Description
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AMIS0423 Cu 8207ppm Au 0.122g/t Carbonatite Palabora South Africa
Origin of Material: This standard was made using ore sourced from Palabora Mining Company Limited. Palabora Mine is located next to the town of Phalaborwa in Mpumalanga Province, 380 kilometres north east of Johannesburg, South Africa. The Palabora alkali carbonatitic massif is an ovoid bicentered alkaline ring complex with a carbonatite core intruded as a vertical pipe into Archean granite prior to 2.06Ga. The Palabora complex is unique in that it hosts the only economic copper sulphide carbonatite orebody in the world.
Mineral and Chemical Composition: The host rocks are carbonatite and foskorite. Chalcopyrite is the most abundant ore mineral followed by bornite. Chalcocite is a subsidiary sulphide in the foskorite. Other sulphides are valleriite, cubanite and pyrhotite (minor). Other important mineral by-products are titaniferous magnetite and apatite. Uranothorite is also recovered.
Recommended Concentrations and Limits
(at two Standard Deviations)
Certified Concentrations
Au Pb Collection 0.122 ± 0.012 g/t
Co M/ICP 79 ± 8 ppm
Cu Fus 8207 ± 282 ppm
Cu M/ICP 8058 ± 504 ppm
Cu P 7897 ± 300 ppm
Specific Gravity 3.21 ± 0.08
Provisional Concentration
Co P 76 ± 14 ppm
Indicated Mean
Cu Soluble 1171 ppm
