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Mineralogical, chemical, and crystallographic properties of supergene jarosite-group minerals from the Xitieshan Pb-Zn sulfide deposit, northern Tibetan Plateau, China

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Abstract

Supergene jarosite-group minerals are widespread in weathering profiles overlying Pb-Zn sulfide ores at Xitieshan, northern Tibetan Plateau, China. They consist predominantly of K-deficient natrojarosite, with lesser amounts of K-rich natrojarosite and plumbojarosite. Electron microprobe (EMP) analyses, scanning electron microcopy (SEM) investigation, and X-ray mapping reveal that the jarosite-group minerals are characterized by spectacular oscillatory zoning composed of alternating growth bands of K-deficient and K-bearing natrojarosite (K2O >1 wt.%). Plumbojarosite, whenever present, occurs as an overgrowth in the outermost bands, and its composition can be best represented by K0.29Na0.19Pb0.31Fe2.66Al0.22(SO4)1.65(PO4)0.31(AsO4)0.04(OH)7.37. The substitution of monovalent for divalent cations at the A site of plumbojarosite is charge balanced by the substitution of five-valent for six-valent anions in XO4 at the X site. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of representative samples reveal mass losses of 11.46 wt.% at 446.6 °C and 21.42 wt.% at 683.4 °C due to dehydroxylation and desulfidation, respectively. TGA data also indicate that the natrojarosite structure collapses at 446.6 °C, resulting in the formation of NaFe(SO4)2 and minor hematite. The decomposition products of NaFe(SO4)2 are hematite and Na2SO4. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses show that the jarosite-group minerals have mean unit-cell parameters of a = 7.315 Å and c = 016.598 Å. XRD and EMP data support the view that substitutions of Na for K in the A site and full Fe occupancy in the B site can considerably decrease the unit-cell parameter c, but only slightly increase a. The results from this study suggest that the observed oscillatory zoning of jarosite-group minerals at Xitieshan resulted mainly from substitutions of K for Na at the A site and P for S at the X site.

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Acknowledgments

The financial supports of this study were provided by the Natural Science Foundation of China (grants 40573021, 40821061), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (CUG120102), and the MOST special fund from the State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources (MSFGPMR201205). A major part of the analytical work of this study was done at the Denver Federal Center of USGS by the senior author during her USGS visit, which was partly supported by China University of Geosciences (Wuhan). Prof. Paul Robinson, Drs. Kathy Smith, Gregg Swayze and Ian Grey provided constructive reviews on an earlier draft of this paper. Thorough reviews by two anonymous referees and constructive suggestions by Associate Editor Anton Beran have been very helpful in improving the presentation of the paper, for which we are gratefully acknowledged. Our thanks extend to Xiao-Dong Deng for his help in preparation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430074, China

    Lei Chen & Jian-Wei Li

  2. Faculty of Earth Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430074, China

    Lei Chen & Jian-Wei Li

  3. U.S. Geological Survey M.S. 963, Denver Federal Center, Box 25046, Denver, CO, 80225, USA

    R. O. Rye

  4. U.S. Geological Survey M.S. 973, Denver Federal Center, Box 25046, Denver, CO, 80225, USA

    W. M. Benzel & H. A. Lowers

  5. Faculty of Material Science and Chemistry Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430074, China

    Ming-Zhong He

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  1. Lei Chen
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Correspondence to Jian-Wei Li.

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Editorial handling: A. Beran

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Chen, L., Li, JW., Rye, R.O. et al. Mineralogical, chemical, and crystallographic properties of supergene jarosite-group minerals from the Xitieshan Pb-Zn sulfide deposit, northern Tibetan Plateau, China. Miner Petrol 107, 487–499 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00710-012-0258-y

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