PIXE/PIGE microanalysis of trace elements in hydrothermal magnetite and exploration significance: a pilot study.

Abstract

Magnetite is a common iron oxide mineral in many giant ore deposits. However, chemical analyses of individual magnetite grains were hampered by high detection limits in electron probe microanalysis and use of techniques such as XRF or solution chemistry on mineral separates. Hear we present a pilot study of the geochemistry of magnetite using PIXE microanalysis, which reveals a correlation between its trace element concentrations and a variety of ore deposit types. This finding suggests that some element ratios (e.g., Sn/Ga, Al/Co) of magnetite may play a significant role as indicator elements to discriminate between the different ore deposit styles, particularly within magmatic-hydrothermal ore systems and to apply in mineral exploration. Further works are in progress in combination with LA ICP-MS study of magnetites at CODES to acquire more data to test our hypothesis.