FORENSIC MINEROLOGY Explorers and Miners alike, both use petrographic studies.
Great way to disect what minerals are found in an ore body.
Sometimes petrographic studies are unable to determine
certain species of minerals.
Aug 17 2021 MGX Minerals sent some samples off for, petropgraphic studies.
What was determined / identified ? Each of hte following minerals are seen in the - chart.
- Gold
- Silver
- Lead
- Zinc
All good so far....
main minerals were identified.
Let's move onto the summary.
Fe-minerals - sphalerite, quartz
Minor minerals - galena, hematite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite,
native gold, pyrite, hematite, limonite, K feldspar..
Summary
Sample 303 is of massive sulphide dominated by intimate intergrowths of pyrrhotite (fresh to altered slightly to strongly to secondary Fe-minerals), sphalerite, quartz, and a silicate (Mineral A). Minor minerals include galena, hematite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, and native gold (which occurs mainly in quartz and in Mineral A). Two proximal patches up to 1.5 mm across are of medium to coarse grained quartz. A vein is of pyrite and lesser silicate(s). A few seams are of sheared rock, one of which contains sphalerite and the others of which contain hematite/limonite Photo A.
Note: a polished thick section was prepared; thus, an unknown silicate (Mineral A) could not be identified optically. The K-feldspar stain on the offcut block indicates the presence of K-feldspar, mainly in a patch in one corner of the block near the large quartz patches.
PRESS LINK - https://www.juniorminingnetwork.com/junior-miner-news/press-releases/28-cse/xmg/82421-mgx-minerals-completes-petrographic-study-on-high-grade-6-ounce-per-tonne-gold-sample-from-heino-deposit.html LAWS OF DEDUCTION - I evne see the symbol, Al... aluminum.
If i were to use deduction -
Mineral A - would strongly point in the direction of,
Molybdenum.
I've read a few reports on Tillicum.
All the minerals in petrographic study above are - mentioned.
As previously mentioned - in one report...
Molybdenum - revealed itself with - 0.047 %
And... i'm sure most that have been reading my posts...
Know that Molybdenum can hide with in, lead, galena.
And if... fire assaying is used for gold, lead is used as a cupplet.
Which most assurdly would be the wrong way to determine
molybdenum presence - especially if... Molybdenum emminated
from the - lead or galena.
More importantly... Moly does have a relationship with lead or galena.
And if lead were used in a fire assay... there's a high
probability the Moly would meld with the lead...
And.. .be discarded in the lead upon freeing the
gold button after fire assay.
Now for the grand finale....
Molybdenum - runs with the sulphides.
But... can Molybdenum also be a -
silicate ?
Yes.... by S Takenaka · 1998 · Cited by 71 — The structure of the molybdenum species in MoO3/SiO2 was confirmed to be monomeric and tetrahedral,
(O Mo O)O2. In alkali-ion-modified Silica-supported molybdenum oxide (MoO3/SiO2)
and alkali-ion-modified MoO3/SiO2 samples were characterized by
Mo K-edge XAFS and Raman spectroscopies.
The structure of the molybdenum species in MoO
3/SiO
2 was confirmed
to be monomeric and tetrahedral, (O
Mo
O)O
2. In alkali-ion-modified
MoO
3/SiO
2, the structure of the molybdenum species varied with the
kinds and/or the amounts of added alkali ions. In Na
+-modified
MoO
3/SiO
2 with sodium ions of the molar ratio Na/Mo < 1.0, the
molybdenum species were mainly Na
2Mo
2O
7 besides
(O
Mo
O)O
2 which was present in MoO
3/SiO
2, and the addition
of sodium ions of molar ratio Na/Mo > 1.0 caused the formation
of Na
2MoO
4 at the expense of Na
2Mo
2O
7. In the case of K
+- and
Rb
+-modified MoO
3/SiO
2, the addition of alkali ions equimolar with
the molybdenum atoms in the samples brought about the formation
of Mo
2O
7 species, and by the addition of alkali ions of molar ratio
(alkali ion/Mo) > 1.0, MoO
4 species was formed on the silica support.
In the molybdenum species in K-MS and Rb-MS with alkali ions of
molar ratio (alkali ion/Mo) < 1.0, the proportion of an octahedral MoO
6 unit to all the molybdenum species in the samples was higher than
that in K-MS and Rb-MS with alkali ions of the molar ratio > 1.0.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jp980134n So, there you have it.
Most al lminerals accounted for in petrographic study.
Former historical assays - revealed
cobalt + molybdenum.
Laws of deduction ruling out most all other minerals.
maganese, magnesium, calcium - are the only other minerals
not accounted for.
Due note....
cobalt can bond with - magnesium and calcium.
Something to think about.
Mineral - A
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On another note - i scanned the Tillicum claims group a tad more.
I have arrived at the conclusion - mass tills bombarded this
zone from upper Burton to lower Tillicum and beyond.
= mass tils seen atop mountain ranges and valleys
=
tip for junior - think.... placer gold and where it would settle.
Not to say..... sediment sheets didn't lift up...
I'm sure those have a presence.
But... when i see - unbound rocks inside the Tillicum Mine
in a matrix of sediment tills - rewelded...
And... surface signs of deluge with sugary sands atop and
in valleys below... i'd be looking at Tillicum in two manners...
- surface placer zones - banked gold streaks
- sedimentry ( indigenous ) formations.
Cheers....