CHROMITE RELATED PGE MINERALIZATION IN SOUTHERN PART OF BOULA-NUASAHI, ODISHA

Abstract

in periodic table Ruthenium (10 Ru44), Rhodium (1029Rh45), Palladium (1164Pd46), Osmium (19020s76) Iridium ( 02Ir77) and Platinum (195.1 Pt 78) are the important noble metals and famously known as the Platinum Group of Elements (PGE). The important mafic- ultramafic complexes are the main targeted area for search of PGE mineralization. PGE are mainly more compatible to incompatible and highly siderophilic in nature. So these are more preferentially abundant in the earth's core. Occurrence of these elements in crust is now a debatable issue. It has been found that Sulfide melt in mantle peridotite control the PGE mineralization during the partial melting of mantle. Because at equilibrium the concentration of all PGE are at least 10,000 times higher in sulfide melt than that of coexisting silicate melt, Sulfide melt is an powerful agent for collection and segregation of PGE. (e.g., Fleet et al. 1999; Sattari et al.2002; Brenan and McDonough, 2005). Huge amount of PGE minerals have been already discovered from Boula-Nuasahi complex, Odisha. All the PGE minerals are found within a magmatic breccia zone in this area. And all the PGE are found to be present with the Base Metallic Sulfides (BMS). The amount of BMS is very low in breccias zone and seems like glittering stars in silicates. And this BMS are mainly present within the fractured space of chromites and the silicates. So the late stage immiscible sulfide-rich magmatic fluid is mainly responsible for this BMS and PGE deposits