Critical minerals: Germanium and cobalt in the Bornite deposit, southwestern Brooks Range, Alaska

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Abstract

Increasing demand for Ge and Co has led to a renewed interest and focus on advancing our understanding of the occurrence, distribution, and sequestration of these critical elements in known ore deposits. A workflow using a variety of analytical techniques and co-registered datasets has been developed and was applied to the carbonate hosted Bornite Cu-Co (Zn,-Ge) deposit in Alaska, where a new orebody (“the South Reef”) was discovered in 2011. The South Reef is host to substantial amounts of high-grade Cu, Co, and appreciable Zn, but also contains localised elevated concentrations of Ge. We describe the mineralogy and paragenesis of the South Reef based on detailed optical petrography, scanning electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy-based automated mineralogy, and mapping μ-X-ray fluorescence analysis. Germanium was found to exist in renierite, white mica, illite, galena and feldspars within the South Reef. Cobalt was found to occur in cobaltiferous pyrite, carrollite, and cobaltite.

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Publication type Conference Paper
Publication Subtype Conference Paper
Title Critical minerals: Germanium and cobalt in the Bornite deposit, southwestern Brooks Range, Alaska
Volume 3
Year Published 2023
Language English
Publisher Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits
Contributing office(s) Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center
Description 4 p.
Larger Work Type Book
Larger Work Subtype Conference publication
Larger Work Title Proceedings of the 17th SGA biennial meeting
First page 321
Last page 324
Conference Title 17th Biennial SGA Meeting
Conference Location Zurich, Switzerland
Conference Date August 28 - September 1, 2023
Country United States
State Alaska
Other Geospatial Bornite deposit, Brooks Range
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