Abstract

The article provides generalized data on the geological structure, the results of laboratory analyzes of the heavy fraction of the main placer-forming minerals of the Vovchansk zircon-rutile-ilmenite deposit, which was being developed by Demurinsky Mining and Processing Plant LLC in 2002. The geological structure of the Vovchansk deposit includes a complex of Precambrian rocks of the crystalline basement, the Paleozoic-Cenozoic weathered crust, the Paleozoic-Cenozoic sediments, and Quaternary deposits. The industrial concentration of heavy minerals is confined to the middle and upper parts of the Middle Sarmatian subsuite of the Neogene, composed of fine-grained, essentially quartz sands, with a total thickness of 0.4 to 63 m. The content of heavy minerals in the ore-bearing horizon of the deposit ranges from 93.8 to 485 kg/m3 (ilmenite from 37.6 to 242.6 kg/m3, rutile from 15.9 to 64.6 kg/m3, zircon from 2.9 to 9.4 kg/m3, sillimanite and disthene from 20.4 to 117.5 kg/m3). The content of major and minor elements-impurities in individual minerals of the ore-bearing horizon (178 grains) was determined: ilmenite (18 samples), rutile (40 samples), zircon (35 samples), sillimanite (30 samples), staurolite (25 samples), tourmaline (12 samples), ganite (8 samples), monazite (10 samples). The conducted research clarified the typomorphic features of minerals from the sands of the Vovchansk deposit, established their absolute age and probable original sources.

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