First Finds of Platinum and Palladium Minerals in Sulfide Ores of the Khudolaz Intrusive Complex (Southern Urals)

Abstract

Forms of occurrence of platinum (sperrilite, moncheite) and palladium (Sb-michenerite, Pd–Bi phase) minerals in intrusive rocks of the Khudolaz differentiated complex have been studied. Platinum minerals were identified in disseminated Cu–Ni sulfide ores from ultramafic olivine–hornblende rocks of the Khudolaz complex, whereas palladium minerals were found in ores from olivine–hornblende gabbroids. The structural arrangement of grains as inclusions in sulfides of the primary magmatic association testifies that they were formed as a result of segregation of platinum group elements, which partitioned into the composition of sulfides during low-temperature mineral formation process at the late-magmatic stage.