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From my last 3 posts i've tried to show where cobalt is formed and where to find it.
At Havieron it looks like the cobalt has been formed in 2 ways:-
Firstly the sulphides in the magma have been saturated with sulphur forming cobalt, nickel, and copper when cooling from 1300C-1100C the nickel and copper sulphides separated taking with it quantities of cobalt.
Secondly red metasedimentary rocks washed through with saline water concentrated the minerals (cobalt and copper) in the ore body.
These 3 posts give an indication that cobalt is found with copper globally in the same formations.
Cobalt is at Havieron but doesn't conform to Newcrest target commodities.
The cobalt mineral we don't want is the nickel laterite due to its environmental implications when processed.
Copper v NickelToday 08:36
A little light reading for a Sunday night not :))
In September I read a paper on copper and nickel:-
how chalcopyrites are formed and why copper and nickel are not high grades together.
Found a good report on it on www.wesminllc.com/presentation/
Introduction to Nickel Sulphide Exploration.
A sulphide liquid will separate from a magma when it becomes saturated with sulphur.
Nickel,copper and the Platinum group of Elements have a strong tendency to partition into the sulphide liquid (depending on a D factor).
Physical accumulation of the sulphide liquid leads to ore formation.
The D factor is determined by the amount of MgO in the magma
When MgO is at about 30% in weight of magma Nickel grades are at about 18% and copper 2%.
when MgO is at 5% the Nickel is down to about 3% and copper upto to about 6%.
Also the D factor is effected by the FeO in the magma.
Most natural magma have restricted FeO and also the composition magmatic sulphides is also restricted.
The sulphide liquid cooling from 1300-1100C can be split into 2
The sulphide liquid containing copper and platinum group can be separated from the magmatic sulphide which contains the nickel and iron rich.
In the aero magnetic survey it can pick these Nickel/iron rich ores with high readings and the copper ores with a lower reading
It's why there's not much mention of Nickel at Havieron and why Bromus is Nickel and not copper.
An abstract from a paper
https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1212/
A compilation of data on global Co-Cu-Au deposits in metasedimentary rocks refines previous descriptive models for their occurrence and provides important information for mineral resource assessments and exploration programs. This compilation forms the basis for a new classification of such deposits, which is speculative at this early stage of research. As defined herein, the Co-Cu-Au deposits contain 0.1 percent or more by weight of Co in ore or mineralized rock, comprising disseminated to semi-massive Co-bearing sulfide minerals with associated Fe- and Cu-bearing sulfides, and local gold, concentrated predominantly within rift-related, siliciclastic metasedimentary rocks of Proterozoic age. Some deposits have appreciable Ag ± Bi ± W ± Ni ± Y ± rare earth elements ± U. Deposit geometry includes stratabound and stratiform layers, lenses, and veins, and (or) discordant veins and breccias. The geometry of most deposits is controlled by stratigraphic layering, folds, axial-plane cleavage, shear zones, breccias, or faults. Ore minerals are mainly cobaltite, skutterudite, glaucodot, and chalcopyrite, with minor gold, arsenopyrite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, bismuthinite, and bismuth; some deposits have appreciable tetrahedrite, uraninite, monazite, allanite, xenotime, apatite, scheelite, or molybdenite. Magnetite can be abundant in breccias, veins, or stratabound lenses within ore or surrounding country rocks. Common gangue minerals include quartz, biotite, muscovite, K-feldspar, albite, chlorite, and scapolite; many deposits contain minor to major amounts of tourmaline. Altered wall rocks generally have abundant biotite or albite. Mesoproterozoic metasedimentary successions constitute the predominant geologic setting. Felsic and (or) mafic plutons are spatially associated with many deposits and at some localities may be contemporaneous with, and involved in, ore formation. Geoenvironmental data for the Blackbird mining district in central Idaho indicate that weathering of abundant Fe, S, As, Co, and Cu in sulfide minerals of the deposits produces acidic waters, especially in pyrite-rich deposits; mine runoff has high concentrations of Fe, Cu, and Mn that exceed U.S. drinking water or aquatic life standards.
Where Does Cobalt Come From?
Cobalt is not a rare element even though pure cobalt is not found in nature. Cobalt occurs in conjunction with other elements in such minerals as carrollite [a coppercobalt(nickel) sul de], skutterudite (a cobaltnickel arsenide), and asbolane (a nickelcobaltmanganese oxide). Most cobalt
is produced as a byproduct of the processing of copper and nickel ores. Cobalt is obtained from the following three main types of ore deposits: (1) sedimenthosted stratiform copper deposits, such as those in the central African copperbelt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia; (2) magmatic nickel sul de deposits, such those found at Sudbury, Canada, and at Norilsk, Russia; and (3) nickel laterite deposits, which are found in such tropical regions as New Caledonia. Cobalt is also found in manganese nodules and crusts on the deep sea oor, but sea oor deposits are not currently being mined. The sedimenthosted copper deposits are formed when saltbearing uids ush metals, including copper and cobalt, out of oxidized (red) sediments; if the metalbearing uids then react with reduced (black) rock or oil or natural gas, they deposit minerals containing copper and cobalt. Magmatic nickel sul de deposits form when a magnesium and ironrich magma becomes saturated with sulfur. Metals in the magma, such as nickel and cobalt, may then move into a separate dense sul derich uid that sinks to the bottom of the magma chamber where the metal sul des are then deposited. Laterite deposits form in warm, humid, tropical or subtropical environments where igneous rocks with very little silica are broken down by chemical weathering; in these types of deposits, cobalt is concentrated in the weathered rock.
https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2011/3081/pdf/fs2011-3081.pdf