Journal of Geological Society of India (Online archive from Vol 1 to Vol 78)

S. K. Das ¹, R. K. Sahoo ¹, J. Muralidhar ¹, B. K. Nayak ¹

Affiliations
1 Regional Research Laboratory, Bhubaneswar-751013, Orissa, IN

Abstract

In the Sukinda ultramafic belt of Orissa, significant deposits of nickeliferous laterite have formed by weathering of large chromiferous dunite-peridotite suite of rocks. Two typical laterite profiles obtained by drilling (BH-1 = 50 m and BH-2 = 46 m) from Kansa sector of Sukinda belt were studied in order to establish petrochemical relationships between supergene Ni-laterites and the parent rock. In BH-1, ferruginous layers comprise the profile where goethite is intimately admixed with quartz, kaolinite and gibbsite at various depths. In BH-2, a complete laterite profile from bed rock (altered dunite) to top pisolitic laterite with transitional clay-serpentinite zone is encountered. The altered dunite is essentially composed of olivine (FO_93.8 ≅ 35% vol.) and serpentine. The clay-serpentinite zone consists of varying proportions of smectite clay (nontronite) and antigorite with minor amount of chromite, goethite and quartz. This zone is enriched in Ni with a maximum value of 1.09% Ni. In the ochreous ferruginous zone overlying clay-serpentinite zone, serpentine and nontronite disappear completely and goethite constitutes the principal mineral with varying proportions of secondary quartz. This zone is rich in Fe, Ni, Co, Mn, Al and Cr and is formed by residual concentration of stable oxides. Mass-balance equation assuming Cr₂O₃ as constant chemical constituent reveals that nickel is strongly accumulated in the clay-serpentinite zone. A second maximum in nickel concentration is found in ochreous ferruginous zone with almost complete removal of magnesium. Normalised major and trace element data generated on the bore hole samples have been processed, by using R-mode factor analysis of correlation matrix to understand the natural process of weathering. Leaching studies of the samples suggest that nickel occurs in adsorbed state within amorphous hydrated iron oxide and in weakly bonded and lattice bound states within gaethite and secondary silicates.

Keywords

Economic Geology, Geochemistry, Nickeliferous Laterite, Leaching, Sukinda, Orissa.

Full Text

     

S. K. Das ¹, B. K. Nayak ¹, P. Chattopadhyay ¹, J. Muralidhar ¹, B. B. Nayak ¹, A. K. Singh ², R. K. Sahoo ³

Affiliations
1 Regional Research Laboratory, Bhubaneswar - 751 013, IN
2 2N3/278, IRC Village, Bhubaneswar - 751 015, IN
3 137, Jagganath Vihar, Bhubaneswar - 751 003, IN

Abstract

At Gopur, Onssa, auriferous quartz veins with stringers and rich disseminations of sulphides occur in the latcntes derived by tropical weathering of metabasaltic rocks. Minute to coarse irregular gold grains were hand picked from the panned heavies obtained by washing the excavated wall rock materials of the quartz veins which are composed of powdery latente ± kaolinite ± quartz. The gold grains display pitted, fractured, striated, wavy surface and occasional smooth contour pattern. The gold content of the quartz veins and latentic wall rocks vanes widely from < 1 ppm to 9 ppm SEM-EDS and microprobe analytical results of four gold grains reveal contrasting chemical characters. One gold gram exhibits nmward increase in fineness value indicating that silver has been preferentially leached out by supergene fluid. This grain possibly represents the residually concentrated hypogene gold. The other gold grains do not show chemical gradients within the domain of individual gram and formed by precipitation from supergene fluids.

Keywords

Gold, Supergene Mineralisation, Vein Quartz, Latentcs Fineness, Gopur, Orissa.

Full Text