Partition of Heavy Metals (Hg, Cd, and Pb) between Sphalerite and Hydrothermal Solution and the Typomorphism of Sphalerite Surface: XPS, AES, and AFM Data

摘要

Sphalerite is one of the most interesting minerals because of its variable composition and its wide occurrence at ore deposits of various genetic types. Its simple (if the polytypism is ignored [1]) structure, which belongs to a type widely spread in nature, and possible broad isomorphic substitution make this mineral a convenient geochemical indicator of its mineral-forming environment and a tool for evaluating the intensive parameters of geochemical processes: temperature, pressure, and sulfur fugacity [2]. However, practically no data are still available on the partition coefficients of major naturally occurring admixtures of sphalerite between its crystals and hydrothermal solution, with these values required for determining the composition of fluid based on analyzed concentrations of the elements in the structure of the mineral.