Author:
Dimitrova Dimitrina,Tarassov Mihail,Yossifova Mariana,Vetseva Millena,Georgiev Stoyan,Tzvetanova Yana
Abstract
Pyrite and marcasite aggregates were found in a sample of blue silty clay from an exploration drill core at the northern edge of the Troyanovo North mine, Maritsa East lignite basin, Bulgaria. The aggregates have various sizes – from 50 µm (single crystal twins) to 0.5 cm (large twinned aggregates). Pyrite occurs as single cubic and cuboctahedral crystals, penetrative twins forming oval-shaped aggregates with visible cubic to truncated octahedral habits. Marcasite occurs as single tabular, pyramidal crystals, but often as twinned (penetrative, parallel, contact) composite oval-shaped aggregates. Marcasite has higher trace element contents than pyrite. In both minerals are detected Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo, As, Sb, Hg, Tl and Pb with varying contents. The crystal aggregate growth is slow in varied supersaturation and pH due to the occurrence of both octahedral and cubic faces in pyrite and marcasite presence.
Publisher
Bulgarian Geological Society
Reference10 articles.
1. Guillong, M., D. L. Meier, M. M. Allan, C. A. Heinrich, B. W. D. Yardley. 2008. Appendix A6: SILLS: A MATLAB-based program for the reduction of laser ablation ICP-MS data of homogeneous materials and inclusions. – In: Sylvester, P. (Ed.), Laser Ablation ICP–MS in the Earth Sciences: Current Practices and Outstanding Issues. Mineralogical Association of Canada Short Course 40, Vancouver, B. C., 328–333.
2. Kortenski, J., Kostova, I. 1996. Occurrence and morphology of pyrite in Bulgarian coals. – Int. J. Coal Geol., 29, 273–290; https://doi.org/10.1016/0166-5162(95)00033-X.
3. Nedyalkov, N. M. 1985. Geology of the East Maritsa Basin and the Landslide Phenomenon. PhD Thesis, Geological Institute, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, 181 p. (in Bulgarian).
4. Rickard, D. 2012a. Chapter 5 – Metastable sedimentary iron sulfides. – In: Rickard, D. (Ed.), Developments in Sedimentology. Elsevier, 65, 195–231; https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-52989-3.00005-2.
5. Rickard, D. 2012b. Chapter 6 – Sedimentary pyrite. – In: Rickard, D. (Ed.), Developments in Sedimentology, Elsevier, 65, 233–285; https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-52989-3.00006-4.