Experimental Determination of the Solubility of PGE in Hydrothermal Chloride Solutions

关于铂族元素(PGE，如铂、钯、铱)能在多大程度上被热液迁移和浓缩以形成矿床，在科学文献中存在争议。由于缺乏实验数据来检验热液过程在将PGE浓缩到经济水平上发挥作用的假设，这一辩论受到了阻碍。为了弥补这种数据的缺乏，将进行一系列实验。其中一些实验将试图确定钯、铂和铱在具有地质意义的热液中的相对溶解度。还将进行其他实验，以模拟热液对富镁岩石的影响；含PGE的岩石类似于许多PGE产状。后一项实验将尝试直接模拟安大略省科德威尔综合体马拉松铜钯矿床中发生的热液过程。后一项实验中使用的矿物组合和条件将基于温莎大学(I.M.Samson，B.J.Fryer)和滑铁卢大学(R.Linnen)的同事同时对该矿床进行的野外研究。一名博士后研究员、一名本科生和一名研究生将参与该项目，并将接受水相地球化学方面的培训。两人都将被鼓励在国家科学会议上展示他们的工作，博士后研究员将参与本科生地球化学的教学。该项目将加强和扩大国际和平协会与加拿大同事之间的现有合作。这项研究的结果将通过改进的PGE矿床勘探模型的开发而产生直接的社会经济效益。它们还可能导致改进PGE矿石的湿法冶金处理方法，并更好地了解PGE和PGE合金在热液中的腐蚀情况。

Wood0229495There is debate in the scientific literature as to the extent to which the platinum-group elements (PGE, e.g., platinum, palladium, iridium) can be transported and concentrated by hydrothermal fluids to form ore deposits. The debate is hampered by a lack of experimental data with which to test the hypothesis that hydrothermal processes play a role in the concentration of the PGE to economic levels. To redress this lack of data, a series of experiments will be conducted. Some of these experiments will attempt to determine the relative solubilities of palladium, platinum, and iridium in hydrothermal solutions of geological relevance. Other experiments will be conducted to simulate the effect of hydrothermal fluids on magnesium-rich; PGE-bearing rocks similar to those in many PGE occurrences. The latter experiments will attempt to directly model hydrothermal processes that have occurred in the Marathon copper-palladium deposit in the Coldwell Complex, Ontario. The mineral assemblages and conditions employed in the latter experiments will be based on concurrent field-based research on the deposit being conducted by colleagues at the University of Windsor (I.M. Samson, B.J. Fryer) and the University of Waterloo (R. Linnen). A postdoctoral fellow, an undergraduate student, and a graduate student will participate in the project and will be trained in aqueous geochemistry. Both will be encouraged to present their work at national scientific meetings, and the postdoctoral fellow will participate in teaching of undergraduate geochemistry. The project will strengthen and expand existing collaboration between the PI and Canadian colleagues. The results of this research will be of direct socioeconomic benefit via the development of improved exploration models for PGE deposits. They may also lead to improved methods of hydrometallurgical treatment of PGE ores and to a better understanding of the corrosion of PGE and PGE-alloys in hydrothermal solutions.