Some Quantitative Aspects of the Major Types of Ores at the Ržanovo Fe-Ni Lateritic Deposit, R. Macedonia

Todor Serafimovski; Blažo Boev; Goran Tasev

Todor Serafimovski
Blažo Boev
Goran Tasev

Abstract

The results of detailed laboratory studies of ores from the laterite Fe-Ni deposit Ržanovo, Republic of Macedonia, enabled separation of 9 types of ore and definition of the chemical composition of these ore types
and quantitative mineral presence in them. In all of ore types was defined nickel content in the range from 0.34 to 3.1% NiO. However, the most productive types are considered massive magnetite ore, schist magnetite ore, schist hematite and massive hematite ore. Economically the most important is the compact hematite ore with nickel content within the range of 0.93 to 1.49% Ni. The main mineral phases (nickel bearers) in the Ržanovo deposit are: magnetite, hematite, clinochlore, talc, sepiolite, magnesioribekite, lizardite, dolomite, phlogopite and stilpnomelane. Percentage of the most abundant mineral in the ore deposit Ržanovo is hematite with 40.61%, followed by talc with 20.90%, amphibole 13.60%, magnetite with 11, 16% and clinochlore with 10.65%. High iron content by 55% Fe2O3 is characteristic of magnetite and hematite ores, while the high silicon content over 50% SiO2 is characteristic for magnesioribekite, talc, schists etc..

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Albandakis, N., 1974: Nickeliferous iron ores in the Lokris and Eubea districts Min. Metal. Chron., 18, 9–28, 17–41, Athens.

Albandakis, N., 1980: The nickel-bearing iron-ores in Greece. [Abs.] In UNESCO – An International Symposium on Metallogeny of Mafic and Ultramafic Complexes – The Eastern Mediterranean-Western Asia Area and its Comparison with Similar Metallogenic Environments in the World: [Greece] National Technical University, Papers of the Athens Symposium, Oct. 9–11, IGCP, Project 169, V. 1, p. 194.

Augustithis, S.S., 1962: Mineralogical and Geochemical Changes in the Diagenetic and Post-Diagenetic Phases of the Ni-Cr-Iron Oolitic Deposit Larymna/Lokris, Greece. Chemie der Erde 22, 5–17.

Boev, B., 1982: Metamorphism of the Ržanovo–Studena Voda ore series. Master thesis, Faculty of Mining and Geology, Belgrade, 93 p. (in Macedonian).

Boev, B., Stojanov, R., 1985: Metamorphism of Ni-Fe ores from Ržanovo–Studena Voda and the zone Almopias, Geologica Macedonica, T. 1.

Boev, B., Serafimovski, T., 1992: Composition of major mineral phases within the products of pre-reduction of nickel bearing ores from the Ržanovo deposit, Macedonia. XXIV October counceling of miners and metalurgists, Bor, pp. 56–59 (in Macedonian).

Boev, B. and Lepitkova, S., 1994: Quantitative mineralogical analysis of ore from the Ržanovo iron-nickel bearing deposit. XXIV October counceling, Donji Milanovac, pp. 24–26 (in Macedonian).

Boev, B. and Serafimovski, T., 1995: Study of mineralogical determinations of the main mineral phases composition

from the ore bearing materials from the Ržanovo deposit. Faculty of Mining and Geology, Štip, 595 p. (in Macedonian).

Boev, B., Serafimovski, T., 1996: Types of Lateritic Weathering Crust Along the Vardar River, Republic of Macedonia. Symposium "Teranes of Serbia", The Formation of the Geological Framework of Serbia and the Adjacent Regions, pp. 427–432, Belgrade.

Boev, B. and Janković, S., 1996: Nickel and nickelferous iron deposits of the Vardar Zone (SE Europe) with particular reference to the Ržanovo–Studena Voda orebearing series. University “St. Cyril and Methodius”, Skopje, Faculty of Mining and Geology, Štip, Special Issue No. 3, 273 p.

Christidis G.E. and Skarpelis. N., 2010: Clay Mineralogy of the Sedimentary Iron-Nickel Ore of Agios Ioannis, NE Boeotia: New Data and Implication for Diagenetic Modifications. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Greece, 2010, Proceedings of the 12th International Congress, Patras, May, 2010, pp. 2553–2561.

Eliopoulos, D. G. & Economou-Eliopoulos, M. 2000: Geochemical and mineralogical characteristics of Fe-Ni and bauxitic-laterite deposits of Greece. Ore Geol. Rev., 16, 41–58.

Evans, A. M., 1993: Ore Geology and Industrial Minerals. 3rd edition, Blackwell Publishing, 389 p.

Golightly, J. P., 1981. Nickeliferous Laterite Deposits. Economic Geology, 75th Anniversary Volume, pp. 710–735

Ivanov, T., 1962: Iron-nickel bearing ore Ržanovo at Kožif Mountain, Macedonia. Proceedings. III Congress of Geologists of Yugoslavia, Budva, Vol. 2, pp. 249–264.

Ivanov, T., 1965: Metallogeny of the Southern Part of the Vardar Zone. Doctoral thesis, Faculty of Mining and Geology, Belgrade, p. 297 (in Serbian).

Janković S., 1990, Rudna ležišta Srbije. Republički fond za geološka istraživanja i Rudarskogeološki fakultet, Beograd, pp. 760.

Janković, S. 1997: The Carpatho-Balkanides and adjacent area: a sector of the Tethyan Eurasian metallogenetic belt, Mineralium Deposita 32, 5, 426–433.

Janković, S., Serafimovski, T., Jelenković, R., Čifliganec, V., 1997: Metallogeny of the Vardar zone and Serbo-Macedonian mass. Symposium – Annual Meetings, Proceeding, 29–67, Dojran.

Jovanovski, K., (2011). Metallogenetic features and 3D model of nickel-bearing ore deposit Čikatovo-2, R. Kosovo. Master thesis, Faculty of Natural and Technical Sciences, University “Goce Delčev”, Štip, 156 p. (in Macedonian).

Karamata, S., 1974: The geological evolution of the area of Yugoslavia: The nature and movements of plates and importance of these properties and processes for metallogeny. Metallogeny and concepts of the Geotectonic Developments of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, p. 109–118.

Katsikatsos, G., Fytrolakis, N. and Perdikatsis, V., 1980: Contribution to the genesis of leteritic deposits of the upper Cretaceous transgression in Atica and Central Eubea (Greece). In. Proceed. Int. Symp. on Metallogeny of Mafic and Ultramafic Complexes. UNESCO-IGCP Project 169, 1, Athens, 279-313.

Maksimović, Z., 1981: Types of the fossil weathering of ultramafic rocks in SE Europe. Bull. LXXV, Serb. Acad. Sci., Nat. Math., 21, 13–26, Belgrade.

Maksimović, Z. and Panto, G., 1982: The main nickel bearing phases in the Ržanovo deposit, Yugoslavia: chlorite, talc, stilpnomelan, and magnesio ribeckite. Bull. LXXII, Serb. Aca. Sci., Nat.Math., 23, Belgrade, pp. 77– 96.

Maksimović, Z., Skarpelis, N. & Panto, G. 1993: Mineralogy and geochemistry of the rare earth elements in the karstic nickel deposits of Lokris area, Greece. Acta Geol. Hungarica, 36, 331–342.

Molla I, Mountrakis D, Grazhdani A (1994) Paleogeographic development of the lateritic crust products and further prospecting in the Bilisht–Kastoria area (south Albania–Northern Greece). Bull Geol Soc Greece 30:371–386

Petrascheck, W. E., 1954: Die Eisenerz und Nicklerzlagerstatten von Lokris in Ostgriechenland., Inst, for Geol. and Subsurface Research, Athens, 169 p.

Popović, R., 2008: Principal metallogenic features of Fe- Ni ore deposits in Serbia. 33rd International Geological Congress (IGC), Session MRD-18 Iron deposits, Oslo, Norway.

Robertson, A., Karamata, S. and Šarić, K., 2009: Overview of ophiolites and related units in the Late Palaeozoic– Early Cenozoic magmatic and tectonic development of Tethys in the northern part of the Balkan region. (Eds. A.H.F. Robertson, S. Karamata and K. Šarić), Ophiolites and related geology of the Balkan region, The Mesozoic ophiolite belts of the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula, Lithos, Vol. 108, Issues 1–4, pp. 1–36.

Skarpelis, N. 1999: Lateritic weathering crusts as a source of ferruginous spheroidal particles of sedimentary nickeliferous iron ores, Greece. Bull. Acad. Serbe Sci. & Arts, 39, 213–224.

Skarpelis, N. 2006: Lateritization processes of ultramafic rocks in Cretaceous times: The fossil weathering crusts of mainland Greece. J. Geoch. Explor., 88, 325–328.

Valeton, I., Biermann, M., Reche, R. & Rosenberg, F., 1987: Genesis of nickel laterites and bauxites in Greece during the Jurassic and Cretaceous, and their relations to Ultrabasic parent rocks. Ore Geol. Rev. 2, 359–404.

Vinogradov, A. P., ll'yin, N. P. and Kolomeytseva, L. N., 1977. The Effect of Temperature and Pressure on the Distribution of Iron Group Elements Between Metal and Olivine Phases in the Process of Differentiation of Protoplanetary Material. Cosmochemistry of the Moon and Planets, pp. 219–229 (conforms with NASA Technical Translation of the "Vliyaniye temperatury i davlenlya na raspredeleniye elementov gruppa zheleza mezhdu fazami metall-olivin v protsesse differentiatsii protoplanetnogo veshchestva", Academy of Sciences USSR, Moscow, Paper 115, Presented at the Soviet-American Conference on Cosmochemistry of the Moon and Planets, June 4–8, 1974, Moscow, 30 pp.)