ISSN 1819-7140, Russian Journal of Pacific Geology, 2007, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 144–152. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2007.

Original Russian Text © L.F. Simanenko, 2007, published in Tikhookeanskaya Geologiya, 2007, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 45–55.

Modes of Trace Element Occurrence in Galena

from the Partizansky Base Metal–Skarn Deposit, Primorye
L. F. Simanenko
Far East Geological Institute, Far East Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia
Received June 25, 2006

Abstract—The localization and chemical composition of the galena from the Partizansky base metal–skarn
deposit have been studied in the Second Contact ore body and Bol’nichnaya ore lode. The Partizansky deposit
was formed during two stages: base metal–skarn and silver–sulfosalt. Much of the galena was deposited with
the productive galena–sphalerite assemblage at the first stage. The galena of the productive stage of the Second
Contact body shows wide variations in trace element composition. The galena from the root zone of the ore-
bodies (the level of –135 m) is characterized by steady high contents of economically important isomorphic and
mechanical admixtures of bismuth and silver. The galena from the middle levels is almost devoid of isomorphic
admixtures and occasionally contains fine inclusions of Ag-tetrahedrite. The high silver (and stibium) contents in
the galena from the uppermost horizon (the level of +285 m) are mainly related to mineral inclusions of diverse
silver minerals of the late silver-bearing assemblage. The galena from the Bol’nichnaya lode over a large depth
interval has elevated contents of isomorphic silver and bismuth, with abundant inclusions of native bismuth.

Keywords: skarn, galena, impurities, silver, bismuth, stibium, Primorye.

DOI: 10.1134/S1819714007020042

INTRODUCTION studies showed that the nature of the inclusions and

Numerous publications indicate that galena has high
contents of many trace elements: Bi, Ag, Te, Se, Sb, As,
Tl, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Hg. However, the composition and
amount of the found admixtures widely vary depending
on the type of deposit and within orebody. Galena in
base metal deposits is typically high in bismuth, silver,
and stibium [24]. The modes of economic Bi and Ag
occurrences in galena are of significant importance in
studying complex ores. In addition, the trace element
composition of galena can serve as an additional crite-
rion for estimating the formation conditions of the
deposit and predicting the down-dip extension of the
mineralization.
Up to the middle 1960s, high-resolution apparatuses
were not widely available for mineralogical studies.
Therefore, publications reported either incomplete or
erroneous data on the modes of trace element occur-
rence in galena. At present, the nature and content of
trace elements in galena are reliably identified by elec-
tron microprobe measurements, scanning transmission
electron microscopy with selected area electron diffrac-
tion (SAED), XRD analysis, and determinations of dif-
ferent physical properties.
It is known that galena contains isomorphic and
mechanical or mineral admixtures. The latter comprises
all visible and submicroscopic (invisible by optical
microscope) mineral inclusions, including epitaxial
intergrowths of galena with other minerals identified by
scanning electron microscope [11]. However, recent
methods of their study are not fully exhausted by the
aforementioned ones. For example, trace atoms in the
mineral structure are successfully determined by EPR
spectroscopy [17].
It is known that one mineral sample can contain
admixtures of different nature, but it is yet difficult to
determine and quantify all the modes of trace element
occurrence in minerals.
MODES OF SILVER, BISMUTH, AND STIBIUM
OCCURRENCE IN GALENA
Below, we give a brief review of the most interesting
publications concerning modes of trace-element
occurrence in galena.
Since galena contains more than 0.5 wt % structural
admixtures of different metals, Eugene Foord proposed
the term galena solid solution [24]. One of the first stud-
ies of natural galena solid solution is presented in the
work of Ontoev with coauthors [5]. Later microprobe
study of galena from different deposits confirmed and
specified previously existing concepts concerning natu-
ral galena solid solutions [1, 4, 19, 22, 23, 25, 27–29, 31].
The most abundant type of natural galena solid solu-
tions is matildite. The experimental study of the Pb–
Ag–Bi–S system showed that the high Bi and Ag con-
tents in galena are related to the presence of high-tem-
perature cubic matildite, α-AgBiS3, which is isostruc-
tural with galena and forms a complete solid solution

144
 MODES OF TRACE ELEMENT OCCURRENCE IN GALENA
with it at temperatures of more than 220°C [33, 34].
This is described by heterovalent isomorphism of
2Pb2+ Ag+ + Bi3+. According to Godovikov [2],
galena containing isomorphic silver and bismuth in
proportions corresponding to those in matildite is
referred to as matildogalena. The existence of natural
galena–matildite solid solution is reported in many
publications [5, 18, 20, 24]. Myrmekite-like galena–
matildite intergrowths are typically considered to be
related to the exsolution of Ag, Bi-bearing galena solid
solution at a temperature below 215°C [24]. Occasion-
ally, matildite is regarded as a mineral phase that crys-
tallized almost simultaneously with galena [21].
The presence of a significant Bi content at the
absence of Ag and Sb results in the formation of a
galena–beergite solid solution. The study of the PbS–
Bi2S3 system showed the possibility of 3Pb2+ 2Bi3+
isomorphism in galena, with its charge compensated
for by variations in the number of atoms. The imperfect
isomorphism and the differences between the beergite
and galena crystalline lattice lead to exsolution of the
Bi-bearing galena solid solution into small beergite and
galena lamellae with decreasing temperature. Similar
beergite microinclusions were noted by Ontoev [5] in
galena of the Bukukin deposit. According to this author,
the galena–beergite solid solution occurs either inde-
pendently or simultaneously with galena–matildite
solution, thus forming a complex binary solid solution.
Ontoev believes [5] that the galenobismuthite lamel-
lae found by Khetchikov [15] in galena from the Verkh-
nee base metal–skarn deposit are likely beergite. This
assumption is supported by the following facts: galeno-
bismuthite and beergite are optically indistinguishable,
and beergite is most close to galena among the known
lead sulfobismuthites of the PbS–Bi2S3 system.
Galena–miargyrite solid solution (AgSbS2) is less
abundant in nature. According to experimental data
[16], the solvus top in the PbS–AgSbS2 system corre-
sponds to the composition (PbS)0.75(AgSbS2)0.25, with
AgSbS2 solubility in PbS of 10 mol % at 350°C, 4 mol %
at 300°C, and less than 2 mol % at 200°C. According to
Nenasheva [4], the continuous solid solution series in
the system PbS–AgSbS2 at temperatures below 400°C
is exsolved into limited solid solutions and two inter-
mediate phases of Ag3PbSb3S7 and AgPbSbS3 (freiesle-
benite). Experimental studies of the Ag2S–Sb2S3–PbS
triple system within the temperature range of 420–
390°C [16, 26] revealed the coexistence field of
freieslebenite (AgPbSbS3) and Ag–Sb-bearing galena
solid solution. However, freieslebenite inclusions are
very rare in galena [11]. Natural galenas more often
contain microinclusions of diaphorite (Pb2Ag3Sb3S8)
[19, 30, 32]. The presence of metastable diaphorite–
galena solvus and the energetically preferable forma-
tion of diaphorite through exsolution of solid solution
are discussed in the work of Sharp and Buseck [32].
Galena also can dissolve high-temperature
pseudocubic aramayoite Ag(Sb, Bi)S2 with close unit
RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF PACIFIC GEOLOGY Vol. 1
145
cell parameters following the scheme of 2Pb2+ Ag+ +
(Sb3+, Bi3+) [6]. The aramayoite-type galena solid solu-
tion rarely occurs in nature, because aramayoite at low
temperatures is transformed into a triclinic modification.
Silver-bearing galena solid solutions without Bi and
Sb are even more rare. Van Hook [33] experimentally
showed that only limited amounts of silver are incorpo-
rated in the lattice of galena: the solubility of Ag2S in
galena even at 700°C is only 0.4 mol %. Ramdor [8]
proposed that at conditions close to those of hydrother-
mal mineral formation, the solubility of Ag2S is no
more than 0.1 mol % for high-temperature and
0.01 mol % for low-temperature ores. Later studies
confirmed that the silver content in galena is related to
mineral inclusions of silver and silver-bearing minerals
in a galena matrix. For example, the predominance of a
mechanical silver admixture in galena from some lead–
zinc deposits of the Dal’negorsk district was repeatedly
emphasized by Sveshnikova [10, 11]. Phase analysis
was applied to determine the total silver content in
galena and the amount of silver related to mineral inclu-
sions and to calculate the content of isomorphic silver
[14]. This method showed that the isomorphic silver in
all the studied galenas accounts for no more than 10%
of the total silver content.
It should be noted that the formation of a definite
type of galena solid solution is defined not only by the
environmental temperature and contents of trace ele-
ments, but also by the element assemblage in the sys-
tem [24]. For example, if a system, in addition to Ag
and Sb, contains Cu, Zn, and other metals, the Sb and
Ag are more preferably incorporated into fahlores and
different silver sulfostibnites [6]. Galena solid solutions
with a sharp Bi predominance over Ag are typically
associated with a wide spectrum of complex Bi–Pb–
Ag(Cu) sulfosalts.
METHODS
This paper reports on the chemical study of galena
taken from different depth levels of the Partizansky
deposit. Previous data on the vertical zoning of skarn
orebodies [9, 12] allowed one to subdivide the orebod-
ies into three depth levels: the root zone (from –200 m
to +5m), the middle level (from +5 m to +250 m), and
the upper level (+285 m). The trace element distribution
in natural galena solid solutions was studied for two
orebodies extending to a great depth: (1) the Second
Contact body with the most contrasting vertical miner-
alogical–geochemical zoning; (2) the Bol’nichnaya
lode, the largest orebody with the least contrasting ver-
tical variations in its mineral and chemical composition
(Fig. 1).
The galena composition was studied by quantitative
emission spectral and electron microprobe using “Cam-
ebax” and “JXA-5A” microprobes. Monomineral frac-
tions of galena taken from coarse- and medium-grained
ore hand-specimens at the middle and upper levels of
No. 2 2007
146 SIMANENKO

(a) B
d e
N lo

a
ay
hn
' nic
Bol
ies
eb od
or

e
at
i
ter m ed
p o f Ii n
ou
Gr

es
di
e bo
r
c to
o nta

C
e
th
of
G r o up
0 200 400 m
A

(b)

+365

A +145 B
4 3 2 1 5

–135

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Fig. 1. (a) Schematic geological plan of the +145 m level at the Partizansky deposit; (b) scheme of zoning of the Contact orebodies
in the plane of vertical contact of the body of Triassic limestones and host Early Cretaceous terrigenous rocks (according to Kolesni-
kov). (1) Triassic limestones; (2) Early Cretaceous siltstones and sandstones; (3) sedimentary breccia with fragments of limestones
and siliceous rocks; (4) Late Cretaceous felsic tuffs; (5–7) orebodies: (5) essentially zinc ores (Pb/Zn < 0.5) in the ilvaite–garnet–
hedenbergite skarn; (6) lead–zinc ores (Pb/Zn ≈ 0.8) in the hedenbergite skarn; (7) lead–zinc ores (Pb/Zn > 1) in a quartz–calcite
rock with superimposed Ag-bearing mineralization; (8) low-amplitude normal fault.
Orebodies: (1) Main, (2) Second, (3) Third; (4) Tenth, (5) Bol’nichnaya lode

the Second Contact body were analyzed by spectral
analysis. The wide spectrum of trace elements (Cd, Sb,
Bi, Sn, Mo, Ag, Cu, As, Fe, Zn) found by quantitative
spectral analysis in galena embraces all the modes of
trace element occurrence. To determine the composi-
tion and amount of the isomorphic admixtures with the
microprobes, areas free from microscopic intergrowths
of any other minerals were taken from galena at a great
magnification under an ore microscope. The chemically
heterogeneous areas were excluded using the compo
mode on a microprobe prior to the analysis.
Mineral Assemblages and Characteristic Features
of Vertical Zoning of Ore Bodies
The geological structure of the Partizansky deposit
has been reported in numerous publications and is not
considered in this paper [3, 7, 9].
The great bulk of the ores were formed during the
early base metal– skarn stage, which is subdivided into
four subsequent mineral assemblages: silicate–skarn,
quartz–arsenopyrite, productive galena–sphalerite, and
pyrrhotite–pyrite–chalcopyrite. The silver-bearing assem-
blages of the late stage occur in subordinate amounts in

RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF PACIFIC GEOLOGY Vol. 1 No. 2 2007

 MODES OF TRACE ELEMENT OCCURRENCE IN GALENA
the uppermost part of the orebodies or at the flanks of
the deposit [12].
The Partizansky deposit exhibits vertical zoning
defined by a subsequent updip change from essentially
zinc ores with silver–bismuth specialization to typical
lead–zinc and silver–stibium–lead–zinc ores. The zon-
ing is telescopic (related to the formation of the late sil-
ver–sulfosalt mineralization) and facies (typical of the
early stage) [12].
The pattern of the zoning pattern is similar in all the
ore bodies of the deposit, being reduced in small (short
by the vertical) bodies of the Contact group and
extended in the large bodies (Fig. 1). The extended zon-
ing can be illustrated by the Bol’nichnaya lode. Owing
to the low temperature gradient, essentially zinc ores
typical of the root zone of the Contact ore bodies were
recovered in this lode within a depth range from +145 m
to –200 m (Fig. 1).
Distribution and Chemical Composition of Galena
Galena is the most abundant mineral in the early-
stage productive galena–sphalerite assemblage and less
common in the assemblages of the late silver–sulfosalt
stage.
The productive galena–sphalerite assemblage
within the vertical section of the Contact orebodies var-
ies in mineral composition, the proportions of sphaler-
ite and galena (from the root to the upper parts of the
orebodies, the Pb/Zn ratio varies from 0.1 to 1), and the
chemical composition of the ore-forming and subordi-
nate minerals. Depending on the depth, two facies vari-
eties of galena–sphalerite assemblages can be distin-
guished within the Second Contact body: the produc-
tive assemblage of the root zone and the productive
assemblage of the middle and upper zones. As was
mentioned above, the productive assemblage of the
Bol’nichnaya lode over the entire vertical extension is
similar in mineral and chemical composition to that of
the root zone of the Second Contact body, though
exhibits some geochemical specifics.
The Second Contact ore body. The predominant
mineral of the galena–sphalerite assemblage in the root
zone is sphalerite, which forms massive aggregates in
hedenbergite and hedenbergite–garnet–ilvaite skarn.
Subordinate amounts of other ore minerals are scat-
tered over a sphalerite matrix. Galena occurs as small
stringer–reticulate aggregates, separate disseminations
up to 5 mm in size, pockets up to few cm across in
sphalerite, and, more rarely, among intergrowths of
skarn silicates. It forms tight intergrowths with bismuth
minerals (lillianite–gustavite sulfosalts, cosalite, gale-
nobismuthite, mummeite, Ag-bearing heyrovskyite,
wittite, selenic joseite A, hedleyite, and Bi-bearing
fahlore) (Fig. 2). The aforementioned Bi minerals are
observed as both monomineral aggregates, and simple
and complex polymineral intergrowths spatially related
to galena. The wide development of thin myrmekite
RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF PACIFIC GEOLOGY Vol. 1
147
intergrowths of Ag–Pb–Bi sulfosalts with each other or
with Ag–Bi-bearing galena can be the exsolution prod-
ucts of early Bi phases (protominerals) [13].
In terms of the abundance of the major isomorphic
admixtures (silver and bismuth) and the morphology,
the galena from the productive assemblage of the root
zone of the Second Contact body is distinctly subdi-
vided into two groups. Galena I forms thin stringer–
reticulate dissemination in a sphalerite matrix. It con-
tains 0.6–1.3 wt % Ag and 0.9–2.6 wt % Bi (Table 1).
A Bi/Ag ratio within 1.5–2.0 indicates the isomorphic
incorporation of these elements in the galena lattice in
the form of matildite (α-AgBiS2).
Galena II closely intergrown with Ag–Pb–Bi–S sul-
fosalts and native bismuth forms polyphase pocketlike
aggregates in a sphalerite matrix. It comprises 2.27–
4.86 wt % Bi and 0.29–1.20 wt % Ag (Table 1). The
Bi/Ag ratio widely varies from 2.2 to 14.86, attesting to
the occurrence of Bi and Ag not only in the form of
α-matildite, but also as other complex compounds
and/or submicroscopic inclusions of bismuth sulfos-
alts. The compositions of the galena solid solutions of
both groups are shown in the triangle diagram (Fig. 3).
It is seen that the matildite solid solutions are plotted on
or around the tie-line of the galena–matildite series. By
contrast, galena II associated with Pb–Bi–Ag sulfosalts
and native bismuth and characterizing by significant
bismuth predominance over silver is plotted to the right
of the galena–matildite tie line.
In addition, galena II typically contains isomorphic
Zn, thus testifying to a complex composition of high-
temperature solid solutions. The Zn presence might
affect the galena stability and provide multistage break-
down into more ordered phases. Occasionally, galena II
contains trace Se substituting S.
The mineragraphic studies showed that the high Ag
and Bi contents in the galena from the root zone of the
Second Contact body (as well as from the Bol’nichnaya
lode) are related not only to the elevated contents of iso-
morphic bismuth and silver but also with the abundance
of fine inclusions of the minerals of these elements.
Unfortunately, we failed to determine the bulk content
of the admixtures with the spectral analysis, because
this galena occurs in a sharply subordinate (relative to
sphalerite) amount and cannot be hand-picked.
The middle and upper zones of the Second Contact
body show different proportions of the major ore-form-
ing minerals. In the middle levels, sphalerite only insig-
nificantly predominates over galena. The intergrowths
of these major sulfides attest to almost simultaneous
crystallization. In the upper parts of the orebodies,
galena is superior to sphalerite and formed later.
Besides ore-forming minerals, the galena–sphalerite
assemblage in the middle and upper parts of the ore
bodies contains subordinate chalcopyrite and Ag tetra-
hedrite.
The quantitative spectral analysis showed that the
galena of the productive assemblage from the middle
No. 2 2007
148 SIMANENKO

3
1
4 3
2
1
2
5

(‡) (b) 3

2
2
1
1

(c) (d)

2
1

3
(e) (f)

Fig. 2. Typical morphology of galena in the base-metal ores of the Partizansky deposit. (a–d) Second Contact orebody, (e, f)
Bol’nichnaya lode. (a) Disseminated and pocket aggregates of galena (1) in sphalerite (2) associated with Bi minerals ((3) native
bismuth, (4) sulfosalt of lillianite–gustavite series, (5) bismuthinite). Polished section 571/15, magn. 100. (b) Galenobismuthite
lamellae (2) in galena (1); (3) sphalerite. Polished section 571/3, magn. 200. (c) Intergrowths of major ore minerals in the productive
galena–sphalerite assemblage at the level of +145 m, (1) galena, (2) sphalerite. Polished section 539/2, magn. 100. (d) Dissemina-
tion of freibergite (2) in galena II (1) (sulfosalt–galena–chalcopyrite assemblage of stage II). Polished section 536/4, magn. 300.
(e) Stringer–reticulate dissemination of galena (1) and dissemination of native bismuth (2) in sphalerite (3). Polished section 563/7,
magn. 200. (f) Dissemination of galena (1) in a silicate skarn gangue; (2) native bismuth. Polished section 563/67, magn. 200.

interval is low in admixtures: 0.023–0.033 wt % Ag, predominance of galena of the sulfosalt–galena–chal-

0.048–0.060 wt % Sb, and 0.0036–0.075 wt % Bi
(Table 2). No admixtures above the detection limit
were found in the galena using a JXA-5A microprobe
at the Far East Geological Institute, Far East Division,
Russian Academy of Sciences.
We cannot extract galena of the early productive
assemblage from the uppermost part of the Second
Contact body (the level of +285 m), because two min-
eralization stages are superposed at this level, with the
copyrite assemblage of the late silver–sulfosalt stage.
According to the atomic absorption, the galena from the
productive assemblage in the upper part of the Second
Contact body contains only thousandths of a percent of
Ag and Sb and ten thousandths of a percent of Bi.
The characteristic feature of the sulfosalt–galena–
chalcopyrite assemblage of the late stage is the pres-
ence of abundant dissemination of silver minerals (pyr-
argyrite, stephanite, acanthite, freibergite) among the

RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF PACIFIC GEOLOGY Vol. 1 No. 2 2007

 MODES OF TRACE ELEMENT OCCURRENCE IN GALENA 149

Table 1. Chemical composition of galena from the productive assemblage of the root zone of the Second Contact body (level
of –135 m) based on electron probe microanalysis of polished sections, wt %
Ordinal Sample
Morphological type of galena Ag Bi Zn Pb S Se Total Bi/Ag
No. No.
1 571/15 Small pockets of galena 0.49 2.64 1.16 81.55 13.10 – 98.94 5.4
in a sphalerite matrix,
2 which are closely associated 0.42 2.77 1.08 82.27 12.89 – 99.43 6.6
3 with native bismuth and Ag–Bi–Pb 1.20 4.86 0.18 80.57 13.46 – 100.27 4.0
sulfosalts
4 1.03 2.29 0.17 83.40 13.27 – 100.16 2.2
5 0.67 2.31 0.69 81.49 13.06 0.18 98.22 3.4
6 0.39 2.27 0.82 81.87 13.19 0.10 98.64 5.8
7 571/11 0.41 4.68 0.87 80.24 12.92 – 99.12 11.4
8 0.29 4.28 0.28 80.84 12.76 – 98.45 14.8
9 571/13 0.88 3.46 0.30 81.97 13.04 – 99.65 3.9
10 0.80 3.20 0.24 82.13 13.11 – 99.48 4.0
11 1.16 3.20 n.a. 83.87 13.50 – 101.73 2.8
12 571/3 0.96 2.68 n.a. 82.71 13.66 – 100.01 2.8
13 1.07 3.43 n.a. 83.08 13.42 – 101.0 3.2
14 571/4 Stringer–reticulate dissemination 0.6 0.9 – 83.80 13.60 – 98.90 1.5
of galena in a sphalerite matrix
15 0.6 1.1 – 83.80 13.40 – 98.90 1.8
16 0.9 1.5 – 82.80 13.60 – 98.80 1.7
17 571/10 1.3 2.5 – 80.20 13.60 – 97.60 1.9
18 1.3 2.6 – 81.80 13.60 – 99.30 2.0
Note: the analyses were performed using a JXA-5A (Far East Geological Institute, Far East Division, Russian Academy of Sciences,
an. 1–10, 14–18; analyst V. I. Sapin) and a Camebax microprobe (Institute of Volcanology, Far East Division, Russian Academy
of Sciences; an. 11–13, analyst V.M. Chubarov). (–) Not detected, (n.a.) not analyzed. Copper, stibium, and tellurium were not found.

Table 2. Contents of trace elements in galena from the upper and middle levels of the Second Contact body based on quan-
titative spectral analysis, wt %

Sample
Hor. (m) Assemblage Cd Sb Bi Sn Mo Ag Cu As Fe Zn
No.

536/2 +285 Predominant sulfosalt– 0.0048 0.14 0.0008 0.0003 0.0003 0.077 0.01 0.03 0.1 0.005
galena–chalcopyrite
assemblage of the II
stage + productive
assemblage of the I stage
539/5 +145 Productive galena– 0.0056 0.048 0.075 0.0003 0.0003 0.033 0.003 – 0.05 0.003
sphalerite assemblage
549/1 +75 of stage I 0.0030 0.048 0.0036 0.0003 0.0002 0.023 0.01 0.03 0.1 0.01
566/2 +5 0.0046 0.060 0.0061 0.0001 0.0002 0.031 0.001 – 0.05 0.005
Note: (–) not found. Analyst T.V. Lankova.

major sulfides, galena II, and chalcopyrite (Fig. 2d).
Galena II typically occurs as pockets and stringers cut-
ting across early sulfide aggregates.
The quantitative spectral analysis showed that
galena II contains no less than 0.077% Ag and 0.14%
Sb (at an extremely low Bi content of 0.0008%) (Table 2).
The mineragraphic study showed that the elevated Ag
and Sb contents in the galena II are related mainly to
numerous microinclusions of diverse Ag sulfosalts,
acanthite, and native silver. The microprobe analysis of

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150 SIMANENKO

Bi One point in the galena II yielded a high silver con-

Bi
Matildite
Ag Pb
90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 Pb
Ag 1 2 3
Fig. 3. Compositions of galena from the productive galena–
sphalerite assemblage in the Pb–Bi–Ag diagram (at %).
(1, 2) near-root zone of the Second Contact body: (1) galena
of the first group (Bi/Ag = 1.5–2.2); (2) galena of the second
group (Bi/Ag = 2.3–14.9); (3) Bol’nichnay lode.
two areas free of visible inclusions showed 0.02–0.07%
Ag and 0.02–0.04% Sb. It is known that miargyrite
solid solutions have a subordinate role and occur in lim-
ited amounts in the AgSbS2–PbS system.
tent (0.37 wt %) with no stibium and bismuth within the
detection limit. According to Van Hook [33], the solu-
bility of Ag2S in galena even at high temperatures
(700°C) is as low as 0.4 mol %. Hence, the high Ag
content can be explained by the presence of the finest
microinclusions of native silver or acanthite, which are
invisible under an optical microscope.
The Bol’nichnaya ore lode. The galena from the
Bol’nichnaya lode is more diverse in its morphology. It
forms unevenly scattered and stringer–reticulate dissemi-
nation in a matrix of predominant sphalerite (Fig. 2e), dis-
semination and pockets in a skarn gangue (Fig. 2f), and
thin rims around polygranular sphalerite aggregates.
The two former galena types exhibit a similar wide
scatter in their Bi (0.50–3.90 wt %) and Ag (0.50–
2.90 wt %) contents. A Bi/Ag ratio within 1.0–3.8
(Table 3) indicates that these elements occur in the
galena lattice as α-matildite and as a complex binary
solid solution of the matildite–beergite type.
The galena represented by the rims around sphaler-
ite pockets is the latest generation, which differs in its
significantly lower contents of both silver (0.2 wt %)
and Bi (1.0 wt %) with a significant Bi predominance
over Ag (Bi/Ag = 5.0).
The compositions of all the distinguished galena
types from the Bol’nichnaya lode are also plotted in the

Table 3. Chemical composition of galena from the ores of the Bol'nichnaya lode based on electron probe microanalysis, wt %
Ordinal Sample
Level (m) Morphological type of galena Ag Bi Pb S Se Total Bi/Ag
No. No.
1 1106/1 +150 Fine dissemination 1.27 3.34 82.09 13.44 n.a. 100.14 2.6
of galena in sphalerite
2 1106/2 ″ 1.03 2.99 83.47 13.37 n.a. 100.86 2.9
3 1075 +145 0.59 1.60 84.88 13.02 n.a. 100.09 2.7
4 5B +75 0.61 2.29 83.24 13.43 n.a. 99.57 3.8
5 3 ″ 0.80 1.85 83.85 13.82 n.a. 99.32 2.3
6 563/6 ″ Stringer–reticulate dissemina- 1.10 2.00 82.60 13.40 – 99.10 1.8
tion of galena in sphalerite
7 563/7 ″ Galena dissemination 2.90 3.90 79.70 13.30 – 99.80 1.3
in a silicate skarn gangue
8 ″ ″ 0.70 1.20 83.10 13.70 0.30 99.00 1.7
9 ″ ″ 1.10 1.50 83.70 13.30 0.10 99.70 1.4
10 529/6 ″ Galena rims around granular 0.20 1.00 85.20 13.50 – 100.00 5.0
aggregates of sphalerite
11 529/7 ″ 0.20 1.00 85.70 13.40 – 100.30 5.0
12 535 +5 Fine spotty dissemination 0.67 2.00 83.00 13.33 n.a. 99.00 3.0
of galena in sphalerite
13 978 –160 0.63 1.63 84.61 13.32 n.a. 100.19 2.6
14 511/87 –210 0.50 0.50 84.90 13.30 – 99.20 1.0
Note: the analyses were performed using a JXA-5A electron microprobe (Far East Geological Institute, Far East Division, Russian Acad-
emy of Sciences, an. 1–5, 12, 13; analyst V. I. Sapin) and a Camebax microprobe (Institute of Volcanology, Far East Division, Rus-
sian Academy of Sciences; an. 6–11, 14; analyst V.M. Chubarov). (–) Not detected, (n.a.) not analyzed. Copper, stibium, and tellu-
rium were not found.

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 MODES OF TRACE ELEMENT OCCURRENCE IN GALENA
triangle Pb–Bi–Ag diagram (Fig. 3). The galena from the
Bol’nichnaya lode disseminated in a skarn gangue at the
level of +75 m contains 0.1–0.3 wt % isomorphic Se.
CONCLUSIONS
The content of trace elements (bismuth and silver)
in the galena decreases from the root to the uppermost
zones of the Second Contact body. These elements
occur as matildite in galena I from the root zone and as
matildite and more complex compounds in galena II.
The elevated silver content in the galena at the upper-
most level of the Second Contact body (+285 m) is
related to the superposition of the second silver–sulfosalt
stage on the early mineral assemblages, being mainly
caused by abundant inclusions of silver minerals.
The Bi and Ag contents in the galena from the
Bol’nichnaya lode are similar to those in the galena
from the root zone of the Second Contact ore body.
Data on the zoning of the galena composition can be
used for predicting and estimating other orebodies of
the Partizansky deposit.
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Reviewer S. M. Rodionov

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