Microimpurities in pyrite of gold ore occurrences of the Manitanyrd ridge (the Polar Urals)

Abstract

The microelement composition was studied of pyrite, the main concentrator of gold in sulfidization zones in ore occurrences of the Manitanyrd Ridge. The ore mineralization is assigned to the gold-sulfide-quartz vein and gold-sulfide types. We determined a wide range of ore-forming elements, associated with gold in pyrite. These elements correspond to geochemical features of the late galena-chalcopyrite-sphalerite mineral assemblage of the ore process, as well as to its final stage expressed in the appearance of elements reflecting the mineralogy of gray ores and bismuth sulfosalts. Pyrites from the vein and mineralized zones, from the ores of the deposit and from the secondary lithochemical anomalies, were found to contain the same set of the gold satellite elements: Ag, Cu, Zn, Pb, As. In pyrite of the gold-sulfide-quartz veins, Au has close correlations with the main elements of the ore association. In pyrite of the mineralized zones, all the correlations between Au and the ore-forming elements are absent. The pair-wise correlation between the ore-forming elements in these zones also changes completely. It is demonstrated that the identified differences in correlations between Au and the ore-forming elements in pyrite are a criterion for assessment of the lithochemical anomalies and allow one to propose a strategy of prospecting for new ore objects in the Manitanyrd region.