either the entrance of cationic Asandor non-stoichiometric As (Fleet and Mumin1997) Although the presence of collomorphictextures does not necessarily imply colloidalorigin (Roedder 1968) colloidal precipitation isnonetheless an attractive hypothesis to explain theparticular textural and chemical characteristics ofthe collomorphic pyrite overgrowths sincecolloidal particles might be quite effective intrapping As ions Colloidal particles with an Ascovering (negatively charged) could in turn act aslsquotrapsrsquo for cations This mechanism could explainthe relatively large amounts of Cu Ag Sb Zn andNi as well as the Fe de cit found in thecollomorphic pyrite overgrowths
Type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite association
The mineral association of type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite could be related to theformation of Au-Ag alloy horizons because of itslocation at the top of the horizons The low d34Ssignature of these sulphides different from therest of the deposit (author data) could be causedby another kind of uid implicated in the mixingprocesses mentioned by Morales Ruano et al(2000)
The high Ag and Cu contents of type III pyriteand of As and Sb in marcasite are notable We caninfer from Fig 9 two paths for the entry of Cuinto pyrite (1) below 010 at Cu (with whichthere is no concomitant increase in Ag) It iswidely spread through the pyrite crystals (Fig 3)(2) Above 010 at Cu the increase in Cu is in a11 relationship with Ag These high concentra-tions of Cu and Ag not are due to the presence ofmicroscopic inclusions as optical study shows sothey must be produced by (a) very abundantsubmicroscopic inclusions of chalcopyrite andorCu-Ag phases always intergrown with chalco-pyrite and (b) a true solid solution of Cu and Ag
The entry of As in marcasite is the same as fortype I pyrite due to the 11 correlation betweenAs and S In addition a small amount of Sb entersthe marcasite when the concentration of As isgt010 at It seems that the maximum Sb occursat ~020 at of As
We explain the chalcopyrite dispositionbetween marcasite and pyrite as the result of adiffusion process in which Cu migrates to thelimit between pyrite and marcasite This processalso liberates Ag to form Ag mineral inclusions(Ag suphides and sulphosalts)
Relationshipsbetween pyrite habit and gold crystalsWe have found a close relationship between thepyrite habit and the presence of gold crystalsSpeci cally the gold is found on the mineralizedlevels containing type IV pyrite displaying a greatvariety of crystallographic habits (cubes andpentagonal dodecahedrons or octahedrons andpentagonal dodecahedrons) In contrast barrenzones occur where only the pentagonal dodecahe-dral morphology is developed
Correlations between pyrite morphology andmetal-enriched zones has also been described inother deposits (eg Sunagawa 1957 Bush et al1960 Amstutz 1963) Pyrite morphology isdetermined by crystalline growth mechanisms(primarily screw dislocation and layer-by-layer)which are dependent on the temperature anddegree of supersa turat ion of the uid(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) Pyrite deposi-tion in the Au-mineralized zones in Palai-Islicamay have been associated with a change in thedegree of supersaturation of the mineralizing uid possibly due to mixing of uids suggestedby the uid inclusion data reported by MoralesRuano et al (2000)
Au and Ag contents in pyrite
The Au contents obtained by EPMA for thedifferent pyrite types are uniformly low (Tables 2and 3) Selected high-acquisition-time analysis ofdifferent pyrite types (Table 4) also present lowAu contents never greater than the detection limitof 475 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites which areconsidered to be potentially invisible-gold-bearing (eg Cook and Chryssoulis 1990)These results in addition to the abundance ofvisible gold grains suggest that invisible goldmay not be volumetrically signi cant in theoverall deposit (Carrillo Rosua et al 2002) asin other deposits where Au in pyrite reaches morethan 1000 ppm (eg Mao 1991 Fleet et al 1993Asadi et al 1999 Simon et al 1999)
The relatively large values of Ag found in thetype III pyrite (up to 147 wt) and in the typeVI collomorphic pyrite (up to 02 wt) areworthy of note This Ag concentration is one ofthe highest found in pyrite to date (Larocque etal 1995 up to 1426 ppm Grif n et al 1991 upto 625 ppm Tompkins et al 1997 up to200 ppm Roberts 1982 up to 300 ppm Ashleyet al 2000 up to 88 ppm) In our case the supplyof Ag by the pyrite to the deposit as a whole couldbe noteworthy especially in the super cial zones
1076
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
frequently has pore-rich zones that generallycoincide with the central parts of the crystalswhich also have high concentrations of mineralmicroinclusions especially pyrrhotite chalco-pyrite rutile and magnetite
It should be noted that Au-Ag alloys are hostedby the type IV pyrite preferentially included inthe pore-free zones (Fig 2a)
Fine-grained pyrites (lt20 mm)
This group comprises framboidal (type V) andcollomorphic (type VI) pyrites as well as micro-
geodes and intergrowths of pyrite in chalcopyrite(type VII)
Type V framboidal pyriteThis type is relatively rare and occurs in two
varieties (1) As framboids sensu stricto(Fig 10a) generally spherical and lt50 mm insize The pyrite microcrystals very closelypacked are subidiomorphic and equigranular(plusmn2 mm) In some cases the framboidal pyrite isovergrown by coarse-grained type IV pyrite(2) As lsquopseudoframboidsrsquo (Fig 10b) that areloosely packed or even disaggregated with sizes
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
6 4 5 65 0 6 55 6 6 0 6 6 5 6 7 0 S (at)
Type I
Type VI
00
05
10
15
20
25
30
31 0 31 5 32 0 32 5 33 0 33 5 Fe (at)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 02 04 06 08 1 12 14 As (at)
Type I (ii)
(iii)
(i)
As
(at
)Fr
eque
ncy
As
(at
)
Type I
Type VI
a
b
c
FIG 8 (a) S vs As diagram showing inverse correlation with different slopes for type I and type VI pyrite (b) Fe vsAs diagram showing no correlation in type I pyrite but good inverse correlation in type VI pyrite (c) Arseniccontent frequency histogram in type I pyrite (i) cores (ii) polygonal bands (iii) irregular bands Observe that the
cores have the lowest As content while the highest As values are in the polygonal bands
1070
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of up to 50 mm In contrast to the framboids sensustricto the pyrite microcrystals here are roundedor oval-shaped and vary in size from lt1 to 5 mmThe outermost crystals are the largest
Both types of framboidal pyrites show smallamounts of trace elements As being the mostabundant (average of 018 wt Table 3)
Type VI collomorphic pyriteThese pyrites occur principally in two genera-
tions of overgrowth on previous pyrite crystalsalthough they can also overgrow idiomorphicmarcasite and exceptionally chalcopyrite TypeVI occurs as either porous collomorphic pyrite(Fig 10c) or as brown collomorphic pyrite underre ected light microscope (Fig 10d)
These pyrites have the largest amounts of As(008ndash611 wt) Cu (000ndash126 wt) Sb(000ndash141 wt) and Ag (000 ndash020 wt)but the smallest Fe contents (419ndash462 wt)of all the pyrites analysed in the deposit Nickeland Zn have also been detected (Table 3) Arsenicis negatively correlated with S with a slope( ndash158) more pronounced than for the type Ipyrite (Fig 8a) The As is also negativelycorrelated with Fe (Fig 8b)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
000 010 020 030 040
Cu (at)
Ag
(at
)
FIG 9 (a) Cu vs Ag diagram showing two types ofbehaviour (represented by ellipses) of the relation
between both elements in type III pyrite
FIG 10 Photomicrographs of type V and type VI pyrite (a) Framboids sensu stricto closely packed withsubidiomorphic coalescing microcrystals (b) lsquoPseudoframboidrsquo of loosely packed pyrite of rounded or oval shapes(c) Porous collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing marcasite and coarse pyrite (2) (d) Bands of brown collomorphic
pyrite showing graded shading (1) overgrowing coarse pyrite (2)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1071
Within the overgrowths of collomorphic pyritethe rst generation is usually richer in As than thesecond one (Fig 11ab) with some chemicaldifferences between the two textural varieties
The porous collomorphic pyrite contains lessAs (053ndash449 wt) than the brown collo-morphic pyrite It also has relatively largeamounts of Ag Cu Ni and Zn and these aredirectly correlated with As concentration
(Fig 12) a feature that is evident from theX-ray maps in Fig 10a for Cu Ag and Ni
The brown collomorphic pyrite has the highestAs content (008ndash611 wt) It is is alsoenriched in Ag Cu and Sb but not in Zn or NiIn contrast with the porous variety there is nodirect correlation between these elements and As(Fig 12) However at high As concentrationsthere is an enrichment in Ag Cu and Sb and the
FIG 11 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type VI pyrite There are two bands (1) and (2) of collomorphic pyriteovergrowing marcasite (Mc) with the former being richer in Cu Ag As and Ni than the latter (b) BSE and X-rayimages of type VI pyrite Collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing coarse type IV pyrite (2) The As concentration isrelatively homogeneous in this collomorphic pyrite just the opposite of the Cu and Sb concentrations which are
enriched in the ner bands
1072
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
000
002
004
006
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
645
650
655
660
665
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
020
040
060
080
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
010
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
S (
at
)
Ag
(at
)
Cu
(at
)
Sb
(at
)
Zn
(at
)
Ni (
at
)
(a)
(b)
FIG 12 Binary diagrams showing variations between different elements in type VI pyrite (a) porous collomorphicpyrite and (b) brown collomorphic pyrite
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1073
nature of Cu and Sb distributed in As-rich bandsis shown in the X-ray maps in Fig 11b
Type VII pyrite micro-geodes and intergrowths inchalcopyrite
In both cases (Fig 13) pyrite occurs aschemically homogeneous xenomorphic ne-grained (lt15 mm) aggregates located in chalco-pyrite crystals The micro-geodes tend to be up to400 mm in diameter and sometimes host marcasitecrystals The pyrite intergrowths are distributedalong elongated zones within the chalcopyrite
The trace-element concentration is quite low inboth cases similar to that of the coarse-grainedpyrite of type IV
Based on the textural evidence summarizedabove we propose a paragenetic sequence for thedistinct types of Fe-sulphides at veins presentedin Fig 14
Genetic considerations
Origin of pyriteThe pyrite of the Palai-Islica deposit originatedfrom hydrothermal uids However the formationpathways of pyrite from hydrothermal uids arecontroversial and an intermediate precursor isthought to be necessary (eg Benning et al2000) Moreover certain textural characteristicsobserved in the pyrite of this deposit (eg relics ofpyrrhotite presence of framboids) should beconsidered in evaluating possible processes ofpyrite formation such as (1) the transformationofpyrrhotite and marcasite and (2) the formation ofpyrite framboids
The transformation of pyrrhotite and marcasite
Some of the pyrite in this deposit may initiallyhave crystallized as pyrrhotite proper andsubsequently been transformed into pyrite byone of the mechanisms proposed by Fleet (1978)and by Murowchick and Barnes (1986) Due tothe smaller molar volume of pyrite thistransformation could account for the existenceof the high-porosity zones particularly in thepyrite lsquolackingrsquo trace elements Marcasite hadalso been a precursor of type VII pyrite as shownby the textural evidence
The formation of framboids
Occasionally the precursor of the medium- tocoarse-grained pyrite may have been framboidal
pyrite which in turn may have had greigite as aprecursor (Wilkin and Barnes 1997) Thepresence of zones in the porous type IV pyritewould correspond to zones where the recrystalli-zation was incomplete whereas the abundantmicro-inclusions in the porous pyrite could beinterpreted as crystals that were trapped in theframboidal spaces According to Wilkin andBarnes (1997) the maximum temperature atwhich framboidal pyrite may nucleate is 225ordmCThis temperature is consistent with the lowerrange of temperatures determined by microther-mometry of uid inclusions (between 120 and465ordmC) in quartz associated with pyrite (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Evolution of As contents in the pyrite
Pyrites in other hydrothermal deposits havecharacteristic oscillatory banding due to varia-tions in a relatively continuous supply of Asduring precipitation (eg Fleet et al 1989)However the As supply to the Palai-Islicapyrites seems to have been more episodicconcentrated in the mineralization areas espe-cially in relation to gold-bearing levels but not inthe hydrothermal alteration Based on textural andmineral chemistry data there have been two mainepisodes of well-de ned As enrichment
The rst As-rich episode associated with theinitial stages of formation of the depositproduced the As-rich cores and bands of type Ipyrite with some related tiny crystals ofarsenopyrite (main stage of pyrite precipitation)It was occasionally accompanied by the incor-poration of Cu which is sometimes linked to theformation of the tennantite inclusions The As-rich cores and bands are the product ofcontinuous pyrite growth as indicated by theconcentric nature of the banding the coherencebetween the morphology of the banding and thecrystal habits
Following this rst As-rich episode there was astage of As-free pyrite crystallization (type IV)The type IV pyrite is not only volumetricallysigni cant in places forming massive aggregatesbut it also hosts gold alloys
The second As-rich episode associated withthe nal stages of the Fe sulphide deposition ischaracterized by the presence of idiomorphicmarcasite and two varieties of collomorphicpyrite(type VI) the most As-rich pyrites of Palai-IslicaTwo consecutive bands can be distinguishedwiththe rst one mainly richer in As
1074
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Accordingly the As entered into the pyritestructure in two stages and appears to beincorporated by two different mechanisms assuggested by the relationship between As S andFe (1) in pyrites from the rst episode the Ascontent of the pyrite is negatively correlated withS while the Fe content is constant (Fig 7ab) TheAs was incorporated in a metastable solid solutionin the S positions It could be related to layers oflsquomarcasite-likersquo structure with high As content
(Fleet et al 1989 Simon et al 1999) or else asclusters with a lower As content in the pyritestructure (Savage et al 2000) (2) In contrast inpyrites produced during the second episode the Asis negatively correlated with both the S and the Fe(Fig 7ab) and the increase in the As concentra-tion is accompanied by increasing contents of CuAg Sb Zn and Ni In this case there are nocrystallochemical studies on the entrance of Asinto pyrite associated with decreasing S and Fe
PRE-ORESTAGE
ORESTAGE
Pyrrhotite
Pyrite type IV
Cores of pyritewith As (type I)
Pyrite type II
Polygonal bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Irregular bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Pyrite type III
Pyrite type V
Pyrite type VI
Pyrite type VII
Gold precipitation
Marcasite microveins
Idiomorphic marcasiteassociated with type III pyrite
FIG 14 Paragenetic sequence of the different types of Fe-sulphides showing their relationship with the gold at Palai-Islica mineralization
FIG 13 Photomicrographs of type VII pyrite (a) Micro-geodes of pyrite (py) in chalcopyrite (cp) (b) Bands ofmicrocrystals of pyrite (py) in coarse-grained chalcopyrite (cp)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1075
contents However this correlation might beexplained by either the entrance of cationic Asandor non-stoichiometric As (Fleet and Mumin1997) Although the presence of collomorphictextures does not necessarily imply colloidalorigin (Roedder 1968) colloidal precipitation isnonetheless an attractive hypothesis to explain theparticular textural and chemical characteristics ofthe collomorphic pyrite overgrowths sincecolloidal particles might be quite effective intrapping As ions Colloidal particles with an Ascovering (negatively charged) could in turn act aslsquotrapsrsquo for cations This mechanism could explainthe relatively large amounts of Cu Ag Sb Zn andNi as well as the Fe de cit found in thecollomorphic pyrite overgrowths
Type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite association
The mineral association of type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite could be related to theformation of Au-Ag alloy horizons because of itslocation at the top of the horizons The low d34Ssignature of these sulphides different from therest of the deposit (author data) could be causedby another kind of uid implicated in the mixingprocesses mentioned by Morales Ruano et al(2000)
The high Ag and Cu contents of type III pyriteand of As and Sb in marcasite are notable We caninfer from Fig 9 two paths for the entry of Cuinto pyrite (1) below 010 at Cu (with whichthere is no concomitant increase in Ag) It iswidely spread through the pyrite crystals (Fig 3)(2) Above 010 at Cu the increase in Cu is in a11 relationship with Ag These high concentra-tions of Cu and Ag not are due to the presence ofmicroscopic inclusions as optical study shows sothey must be produced by (a) very abundantsubmicroscopic inclusions of chalcopyrite andorCu-Ag phases always intergrown with chalco-pyrite and (b) a true solid solution of Cu and Ag
The entry of As in marcasite is the same as fortype I pyrite due to the 11 correlation betweenAs and S In addition a small amount of Sb entersthe marcasite when the concentration of As isgt010 at It seems that the maximum Sb occursat ~020 at of As
We explain the chalcopyrite dispositionbetween marcasite and pyrite as the result of adiffusion process in which Cu migrates to thelimit between pyrite and marcasite This processalso liberates Ag to form Ag mineral inclusions(Ag suphides and sulphosalts)
Relationshipsbetween pyrite habit and gold crystalsWe have found a close relationship between thepyrite habit and the presence of gold crystalsSpeci cally the gold is found on the mineralizedlevels containing type IV pyrite displaying a greatvariety of crystallographic habits (cubes andpentagonal dodecahedrons or octahedrons andpentagonal dodecahedrons) In contrast barrenzones occur where only the pentagonal dodecahe-dral morphology is developed
Correlations between pyrite morphology andmetal-enriched zones has also been described inother deposits (eg Sunagawa 1957 Bush et al1960 Amstutz 1963) Pyrite morphology isdetermined by crystalline growth mechanisms(primarily screw dislocation and layer-by-layer)which are dependent on the temperature anddegree of supersa turat ion of the uid(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) Pyrite deposi-tion in the Au-mineralized zones in Palai-Islicamay have been associated with a change in thedegree of supersaturation of the mineralizing uid possibly due to mixing of uids suggestedby the uid inclusion data reported by MoralesRuano et al (2000)
Au and Ag contents in pyrite
The Au contents obtained by EPMA for thedifferent pyrite types are uniformly low (Tables 2and 3) Selected high-acquisition-time analysis ofdifferent pyrite types (Table 4) also present lowAu contents never greater than the detection limitof 475 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites which areconsidered to be potentially invisible-gold-bearing (eg Cook and Chryssoulis 1990)These results in addition to the abundance ofvisible gold grains suggest that invisible goldmay not be volumetrically signi cant in theoverall deposit (Carrillo Rosua et al 2002) asin other deposits where Au in pyrite reaches morethan 1000 ppm (eg Mao 1991 Fleet et al 1993Asadi et al 1999 Simon et al 1999)
The relatively large values of Ag found in thetype III pyrite (up to 147 wt) and in the typeVI collomorphic pyrite (up to 02 wt) areworthy of note This Ag concentration is one ofthe highest found in pyrite to date (Larocque etal 1995 up to 1426 ppm Grif n et al 1991 upto 625 ppm Tompkins et al 1997 up to200 ppm Roberts 1982 up to 300 ppm Ashleyet al 2000 up to 88 ppm) In our case the supplyof Ag by the pyrite to the deposit as a whole couldbe noteworthy especially in the super cial zones
1076
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of up to 50 mm In contrast to the framboids sensustricto the pyrite microcrystals here are roundedor oval-shaped and vary in size from lt1 to 5 mmThe outermost crystals are the largest
Both types of framboidal pyrites show smallamounts of trace elements As being the mostabundant (average of 018 wt Table 3)
Type VI collomorphic pyriteThese pyrites occur principally in two genera-
tions of overgrowth on previous pyrite crystalsalthough they can also overgrow idiomorphicmarcasite and exceptionally chalcopyrite TypeVI occurs as either porous collomorphic pyrite(Fig 10c) or as brown collomorphic pyrite underre ected light microscope (Fig 10d)
These pyrites have the largest amounts of As(008ndash611 wt) Cu (000ndash126 wt) Sb(000ndash141 wt) and Ag (000 ndash020 wt)but the smallest Fe contents (419ndash462 wt)of all the pyrites analysed in the deposit Nickeland Zn have also been detected (Table 3) Arsenicis negatively correlated with S with a slope( ndash158) more pronounced than for the type Ipyrite (Fig 8a) The As is also negativelycorrelated with Fe (Fig 8b)
000
010
020
030
040
050
060
000 010 020 030 040
Cu (at)
Ag
(at
)
FIG 9 (a) Cu vs Ag diagram showing two types ofbehaviour (represented by ellipses) of the relation
between both elements in type III pyrite
FIG 10 Photomicrographs of type V and type VI pyrite (a) Framboids sensu stricto closely packed withsubidiomorphic coalescing microcrystals (b) lsquoPseudoframboidrsquo of loosely packed pyrite of rounded or oval shapes(c) Porous collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing marcasite and coarse pyrite (2) (d) Bands of brown collomorphic
pyrite showing graded shading (1) overgrowing coarse pyrite (2)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1071
Within the overgrowths of collomorphic pyritethe rst generation is usually richer in As than thesecond one (Fig 11ab) with some chemicaldifferences between the two textural varieties
The porous collomorphic pyrite contains lessAs (053ndash449 wt) than the brown collo-morphic pyrite It also has relatively largeamounts of Ag Cu Ni and Zn and these aredirectly correlated with As concentration
(Fig 12) a feature that is evident from theX-ray maps in Fig 10a for Cu Ag and Ni
The brown collomorphic pyrite has the highestAs content (008ndash611 wt) It is is alsoenriched in Ag Cu and Sb but not in Zn or NiIn contrast with the porous variety there is nodirect correlation between these elements and As(Fig 12) However at high As concentrationsthere is an enrichment in Ag Cu and Sb and the
FIG 11 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type VI pyrite There are two bands (1) and (2) of collomorphic pyriteovergrowing marcasite (Mc) with the former being richer in Cu Ag As and Ni than the latter (b) BSE and X-rayimages of type VI pyrite Collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing coarse type IV pyrite (2) The As concentration isrelatively homogeneous in this collomorphic pyrite just the opposite of the Cu and Sb concentrations which are
enriched in the ner bands
1072
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
000
002
004
006
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
645
650
655
660
665
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
020
040
060
080
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
010
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
S (
at
)
Ag
(at
)
Cu
(at
)
Sb
(at
)
Zn
(at
)
Ni (
at
)
(a)
(b)
FIG 12 Binary diagrams showing variations between different elements in type VI pyrite (a) porous collomorphicpyrite and (b) brown collomorphic pyrite
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1073
nature of Cu and Sb distributed in As-rich bandsis shown in the X-ray maps in Fig 11b
Type VII pyrite micro-geodes and intergrowths inchalcopyrite
In both cases (Fig 13) pyrite occurs aschemically homogeneous xenomorphic ne-grained (lt15 mm) aggregates located in chalco-pyrite crystals The micro-geodes tend to be up to400 mm in diameter and sometimes host marcasitecrystals The pyrite intergrowths are distributedalong elongated zones within the chalcopyrite
The trace-element concentration is quite low inboth cases similar to that of the coarse-grainedpyrite of type IV
Based on the textural evidence summarizedabove we propose a paragenetic sequence for thedistinct types of Fe-sulphides at veins presentedin Fig 14
Genetic considerations
Origin of pyriteThe pyrite of the Palai-Islica deposit originatedfrom hydrothermal uids However the formationpathways of pyrite from hydrothermal uids arecontroversial and an intermediate precursor isthought to be necessary (eg Benning et al2000) Moreover certain textural characteristicsobserved in the pyrite of this deposit (eg relics ofpyrrhotite presence of framboids) should beconsidered in evaluating possible processes ofpyrite formation such as (1) the transformationofpyrrhotite and marcasite and (2) the formation ofpyrite framboids
The transformation of pyrrhotite and marcasite
Some of the pyrite in this deposit may initiallyhave crystallized as pyrrhotite proper andsubsequently been transformed into pyrite byone of the mechanisms proposed by Fleet (1978)and by Murowchick and Barnes (1986) Due tothe smaller molar volume of pyrite thistransformation could account for the existenceof the high-porosity zones particularly in thepyrite lsquolackingrsquo trace elements Marcasite hadalso been a precursor of type VII pyrite as shownby the textural evidence
The formation of framboids
Occasionally the precursor of the medium- tocoarse-grained pyrite may have been framboidal
pyrite which in turn may have had greigite as aprecursor (Wilkin and Barnes 1997) Thepresence of zones in the porous type IV pyritewould correspond to zones where the recrystalli-zation was incomplete whereas the abundantmicro-inclusions in the porous pyrite could beinterpreted as crystals that were trapped in theframboidal spaces According to Wilkin andBarnes (1997) the maximum temperature atwhich framboidal pyrite may nucleate is 225ordmCThis temperature is consistent with the lowerrange of temperatures determined by microther-mometry of uid inclusions (between 120 and465ordmC) in quartz associated with pyrite (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Evolution of As contents in the pyrite
Pyrites in other hydrothermal deposits havecharacteristic oscillatory banding due to varia-tions in a relatively continuous supply of Asduring precipitation (eg Fleet et al 1989)However the As supply to the Palai-Islicapyrites seems to have been more episodicconcentrated in the mineralization areas espe-cially in relation to gold-bearing levels but not inthe hydrothermal alteration Based on textural andmineral chemistry data there have been two mainepisodes of well-de ned As enrichment
The rst As-rich episode associated with theinitial stages of formation of the depositproduced the As-rich cores and bands of type Ipyrite with some related tiny crystals ofarsenopyrite (main stage of pyrite precipitation)It was occasionally accompanied by the incor-poration of Cu which is sometimes linked to theformation of the tennantite inclusions The As-rich cores and bands are the product ofcontinuous pyrite growth as indicated by theconcentric nature of the banding the coherencebetween the morphology of the banding and thecrystal habits
Following this rst As-rich episode there was astage of As-free pyrite crystallization (type IV)The type IV pyrite is not only volumetricallysigni cant in places forming massive aggregatesbut it also hosts gold alloys
The second As-rich episode associated withthe nal stages of the Fe sulphide deposition ischaracterized by the presence of idiomorphicmarcasite and two varieties of collomorphicpyrite(type VI) the most As-rich pyrites of Palai-IslicaTwo consecutive bands can be distinguishedwiththe rst one mainly richer in As
1074
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Accordingly the As entered into the pyritestructure in two stages and appears to beincorporated by two different mechanisms assuggested by the relationship between As S andFe (1) in pyrites from the rst episode the Ascontent of the pyrite is negatively correlated withS while the Fe content is constant (Fig 7ab) TheAs was incorporated in a metastable solid solutionin the S positions It could be related to layers oflsquomarcasite-likersquo structure with high As content
(Fleet et al 1989 Simon et al 1999) or else asclusters with a lower As content in the pyritestructure (Savage et al 2000) (2) In contrast inpyrites produced during the second episode the Asis negatively correlated with both the S and the Fe(Fig 7ab) and the increase in the As concentra-tion is accompanied by increasing contents of CuAg Sb Zn and Ni In this case there are nocrystallochemical studies on the entrance of Asinto pyrite associated with decreasing S and Fe
PRE-ORESTAGE
ORESTAGE
Pyrrhotite
Pyrite type IV
Cores of pyritewith As (type I)
Pyrite type II
Polygonal bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Irregular bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Pyrite type III
Pyrite type V
Pyrite type VI
Pyrite type VII
Gold precipitation
Marcasite microveins
Idiomorphic marcasiteassociated with type III pyrite
FIG 14 Paragenetic sequence of the different types of Fe-sulphides showing their relationship with the gold at Palai-Islica mineralization
FIG 13 Photomicrographs of type VII pyrite (a) Micro-geodes of pyrite (py) in chalcopyrite (cp) (b) Bands ofmicrocrystals of pyrite (py) in coarse-grained chalcopyrite (cp)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1075
contents However this correlation might beexplained by either the entrance of cationic Asandor non-stoichiometric As (Fleet and Mumin1997) Although the presence of collomorphictextures does not necessarily imply colloidalorigin (Roedder 1968) colloidal precipitation isnonetheless an attractive hypothesis to explain theparticular textural and chemical characteristics ofthe collomorphic pyrite overgrowths sincecolloidal particles might be quite effective intrapping As ions Colloidal particles with an Ascovering (negatively charged) could in turn act aslsquotrapsrsquo for cations This mechanism could explainthe relatively large amounts of Cu Ag Sb Zn andNi as well as the Fe de cit found in thecollomorphic pyrite overgrowths
Type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite association
The mineral association of type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite could be related to theformation of Au-Ag alloy horizons because of itslocation at the top of the horizons The low d34Ssignature of these sulphides different from therest of the deposit (author data) could be causedby another kind of uid implicated in the mixingprocesses mentioned by Morales Ruano et al(2000)
The high Ag and Cu contents of type III pyriteand of As and Sb in marcasite are notable We caninfer from Fig 9 two paths for the entry of Cuinto pyrite (1) below 010 at Cu (with whichthere is no concomitant increase in Ag) It iswidely spread through the pyrite crystals (Fig 3)(2) Above 010 at Cu the increase in Cu is in a11 relationship with Ag These high concentra-tions of Cu and Ag not are due to the presence ofmicroscopic inclusions as optical study shows sothey must be produced by (a) very abundantsubmicroscopic inclusions of chalcopyrite andorCu-Ag phases always intergrown with chalco-pyrite and (b) a true solid solution of Cu and Ag
The entry of As in marcasite is the same as fortype I pyrite due to the 11 correlation betweenAs and S In addition a small amount of Sb entersthe marcasite when the concentration of As isgt010 at It seems that the maximum Sb occursat ~020 at of As
We explain the chalcopyrite dispositionbetween marcasite and pyrite as the result of adiffusion process in which Cu migrates to thelimit between pyrite and marcasite This processalso liberates Ag to form Ag mineral inclusions(Ag suphides and sulphosalts)
Relationshipsbetween pyrite habit and gold crystalsWe have found a close relationship between thepyrite habit and the presence of gold crystalsSpeci cally the gold is found on the mineralizedlevels containing type IV pyrite displaying a greatvariety of crystallographic habits (cubes andpentagonal dodecahedrons or octahedrons andpentagonal dodecahedrons) In contrast barrenzones occur where only the pentagonal dodecahe-dral morphology is developed
Correlations between pyrite morphology andmetal-enriched zones has also been described inother deposits (eg Sunagawa 1957 Bush et al1960 Amstutz 1963) Pyrite morphology isdetermined by crystalline growth mechanisms(primarily screw dislocation and layer-by-layer)which are dependent on the temperature anddegree of supersa turat ion of the uid(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) Pyrite deposi-tion in the Au-mineralized zones in Palai-Islicamay have been associated with a change in thedegree of supersaturation of the mineralizing uid possibly due to mixing of uids suggestedby the uid inclusion data reported by MoralesRuano et al (2000)
Au and Ag contents in pyrite
The Au contents obtained by EPMA for thedifferent pyrite types are uniformly low (Tables 2and 3) Selected high-acquisition-time analysis ofdifferent pyrite types (Table 4) also present lowAu contents never greater than the detection limitof 475 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites which areconsidered to be potentially invisible-gold-bearing (eg Cook and Chryssoulis 1990)These results in addition to the abundance ofvisible gold grains suggest that invisible goldmay not be volumetrically signi cant in theoverall deposit (Carrillo Rosua et al 2002) asin other deposits where Au in pyrite reaches morethan 1000 ppm (eg Mao 1991 Fleet et al 1993Asadi et al 1999 Simon et al 1999)
The relatively large values of Ag found in thetype III pyrite (up to 147 wt) and in the typeVI collomorphic pyrite (up to 02 wt) areworthy of note This Ag concentration is one ofthe highest found in pyrite to date (Larocque etal 1995 up to 1426 ppm Grif n et al 1991 upto 625 ppm Tompkins et al 1997 up to200 ppm Roberts 1982 up to 300 ppm Ashleyet al 2000 up to 88 ppm) In our case the supplyof Ag by the pyrite to the deposit as a whole couldbe noteworthy especially in the super cial zones
1076
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Within the overgrowths of collomorphic pyritethe rst generation is usually richer in As than thesecond one (Fig 11ab) with some chemicaldifferences between the two textural varieties
The porous collomorphic pyrite contains lessAs (053ndash449 wt) than the brown collo-morphic pyrite It also has relatively largeamounts of Ag Cu Ni and Zn and these aredirectly correlated with As concentration
(Fig 12) a feature that is evident from theX-ray maps in Fig 10a for Cu Ag and Ni
The brown collomorphic pyrite has the highestAs content (008ndash611 wt) It is is alsoenriched in Ag Cu and Sb but not in Zn or NiIn contrast with the porous variety there is nodirect correlation between these elements and As(Fig 12) However at high As concentrationsthere is an enrichment in Ag Cu and Sb and the
FIG 11 (a) BSE and X-ray images of type VI pyrite There are two bands (1) and (2) of collomorphic pyriteovergrowing marcasite (Mc) with the former being richer in Cu Ag As and Ni than the latter (b) BSE and X-rayimages of type VI pyrite Collomorphic pyrite (1) overgrowing coarse type IV pyrite (2) The As concentration isrelatively homogeneous in this collomorphic pyrite just the opposite of the Cu and Sb concentrations which are
enriched in the ner bands
1072
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
000
002
004
006
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
645
650
655
660
665
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
020
040
060
080
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
010
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
S (
at
)
Ag
(at
)
Cu
(at
)
Sb
(at
)
Zn
(at
)
Ni (
at
)
(a)
(b)
FIG 12 Binary diagrams showing variations between different elements in type VI pyrite (a) porous collomorphicpyrite and (b) brown collomorphic pyrite
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1073
nature of Cu and Sb distributed in As-rich bandsis shown in the X-ray maps in Fig 11b
Type VII pyrite micro-geodes and intergrowths inchalcopyrite
In both cases (Fig 13) pyrite occurs aschemically homogeneous xenomorphic ne-grained (lt15 mm) aggregates located in chalco-pyrite crystals The micro-geodes tend to be up to400 mm in diameter and sometimes host marcasitecrystals The pyrite intergrowths are distributedalong elongated zones within the chalcopyrite
The trace-element concentration is quite low inboth cases similar to that of the coarse-grainedpyrite of type IV
Based on the textural evidence summarizedabove we propose a paragenetic sequence for thedistinct types of Fe-sulphides at veins presentedin Fig 14
Genetic considerations
Origin of pyriteThe pyrite of the Palai-Islica deposit originatedfrom hydrothermal uids However the formationpathways of pyrite from hydrothermal uids arecontroversial and an intermediate precursor isthought to be necessary (eg Benning et al2000) Moreover certain textural characteristicsobserved in the pyrite of this deposit (eg relics ofpyrrhotite presence of framboids) should beconsidered in evaluating possible processes ofpyrite formation such as (1) the transformationofpyrrhotite and marcasite and (2) the formation ofpyrite framboids
The transformation of pyrrhotite and marcasite
Some of the pyrite in this deposit may initiallyhave crystallized as pyrrhotite proper andsubsequently been transformed into pyrite byone of the mechanisms proposed by Fleet (1978)and by Murowchick and Barnes (1986) Due tothe smaller molar volume of pyrite thistransformation could account for the existenceof the high-porosity zones particularly in thepyrite lsquolackingrsquo trace elements Marcasite hadalso been a precursor of type VII pyrite as shownby the textural evidence
The formation of framboids
Occasionally the precursor of the medium- tocoarse-grained pyrite may have been framboidal
pyrite which in turn may have had greigite as aprecursor (Wilkin and Barnes 1997) Thepresence of zones in the porous type IV pyritewould correspond to zones where the recrystalli-zation was incomplete whereas the abundantmicro-inclusions in the porous pyrite could beinterpreted as crystals that were trapped in theframboidal spaces According to Wilkin andBarnes (1997) the maximum temperature atwhich framboidal pyrite may nucleate is 225ordmCThis temperature is consistent with the lowerrange of temperatures determined by microther-mometry of uid inclusions (between 120 and465ordmC) in quartz associated with pyrite (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Evolution of As contents in the pyrite
Pyrites in other hydrothermal deposits havecharacteristic oscillatory banding due to varia-tions in a relatively continuous supply of Asduring precipitation (eg Fleet et al 1989)However the As supply to the Palai-Islicapyrites seems to have been more episodicconcentrated in the mineralization areas espe-cially in relation to gold-bearing levels but not inthe hydrothermal alteration Based on textural andmineral chemistry data there have been two mainepisodes of well-de ned As enrichment
The rst As-rich episode associated with theinitial stages of formation of the depositproduced the As-rich cores and bands of type Ipyrite with some related tiny crystals ofarsenopyrite (main stage of pyrite precipitation)It was occasionally accompanied by the incor-poration of Cu which is sometimes linked to theformation of the tennantite inclusions The As-rich cores and bands are the product ofcontinuous pyrite growth as indicated by theconcentric nature of the banding the coherencebetween the morphology of the banding and thecrystal habits
Following this rst As-rich episode there was astage of As-free pyrite crystallization (type IV)The type IV pyrite is not only volumetricallysigni cant in places forming massive aggregatesbut it also hosts gold alloys
The second As-rich episode associated withthe nal stages of the Fe sulphide deposition ischaracterized by the presence of idiomorphicmarcasite and two varieties of collomorphicpyrite(type VI) the most As-rich pyrites of Palai-IslicaTwo consecutive bands can be distinguishedwiththe rst one mainly richer in As
1074
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Accordingly the As entered into the pyritestructure in two stages and appears to beincorporated by two different mechanisms assuggested by the relationship between As S andFe (1) in pyrites from the rst episode the Ascontent of the pyrite is negatively correlated withS while the Fe content is constant (Fig 7ab) TheAs was incorporated in a metastable solid solutionin the S positions It could be related to layers oflsquomarcasite-likersquo structure with high As content
(Fleet et al 1989 Simon et al 1999) or else asclusters with a lower As content in the pyritestructure (Savage et al 2000) (2) In contrast inpyrites produced during the second episode the Asis negatively correlated with both the S and the Fe(Fig 7ab) and the increase in the As concentra-tion is accompanied by increasing contents of CuAg Sb Zn and Ni In this case there are nocrystallochemical studies on the entrance of Asinto pyrite associated with decreasing S and Fe
PRE-ORESTAGE
ORESTAGE
Pyrrhotite
Pyrite type IV
Cores of pyritewith As (type I)
Pyrite type II
Polygonal bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Irregular bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Pyrite type III
Pyrite type V
Pyrite type VI
Pyrite type VII
Gold precipitation
Marcasite microveins
Idiomorphic marcasiteassociated with type III pyrite
FIG 14 Paragenetic sequence of the different types of Fe-sulphides showing their relationship with the gold at Palai-Islica mineralization
FIG 13 Photomicrographs of type VII pyrite (a) Micro-geodes of pyrite (py) in chalcopyrite (cp) (b) Bands ofmicrocrystals of pyrite (py) in coarse-grained chalcopyrite (cp)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1075
contents However this correlation might beexplained by either the entrance of cationic Asandor non-stoichiometric As (Fleet and Mumin1997) Although the presence of collomorphictextures does not necessarily imply colloidalorigin (Roedder 1968) colloidal precipitation isnonetheless an attractive hypothesis to explain theparticular textural and chemical characteristics ofthe collomorphic pyrite overgrowths sincecolloidal particles might be quite effective intrapping As ions Colloidal particles with an Ascovering (negatively charged) could in turn act aslsquotrapsrsquo for cations This mechanism could explainthe relatively large amounts of Cu Ag Sb Zn andNi as well as the Fe de cit found in thecollomorphic pyrite overgrowths
Type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite association
The mineral association of type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite could be related to theformation of Au-Ag alloy horizons because of itslocation at the top of the horizons The low d34Ssignature of these sulphides different from therest of the deposit (author data) could be causedby another kind of uid implicated in the mixingprocesses mentioned by Morales Ruano et al(2000)
The high Ag and Cu contents of type III pyriteand of As and Sb in marcasite are notable We caninfer from Fig 9 two paths for the entry of Cuinto pyrite (1) below 010 at Cu (with whichthere is no concomitant increase in Ag) It iswidely spread through the pyrite crystals (Fig 3)(2) Above 010 at Cu the increase in Cu is in a11 relationship with Ag These high concentra-tions of Cu and Ag not are due to the presence ofmicroscopic inclusions as optical study shows sothey must be produced by (a) very abundantsubmicroscopic inclusions of chalcopyrite andorCu-Ag phases always intergrown with chalco-pyrite and (b) a true solid solution of Cu and Ag
The entry of As in marcasite is the same as fortype I pyrite due to the 11 correlation betweenAs and S In addition a small amount of Sb entersthe marcasite when the concentration of As isgt010 at It seems that the maximum Sb occursat ~020 at of As
We explain the chalcopyrite dispositionbetween marcasite and pyrite as the result of adiffusion process in which Cu migrates to thelimit between pyrite and marcasite This processalso liberates Ag to form Ag mineral inclusions(Ag suphides and sulphosalts)
Relationshipsbetween pyrite habit and gold crystalsWe have found a close relationship between thepyrite habit and the presence of gold crystalsSpeci cally the gold is found on the mineralizedlevels containing type IV pyrite displaying a greatvariety of crystallographic habits (cubes andpentagonal dodecahedrons or octahedrons andpentagonal dodecahedrons) In contrast barrenzones occur where only the pentagonal dodecahe-dral morphology is developed
Correlations between pyrite morphology andmetal-enriched zones has also been described inother deposits (eg Sunagawa 1957 Bush et al1960 Amstutz 1963) Pyrite morphology isdetermined by crystalline growth mechanisms(primarily screw dislocation and layer-by-layer)which are dependent on the temperature anddegree of supersa turat ion of the uid(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) Pyrite deposi-tion in the Au-mineralized zones in Palai-Islicamay have been associated with a change in thedegree of supersaturation of the mineralizing uid possibly due to mixing of uids suggestedby the uid inclusion data reported by MoralesRuano et al (2000)
Au and Ag contents in pyrite
The Au contents obtained by EPMA for thedifferent pyrite types are uniformly low (Tables 2and 3) Selected high-acquisition-time analysis ofdifferent pyrite types (Table 4) also present lowAu contents never greater than the detection limitof 475 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites which areconsidered to be potentially invisible-gold-bearing (eg Cook and Chryssoulis 1990)These results in addition to the abundance ofvisible gold grains suggest that invisible goldmay not be volumetrically signi cant in theoverall deposit (Carrillo Rosua et al 2002) asin other deposits where Au in pyrite reaches morethan 1000 ppm (eg Mao 1991 Fleet et al 1993Asadi et al 1999 Simon et al 1999)
The relatively large values of Ag found in thetype III pyrite (up to 147 wt) and in the typeVI collomorphic pyrite (up to 02 wt) areworthy of note This Ag concentration is one ofthe highest found in pyrite to date (Larocque etal 1995 up to 1426 ppm Grif n et al 1991 upto 625 ppm Tompkins et al 1997 up to200 ppm Roberts 1982 up to 300 ppm Ashleyet al 2000 up to 88 ppm) In our case the supplyof Ag by the pyrite to the deposit as a whole couldbe noteworthy especially in the super cial zones
1076
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
000
002
004
006
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
645
650
655
660
665
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
020
040
060
080
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
00 05 10 15 20 25 30As (at)
000
002
004
006
008
010
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
000
010
020
030
040
00 05 10 15 20 25 30 As (at)
S (
at
)
Ag
(at
)
Cu
(at
)
Sb
(at
)
Zn
(at
)
Ni (
at
)
(a)
(b)
FIG 12 Binary diagrams showing variations between different elements in type VI pyrite (a) porous collomorphicpyrite and (b) brown collomorphic pyrite
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1073
nature of Cu and Sb distributed in As-rich bandsis shown in the X-ray maps in Fig 11b
Type VII pyrite micro-geodes and intergrowths inchalcopyrite
In both cases (Fig 13) pyrite occurs aschemically homogeneous xenomorphic ne-grained (lt15 mm) aggregates located in chalco-pyrite crystals The micro-geodes tend to be up to400 mm in diameter and sometimes host marcasitecrystals The pyrite intergrowths are distributedalong elongated zones within the chalcopyrite
The trace-element concentration is quite low inboth cases similar to that of the coarse-grainedpyrite of type IV
Based on the textural evidence summarizedabove we propose a paragenetic sequence for thedistinct types of Fe-sulphides at veins presentedin Fig 14
Genetic considerations
Origin of pyriteThe pyrite of the Palai-Islica deposit originatedfrom hydrothermal uids However the formationpathways of pyrite from hydrothermal uids arecontroversial and an intermediate precursor isthought to be necessary (eg Benning et al2000) Moreover certain textural characteristicsobserved in the pyrite of this deposit (eg relics ofpyrrhotite presence of framboids) should beconsidered in evaluating possible processes ofpyrite formation such as (1) the transformationofpyrrhotite and marcasite and (2) the formation ofpyrite framboids
The transformation of pyrrhotite and marcasite
Some of the pyrite in this deposit may initiallyhave crystallized as pyrrhotite proper andsubsequently been transformed into pyrite byone of the mechanisms proposed by Fleet (1978)and by Murowchick and Barnes (1986) Due tothe smaller molar volume of pyrite thistransformation could account for the existenceof the high-porosity zones particularly in thepyrite lsquolackingrsquo trace elements Marcasite hadalso been a precursor of type VII pyrite as shownby the textural evidence
The formation of framboids
Occasionally the precursor of the medium- tocoarse-grained pyrite may have been framboidal
pyrite which in turn may have had greigite as aprecursor (Wilkin and Barnes 1997) Thepresence of zones in the porous type IV pyritewould correspond to zones where the recrystalli-zation was incomplete whereas the abundantmicro-inclusions in the porous pyrite could beinterpreted as crystals that were trapped in theframboidal spaces According to Wilkin andBarnes (1997) the maximum temperature atwhich framboidal pyrite may nucleate is 225ordmCThis temperature is consistent with the lowerrange of temperatures determined by microther-mometry of uid inclusions (between 120 and465ordmC) in quartz associated with pyrite (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Evolution of As contents in the pyrite
Pyrites in other hydrothermal deposits havecharacteristic oscillatory banding due to varia-tions in a relatively continuous supply of Asduring precipitation (eg Fleet et al 1989)However the As supply to the Palai-Islicapyrites seems to have been more episodicconcentrated in the mineralization areas espe-cially in relation to gold-bearing levels but not inthe hydrothermal alteration Based on textural andmineral chemistry data there have been two mainepisodes of well-de ned As enrichment
The rst As-rich episode associated with theinitial stages of formation of the depositproduced the As-rich cores and bands of type Ipyrite with some related tiny crystals ofarsenopyrite (main stage of pyrite precipitation)It was occasionally accompanied by the incor-poration of Cu which is sometimes linked to theformation of the tennantite inclusions The As-rich cores and bands are the product ofcontinuous pyrite growth as indicated by theconcentric nature of the banding the coherencebetween the morphology of the banding and thecrystal habits
Following this rst As-rich episode there was astage of As-free pyrite crystallization (type IV)The type IV pyrite is not only volumetricallysigni cant in places forming massive aggregatesbut it also hosts gold alloys
The second As-rich episode associated withthe nal stages of the Fe sulphide deposition ischaracterized by the presence of idiomorphicmarcasite and two varieties of collomorphicpyrite(type VI) the most As-rich pyrites of Palai-IslicaTwo consecutive bands can be distinguishedwiththe rst one mainly richer in As
1074
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Accordingly the As entered into the pyritestructure in two stages and appears to beincorporated by two different mechanisms assuggested by the relationship between As S andFe (1) in pyrites from the rst episode the Ascontent of the pyrite is negatively correlated withS while the Fe content is constant (Fig 7ab) TheAs was incorporated in a metastable solid solutionin the S positions It could be related to layers oflsquomarcasite-likersquo structure with high As content
(Fleet et al 1989 Simon et al 1999) or else asclusters with a lower As content in the pyritestructure (Savage et al 2000) (2) In contrast inpyrites produced during the second episode the Asis negatively correlated with both the S and the Fe(Fig 7ab) and the increase in the As concentra-tion is accompanied by increasing contents of CuAg Sb Zn and Ni In this case there are nocrystallochemical studies on the entrance of Asinto pyrite associated with decreasing S and Fe
PRE-ORESTAGE
ORESTAGE
Pyrrhotite
Pyrite type IV
Cores of pyritewith As (type I)
Pyrite type II
Polygonal bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Irregular bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Pyrite type III
Pyrite type V
Pyrite type VI
Pyrite type VII
Gold precipitation
Marcasite microveins
Idiomorphic marcasiteassociated with type III pyrite
FIG 14 Paragenetic sequence of the different types of Fe-sulphides showing their relationship with the gold at Palai-Islica mineralization
FIG 13 Photomicrographs of type VII pyrite (a) Micro-geodes of pyrite (py) in chalcopyrite (cp) (b) Bands ofmicrocrystals of pyrite (py) in coarse-grained chalcopyrite (cp)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1075
contents However this correlation might beexplained by either the entrance of cationic Asandor non-stoichiometric As (Fleet and Mumin1997) Although the presence of collomorphictextures does not necessarily imply colloidalorigin (Roedder 1968) colloidal precipitation isnonetheless an attractive hypothesis to explain theparticular textural and chemical characteristics ofthe collomorphic pyrite overgrowths sincecolloidal particles might be quite effective intrapping As ions Colloidal particles with an Ascovering (negatively charged) could in turn act aslsquotrapsrsquo for cations This mechanism could explainthe relatively large amounts of Cu Ag Sb Zn andNi as well as the Fe de cit found in thecollomorphic pyrite overgrowths
Type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite association
The mineral association of type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite could be related to theformation of Au-Ag alloy horizons because of itslocation at the top of the horizons The low d34Ssignature of these sulphides different from therest of the deposit (author data) could be causedby another kind of uid implicated in the mixingprocesses mentioned by Morales Ruano et al(2000)
The high Ag and Cu contents of type III pyriteand of As and Sb in marcasite are notable We caninfer from Fig 9 two paths for the entry of Cuinto pyrite (1) below 010 at Cu (with whichthere is no concomitant increase in Ag) It iswidely spread through the pyrite crystals (Fig 3)(2) Above 010 at Cu the increase in Cu is in a11 relationship with Ag These high concentra-tions of Cu and Ag not are due to the presence ofmicroscopic inclusions as optical study shows sothey must be produced by (a) very abundantsubmicroscopic inclusions of chalcopyrite andorCu-Ag phases always intergrown with chalco-pyrite and (b) a true solid solution of Cu and Ag
The entry of As in marcasite is the same as fortype I pyrite due to the 11 correlation betweenAs and S In addition a small amount of Sb entersthe marcasite when the concentration of As isgt010 at It seems that the maximum Sb occursat ~020 at of As
We explain the chalcopyrite dispositionbetween marcasite and pyrite as the result of adiffusion process in which Cu migrates to thelimit between pyrite and marcasite This processalso liberates Ag to form Ag mineral inclusions(Ag suphides and sulphosalts)
Relationshipsbetween pyrite habit and gold crystalsWe have found a close relationship between thepyrite habit and the presence of gold crystalsSpeci cally the gold is found on the mineralizedlevels containing type IV pyrite displaying a greatvariety of crystallographic habits (cubes andpentagonal dodecahedrons or octahedrons andpentagonal dodecahedrons) In contrast barrenzones occur where only the pentagonal dodecahe-dral morphology is developed
Correlations between pyrite morphology andmetal-enriched zones has also been described inother deposits (eg Sunagawa 1957 Bush et al1960 Amstutz 1963) Pyrite morphology isdetermined by crystalline growth mechanisms(primarily screw dislocation and layer-by-layer)which are dependent on the temperature anddegree of supersa turat ion of the uid(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) Pyrite deposi-tion in the Au-mineralized zones in Palai-Islicamay have been associated with a change in thedegree of supersaturation of the mineralizing uid possibly due to mixing of uids suggestedby the uid inclusion data reported by MoralesRuano et al (2000)
Au and Ag contents in pyrite
The Au contents obtained by EPMA for thedifferent pyrite types are uniformly low (Tables 2and 3) Selected high-acquisition-time analysis ofdifferent pyrite types (Table 4) also present lowAu contents never greater than the detection limitof 475 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites which areconsidered to be potentially invisible-gold-bearing (eg Cook and Chryssoulis 1990)These results in addition to the abundance ofvisible gold grains suggest that invisible goldmay not be volumetrically signi cant in theoverall deposit (Carrillo Rosua et al 2002) asin other deposits where Au in pyrite reaches morethan 1000 ppm (eg Mao 1991 Fleet et al 1993Asadi et al 1999 Simon et al 1999)
The relatively large values of Ag found in thetype III pyrite (up to 147 wt) and in the typeVI collomorphic pyrite (up to 02 wt) areworthy of note This Ag concentration is one ofthe highest found in pyrite to date (Larocque etal 1995 up to 1426 ppm Grif n et al 1991 upto 625 ppm Tompkins et al 1997 up to200 ppm Roberts 1982 up to 300 ppm Ashleyet al 2000 up to 88 ppm) In our case the supplyof Ag by the pyrite to the deposit as a whole couldbe noteworthy especially in the super cial zones
1076
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
nature of Cu and Sb distributed in As-rich bandsis shown in the X-ray maps in Fig 11b
Type VII pyrite micro-geodes and intergrowths inchalcopyrite
In both cases (Fig 13) pyrite occurs aschemically homogeneous xenomorphic ne-grained (lt15 mm) aggregates located in chalco-pyrite crystals The micro-geodes tend to be up to400 mm in diameter and sometimes host marcasitecrystals The pyrite intergrowths are distributedalong elongated zones within the chalcopyrite
The trace-element concentration is quite low inboth cases similar to that of the coarse-grainedpyrite of type IV
Based on the textural evidence summarizedabove we propose a paragenetic sequence for thedistinct types of Fe-sulphides at veins presentedin Fig 14
Genetic considerations
Origin of pyriteThe pyrite of the Palai-Islica deposit originatedfrom hydrothermal uids However the formationpathways of pyrite from hydrothermal uids arecontroversial and an intermediate precursor isthought to be necessary (eg Benning et al2000) Moreover certain textural characteristicsobserved in the pyrite of this deposit (eg relics ofpyrrhotite presence of framboids) should beconsidered in evaluating possible processes ofpyrite formation such as (1) the transformationofpyrrhotite and marcasite and (2) the formation ofpyrite framboids
The transformation of pyrrhotite and marcasite
Some of the pyrite in this deposit may initiallyhave crystallized as pyrrhotite proper andsubsequently been transformed into pyrite byone of the mechanisms proposed by Fleet (1978)and by Murowchick and Barnes (1986) Due tothe smaller molar volume of pyrite thistransformation could account for the existenceof the high-porosity zones particularly in thepyrite lsquolackingrsquo trace elements Marcasite hadalso been a precursor of type VII pyrite as shownby the textural evidence
The formation of framboids
Occasionally the precursor of the medium- tocoarse-grained pyrite may have been framboidal
pyrite which in turn may have had greigite as aprecursor (Wilkin and Barnes 1997) Thepresence of zones in the porous type IV pyritewould correspond to zones where the recrystalli-zation was incomplete whereas the abundantmicro-inclusions in the porous pyrite could beinterpreted as crystals that were trapped in theframboidal spaces According to Wilkin andBarnes (1997) the maximum temperature atwhich framboidal pyrite may nucleate is 225ordmCThis temperature is consistent with the lowerrange of temperatures determined by microther-mometry of uid inclusions (between 120 and465ordmC) in quartz associated with pyrite (MoralesRuano et al 2000)
Evolution of As contents in the pyrite
Pyrites in other hydrothermal deposits havecharacteristic oscillatory banding due to varia-tions in a relatively continuous supply of Asduring precipitation (eg Fleet et al 1989)However the As supply to the Palai-Islicapyrites seems to have been more episodicconcentrated in the mineralization areas espe-cially in relation to gold-bearing levels but not inthe hydrothermal alteration Based on textural andmineral chemistry data there have been two mainepisodes of well-de ned As enrichment
The rst As-rich episode associated with theinitial stages of formation of the depositproduced the As-rich cores and bands of type Ipyrite with some related tiny crystals ofarsenopyrite (main stage of pyrite precipitation)It was occasionally accompanied by the incor-poration of Cu which is sometimes linked to theformation of the tennantite inclusions The As-rich cores and bands are the product ofcontinuous pyrite growth as indicated by theconcentric nature of the banding the coherencebetween the morphology of the banding and thecrystal habits
Following this rst As-rich episode there was astage of As-free pyrite crystallization (type IV)The type IV pyrite is not only volumetricallysigni cant in places forming massive aggregatesbut it also hosts gold alloys
The second As-rich episode associated withthe nal stages of the Fe sulphide deposition ischaracterized by the presence of idiomorphicmarcasite and two varieties of collomorphicpyrite(type VI) the most As-rich pyrites of Palai-IslicaTwo consecutive bands can be distinguishedwiththe rst one mainly richer in As
1074
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Accordingly the As entered into the pyritestructure in two stages and appears to beincorporated by two different mechanisms assuggested by the relationship between As S andFe (1) in pyrites from the rst episode the Ascontent of the pyrite is negatively correlated withS while the Fe content is constant (Fig 7ab) TheAs was incorporated in a metastable solid solutionin the S positions It could be related to layers oflsquomarcasite-likersquo structure with high As content
(Fleet et al 1989 Simon et al 1999) or else asclusters with a lower As content in the pyritestructure (Savage et al 2000) (2) In contrast inpyrites produced during the second episode the Asis negatively correlated with both the S and the Fe(Fig 7ab) and the increase in the As concentra-tion is accompanied by increasing contents of CuAg Sb Zn and Ni In this case there are nocrystallochemical studies on the entrance of Asinto pyrite associated with decreasing S and Fe
PRE-ORESTAGE
ORESTAGE
Pyrrhotite
Pyrite type IV
Cores of pyritewith As (type I)
Pyrite type II
Polygonal bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Irregular bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Pyrite type III
Pyrite type V
Pyrite type VI
Pyrite type VII
Gold precipitation
Marcasite microveins
Idiomorphic marcasiteassociated with type III pyrite
FIG 14 Paragenetic sequence of the different types of Fe-sulphides showing their relationship with the gold at Palai-Islica mineralization
FIG 13 Photomicrographs of type VII pyrite (a) Micro-geodes of pyrite (py) in chalcopyrite (cp) (b) Bands ofmicrocrystals of pyrite (py) in coarse-grained chalcopyrite (cp)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1075
contents However this correlation might beexplained by either the entrance of cationic Asandor non-stoichiometric As (Fleet and Mumin1997) Although the presence of collomorphictextures does not necessarily imply colloidalorigin (Roedder 1968) colloidal precipitation isnonetheless an attractive hypothesis to explain theparticular textural and chemical characteristics ofthe collomorphic pyrite overgrowths sincecolloidal particles might be quite effective intrapping As ions Colloidal particles with an Ascovering (negatively charged) could in turn act aslsquotrapsrsquo for cations This mechanism could explainthe relatively large amounts of Cu Ag Sb Zn andNi as well as the Fe de cit found in thecollomorphic pyrite overgrowths
Type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite association
The mineral association of type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite could be related to theformation of Au-Ag alloy horizons because of itslocation at the top of the horizons The low d34Ssignature of these sulphides different from therest of the deposit (author data) could be causedby another kind of uid implicated in the mixingprocesses mentioned by Morales Ruano et al(2000)
The high Ag and Cu contents of type III pyriteand of As and Sb in marcasite are notable We caninfer from Fig 9 two paths for the entry of Cuinto pyrite (1) below 010 at Cu (with whichthere is no concomitant increase in Ag) It iswidely spread through the pyrite crystals (Fig 3)(2) Above 010 at Cu the increase in Cu is in a11 relationship with Ag These high concentra-tions of Cu and Ag not are due to the presence ofmicroscopic inclusions as optical study shows sothey must be produced by (a) very abundantsubmicroscopic inclusions of chalcopyrite andorCu-Ag phases always intergrown with chalco-pyrite and (b) a true solid solution of Cu and Ag
The entry of As in marcasite is the same as fortype I pyrite due to the 11 correlation betweenAs and S In addition a small amount of Sb entersthe marcasite when the concentration of As isgt010 at It seems that the maximum Sb occursat ~020 at of As
We explain the chalcopyrite dispositionbetween marcasite and pyrite as the result of adiffusion process in which Cu migrates to thelimit between pyrite and marcasite This processalso liberates Ag to form Ag mineral inclusions(Ag suphides and sulphosalts)
Relationshipsbetween pyrite habit and gold crystalsWe have found a close relationship between thepyrite habit and the presence of gold crystalsSpeci cally the gold is found on the mineralizedlevels containing type IV pyrite displaying a greatvariety of crystallographic habits (cubes andpentagonal dodecahedrons or octahedrons andpentagonal dodecahedrons) In contrast barrenzones occur where only the pentagonal dodecahe-dral morphology is developed
Correlations between pyrite morphology andmetal-enriched zones has also been described inother deposits (eg Sunagawa 1957 Bush et al1960 Amstutz 1963) Pyrite morphology isdetermined by crystalline growth mechanisms(primarily screw dislocation and layer-by-layer)which are dependent on the temperature anddegree of supersa turat ion of the uid(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) Pyrite deposi-tion in the Au-mineralized zones in Palai-Islicamay have been associated with a change in thedegree of supersaturation of the mineralizing uid possibly due to mixing of uids suggestedby the uid inclusion data reported by MoralesRuano et al (2000)
Au and Ag contents in pyrite
The Au contents obtained by EPMA for thedifferent pyrite types are uniformly low (Tables 2and 3) Selected high-acquisition-time analysis ofdifferent pyrite types (Table 4) also present lowAu contents never greater than the detection limitof 475 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites which areconsidered to be potentially invisible-gold-bearing (eg Cook and Chryssoulis 1990)These results in addition to the abundance ofvisible gold grains suggest that invisible goldmay not be volumetrically signi cant in theoverall deposit (Carrillo Rosua et al 2002) asin other deposits where Au in pyrite reaches morethan 1000 ppm (eg Mao 1991 Fleet et al 1993Asadi et al 1999 Simon et al 1999)
The relatively large values of Ag found in thetype III pyrite (up to 147 wt) and in the typeVI collomorphic pyrite (up to 02 wt) areworthy of note This Ag concentration is one ofthe highest found in pyrite to date (Larocque etal 1995 up to 1426 ppm Grif n et al 1991 upto 625 ppm Tompkins et al 1997 up to200 ppm Roberts 1982 up to 300 ppm Ashleyet al 2000 up to 88 ppm) In our case the supplyof Ag by the pyrite to the deposit as a whole couldbe noteworthy especially in the super cial zones
1076
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Accordingly the As entered into the pyritestructure in two stages and appears to beincorporated by two different mechanisms assuggested by the relationship between As S andFe (1) in pyrites from the rst episode the Ascontent of the pyrite is negatively correlated withS while the Fe content is constant (Fig 7ab) TheAs was incorporated in a metastable solid solutionin the S positions It could be related to layers oflsquomarcasite-likersquo structure with high As content
(Fleet et al 1989 Simon et al 1999) or else asclusters with a lower As content in the pyritestructure (Savage et al 2000) (2) In contrast inpyrites produced during the second episode the Asis negatively correlated with both the S and the Fe(Fig 7ab) and the increase in the As concentra-tion is accompanied by increasing contents of CuAg Sb Zn and Ni In this case there are nocrystallochemical studies on the entrance of Asinto pyrite associated with decreasing S and Fe
PRE-ORESTAGE
ORESTAGE
Pyrrhotite
Pyrite type IV
Cores of pyritewith As (type I)
Pyrite type II
Polygonal bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Irregular bands ofpyrite with As (type I)
Pyrite type III
Pyrite type V
Pyrite type VI
Pyrite type VII
Gold precipitation
Marcasite microveins
Idiomorphic marcasiteassociated with type III pyrite
FIG 14 Paragenetic sequence of the different types of Fe-sulphides showing their relationship with the gold at Palai-Islica mineralization
FIG 13 Photomicrographs of type VII pyrite (a) Micro-geodes of pyrite (py) in chalcopyrite (cp) (b) Bands ofmicrocrystals of pyrite (py) in coarse-grained chalcopyrite (cp)
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1075
contents However this correlation might beexplained by either the entrance of cationic Asandor non-stoichiometric As (Fleet and Mumin1997) Although the presence of collomorphictextures does not necessarily imply colloidalorigin (Roedder 1968) colloidal precipitation isnonetheless an attractive hypothesis to explain theparticular textural and chemical characteristics ofthe collomorphic pyrite overgrowths sincecolloidal particles might be quite effective intrapping As ions Colloidal particles with an Ascovering (negatively charged) could in turn act aslsquotrapsrsquo for cations This mechanism could explainthe relatively large amounts of Cu Ag Sb Zn andNi as well as the Fe de cit found in thecollomorphic pyrite overgrowths
Type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite association
The mineral association of type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite could be related to theformation of Au-Ag alloy horizons because of itslocation at the top of the horizons The low d34Ssignature of these sulphides different from therest of the deposit (author data) could be causedby another kind of uid implicated in the mixingprocesses mentioned by Morales Ruano et al(2000)
The high Ag and Cu contents of type III pyriteand of As and Sb in marcasite are notable We caninfer from Fig 9 two paths for the entry of Cuinto pyrite (1) below 010 at Cu (with whichthere is no concomitant increase in Ag) It iswidely spread through the pyrite crystals (Fig 3)(2) Above 010 at Cu the increase in Cu is in a11 relationship with Ag These high concentra-tions of Cu and Ag not are due to the presence ofmicroscopic inclusions as optical study shows sothey must be produced by (a) very abundantsubmicroscopic inclusions of chalcopyrite andorCu-Ag phases always intergrown with chalco-pyrite and (b) a true solid solution of Cu and Ag
The entry of As in marcasite is the same as fortype I pyrite due to the 11 correlation betweenAs and S In addition a small amount of Sb entersthe marcasite when the concentration of As isgt010 at It seems that the maximum Sb occursat ~020 at of As
We explain the chalcopyrite dispositionbetween marcasite and pyrite as the result of adiffusion process in which Cu migrates to thelimit between pyrite and marcasite This processalso liberates Ag to form Ag mineral inclusions(Ag suphides and sulphosalts)
Relationshipsbetween pyrite habit and gold crystalsWe have found a close relationship between thepyrite habit and the presence of gold crystalsSpeci cally the gold is found on the mineralizedlevels containing type IV pyrite displaying a greatvariety of crystallographic habits (cubes andpentagonal dodecahedrons or octahedrons andpentagonal dodecahedrons) In contrast barrenzones occur where only the pentagonal dodecahe-dral morphology is developed
Correlations between pyrite morphology andmetal-enriched zones has also been described inother deposits (eg Sunagawa 1957 Bush et al1960 Amstutz 1963) Pyrite morphology isdetermined by crystalline growth mechanisms(primarily screw dislocation and layer-by-layer)which are dependent on the temperature anddegree of supersa turat ion of the uid(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) Pyrite deposi-tion in the Au-mineralized zones in Palai-Islicamay have been associated with a change in thedegree of supersaturation of the mineralizing uid possibly due to mixing of uids suggestedby the uid inclusion data reported by MoralesRuano et al (2000)
Au and Ag contents in pyrite
The Au contents obtained by EPMA for thedifferent pyrite types are uniformly low (Tables 2and 3) Selected high-acquisition-time analysis ofdifferent pyrite types (Table 4) also present lowAu contents never greater than the detection limitof 475 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites which areconsidered to be potentially invisible-gold-bearing (eg Cook and Chryssoulis 1990)These results in addition to the abundance ofvisible gold grains suggest that invisible goldmay not be volumetrically signi cant in theoverall deposit (Carrillo Rosua et al 2002) asin other deposits where Au in pyrite reaches morethan 1000 ppm (eg Mao 1991 Fleet et al 1993Asadi et al 1999 Simon et al 1999)
The relatively large values of Ag found in thetype III pyrite (up to 147 wt) and in the typeVI collomorphic pyrite (up to 02 wt) areworthy of note This Ag concentration is one ofthe highest found in pyrite to date (Larocque etal 1995 up to 1426 ppm Grif n et al 1991 upto 625 ppm Tompkins et al 1997 up to200 ppm Roberts 1982 up to 300 ppm Ashleyet al 2000 up to 88 ppm) In our case the supplyof Ag by the pyrite to the deposit as a whole couldbe noteworthy especially in the super cial zones
1076
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
contents However this correlation might beexplained by either the entrance of cationic Asandor non-stoichiometric As (Fleet and Mumin1997) Although the presence of collomorphictextures does not necessarily imply colloidalorigin (Roedder 1968) colloidal precipitation isnonetheless an attractive hypothesis to explain theparticular textural and chemical characteristics ofthe collomorphic pyrite overgrowths sincecolloidal particles might be quite effective intrapping As ions Colloidal particles with an Ascovering (negatively charged) could in turn act aslsquotrapsrsquo for cations This mechanism could explainthe relatively large amounts of Cu Ag Sb Zn andNi as well as the Fe de cit found in thecollomorphic pyrite overgrowths
Type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite association
The mineral association of type III pyrite-chalcopyrite-marcasite could be related to theformation of Au-Ag alloy horizons because of itslocation at the top of the horizons The low d34Ssignature of these sulphides different from therest of the deposit (author data) could be causedby another kind of uid implicated in the mixingprocesses mentioned by Morales Ruano et al(2000)
The high Ag and Cu contents of type III pyriteand of As and Sb in marcasite are notable We caninfer from Fig 9 two paths for the entry of Cuinto pyrite (1) below 010 at Cu (with whichthere is no concomitant increase in Ag) It iswidely spread through the pyrite crystals (Fig 3)(2) Above 010 at Cu the increase in Cu is in a11 relationship with Ag These high concentra-tions of Cu and Ag not are due to the presence ofmicroscopic inclusions as optical study shows sothey must be produced by (a) very abundantsubmicroscopic inclusions of chalcopyrite andorCu-Ag phases always intergrown with chalco-pyrite and (b) a true solid solution of Cu and Ag
The entry of As in marcasite is the same as fortype I pyrite due to the 11 correlation betweenAs and S In addition a small amount of Sb entersthe marcasite when the concentration of As isgt010 at It seems that the maximum Sb occursat ~020 at of As
We explain the chalcopyrite dispositionbetween marcasite and pyrite as the result of adiffusion process in which Cu migrates to thelimit between pyrite and marcasite This processalso liberates Ag to form Ag mineral inclusions(Ag suphides and sulphosalts)
Relationshipsbetween pyrite habit and gold crystalsWe have found a close relationship between thepyrite habit and the presence of gold crystalsSpeci cally the gold is found on the mineralizedlevels containing type IV pyrite displaying a greatvariety of crystallographic habits (cubes andpentagonal dodecahedrons or octahedrons andpentagonal dodecahedrons) In contrast barrenzones occur where only the pentagonal dodecahe-dral morphology is developed
Correlations between pyrite morphology andmetal-enriched zones has also been described inother deposits (eg Sunagawa 1957 Bush et al1960 Amstutz 1963) Pyrite morphology isdetermined by crystalline growth mechanisms(primarily screw dislocation and layer-by-layer)which are dependent on the temperature anddegree of supersa turat ion of the uid(Murowchick and Barnes 1987) Pyrite deposi-tion in the Au-mineralized zones in Palai-Islicamay have been associated with a change in thedegree of supersaturation of the mineralizing uid possibly due to mixing of uids suggestedby the uid inclusion data reported by MoralesRuano et al (2000)
Au and Ag contents in pyrite
The Au contents obtained by EPMA for thedifferent pyrite types are uniformly low (Tables 2and 3) Selected high-acquisition-time analysis ofdifferent pyrite types (Table 4) also present lowAu contents never greater than the detection limitof 475 ppm even in the As-rich pyrites which areconsidered to be potentially invisible-gold-bearing (eg Cook and Chryssoulis 1990)These results in addition to the abundance ofvisible gold grains suggest that invisible goldmay not be volumetrically signi cant in theoverall deposit (Carrillo Rosua et al 2002) asin other deposits where Au in pyrite reaches morethan 1000 ppm (eg Mao 1991 Fleet et al 1993Asadi et al 1999 Simon et al 1999)
The relatively large values of Ag found in thetype III pyrite (up to 147 wt) and in the typeVI collomorphic pyrite (up to 02 wt) areworthy of note This Ag concentration is one ofthe highest found in pyrite to date (Larocque etal 1995 up to 1426 ppm Grif n et al 1991 upto 625 ppm Tompkins et al 1997 up to200 ppm Roberts 1982 up to 300 ppm Ashleyet al 2000 up to 88 ppm) In our case the supplyof Ag by the pyrite to the deposit as a whole couldbe noteworthy especially in the super cial zones
1076
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
of the deposit where there are no other Ag-bearing phases apart from type VI pyrite
Implications for the formation conditions of the presenceof marcasite
According to Murowchick and Barnes (1986) ifmarcasite crystallizes directly from a hydro-thermal uid which is the case for the Palai-Islica deposit then the pH must be lt5 Thereforelow pH at least is expected at several pointslarge-scale silici cation hydrothermal alterationin the deepest part of the deposit the formation ofpyrite micro-geodes and the formation ofidiomorphic marcasite (related to the Au-Agalloy levels)
Conclusions
(1) In this study we have noted the greatusefulness of backscattered electron imagesobtained by SEM to determine heterogeneitiesin compositions in pyrites appearing homoge-neous under re ected light It is neverthelessnecessary to use X-ray mapping with EPMA sinceSEM cannot detect anomalies of elements that donot have high atomic weights commonly presentin pyrites in hydrothermal deposits (Co and Ni)Therefore EPMA is worthwhile despite being
less versatile and more time-consuming (~90 minto obtain values for four elements)
(2) Most of the pyrite formed directly from thehydrothermal uid although pyrrhotite andframboidal pyrite may also have acted to alesser extent as precursors to pyrite during the rst stages of crystallization
(3) Among the trace elements in pyrite As isthe most abundant with signi cant Co and NiThese elements are distributed in bands and coresof medium- to coarse-grained pyrite crystalsindicating that they were incorporated in thepyrite structure during the early stages of pyritecrystallizationArsenic and to a lesser degree NiAg and Cu can also be concentrated in the latestages of pyrite crystallization (as collomorphicpyrite)
It is probable that As enters the pyrite structurein two ways (1) as a metastable solid solution(inverse correlation of As with S) with nosigni cant entry of other elements or (2) as anon-stoichiometricelement by colloidal precipita-tion (inverse correlation of As vs S and of As vsFe) The latter is associated with the entry of othertrace elements such as Cu Sb Ag and Ni Cobaltand Ni substitute for Fe in the pyrite structure
Marcasite also has signi cant amounts of As(with a crystallochemical behaviour similar totype I pyrite) and to a smaller extent of Sb This
TABLE 4 Large-acquisition-time microprobe analyses for Au in different types of pyrite (wt)
Pyrite type S Fe As Co Ni Total Au (ppm)
I 5196 4570 010 016 018 9809 10I-II 4893 4420 278 024 008 9622 120I-II 5016 4489 249 033 007 9795 50I-II 5196 4586 059 010 009 9859 160II-I 5097 4406 070 066 041 9679 30II-I 5113 4476 089 046 031 9754 70IV 5159 4531 002 007 000 9700 120IV 5216 4575 003 007 000 9801 140IV 5238 4608 001 006 000 9853 0IV 5219 4593 017 007 002 9837 120
VI-B 4888 4268 486 006 000 9648 30VI-B 4940 4210 572 006 000 9727 30VI-B 4770 4104 542 005 000 9421 140VI-B 4922 4287 545 006 000 9760 130VI-B 4951 4223 555 006 000 9734 60
Minimum 4770 4104 001 005 000 9421 0Maximum 5238 4608 572 066 041 9859 160Average 5054 4423 232 017 008 9733 81
St dev (1s) 151 165 241 018 013 113 54
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1077
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
phase together type III pyrite may have under-gone a diffusion process
(4) The medium- to coarse-grained pyritelacking trace elements (type IV) is the only hostto Au-Ag alloys These alloys together with thenative gold are the main gold-bearing phasesThe so-called invisible gold in the pyrite is ofminor importance However the pyrite occasion-ally contains signi cant amounts of Ag in sometextural varieties (eg types III and VI pyrite)
(5) Since the gold is closely associated with thepyrite its extraction would necessarily involvelarge volumes of pyrite with high concentrationsof heavy metals (As Co and Ni) all highlycontaminatingGiven the proximity of the depositto the Cabo de Gata Natural Park the mining ofthis deposit would require special measures tominimize the environmental impact
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Serrata Resources SA for thehelp they have provided during this investigationThis research has also been supported by theprojects No PB-97-1211 BTE2001-3308 andRNM-0131 Research Group of the Junta deAndalucotilde a We thank Dr Peter Poltz (FELMI-ZFE Graz University of Technology) for his helpwith FESEM study of pyrite and Prof C Laurinfor correcting the English
References
Amstutz GC (1963) Accessories on pyrite pyritezon ing and zoned pyri te SchweizerischeMineralogische und Petrographische Mittteilungen 33 111 ndash122
Arehart GB Chyssoulis SL and Kesler SE (1993)Gold and arsenic in iron sul des from sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits implications fordepositional processes Economic Geology 88171 ndash185
Arribas A and Tosdal R (1994) Isotopic compositionof Pb in ore-deposits of the Betic Cordillera SpainOrigin and relationship to other European depositsEconomic Geology 89 1074 ndash1093
Arribas A Cunningham CG Rytuba JJ Rye ROKelly WC Podwysocki MH McKee EH andTosdal RM (1995) Geology geochronology uidinclusions and isotope geochemi stry of theRodalquilar gold alunite deposit Spain EconomicGeology 90 795 ndash822
Asadi HH Voncken JHL and Hale M (1999)Invisible gold at Zarshuran Iran Economic Geology94 1367 ndash1374
Ashley PM Creagh CJ and Ryan CG (2000)Invisible gold in ore and minerals concentrates fromthe Hillgrove gold-antimony deposits NSWAustralia Mineralium Deposita 35 285 ndash301
Benning LG Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (2000)Reaction pathways in the Fe-S system below 100ordmCChemical Geology 167 25 ndash51
Boyle RW (1979) The geochemistry of gold and itsdeposits Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 280
Bush JB Cook DR Lovering TS and Morris HT(1960) The Chief Oxide-Buring area discoveriesEast Tintic district Utah A case history ndash Part 1USGS studies and explorat ion EconomicGeology 55 1116 ndash1147
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otildeacute P (2001a) Mineralogy and mineralchemistry of precious metals of the Cu-Au miner-alisation at the Palai-Islica deposit Almer otilde a SESpain Pp 715 ndash718 in Mineral Deposits at theBegining of the 21st Century (A Piestrzynski et aleditors) Balkema Lisse The Netherlands
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2001b) Tipolog otildeacutea de la pirita en eldeposito epitermal de Palai-Islica (CarbonerasAlmer otildeacutea) Implicaciones en la genesis del oroBoletgn de la Sociedad Espanola de Mineralog ga24-A 151 ndash152
Carrillo Rosua FJ Morales Ruano S and FenollHach-Al otilde P (2002) The three generations of gold inthe Palai-Islica epithermal deposit SoutheasternSpain The Canadian Mineralogist 40 1465 ndash1481
Clark LA (1960) The Fe-As-S system Phase relationsand applicat ions Economic Geology 55 1345 ndash1381
Cook NJ and Chryssoulis SL (1990) Concentrationsof lsquoinvisible goldrsquo in the common sulphides TheCanadian Mineralogist 28 1 ndash16
Craig JR Vokes FM and Solberg TN (1998)Pyrite physical and chemical textures MineraliumDeposita 34 82 ndash101
Dewey JF (1988) Extensional collapse of orogensTectonics 7 1123 ndash1140
Fernandez Soler JM (1996) El vulcanismo calco-alcalino en el Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria) Estudio volcanologico y petrologi-co PhD thesis Universidad de Granada SociedadAlmeriense Historia Natural 295 pp
Fleet ME (1978) The pyrrhotite-marcasite transforma-tion The Canadian Mineralogist 16 31 ndash35
Fleet ME and Mumin AH (1997) Gold-bearingarsenian pyrite and marcasite and arsenopyrite fromCarlin Trend gold deposits and laboratory synthesisAmerican Mineralogist 82 182 ndash193
Fleet ME McLean PJ and Barbier J (1989)Oscillatory-zoned As-bearing pyrite from strata-bound and stratiform gold deposits An indicator or
1078
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
ore uid evolution Pp 356 ndash362 in The Geology ofGold Deposits The Perspective in 1988 (RRKeays WRH Ramsay and DI Groves editors)Economic Geology Monograph 6 EconomicGeology Publishing Company El Paso Texas
Fleet ME Chryssoulis SL MacLean PJ DavidsonR and Weisener CG (1993) Arsenian pyrite fromgold deposits Au and As distribution investigated bySIMS and EMP and colour staining and surfaceoxidation by XPS and LIMS The CanadianMineralogist 31 1 ndash17
Garc otilde a Duenas V Balanya JC and Mart otilde nezMart otilde nez JM (1992) Miocene extensional detach-ments in the outcropping basements of the northernAlboran Basin (Betics) Geomarine Letters 1288 ndash95
Grif n WL Ashley PM Ryan SG Sie SH andSuter GF (1991) Pyrite geochemistry in the NorthArm epithermal Ag-Au deposit QueenslandAustral ia A proton -microprobe study TheCanadian Mineralogist 29 185 ndash198
Huston DL Sie SH Suter GF Cooke DR andBoth RA (1995) Trace elements in sul de mineralsfrom eastern Australian volcanic hosted massivesul de deposits Part I Proton microprobe analysesof pyrite chalcopyrite sphalerite and Part IISelenium levels in pyrite comparison with d34Svalues and implications for the source of sulfur involcanogenic hydrothermal systems EconomicGeology 90 1167 ndash1196
IGME (Instituto Geologico y Minero de Espana) (1974)Mapa Geologico de Espana Escala 150000 Hoja1046 (24 ndash42) Sorbas Servicio de publicacionesMinisterio de Industria
Kostov I and Minceva-Stefanova J (1981) SulphideMinerals Crystal Chemistry Paragenesis andSystematics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 212pp
Larocque ACL Jackman JA Cabri LJ andHodgson CJ (1995) Calibration of the ion micro-probe for the determination of silver in pyrite andchalcopyrite from the Mobrun VMS deposit Rouyn-Noranada Quebec The Canadian Mineralogist 33361 ndash372
Lopez Ruiz J and Rodriguez Badiola E (1980) Laregion volcanica del sureste de Espana EstudiosGeologicos 36 5 ndash63
Mao SE (1991) Occurrence and distribution ofinvisible gold in a Carlin-type gold deposit inChina American Mineralogist 76 1964 ndash1972
Morales Ruano S (1994) Mineralog ga geoqu gmica ymetalogenia de los yacimientos hidrotermales del SEde Espana PhD thesis Universidad de GranadaSpain 254 pp
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Alotilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and Contreras
Lopez E (1999) The Au-Cu epithermal deposit atPalai-Islica deposit (Almeria Southeastern Spain)Preliminary data Pp 59 ndash62 in Mineral DepositsProcesses to Processing (CJ Stanley et al editors)Balkema Rotterdam The Netherlands
Morales Ruano S Carrillo Rosua FJ Fenoll-Hach-Al otilde P de la Fuente Chacon F and ContrerasLopez E (2000) Epithermal Cu-Au mineralisationin the Palai-Islica deposit Almerotildeacutea SoutheasternSpain uid inclusion evidence of mixing of uids asa guide to gold mineralisation The CanadianMineralogist 38 553 ndash566
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1986) Marcasiteprecip itat ion from hydrothermal solut ionsGeochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 2615 ndash2629
Murowchick JB and Barnes HL (1987) Effects oftemperature and degree of supersaturation on pyritemorphology American Mineralogist 72 1241 ndash1250
Pouchou JL and Pichoir F (1984) Un nouveau modelede calcul pour la microanalyse quantitative perspectrometr ie de rayons X La ResercheAerospatiale 3 167 ndash192
Ramdohr P (1980) The Ore Minerals and theirIntergrowths Pergamon Press Oxford UK 1202 pp
Roberts FI (1982) Trace element chemistry of pyrite auseful guide to the occurrence of sulphide base metalmineralisation Journal of Geochemical Exploration 17 49 ndash62
Roedder E (1968) The noncolloid al origin oflsquocoll omorphic rsquo textures in sphaleri te oresEconomic Geology 63 451 ndash471
Rosler HJ (1983) Lehrbuch der Mineralogie VEBDeutscher Verlag fur Grundstof ndustrie LeipzigGermany 886 pp
Rypley EM and Chryssoulis SL (1994) Ion micro-probe analysis of platinum-group elements insulphide and arsenide minerals from the BabbittCu-Ni deposi t Duljth complex Minnesot aEconomic Geology 89 201 ndash210
Savage KS Tingle TN OrsquoDay PA WaychunasGA and Bird DK (2000) Arsenic speciation inpyrite and secondary weathering phases MotherLode Gold District Tuolumne County CaliforniaApplied Geochemistry 15 1219 ndash1244
Simon G Huang H Penner-Hahn JE Kesler SEand Kao LH (1999) Oxidation state of gold andarsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite AmericanMineralogist 84 1071 ndash1079
Sunagawa I (1957) Variation in the crystal habit ofpyrite Geological Survey of Japan Report 1751 ndash47
Tompkins LA Groves DI Windrim DP JablonskiW and Grif n WL (1997) Petrology mineralchemistry and signi cance of Fe-sulphides from themetal dispersion halo surrounding the Cadjebut Zn-
EPITHERMAL IRON SULPHIDES
1079
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL
Pb MTV deposit Western Australia AppliedGeochemistry 12 37 ndash54
Turner SP Platt JP George RMM Kelley SPPearson DG and Nowell GM (1999) Magmatismassociated with orogenic collapse of the Betic-Alboran domain SE Spain Journal of Petrology 40 1011 ndash1036
Wilkin RT and Barnes HL (1997) Formation
processes of framboidal pyrite Geochimica et
Cosmochimica Acta 61 323 ndash339
[Manuscript received 25 April 2002revised 16 June 2003]
1080
F JCARRILLO ROSUA ETAL