Ross Large

University of Tasmania · ARC Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits (CODES)

The volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) deposits of the Tasik Chini area, Peninsular Malaysia are hosted by Permian felsic volcanic rocks (¬ 290 Ma) of rhyolitic to rhyodacitic composition and comprise two deposits (Bukit Botol and Bukit Ketaya). Although the ores and the felsic volcanic host rocks of these deposits have metamorphosed to greens...

Sulfur is an essential element of life that is assimilated by Earth's biosphere through the chemical breakdown of pyrite. On the early Earth, pyrite weathering by atmospheric oxygen was severely limited, and low marine sulfate concentrations persisted for much of the Archean eon. Here, we show an anoxic photochemical mechanism of pyrite weathering...

The great oxygenation event (GOE), the first of two major rises in atmospheric oxygen in Earth history, was initially placed near the Archean-Proterozoic boundary (∼2500 Ma). More recently, the position of the GOE has been moved to between 2500 and 2300 Ma so as to coincide with the loss of the MIF sulfur isotope signal due to the creation of the E...

Several past attempts to model the variation in atmospheric oxygen through the Paleozoic give generally conflicting results, but all agree that pO2 rose to a peak in the late Paleozoic between 320 and 260 Ma. The Pyrite Proxy, based on the concentrations of Se and Co in sedimentary pyrite, provides an alternative to the modelling approach. Here we...

Pyrite trace element (TE) chemistry is now widely employed in studies of past ocean chemistry. Thus far the main proof of concept has been correlation between large data sets of pyrite and bulk analyses emphasizing redox sensitive TE data from ancient samples spanning geologic time. In contrast, pyrite TE data from modern settings are very limited....

To understand the controls of basin paleogeographic evolution on sediment-hosted gold metallogenesis, a study was undertaken of pyrite texture and geochemistry of the Jinya, Nakuang, and Gaolong gold deposits in the Youjiang Basin, SW China. Syn-sedimentary/diagenetic pyrite and three generations of hydrothermal pyrite (As-Au-poor core, anomalously...

Predicting the concentration and trends in atmospheric oxygen over Earth history has become a major challenge for scientists. Some consensus has been reached on the general pattern, but there is considerable debate on the detail. Here we discuss a relatively new geochemical proxy based on the trace element content of sedimentary pyrite in black sha...

This paper challenges the current accepted profile of the Great Oxygenation Event.

The genesis of the Dabaoshan stratabound base metal deposit has remained in dispute since its discovery. Scheelite is commonly present in both the Cu-S orebody and adjacent porphyry-style Mo-W mineralization and can provide insights into the hydrothermal history. In the stratabound Cu-S orebodies, there are three stages of mineralization: early-sta...

The Bukit Botol and Bukit Ketaya deposits are two examples of volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) deposits that occur in the Tasik Chini area, Central Belt of Peninsular Malaysia. The mineralisation is divided into subzones distinguished by spatial, mineralogical, and textural characteristics. The primary sulphide minerals include pyrite, chalc...

Major trace element analyses, including pyrite chemistry of pyritic mudstones of shallow-marine Singa Formation of Pennsylvanian–Early Permian age have been carried out to assess gold potential, the source of sulfur and organic matter. Regionally, Singa Formation spatially correlates with the Bohorok Formation (Sumatra, Indonesia), the Kaeng Kracha...

Arsenian pyrite containing above 1 wt. % As plays a crucial role in deposition and deportment of Au and other chalcophile elements. The importance of arsenian pyrite led to theoretical and experimental studies that examined properties and genesis of the mineral; however, the interpretation of the phase relations between arsenian pyrite and arsenopy...

The source of fluids and their mechanism of metal precipitation in sediment-hosted, disseminated orogenic gold deposits are ambiguous. Pyrite texture, trace element, S, Pb, and He-Ar isotope compositions of sulfides and C-O isotope data of calcite from Chang'an orogenic gold deposit in the Ailaoshan orogenic belt, southwest (SW) China, were studied...

High sensitivity laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) has been utilized for the determination of trace elements in pyrite from the Tharsis VMS deposit, one of the most significant volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits in the southern Iberian Pyrite Belt. The study tracks the content and distribution of trace eleme...

The chemistry of pyrite represents a potentially promising new frontier for the research and exploration of different types of ore deposits. Tl is extremely toxic, and Te (and increasingly Sb and even As) is in demand for high-tech applications or can provide a vector for ore deposit exploration and targeting. The application of pyrite in the chara...

Mega volcanic eruptions associated with the formation of Large Igneous Provinces (LIPS) pump vast amounts of carbon dioxide and sulfur‐rich gases into the atmosphere and stratosphere with the potential to totally change the chemistry of the global ocean. Here we investigate the sedimentary pyrite sulfur isotope record of black shales through time a...

Abundant pyrite in black shales at the Permian‐Triassic Boundary (PTB) from several localities around the world has been regarded as evidence of oceanic anoxia during the end‐Permian mass extinction (EPME). However, a significant amount of the “pyrite” in these rocks is not actually pyrite but marcasite, the orthorhombic polymorph of FeS2. Marcasit...

Trace elements in pyrite are increasingly being used in ore deposit exploration as a geochemical pathfinder to ore. This is because the trace element systematics of pyrite are sensitive to subtle changes in hydrothermal fluid composition and temperature. In this paper, we present LA-ICPMS trace element maps of pyrite from three styles of ore deposi...

The trace element (TS) composition of isocubanite, chalcopyrite, pyrite, bornite, and covellite from oxidized Cu-rich massive sulfides of the Ashadze-2 hydrothermal field (12°58′ N, Mid-Atlantic Ridge) is studied using LA-ICP-MS. The understanding of TE behavior, which depends on the formation conditions and the mode of TE occurrence, in sulfides i...

The massive sulfide ores of the Pobeda hydrothermal fields are grouped into five main mineral microfacies: (1) isocubanite-pyrite, (2) pyrite-wurtzite-isocubanite, (3) pyrite with minor isocubanite and wurtzite-sphalerite microinclusions, (4) pyrite-rich with framboidal pyrite, and (5) marcasite-pyrite. This sequence reflects the transition from fe...

Interpretation of bulk sulfur isotope data of the orogenic gold deposit is frequently hampered by complex zoning in pyrite, which calls for in-situ determination of sulfur isotope composition of sulfide minerals. The Qiuling gold deposit, located in Qinling orogen, is representative of orogenic type and selected here to further constrain the source...

The Vindhyan Basin in central India preserves a thick (~5 km) sequence of sedimentary and lesser volcanic rocks that provide a valuable archive of a part of the Proterozoic (~1800–900 Ma) in India. Here, we present an analysis of key sedimentary pyrite textures and their trace element and sulfur isotope compositions in the Bijaigarh Shale (1210 ± 5...

The significance of trace elements in initiating origins and driving evolution of life on Earth is indisputable. Trace element (TE) trends in the oceans through time broadly reflect their availability and allow speculation on all possible influences on early life. A comprehensive sedimentary pyrite–TE database, covering 3000 m.y. of the Precambrian...

Pyrite is a common mineral in sedimentary rocks and is the major host for a number of chalcophile trace elements utilized as important tracers of evolution of the ancient hydrosphere. Measurement of trace element composition of pyrite in sedimentary rocks is challenging due to fine grain size and intergrowth with silicate matrix and other sulfide m...

The volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) deposits in the Tasik Chini district, Peninsular Malaysia are hosted in Permian volcano-sedimentary rocks and are composed of Fe-Mn ± Si layers which occur stratigraphically above the ore bodies. The oxide layers are 1 cm to 2 m thick, and occur discontinuously throughout the Bukit Botol deposit, whereas...

The features of the chemical composition of Fe oxyhydroxides of the Irinovskoe hydrothermal sulfide field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge) indicate the evident redistribution of trace elements between primary sulfides and their oxidation products at low submarine supergenesis temperatures. During replacement of sphalerite, Fe oxyhydroxides are enriched in trac...

Abstract: LA-ICPMS analysis of pyrite in ten gold deposits is used to determine the precise siting of invisible gold within pyrite, and thus the timing of gold introduction relative to the growth of pyrite and related orogenic events. A spectrum of invisible gold relationships in pyrite has been observed which suggests that, relative to orogenic py...

Oxygen concentration in the Precambrian atmosphere-ocean system is currently estimated from a series of geochemical proxies that depend on the concentration of redox-sensitive trace elements or their isotopic ratios measured in organic-bearing marine shales. This research has indicated that atmospheric oxygen content throughout the Precambrian was...

Carbonaceous matter (CM) plays a critical role in the formation of sediment-hosted ore deposits, but metal partitioning between CM and associated sulfides remains unclear. Here we use synchrotron X-ray fluorescence microscopy (SXRF), laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS), and nanoscale secondary ion mass spectromet...

The Paleoproterozoic Yerrida, Bryah and Padbury Basins are located on the northern margin of the Archean Yilgarn Craton, and are host to orogenic gold (Peak Hill, Fortnum and Horseshoe), volcanic-hosted massive sulfide (VHMS; Horseshoe Lights, Red Bore, Monty and DeGrussa) and epithermal copper deposits (Thaduna) ultramafic, shear hosted copper min...

Redox-sensitive trace elements and sulfur isotope compositions obtained via in situ analyses of sedimentary pyrites from marine black shales are used to track atmosphere-ocean redox conditions between ∼1730 and ∼1360 Ma in the McArthur Basin, northern Australia. Three black shale formations within the basin (Wollogorang Formation 1730 ± 3 Ma, Barne...

LA-ICP-MS data on trace element zonation reflecting a local variation of physicochemical conditions of mineralization in black, grey and clear smokers from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans are used for comparison with the ancient chimneys of the Urals, Rudniy Altai, Pontides and Hokuroko massive sulfide deposits. Host rocks also influence on high-te...

Redox sensitive trace elements in pyrite, including nodules, are increasingly used to infer the chemical conditions of ancient oceans—but considerable uncertainty remains regarding the mechanism and timing of nodule formation. Resolving these uncertainties is important because pyrite nodules must form in connection with the overlying water column,...

The VHMS deposits of Tasik Chini area are located in the Pahang State of Central Belt, Peninsular Malaysia. The deposits occur in a package of Permian volcanics within mixed volcano-sedimentary sequence, and have been exploited from the Bukit Botol and Bukit Ketaya deposits. They have many similarities with Kuroko-style massive sulfide deposits. Th...

Variations in atmosphere oxygen and ocean sulfate concentrations through time are regarded as important controls on the cycles of sediment-hosted and volcanic-hosted ore deposits. However, estimates of atmosphere oxygen in the Proterozoic have been frustrated by the lack of a direct measurement method and conflicting evidence from various proposed...

Variations in atmosphere oxygen and ocean sulfate concentrations through time are regarded as important controls on the cycles of sediment-hosted and volcanic-hosted ore deposits. However, estimates of atmosphere oxygen in the Proterozoic have been frustrated by the lack of a direct measurement method and conflicting evidence from various proposed...

In weakly metamorphosed massive sulfide deposits of the Urals (Dergamysh, Yubileynoe, Yaman-Kasy, Molodezhnoe, Valentorskoe, Aleksandrinskoe, Saf’yanovskoe), banded sulfides (ore diagenites) are recognized as the products of seafloor supergene alteration (halmyrolysis) of fine-clastic sulfide sediments and further diagenesis leading to the formatio...

Palaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical data (particularly from LA-ICPMS analyses of pyrite) from a 12.4 m section through the lower Sheinwoodian Trewern Brook Mudstone Formation of Buttington Quarry, Wales are combined to reveal the environmental changes taking place during the early Wenlock Epoch of the Silurian, during the early part...

Mineral-scale episodic replacement of auriferous pyrite by texturally-complex pyrite, marcasite and minor arsenopyrite occurred in breccia ores from the Daqiao epizonal orogenic gold deposit, West Qinling Orogen, China. This study uses a novel combination of laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), Nanoscale secondar...

This paper was presented to the Royal Society of Tasmania, Government House, Tasmania, at an award ceremony where Professor Large received the Royal Society of Tasmania Medal from Her Excellency the Governor of Tasmania. The paper describes the results of research by Professor Large and his team on the relationship between Earth processes and evolu...

Selwyn basin area strata contain sedimentary pyrite with Au above background levels when analyzed by laser ablation-inductively coupled mass spectrometry. Hyland Group rocks contain framboidal pyrite contents of 670 ppb Au, 1223 ppm As, and 5.3 ppm Te; the mean of all types of sedimentary pyrite in the Hyland Group is 391 ppb Au, 1489 ppm As, and 3...

The aim of this paper is the investigation of the role of diagenesis in the transformation of clastic sulfide sediments such as sulfide breccias from the Semenov-3 hydrothermal field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge). The breccias are composed of marcasite-pyrite clasts enclosed in a barite-sulfide-quartz matrix. Primary hydrothermal sulfides occur as colloform...

Proterozoic orogens commonly host a range of hydrothermal ores that form in diverse tectonic settings at different times. However, the link between mineralization and the regional-scale tectonothermal evolution of orogens is usually not well understood, especially in areas subject to multiple hydrothermal events. Regional-scale drivers for mineral...

The period 1800 to 800 Ma (“Boring Billion”) is believed to mark a delay in the evolution of complex life, primarily due to low levels of oxygen in the atmosphere. Earlier studies highlight the remarkably flat C, Cr isotopes and low trace element trends during the so-called stasis, caused by prolonged nutrient, climatic, atmospheric and tectonic st...

Recent research has emphasized the potential relationships between supercontinent cycles, mountain building, nutrient flux, ocean-atmosphere chemistry and the origin of life. The composition of the Upper-Most Continental Crust (UMCC) also figures prominently in these relationships, and yet little detailed data on each component of this complex rela...

The Bukit Botol volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) deposit is located in the Central Belt of Peninsular Malaysia. The deposit occurs in a package of Permian-aged coherent felsic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks which have a geochemical signature indicative of a volcanic arc tectonic setting. Mineralisation shows distinct ore zonation, forming...

Mesozoic strata in the East Malaya Terrane of Peninsular Malaysia record a long but poorly constrained history of basin evolution. In this study, we report LA-ICP-MS U–Pb geochronology analyses of detrital zircons in the continental Mesozoic sequences from the Bertangga and Gerek formations of Peninsular Malaysia, with the aim to constrain the depo...

Turbidite-hosted orogenic Au deposits are commonly enriched in W, along with a variety of other trace elements. A mineralogical source for W has recently been shown in the Otago Schist of southern New Zealand (Cave et al. 2016), with detrital rutile in the metasedimentary rocks recrystallizing to metamorphic titanite and making W available to be mo...

In this contribution we present detailed petrography, in-situ LA-ICPMS trace element data for pyrite, and δ 34 S and Δ 33 S values for microdrilled drilled pyrite from the Jeerinah Formation (2.63-2.68 Ga), Western Australia. Four distinct pyrite textures occur within the Jeerinah Formation: fine grained disseminated pyrite; equigranular nodules; b...

Highly metalliferous black shales (HMBS) are enriched in organic carbon and a suite of metals, including Ni, Se, Mo, Ag, Au, Zn, Cu, Pb, V, As, Sb, Se, P, Cr, and U ± PGE, compared to common black shales, and are distributed at particular times through Earth history. They constitute an important future source of metals.HMBS are relatively thin unit...

The Central gold belt of peninsular Malaysia comprises a number of gold deposits located in the east of the N-S striking Bentong-Raub Suture Zone. The Tersang gold deposit is a mesothermal, orogenic gold deposit, which is hosted in sandstone, shale, rhyolite and breccia. The deposit has an inferred and indicated resource of 120,000 ounces of gold i...

The ore-formational, ore-facies, lithological, and mineralogical-geochemical criteria are defined for the detection of hydrothermal ecosystem fauna in ores of the volcanic-hosted massive sulfide deposits in the Urals. Abundant mineralized microfauna is found mainly in massive sulfide mounds formed in the jasperous basalt (Buribai, Priorsk, Yubilein...

The basalt-hosted Semenov-2 hydrothermal field on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is host to a rather unique Cu-Zn- rich massive sulfide deposit, which is characterized by high Au (up to 188 ppm, average 61 ppm, median 45 ppm) and Ag (up to 1,878 ppm, average 490 ppm, median 250 ppm) contents. The largest proportion of visible gold is associated with abunda...

The trace element content of pyrite is a recently developed proxy for metal abundance in paleo-oceans. Previous studies have shown that the results broadly match those of whole rock studies through geologic time. However, no detailed study has evaluated the more traditional proxies for ocean chemistry for comparison to pyrite trace element data fro...

The ore-formational, ore-facies, lithological, and mineralogical-geochemical criteria are defined for the detection of hydrothermal ecosystem fauna in ores of the volcanic-hosted massive sulfide deposits in the Urals. Abundant mineralized microfauna is found mainly in massive sulfide mounds formed in the jasperous basalt (Buribai, Priorsk, Yubilein...

Introduction: Identifying the presence of life in the deep past and on other planets is one of the important problems facing science today. Obtaining trace or body fossils is unlikely when sampling planets other than Earth due to the level of evolution required to form fossils, paucity of the fossil records, and difficulty in collecting samples. Th...

Gold mineralization at Chah Zard, Iran, is mostly concentrated in breccia and veins, and is closely associated with pyrite. Optical and scanning electron microscopy-backscattered electron observations indicate four different pyrite types, each characterized by different textures: porous and fractured py1, simple-zoned, oscillatory-rimmed, framboida...

FULL TEXT AVAILABLE FROM: http://rdcu.be/kaeR The orogenic gold deposits of the Otago Schist, New Zealand, are enriched in a variety of trace elements including Au, As, Ag, Hg, W and Sb. We combine laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) traverses and images to show that detrital rutile is the most important host mi...

As a result of LA ICP MS analysis of sulfides of the Semenov-2 hydrothermal field, it is established that covellite, which replaces Zn sulfides, is enriched in most trace elements. The Ga, Ni, and In contents in it do not vary, whereas Mn, Co, and Cd are lower than in sphalerite. The distribution of trace elements in covellite, which replaces Cu–Fe...

For the first time, extremely high Se and In contents were determined for the pinches of massive sulfide orebodies that are composed of small-clastic layered sulfide sediments transformed during submarine supergenesis. Se (clausthalite and naumannite) and In (roquesite) minerals were found. Hydrothermal chal-copyrite, a significant amount of which...

Trace element concentrations in marine pyrite, measured by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), have the potential to open a new window into deep-time ocean chemistry, atmosphere oxygenation, and genesis of basin-hosted ore deposits. Only early-formed syngenetic and early diagenetic marine pyrite preserves the tr...

en Lead isotope data of sulfides and host volcanic rocks from the Bukit Botol and Bukit Ketaya deposits, the two representative deposits of the Tasik Chini volcanic‐hosted massive sulfide (VHMS) deposit, Central Belt of Peninsular Malaysia, are reported. Lead isotope compositions of the associated sulfide minerals and volcanic rocks from the Bukit...

Sulfur isotope data from sulfide and sulfate minerals have been measured from the two typical examples of the Permian volcanic-hosted massive sulfide (VHMS) deposits at the Tasik Chini district in the Central Belt of Peninsular Malaysia. In this study, we present the sulfur isotope data for 33 sulfide minerals and 23 barite samples from two VHMS de...

The Stavely Project is a collaboration between Geoscience Australia and the Geological Survey of Victoria. During 2014, fourteen pre-competitive stratigraphic drill holes were completed in the prospective Stavely region in western Victoria in order to better understand subsurface geology and its potential for a variety of mineral systems. The Stave...

The Paleoproterozoic Homestake deposit, northern Black Hills, South Dakota, is the largest banded iron formation (BIF)-hosted gold deposit in the world and one of the largest single gold deposits globally (~1,300 t Au mined at an average grade of 8.4 g/t). The origin of the deposit has remained in dispute from its discovery, with views broadly fall...

The trace element composition of ore minerals is of fundamental importance to the understanding of mineralizing processes. • In-situ analyses of ore minerals by EMPA, SIMS and LA-ICP-MS have become essential approaches to many geochemical studies. • Progress in micro-beam techniques allows the examination at any location in the sample with unprec...

In the Urals, a wide range of well-preserved chimneys are found in VMS deposits, which are associated with ultramafic (Atlantic type: Dergamysh), mafic (Cyprus type: Buribay), bimodal mafic (Uralian type: Yubileynoye, Sultanovskoye, Yaman-Kasy, Molodezhnoye, Uzelga-4, Valentorskoye) and bimodal felsic (Kuroko or Baymak type: Oktyabrskoye, Tash-Tau,...

Sedimentary pyrites in black shales contain abundant trace elements that provide information on the chemistry of the seawater at the time of sedimentation. This study focuses on the Barney Creek Formation (~. 1640. Ma) in the McArthur Basin in the Northern Territory of Australia, which is host to one of the world's largest SEDEX Zn-Pb-Ag deposits,...

Trace element contents of whole rock [1] and pyrite [2] samples can be used in the reconstruction of geochemical conditions of the oceans through geologic time. However, currently the compostion of ancient pore waters and how they might have evolved over time is unknown. This is important because processes that occur deep within sediments can be es...

The trace element chemistry of anoxic sediments and sedimentary rocks has previously been shown to correlate with the chemistry of the ocean (Algeo., 2004). Recent studies have used the trace element content of ancient sedimentary pyrite to track first order changes in ocean chemistry through geological time and display good parallels with traditio...

We present high-resolution whole rock and pyrite geochemical and multi-stable isotopic data for a Cambro-Ordovician shallow-marine black shale sequence in NW Estonia. The magnitude and relative timing (constrained by biostratigraphic framework) of a positive shift in carbon and sulfur isotopes is similar to the SPICE event archived in other setting...

The Kapai Slate is a continuous, pyrite-rich carbonaceous shale horizon within the St. Ives Au district that is spatially related to high-grade Au mineralization. In situ laser ablation-inductively coupled mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) trace element analyses, in situ sensitive high resolution ion microprobe, stable isotope (SHRIMP-SI) S isotope anal...

The Archaean Yilgarn Craton (Western Australia) is a world-class metallogenic province, hosting considerable resources of Au, Ag, Ni, Cu, Zn and Fe. Here we present trace element compositions of pyrite from > 30 orogenic Au and 5 volcanic hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) deposits across the Yilgarn. Pyrites from VHMS deposits tend to have higher Sn,...

The age and nature of Permian volcanism and sulphide mineralization in Malaysia are poorly understood. The Tasik Chini district is located in the Central Belt of Peninsular Malaysia and hosts the Bukit Botol and Bukit Ketaya volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) deposits. These deposits are hosted by felsic-dominated Permian felsic volcanics that...