The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Institutional Repository (The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation) · 2007 · 12 citations · 0 references
Open access
Natural SciencesEarth SciencesMaterials ScienceElemental AnalysisGeochemistryMaterials ChemistryHydrothermal GeochemistryMineral GeochemistryTrace Element AnalysisTrace Element GeochemistryHydrothermal Trace Element GeochemistryMagnetiteMicroanalysisMicroscale Trace Element AnalysisPilot Study Design
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\nchemistry on mineral separates. Hear we present a pilot study of the geochemistry of\nmagnetite using PIXE microanalysis, which reveals a correlation between its trace\nelement concentrations and a variety of ore deposit types. This finding suggests that\nsome element ratios (e.g., Sn/Ga, Al/Co) of magnetite may play a significant role as\nindicator 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.