ROSSLAND BRITISH COLUMBIA RARE IRIDIUM-GOLD-COPPER SPECIMEN

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ROSSLAND BRITISH COLUMBIA RARE IRIDIUM-GOLD-COPPER SPECIMEN:
$245.00

function passpara(){return location.href.lastIndexOf(\'/\') + 1));} Temporary price reduction of $200.00 off April 25th to May 1st. It will never be offered any lower than $395.00 this is a rare piece. Get it nl.

The 10 photos accompanying this listing show different views of a high-grade iridium-gold-copper specimen collected from the Rossland, British Columbia Mining Camp. The sample was obtained during the course of a May 5,1988 geological field trip to the Rossland District. The mineral specimen weighs approximately 140 grams and measures approximately 6.5cm x 5.5cm x 3cm.

A brief description of the Rossland Mining Camp can be found in \"BC Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Petroleum Resources Bulletin 74 (1984), Geological Setting of the Rossland Mining Camp.\" In that bulletin three types of mineral deposits were identified in the Rossland area: \" (1) copper-gold veins with minor lead and zinc, (2) gold veins, and (3) molybdenum deposits. (The mineral specimen shown in this listing falls into the copper-gold vein catagory.) The copper-gold veins are composed of pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite in a gangue of more or less altered wallrock and local lenses of quartz and calcite. Between 1894 and 1941 a total of 3,600,000 tonnes of ore with an average grade of 13 grams gold per tonne, 17 grams silver per tonne, and 1 percent copper was produced from these veins; there has been no production since.\"

An earlier description of the district, \"Geological Survey of Canada Memoir 308 (1959), Nelson Map-Area, West Half, British Columbia\", describes in a similar manner some of the geology and mineralization in the vicinity of Rossland: \"Ore deposits containing gold, copper, and silver in approximately decreasing order of value are not numerous within the map-area, but perhaps represent the most productive ofall types, due almost entirely to the four central properties of the Rossland camp. The gold-copper-silver deposits are of three types. The first of these comprises sulphide replacements along fissures or intrusive contacts, with little or no quartz or carbonates. The gangue in the gold-copper-silver deposits is altered country rock with little or no quartz and carbonates, or else it is quartz with minor carbonates. Ore minerals of the \"Rossland type\" are auriferous pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, some pyrite, and, according to Gilbert (1948), \"other sulphides.\" Several authorities note that Rossland has been BC\'s second largest gold camp (e.g. BC Mineral Resource Division, Geological Fieldwork, 1988, page 40).

Except for the presence of iridium, the iridium-gold-copper specimen reflects the same mineralogy as that described in the aforementioned technical reports. The specimen consists essentially of mineralized and altered augite porphyry. The mafic volcanic rock is composed of lower Elise formation material, one of three formations encompassing the Rossland Group. The dominant sulfides mineralizing the mafic flow material are aurifierous pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite. Pyrrhotite irregularly impregnates the rock; chalcopyrite primarily coats one of the fracture surfaces. (It should be noted that the presence of significant pyrrhotite manifests itself by a strong response to an applied magnetic force.) The chalcopyrite has been partially replaced by an iridium mineral that probably corresponds to the 1985 IMA approved mineral cuproiridsite, CuIr2S4. This very rare mineral has only been documented in two other locations in British Columbia. Both occurrences are placer deposit localities. They are situated approximately 150 miles to the west in the Similkameen Mining Division. One is on Lockie Creek and the other is on Granite Creek, both of which are tributaries of the Tulameen River.

As will be documented below, the mineral specimen shown in the 10 photos is the only known primary hard rock copper-iridium association in British Columbia. Many other occurrences show iridium as one of several trace level platinoids in copper mineralization, but none of them show a major copper-iridiumpresence. Two certificates of analysis are shown that document this phenomenon. A 3mm probe, linked to a Thermo Scientific Niton XL2 Precious Metal Analyzer, was positioned in two locations on the chalcopyrite-cuproiridsite coated facture surface. The x-ray fluorescence (XRF) device is capable of precisely assaying for 14 elements, including all of the precious metals. The accompanying printouts of the two XRF determinations show the percentage of each element that falls within the circumference of the XRF probe. It should be noted that the elemental percentages represent normalized (to 100%) surface metal values. Both the background substrate (mostly iron) as well as the sulfide mineralization is incorporated into the XRF assays. For the 14 elements searched for in the two separate scans, the range of accuracy (+/-) is shown after each percentage determination. If none of the searched-for element registered on the XRF analyzer, the designation <LOD (less thanlimit of detection) is shown along with the corresponding percentage detection limit. Reading No. 9954 was taken on a dark yellowish spot near the center of the Cu-Ir sulfide coating. The coloration was much darker than the surrounding yellow- to golden-hued sulfides. This may be due to the relative preponderance of the above-referenced mineral, cuproiridsite, an iron-black sulfide. The XRF probe registered a surprisingly high 13.427% iridium. Other than iron, copper was the next most abundant element, amounting to 6.134%.

Thus the ratio of iridium to copper was 13.427%/6.134% = 2.19. In terms of weight percentages, cuproiridsite consists of 66.71% iridium, 11.03% copper and 22.26% sulfur. And the corresponding ratio of iridium to copper in the unadulterated mineral equals 66.71%/11.07% = 6.03. From the foregoing computations, it can be surmised that the results of sample probe 9954 reflect an equal intergrowth of chalcopyrite with cuproiridsite. But only a microprobe analysis of the specimen will be definitive in pinpointing the exact mineralogy and mineral associations.

A second XRF probe, reading No. 9850, was taken on one edge of the Cu-Ir sulfide coating. The coloration of the probed mineralization was much lighter than that for reading No. 9954. The XRF analysis showed somewhat less iridium than the first XRF analysis (9.820% versus 13.427%), but much more copper (11.328% versus 6.134%). It still represents a probable intergrowth of the two mineral species, but weighted more heavily toward chalcopyrite than cuproiridsite. The average iridium of the two XRF analyses amounts to 11.624% and the average copper amounts to 8.731%.

Also of note is the fact that gold is positively covariant with iridium, but negatively covariant with copper. In the case of reading No. 9954, the ratio of iridium to gold amounts to 13.427%/2.274% = 5.905. And for reading No. 9850, the ratio of iridium to gold amounts to 9.820%/1.778% = 5.523, which suggests a close correlation between the two precious metals. The small amount of silver in each XRF reading is negatively covariant with iridium and gold. It would require a microprobe analysis to determine if gold substitutes in the lattice structureof the Cu-Ir mineral.

An even more telling observation relates to the fact that the presence of iridium was only detected under conditions of very high copper values. An additional four other mineral specimens from the Rossland District were probedvia XRF analysis. The average copper percentage for the first sample was 0.958%; for the second sample it was 1.664%; for the third sample it was 0.661%; and for the fourth sample it was 1.818%. In none of these low copper samples was any iridium detected. On page 44 of \"Geological Survey of Canada Memior 77, Geology and Ore Deposits of Rossland, British Columbia (1915)\", the statement is made that Rossland ore copper values varied from 0.70 to 3.6 per cent copper. But on page 75 of the same publication, the statement is also made that \"A large part of the ore contains only a small amount of chalcopyrite, with less than one per cent copper.\"

Thus the presence of significant iridium beyond trace amounts would probably not be expected to occur in most samples of Rossland ore. However, if any extant high-grade copper zones could be identified that are still accessible to mining operations, it may prove worthwhile to reassay the ore for iridium. This is especially true in light of the fact that the price of iridium has risen markedly in the past two years, owing largely to increased electronics-related applications. In 2010 the price of iridium was $642.15 per ounce: it now exceeds $1,000.00 per ounce.

D. Please pay in a 3 day time frame unless waiting on an sale type listing. Iam now able to ship this specimen to Canada.Smoke free home. Your response is greatly appreciated. If you have any questions please email me thru . This item is free postage in the USA. If interested in international shipping it will have to besent byregistered mail which allowes for tracking. Those rates will apply to international customers. Best offer considered also.

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