SULFIDE-SULFUR CONCENTRATION IN SOLUTIONS THAT FORMED DEPOSITS OF THE CASSITERITE-SILICATE ORE ASSOCIATION

Abstract

The authors discuss this first attempt to determine sulfide sulfur systematically in solutions trapped as inclusions in minerals in order to study the behavior of sulfur during the formation of tin deposits of the cassiterite-silicate association. The analyses were done by an improved version of the potentiometric method of determining sulfur with a silver sulfide diaphragm electrode. The results indicate that total sulfide sulfur can be determined in alkaline extracts from inclusions without adding a reducing agent in air rather than in an inert atmosphere. The method allows concentrations ranging from 10-5 to less than 10-7 M to be analyzed with a reproducibility (standard deviation) of at least 20 percent (relative) both rapidly and with simple apparatus. The work was done on material from thoroughly studied deposits of the Komsomol'sk ore district, which reliably and totally reflect main mineralogic and geochemical features of the cassiterite-silicate association.