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Mineralogical sequestration of critical elements in volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits of the Noranda camp, Quebec
Patterson, Lindsey M.
Patterson, Lindsey M.
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2023
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Abstract
Critical elements are crucial to many industries and to the green energy transition, but supply issues will become more pressing as the need for these commodities continues to rise. Due to their polymetallic nature, volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits are a potential source for a number of these elements. The Noranda camp in Quebec, Canada, represents one of the best-studied base metal and gold camps in the world and is host to over 20 VMS deposits. However, little is known about the occurrence of critical elements in these deposits. The current study focuses on seven VMS deposits in the camp, including Ansil, Corbet, Gallen, Horne, Millenbach, Quemont, and Waite Amulet. The goal of the study is to better understand the occurrence and sequestration of Bi, Co, Sn, and Te in these deposits in the Noranda camp, and to gain a deeper understanding of their economic significance.
Forty-six thin sections were created from archival samples previously collected from seven deposits in the Noranda camp that are considered representative of ore zones and the immediately surrounding area. Samples were investigated using optical microscopy, automated mineralogy, field emission-scanning electron microscopy, and statistical analysis to understand the occurrence and deportment of critical element-bearing minerals and determine their relative abundances. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and SEM-based automated mineralogy analysis revealed that many critical element-bearing minerals occur at grain boundaries between grains of major sulfide minerals or as inclusions within these minerals. Based on literature and observations made in this study, it is proposed here that these critical element-bearing minerals may have formed during metamorphic recrystallization and remobilization when impurities originally contained in the major ore minerals were expelled from the crystal structure to form new accessory minerals. Other critical element-bearing minerals can be found as euhedral crystals, as grains with inclusions of major sulfides, or intergrown with massive sulfides, which suggests early formation or concomitant deposition with the major ore minerals.
Quantitative automated mineralogy data were evaluated and used for statistical analysis in ioGAS-64 to determine the relative abundances of critical element-bearing minerals in the camp and to lay the foundation for a critical mineral grade estimate. Critical mineral grade estimates were used to compare deposits within the Noranda camp to other VMS deposits, as well as historic and currently producing mines. The grades from the Noranda samples are much lower than those from the mines used for comparison, leading to the conclusions that the studied deposits in the Noranda camp would not have been economic sources based on current production.
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