Quick Search:    advanced search

GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Merkle, R. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation

The systematics of Co, Ni, and Cu contents in pyrrhotite from the upper zone of the western Bushveld Complex, South Africa

Bushveld Intelligence Center, Department of Geology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa, e-mail: rmerkle{at}postino.up.ac.za

Systematic relationships between the concentrations of Co, Ni, and Cu and the metal/sulphur ratio in pyrrhotite from the upper zone of the Bushveld Complex, South Africa were investigated. Due to the long cooling history of the Bushveld Complex, a very efficient exsolution of pentlandite and chalcopyrite from the pyrrhotite took place. Based on 3122 microprobe analyses of pyrrhotite coexisting with pentlandite over a stratigraphic interval of 676.5 m, and 1092 additional analyses from one sample it was possible to show that especially the concentrations of Co and Ni are very low compared to many values in the literature. A systematic decline in Co and Ni with increasing metal/sulphur ratio in pyrrhotite was observed, while no systematic relationship for Cu could be established.