Tellurium biogeochemical transformation and cycling in a metalliferous semi-arid environment

Missen, Owen P.; Etschmann, Barbara; Mills, Stuart J.; Sanyal, Santonu Kumar; Ram, Rahul; Shuster, Jeremiah; Rea, Maria Angelica D.; Raudsepp, Maija; Fang, Xi‐Ya; Lausberg, Ella R.; Melchiorre, Erik B.; Dodsworth, Jeremy A.; Liu, Yang; Wilson, Sasha; Brugger, Joël

doi:10.1016/j.gca.2021.12.024

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 145 publications

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“…3f at Bambolla M5a, as a <20 µm grain of Te-rich Fe (oxyhydr)oxide). Quartz and illite dominate the µ-XRD scans collected at Bambolla, which is expected as bulk Fe concentrations are below 2 wt% in all samples (Missen et al, 2022). Minor goethite was sometimes detected via µ-XRD in proximal Bambolla samples in association with Te-rich zones; goethite is more prominent in some Blue Bell µ-XRD scans, where Te has an overall better correlation with Fe than at Bambolla (Fig.…”

Section: Te Mineralogy and Speciationmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…Studying metals such as Au (Reith et al, 2013;Kato et al, 2019;Sanyal et al, 2019;Shuster et al, 2021) and Pt (Reith et al, 2014(Reith et al, , 2019Asztemborska et al, 2015;Ksią żyk et al, 2015) has also led to a new understanding of environmental behaviour and toxicity of elements previously thought to be inert in natural contexts. Missen et al (2022) observed Te NPs on the surface of native tellurium grains (i.e., coarse-grained Te 0 formed from hydrothermal fluids) undergoing weathering at the Bambolla mine, Moctezuma, Mexico (Fig. 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1). To date, no Te NPs were observed away from this specific micro-environment, even in regolith located centimetres away from native tellurium (Missen et al 2022), and the role of Te NPs in Te transport and toxicity once separated from Te-containing ore remains unknown. In the present study, we develop a Single-Particle Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (SP-ICP-MS) protocol (Mozhayeva and Engelhard, 2020) for detecting low concentrations of environmental Te NPs in regolith samples.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Natural Nanoparticles of the Critical Element Tellurium

et al. 2022

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Section: Te Mineralogy and Speciationmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Natural Nanoparticles of the Critical Element Tellurium

et al. 2022

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“…Gold can also occur in a wide variety of mineral species including various alloys where it is combined with antimony, copper, mercury, bismuth, platinum-group elements and, rarely, tin. It also occurs in tellurides, tellurates, sulfides and selenides (Harris, 1990; Missen et al , 2021). Of relevance to this present study is the mineral aurostibite (AuSb 2 ), a member of the pyrite group where gold is alloyed with antimony and was first described by Graham and Kaiman (1952) from the Giant mine at Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and the Chesterville mine of Ontario, Canada, both being quartz-vein hosted orogenic gold deposits (Shelton et al , 2004; Ispolatov et al , 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gold and aurostibite from the metaturbidite-hosted Au–Zn–Pb–Ag Hera deposit, southern Cobar Basin, central NSW, Australia: geochemical and textural evidence for gold remobilisation

Graham

McKinnon²,

Lay

et al. 2022

MinMag

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The Devonian Hera metaturbidite-hosted polymetallic Au–Zn–Pb–Ag deposit of central NSW, Australia, contained a total undepleted resource of 3.6 Mt @ 3.3 g/t Au, 25 g/t Ag, 2.6% Pb and 3.8% Zn. The deposit comprises a number of distinctive lodes with each containing a distinctive ore and alteration/gangue mineralogy, though generally the sulfide ore comprises various mixtures of sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and relatively common visible gold–electrum. The North Pod and Far West lodes are distinctly Sb rich and contain a more diverse ore mineralogy with arsenopyrite, native silver, native antimony, gudmundite, tetrahedrite-(Fe), argentotetrahedrite-(Fe), acanthite, dyscrasite, nisbite and breithauptite. From analysis of 52,760 assays from across the deposit it was found that there was a very poor correlation between gold and each of Fe, Zn, S, Pb, Cu, As and Ag, whereas Ag correlated reasonably well with both Pb and Zn. Results from EPMA shows that gold varies widely in composition from host-rock associated gold (96 wt.% Au) through more intermediate compositions (88–73 wt.% Au) to electrum (46–27 wt.% Au), commonly associated with Sb-phases and containing significant Sb within the gold itself (1.05–2.58 wt.% Sb). From the Far West lense, aurostibite occurs as distinctive rims around gold. Although aurostibite associated with gold contains no silver, the gold itself contains constant moderate amounts (10.87–12.27 wt.% Ag). We suggest that the aurostibite and other Sb phases formed from a late-stage Sb-rich hydrothermal during low-temperature retrograde skarn alteration. There is abundant evidence for both chemical and physical remobilisation at Hera and this remobilisation is largely responsible for the spectrum of gold compositions observed. The source for these fluids may be an underlying magmatic body, evidence for which occurs as granite pegmatite dykes in various locations throughout the deposit. Furthermore, gold with a moderate to high Sb content may be indicative of a low temperature of formation.

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“…This seems surprising considering the prevalence of sulfides in the ore deposits in which many tellurium oxysalt minerals form from the weathering of primary minerals, such as hessite, altaite or native Te (e.g. Mills et al , 2014; Missen et al , 2020, 2022a) in association with sulfides, such as galena and chalcopyrite. In these environments, sulfur is usually not incorporated into the structures of tellurium oxysalts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flaggite, Pb₄Cu²⁺₄Te⁶⁺₂(SO₄)₂O₁₁(OH)₂(H₂O), a new mineral with stair-step-like HCP layers from Tombstone, Arizona, USA

Kampf

Mills

Celestian

et al. 2022

MinMag

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The new mineral flaggite (IMA2021-044), Pb4Cu2+4Te6+2(SO4)2O11(OH)2(H2O), occurs at the Grand Central mine in the Tombstone district, Cochise County, Arizona, USA, in cavities in quartz matrix in association with alunite, backite, cerussite, jarosite and rodalquilarite. Flaggite crystals are lime-green to yellow-green tablets, up to 0.5 mm across. The mineral has a very pale green streak and adamantine lustre. It is brittle with irregular fracture and a Mohs hardness of ~3. It has one excellent cleavage on {010}. The calculated density is 6.137 g cm–3. Optically, the mineral is biaxial (+) with α = 1.95(1), β = 1.96(1), γ = 2.00(1) (white light); 2V = 54(2)°; pleochroism: X green, Y light yellow green, Z nearly colourless; X > Y > Z. The Raman spectrum exhibits bands consistent with TeO6 and SO4. Electron microprobe analysis provided the empirical formula Pb3.88Cu2+3.89Te6+2.08(SO4)2O11(OH)2(H2O) (–0.03 H). Flaggite is triclinic, P1, a = 9.5610(2), b = 9.9755(2), c = 10.4449(3) Å, α = 74.884(1), β = 89.994(1), γ = 78.219(1)°, V = 939.97(4) Å3 and Z = 2. The structure of flaggite (R1 = 0.0342 for 5936 I > 2σI) contains hexagonal-close-packed, stair-step-like layers comprising TeO6 octahedra and Jahn-Teller distorted CuO6 octahedra. The layers in the structure of flaggite are very similar to those in bairdite, timroseite and paratimroseite.

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Tellurium biogeochemical transformation and cycling in a metalliferous semi-arid environment

Cited by 8 publications

References 145 publications

Natural Nanoparticles of the Critical Element Tellurium

Natural Nanoparticles of the Critical Element Tellurium

Gold and aurostibite from the metaturbidite-hosted Au–Zn–Pb–Ag Hera deposit, southern Cobar Basin, central NSW, Australia: geochemical and textural evidence for gold remobilisation

Flaggite, Pb₄Cu²⁺₄Te⁶⁺₂(SO₄)₂O₁₁(OH)₂(H₂O), a new mineral with stair-step-like HCP layers from Tombstone, Arizona, USA

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Tellurium biogeochemical transformation and cycling in a metalliferous semi-arid environment

Cited by 8 publications

References 145 publications

Natural Nanoparticles of the Critical Element Tellurium

Natural Nanoparticles of the Critical Element Tellurium

Gold and aurostibite from the metaturbidite-hosted Au–Zn–Pb–Ag Hera deposit, southern Cobar Basin, central NSW, Australia: geochemical and textural evidence for gold remobilisation

Flaggite, Pb4Cu2+4Te6+2(SO4)2O11(OH)2(H2O), a new mineral with stair-step-like HCP layers from Tombstone, Arizona, USA

Contact Info

Product

Resources

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Flaggite, Pb₄Cu²⁺₄Te⁶⁺₂(SO₄)₂O₁₁(OH)₂(H₂O), a new mineral with stair-step-like HCP layers from Tombstone, Arizona, USA