Palladium, platinum, selenium and tellurium enrichment in the Jiguanzui-Taohuazui Cu-Au Deposit, Edong Ore District: Distribution and comparison with Cu-Mo deposits

Abstract

The Jiguanzui-Taohuazui Cu-Au deposit is located in the Edong ore district, Middle–Lower Yangtze River metallogenic belt, eastern China. The deposit is palladium, platinum, selenium and tellurium enriched; however, the distribution of these metals is unclear. Three mineral assemblages of ore in the deposit have been identified, namely: a magnetite-bornite-chalcopyrite-(hematite) assemblage (Mt-Bn-Cp-Hm), a chalcopyrite-pyrite assemblage (Cp-Py), and a pyrite-chalcopyrite-(sphalerite) assemblage (Py-Cp-Sph). Forty-eight bulk ore assay results show high concentrations of up to 66.9 ppb for Pd, 5.9 ppb for Pt, 150 ppm for Se and 249 ppm for Te. The high temperature Mt-Bn-Cp-Hm assemblage (530–380 °C) is enriched in Pt and Pd, whereas the Py-Cp-Sph assemblage in the marble-replacement ore (300–220 °C) hosts the major Se and Te mineralization. Palladium, Pt, and Se are mostly hosted in sulfide minerals, whereas Te is hosted in tellurides and Bi-Te-S sulfosalt minerals. Building on previous experimental and thermodynamic calculations, we propose the major controls on the Pd and Pt distribution in the deposit are temperature and salinity, whereas the Se and Te mineralization is promoted by the precipitation of major sulfide phases such as pyrite, chalcopyrite and sphalerite.

A comparison of the ores from the Jiguanzui-Taohuazui Cu-Au and Tongshankou Cu-Mo deposits in the Edong ore district shows that the Cu-Au deposit has higher PGE and Te, but similar Se concentrations. This scenario is consistent with the average grades and bulk ore contents of these elements from global (oxidized) porphyry (±skarn) Cu deposits. This suggests that the saturation of magmatic sulfides in the magma chamber as a result of higher proportion of crustal S-rich and/or reduced material contamination can be detrimental for PGE and Te enrichment processes, and thus, Cu-Au porphyry (±skarn) deposits have more potential for higher Pd and Te concentrations than the Cu-Mo deposits.