Iron sedimentary

The cherty iron (sedimentary) formation (CIS) is the most uniform in facies. The cherty iron beds are traced for 10-20 km their thickness reaches 100-300 m and their iron content reaches 30-35%. According to Semenenko... 

For brevity, these frequently recurring terms will henceforth usually be designated by acronyms CIS for cherty iron-sedimentary formation, CIK for cherty iron-keratophyre formation, CIM for cherty iron-metabasite formation, and CIU for cherty iron-ultrabasite formation (Translator s note). 

Sources. Iron ore deposits were formed by many different processes, eg, weathering, sedimentation, hydrothermal, and chemical. Iron ores occur in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary deposits. Normally, as-mined iron ore contains 25 to 68% iron. 

As in the case of igneous processes, the sedimentary processes of rock formation lead to the formation economic mineral deposits. Many valuable mineral deposits of iron, manganese, copper, phosphorus, sulfur, zirconium, the rare Earths, uranium and vanadium owe their origin to sedimentary processes. Some of these constitute special types of sedimentary rocks, while others form important constituents of sedimentary rocks. 

Syn-sedimentary chemical deposits form by chemical and biochemical precipitation of valuable metal components carried in solution, concomitant with the formation of the enclosing sedimentary rock. The manner of such deposition depends on the concentration of the metal in the solvent, the solubility of the precipitating product, the solution chemistry, and the deposition environment. Iron, manganese, phosphorus, lead, zinc, sulfur and uranium are some of the elements that have formed economically valuable deposits by chemical precipitation during sedimentation. 

By far the most important ores of iron come from Precambrian banded iron formations (BIF), which are essentially chemical sediments of alternating siliceous and iron-rich bands. The most notable occurrences are those at Hamersley in Australia, Lake Superior in USA and Canada, Transvaal in South Africa, and Bihar and Karnataka in India. The important manganese deposits of the world are associated with sedimentary deposits the manganese nodules on the ocean floor are also chemically precipitated from solutions. Phosphorites, the main source of phosphates, are special types of sedimentary deposits formed under marine conditions. Bedded iron sulfide deposits are formed by sulfate reducing bacteria in sedimentary environments. Similarly uranium-vanadium in sandstone-type uranium deposits and stratiform lead and zinc concentrations associated with carbonate rocks owe their origin to syngenetic chemical precipitation. 

Treasure Lake Group, overlain by felsic ignimbrite sheets of the Faber Group (Goad et al. 2000). Ore minerals mainly consists of Fe-, As-, Co- and Cu-sulphides, native Au and Bi. Intense, pervasive, polyphase iron-oxide (magnetite-dominant)-hornblende-biotite-tourmaline-K-feldspar-carbonate replacive alteration occurs in the upper metasedimentary sequence below the volcanic-sedimentary unconformity... 

The Ulsan carbonates (Fig. 1) have long been interpreted as limestone of Paleozoic age or "age unknown" and as the host of a skarn-type iron (magnetite) deposit due to the intrusion of Cretaceous granitic rocks (Park Park 1980 Choi et al. 1999). However, a Paleozoic marine limestone hypothesis fails to explain the spatial association or the relationship between carbonate and ultramafic rocks in a concentric, ellipsoidal shape surrounded by Cretaceous sedimentary, volcanic, and granitic rocks. The sedimentary hypothesis also fails to explain the isolated exposure of a funnel-shaped Paleozoic marine limestone where no marine limestone has been previously observed within the Mesozoic Kyongsang Basin. 

The cycle of iron solubilization will continue as long as bacteria and/or plants produce organic ligands.The cycle will stop when sulfate reduction rates are high and organic ligand production is low. At this point soluble hydrogen sulfide reacts with Fe(II) to form sulfide minerals. The iron cycle shown in Fig. 10.15 for salt marsh sediments may also occur in other marine sedimentary systems. 

A clear avenue of future research is to explore the S-Fe redox couple in biologic systems. Bacterial sulfate reduction and DIR may be spatially decoupled, dependent upon the distribution of poorly crystalline ferric hydroxides and sulfate (e.g., Canfield et al. 1993 Thamdrup and Canfield 1996), or may be closely associated in low-suUate environments. Production of FIjS from bacterial sulfate reduction may quickly react with Fefll) to form iron sulfides (e.g., Sorensen and Jeorgensen 1987 Thamdrup et al. 1994). In addition to these reactions, Fe(III) reduchon may be coupled to oxidation of reduced S (e.g., Thamdrup and Canfield 1996), where the net result is that S and Fe may be cycled extensively before they find themselves in the inventory of sedimentary rocks (e.g., Canfield et al. 1993). Investigation of both S and Fe isotope fractionations produced during biochemical cycling of these elements will be an important future avenue of research that will bear on our understanding of the isotopic variations of these elements in both modem and ancient environments. 

Canfield DE, Raiswell R, Bottrell S (1992) The reactivity of sedimentary iron minerals toward sulfide. Am J... 

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