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Experimental exsolution textures in the system bornite-chalcopyrite: Genetic implications concerning natural ores

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Abstract

Textural interpretation of ore-mineral assemblages, such as bornite-chalcopyrite (bn-cpy) intergrowths, should be based on definite experimentation. Appropriate exsolution and coarsening experiments were performed using sealed, evacuated, silicaglass tubes; synthetic bn-cpy solid solutions were annealed between 100° and 350°C for times of 20 min to 10 weeks. Early-formed textures develop through nucleation and growth and depend on the initial degree of supersaturation and the metal diffusivities. Final textures, due to additional growth and coarsening, are very sensitive to temperature and may serve as geothermometers. Mutual boundary textures which form above 250°C can originate by: (1) simultaneous precipitation; (2) exsolution during slow cooling from above the solvus; and (3) metamorphism to temperatures above about 250°C. Widmanstätten textures are not compatible with slow cooling, but indicate: (1) low-temperature replacement of bn; or (2) exsolution of cpy lamellae from anomalous bn heated to around 200°–250°C during mild metamorphism.

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Author notes

  1. Aldo Durazzo

    Present address: Istituto di Geologia, Universita' di Camerino, 62032, Camerino (MC), Italy

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  1. Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

    Aldo Durazzo & Lawrence A. Taylor

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  1. Aldo Durazzo
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Durazzo, A., Taylor, L.A. Experimental exsolution textures in the system bornite-chalcopyrite: Genetic implications concerning natural ores. Mineral. Deposita 17, 79–97 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00206377

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00206377

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