Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

A. A. Zakharova, Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, Assistant, zakharova.alena27614@gmail.com

A. V. Spirina, Student, al.spirina@mail.ru

The Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Yu. L. Voytekhovsky, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, Head of the Department, Professor, vojtehovskijj@herzen.spb.ru

The article continues the authors’ research in the field of statistical analysis of the structures of rocks and ores for the purpose of mineralogical and technological mapping.An original technique for classifying petrographic structures based on matrices of intergranular contacts probabilities was applied to analyze samples of the Oleninskoe gold ore occurrence (Kola Peninsula).This approach makes it possible to replace the verbal description of the structures and textures of rocks and ores with their accurate and reproducible quantitative characteristics.The main ore minerals in the samples are represented by pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite; chalcopyrite, sphalerite and pyrite are observed in minor amounts. Gold in ores is found in the form of inclusions and intergrowths with pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite.To assess the influence of different minerals on the structural type of ore, intergranular contacts were analyzed according to two schemes: pyrrhotite was chosen as the main mineral in the first case and the sum of contacts of pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite was chosen in the second case.Based on the construction of barycentric probability diagrams, the ores are divided into two types – pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite with different gold contents.The typification of structures was supplemented by the calculation of statistical entropy based on intergranular contacts, which made it possible to connect the statistical characteristics of ore structures with the features of their enrichment. The most favorable are arsenopyrite ores with a predominance of monomineral contacts, high gold contents and low values of statistical entropy.As a result of the study, an integrated approach to ore processing was proposed with the separation of two gold ore, iron ore and arsenic concentrates.It is recommended to use the methodology and results to develop an effective scheme for the enrichment of ores from the Oleninskoe deposit and similar promising objects.

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