The Mineralogy of a Silver-Rich Area in the Edwards Zinc-Lead Mine, New York

Abstract

The ore of the zinc-lead deposits of the Balmat-Edwards district in northern New York is known to be composed of very coarse-grained massive sulfides, mainly sphalerite, galena and pyrite. Typically the galena contains small amounts of silver, presumably in solid solution. Galena concentrates (6090 lead) contain an average of 514 grams of silver per tonne. An unusual silver-rich zinc-lead ore pocket at the Edwards mine contains nearly 190 silver. Ore microscopy shows that this ore is characterized by abundant, relatively fine-grained chalcopyrite with anhedral pyrite inclusions. Fine-grained sphalerite, native silver, argentite, freibergite and arsenopyrite occur in association with chalcopyrite as fracture-fillings in calcite. Electron-microprobe analyses indicate that freibergite contains up to 25.8% silver, with an average composition of Cu1.67Ag1.26Sb9.96As9.22S3.25. The amounts of the silver minerals at the Edwards mine do not warrant recovery.

Department(s)

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Lead Deposits - New York; Silver Deposits - New York, Edwards Mine; Silver Minerals; Zinc-Lead Ore; Zinc Deposits; Ore Microscopy; Massive Sulfide

Geographic Coverage

New York

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0008-4476

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 1986 Mineralogical Association of Canada, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jun 1986

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