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<p>The high-grade stratabound copper ores of the Central European Kupferschiefer are one of the world’s most important sources of silver. Despite its economic significance, the mineralogical partitioning of silver within the Kupferschiefer ores is generally not well understood, other than the fact that silver minerals are not sufficiently abundant to account for the bulk of the silver content. This study provides the first fully quantitative silver deportment for Kupferschiefer-type ores, using the Spremberg-Graustein-Schleife project in Germany as a case study. Our comprehensive analytical approach integrates scanning electron microscope (SEM)-based automated mineralogy and electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA) on exploration drill-core samples collected from different host rocks and different metal tenor. The results were validated using bulk geochemical data, and uncertainties were assessed with Monte Carlo simulations. The results demonstrate that the majority of the silver within high-grade Cu-rich ores occurs as a trace constituent in the ore-forming Cu(-Fe) sulfides (chalcocite group minerals, covellite, bornite, and chalcopyrite). In samples containing little copper, however, Fe sulfides host the majority of the silver in the form of micro-inclusions within copper-enriched crystal growth zones and substitution within the crystal lattice. The close association of copper and silver has important implications for ore genesis and mineral processing. These implications may well transfer to other by-products and other examples of polymetallic sediment-hosted copper mineral systems.</p>

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The deportment of silver in Kupferschiefer ores at the Spremberg-Graustein-Schleife deposit, Germany

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年7月23日

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  • Zahra Nourizenouz,
  • Bradley Martin Guy,
  • Jens Gutzmer,
  • Doreen Ebert,
  • Ralph Braumann,
  • Max Frenzel

摘要

The high-grade stratabound copper ores of the Central European Kupferschiefer are one of the world’s most important sources of silver. Despite its economic significance, the mineralogical partitioning of silver within the Kupferschiefer ores is generally not well understood, other than the fact that silver minerals are not sufficiently abundant to account for the bulk of the silver content. This study provides the first fully quantitative silver deportment for Kupferschiefer-type ores, using the Spremberg-Graustein-Schleife project in Germany as a case study. Our comprehensive analytical approach integrates scanning electron microscope (SEM)-based automated mineralogy and electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA) on exploration drill-core samples collected from different host rocks and different metal tenor. The results were validated using bulk geochemical data, and uncertainties were assessed with Monte Carlo simulations. The results demonstrate that the majority of the silver within high-grade Cu-rich ores occurs as a trace constituent in the ore-forming Cu(-Fe) sulfides (chalcocite group minerals, covellite, bornite, and chalcopyrite). In samples containing little copper, however, Fe sulfides host the majority of the silver in the form of micro-inclusions within copper-enriched crystal growth zones and substitution within the crystal lattice. The close association of copper and silver has important implications for ore genesis and mineral processing. These implications may well transfer to other by-products and other examples of polymetallic sediment-hosted copper mineral systems.