Porphyry Cu(Mo) deposits of the Urals: insights from molybdenite trace element geochemistry

Abstract

The first data on EMPA and LA-ICPMS study of molybdenite from four porphyry deposits of the South and Middle Urals (Tomino, Mikheevskoe and Benkala porphyry Cu and Talitsa porphyry Mo deposits) are presented. It is shown that most trace elements form mineral inclusions within molybdenite in all the deposits studied; only Re and W are most likely to be incorporated into the molybdenite lattice. Porphyry Cu deposits (Tomino and Mikheevskoe) formed within oceanic arc settings are featured by high contents of Re (mostly over 400 ppm) and low contents of W (<10 ppm) in molybdenite; porphyry Cu deposits from Andean-type geotectonic environment (Benkala) are featured by lower Re content (hundreds ppm) and high contents of W (tens ppm) in molybdenite. Molybdenite from porphyry deposits from collisional setting (Talitsa) has low content of Re and elevated W contents (tens ppm). It is demonstrated that trace element geochemistry of molybdenite is a useful tool to define the source of metal components and the geotectonic environment for porphyry Cu(Mo) deposits.