Sulfur isotope composition of kuvaevite (Ir5Ni10S16) and tolovkite (irsbs): first results

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Abstract

The results of studying the isotope system of sulfur in platinum-group minerals (PGMs) are rare and generally limited to S-isotope data of Ru-Os sulfides from dunite-harzburgite massifs. To partially fill this gap, we for the first time characterized the features of the S-isotopic composition of kuvaevite (Ir5Ni10S16) and tolovkite (IrSbS) from the Verkh-Neyvinsky dunite-harzburgite massif, a typical representative of the ophiolite association in the Middle Urals. The study employed a number of analytical techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis and a femtosecond laser ablation with a gas source isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The primary PGM assemblage is formed by osmium and iridium minerals, laurite, kuvaevite and Pt-Fe alloys, which are replaced by As-bearing laurite, irarsite, tolovkite and other PGMs of secondary origin. Kuvaevite is characterized by a predominance of Ni over Fe, Cu and Co (Ni/(Ni+Fe+Cu+Co from 0.56 to 0.58), as well as Ir over other platinum-group elements (PGE) (i. e., Ir/(Ir+Rh+Os+Ru+Pt+Pd) = 1.00); tolovkite is characterized by impurities of Pt (0.38–2.86 wt.%), Rh (0.58–1.36 wt.%), Ru (0.31–1.47 wt.%), Ni (0.34–0.74 wt.%), Cu (0.06–1.10 wt.%) and As (0.06–1.44 wt.%). Particularities of the sulfur isotopic composition of kuvaevite (δ34S from 0.9 to 2.1‰, δ34S mean equals to 1.5±0.5‰, n = 4) are indicative of the mantle source with a chondritic S-isotope composition. The heavy sulfur isotope composition of tolovkite (δ34S from 5.0 to 7.8‰; δ34S mean = 5.9±0.9‰, n = 8) indicates the participation of sulfur of crustal origin (for example, isotopically heavy sulfur derived from host sedimentary rocks), being consistent with the secondary origin of the tolovkite. New data support the conclusion about contrasting sources of sulfur and a multistage evolution of PGE mineralization.

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About the authors

I. Yu. Badanina

Zavaritsky Institute of Geology and Geochemistry, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences

Author for correspondence.
Email: innabadanina@yandex.ru
Russian Federation, Ekaterinburg

V. V. Murzin

Zavaritsky Institute of Geology and Geochemistry, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences

Email: innabadanina@yandex.ru
Russian Federation, Ekaterinburg

K. N. Malitch

Zavaritsky Institute of Geology and Geochemistry, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences

Email: innabadanina@yandex.ru
Russian Federation, Ekaterinburg

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2. Fig. 1. (a) Scheme of arrangement of dunite-harzburgite and dunite-clinopyroxenite-gabbro massifs of the Urals according to [10]. Massifs: 1 – dunite-harzburgite; 2 – ultramafic-gabbro within the Platinum Belt. Rectangle corresponds to inset in Fig. 1 b. (b) Tectonic scheme of the Middle Urals and position of the Verkh-Neyvinsky dunite-harzburgite massif on it. 1–6 – formations of intrusive rocks: 1 – granite; 2 – granodiorite; 3 – plagiogranite; 4 – gabbro; 5 – dunite-harzburgite; 6 – dunite-clinopyroxenite; 7 – rocks of amphibolite, amphibolite-gneiss, gneiss and migmatite associations; 8 – volcanogenic-sedimentary rocks of the island-arc sector of the Urals; 9 – flysch, flyschoid, molasse, terrigenous-carbonate and carbonate formations of the continental sector of the Urals; 10 – boundaries of megazones (I – West Ural, II – Central Ural, III – Tagil-Magnitogorsk, IV – East Ural, V – Trans-Ural); 11 – location of the studied PGM samples.

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3. Fig. 2. Typical features of the morphology (a, g) and internal structure of mineral associations of platinum group members (b, c, d, e) of the Verkh-Neyvinsky massif. (Os, Ir) – Ir-containing osmium, (Ir, Os) – Os-containing iridium, Lr – laurite, Kv – kuvaevite, Irs – irarsite, Tl – tolovkite. Images in backscattered electrons with real contrast.

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4. Fig. 3. Chemical composition of kuvaevite from the Verkh-Neyvinsky massif in the coordinates Fe–Ni–Cu, at.% (a) and S–Ni+Fe+Cu–PGE, at.%.

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5. Fig. 4. Variations in the isotopic composition of sulfur δ34S (VCDT, ‰) for: Ru‒Os sulfides in the form of monomineral individuals (1) and mineral inclusions in Ru‒Os‒Ir alloys (2), kuvaevite (3) and tolovkite (4) of the Verkh-Neyvinsky massif; 1 and 2 are given according to [6, 9].

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