Article
Article name New data on the Petzite of the Baley Ore Field in Eastern Transbaikalia
Authors
Bibliographic description Yurgenson G. A. New data on the petzite of the Baley ore field in Eastern Transbaikalia (Russia) // Transbaikal State University Journal. 2023. Vol. 29, no. 2. P. 24–35. DOI: 10.21209/2227-9245-2023-2-24-35.
Category Earth and Environmental Sciences
DOI 549
DOI 10.2109/2227-9245-2023-29-2-24-35
Article type Original article
Annotation The relevance lies in the need to get data on the chemical composition, abundance and paragenesis of petzite, which is one of the mineral carriers of Te, Au and Ag in the gold and silver ores of the Baley ore field in Transbaikalia. During the development of deposits in the ore field, only Au and Ag were extracted, Te went to the dump. The deposits have not been fully developed. The remaining Au reserves of the Taseevskoye deposit are 105 tons, the Au resources of the Baley deposit are estimated at 35 tons. In connection with the extraction of the remaining reserves of Au–Ag ores of these deposits, where part of Te is in the form of petzite Ag3AuTe2, information about it will be important for the development of technology for its extraction along with other tellurides. The purpose of the study is to understand the chemical composition and paragenesis of petzite. The tasks are to study the composition of petzite and petzite-bearing mineral associations of the Baley ore field. The object of the study is Au–Ag ores of the Baley ore field, the subject of the study is the forms of isolation and the chemical composition of petzite. Methodology and methods – optical and electron microscopy with the identification of shapes and sizes of individuals and aggregates of petzite, determination of its chemical composition. Research results are the following: for the first time, the study of the chemical composition of petzite in the ores of the Baley ore field, its abundance and paragenesis has been carried out. It is found in association with hessite, native gold, miargyrite, tetrahedrite, tennantite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, altaite, coloradoite, schützite, andorite, robinsonite, quartz, adularia, carbonates, kaolinite and other minerals. The chemical composition varies within the limits (wt%): Ag 41.57–48.16; Au 18.55–26.01; Te 30.79–35.18. Petzite average chemical composition (wt%): Ag 43.91; Au 22.61; Te 33.16. This indicates the nonstoichiometric composition of its composition and an excess of Ag and Te and a deficit of Au. Petzite, as a carrier of these elements, can be one of the sources of Te in the technology of processing gold and silver ores.
Key words Petzite, tellurides, gold, silver, native gold, chemical composition, electron microscopy, paragenesis, Baley ore field, Transbaikalia
Article information
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Full articleNew data on the Petzite of the Baley Ore Field in Eastern Transbaikalia