Mineral associations and Mo-W ore types of the Slepaya Zalezh' orebody at Tyrnyauz deposit

Abstract

Slepaya Zalezh is the largest ore body of the Tyrnyauz Mo-W deposit. It is the priority object on the renewal of its operation. A dissemination of molibdoscheelite, scheelite and molibdenite, controling ore concentrations, is confined to metasomatic rocks of the productive stage, laid on skarns, near-skarn rocks, hornfelses and marbles. The types of the ores are divided accordingly of ratio in them of different facies of ore-bearing metasomatic and initial rocks, which is a working out mass of ore. 7 types of the ores are divided and maped on the ore body vertical projection. Aposkarn ores predominate clearly in the I and II types, accordingly laid over endo- (substituting hornfelses) or exo- (apomarble) skarns. In the III type there are ores laid over endo-skarns and near-skarn rocks in equal parts. Relative to it the type IV contain less of of near-skarn rocks, but more of hornfelses. Ores replacing exo-skarns and to a lesser degree (up to 25%) – marbles dominate in the V type. The type VI is an intermediate one between the types III and IV. In the type VII all initial rocks are presented. Every of the types has a stable mineral and chemical composition inherited from the initial rocks. The ores of the specific type have convenient simple distinguishing features for a hand sorting of specimens, samples, and a preliminary ore separation. The types of ores have narrow change limits in size and form of ore mineral grains and their intergrowthes, percentage of minerals harmful for the flotation. Minor differences in contents of the useful components of each ore type offer possibilities of their selective working off and burdening. Mapping results contain data of the distribution of accompany sorts of mineral resources: garnet and wollastonite in the skarns and productive metasomatic rocks, pyroxene-plagioclase near-skarn rocks and hydrothermal alterated rocks with Cu, Au and other mineralization.