Tellurium-Bearing Mineralization in Clastic Ores at the Yubileynoe Copper Massive Sulfide Deposit (Southern Urals)

Abstract

At the well-preserved Yubileynoe VMS deposit (Southern Urals), sulfide breccias and turbidites host abundant tellurides represented by hessite, coloradoite, altaite, volynskite, stutzite, petzite, and calaverite, as well as phases of the intermediate tellurobismuthite → rucklidgeite solid solution. Three telluride generations were highlighted: (1) primary hydrothermal tellurides in fragments of chalcopyrite and sphalerite of chalcopyrite-rich black smoker chimneys; (2) authigenic tellurides in pseudomorphic chalcopyrite and chalcopyrite veins after fragments of colloform and granular pyrite; and (3) authigenic tellurides in pyrite nodules. Authigenic tellurides are widespread in pyrite-chalcopyrite turbidites. Primary hydrothermal and authigenic tellurides are less common in sulfide turbidites and gritstones with fragments of sphalerite-pyrite, pyrite-sphalerite paleosmoker chimneys and clasts of colloform and fine-grained seafloor hydrothermal crusts. Siliceous siltstones intercalated with sulfide turbidites contain pyrite nodules, whose peripheral parts contain inclusions of epigenetic tellurides. It is assumed that Te for authigenic tellurides originated from fragments of colloform pyrite and hydrothermal chalcopyrite of pyrite-chalcopyrite chimneys, which dissolved during the postsedimentation processes. The main Te concentrators in clastic ores include pseudomorphic chalcopyrite, which inherits high Te, Bi, Au, Ag, Co, Ni, and As contents from the substituted colloform pyrite, and varieties of granular pyrite containing microinclusions of tellurobismuthite (Bi, Te), petzite (Au, Ag, Te), altaite (Pb, Te), coloradoite, and hessite (Ag, Te).