Elemental imaging of organic matter and associated metals in ore deposits using micro PIXE and micro-EBS

Micro-PIXE and micro-EBS analyses were carried out on samples from the Au–U-bearing Carbon Leader Reef of the Witwatersrand in South Africa to investigate the role of organic matter in the formation of this deposit. Micro-PIXE and Micro-EBS shows a very complex metal distribution within the bitumen nodules and their interstitial spaces. The style of the gold distribution and its association with epigenetic minerals (REE phosphates, phyllosilicates) indicates that all observed gold migrated in aqueous solution and precipitated by reduction on the surfaces of the bitumen nodules. Uraninite occurrences are confined to the bitumen nodules, which supports the argument of a uraninite paleo-placer; however the pervasive distribution of uranium also supports the argument that uraninite is derived from organo-metallic complexes. This study shows that micro-PIXE is a powerful tool to characterize metals associated with hydrocarbons. However, the organic matrix, the complexity of the obtained spectra and the small size of the minerals have significant influence on the reliability of the quantitative data. Due to highly variable amounts of heavy metals (U, Au, Pb) the obtained micro-EBS results are of questionable quality.