The supergene origin of ruthenian hexaferrum in Ni‐laterites |
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| Authors: | Thomas Aiglsperger Joaquín A Proenza Salvador Galí Jordi Rius Francisco Longo Cristina Domènech |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Departament de Mineralogia, Petrologia i Geologia Aplicada, Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain;2. Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona, CSIC, Campus de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain;3. Faculty of Engineering, Universidad Católica Tecnológica del Cibao (UCATECI), La Vega, Dominican Republic |
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| Abstract: | For two decades, the nature of Fe‐rich, oxygen‐bearing, Ru–Os compounds found in the supergene environment has been debated. Ru–Os–Fe‐oxides and nano‐intergrowths of ruthenium with magnetite have been proposed. We applied FE‐SEM, EMPA, μ‐Raman spectroscopy and synchrotron tts‐μXRD to Ru–Os–Fe compounds recovered from Ni‐laterites from the Dominican Republic. The results demonstrate that a significant portion of Fe exists in a common structure with the Ru–Os alloy, that is, ruthenian hexaferrum. This mineral occurs both as nanoparticles and as micrometric patches within a matrix of Fe‐oxide(s). Our data suggest that supergene ruthenian hexaferrum with a (Ru0.4(Os,Ir)0.1Fe0.5)?1.0 stoichiometry represents the most advanced weathering product of primary laurite within Ni‐laterites from the Dominican Republic. |
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