An application of lithogeochemistry to the evaluation of the Ni-sulphide ore potential of weathered serpentinites in the Fortaleza de Minas Greenstone Belt, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

A practical application of lithogeochemistry to the classification of weathered serpentinites as to whether or not serpentinites are host rocks to Ni-sulphide ore is presented. An effort is made to apply existing concepts used to distinguish between fertile and sterile unweathered ultramafics to explain the observed chemical differences between fertile and sterile weathered serpentinites in southwestern Minas Gerais, Brazil. The data comprise total-attack chemical analyses for Al, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Si, Ti, V, and partial-attack determinations of Cu and Ni as ascorbic acid, hydrogen peroxide-soluble metal. Student's t-tests are used to identify element concentration differences between the two serpentinite groups. Discriminant analysis is used to classify the weathered fertile and sterile serpentinites. Non-linear mapping and fuzzy c-means clustering help to assess the validity of the discriminant analysis. Finally, chemical element associations provide extra information on geological and mineralogical causes that can be responsible for the identified differences. It is found that a clear separation and classification of weathered serpentinites is possible using the procedures presented. The observed chemical differences between fertile and sterile serpentinites are interpreted in terms of original magmatic differentiation, the degree of sulphur saturation of the original magma and the behavior of the derived ultramafic rocks in a tropical weathering environment.