Canadian Mineralogist
Vol. 18, pp. 361-363 (1980)
ROOUESITE
AND Gu-ln-BEABINcSPHALERITE
FROM LAITICSAN,
BERGSLAGEN,
SWEDEN
E.A.J.BURKE
Institute of Earth Sciences, Free University, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdarn,
The Netherlands
C. KIEFT
Netherlands Organizttion for the Advancement of Pure Research (Z.W.O.),
De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV. Amsterdam, The Netherlands
ABSTT,AcT
Roquesite, CuInSr, .is the first reported indium
mineral from Lingban. The coexisting sphalerite
shows oscillatory zoning in Cu and In contents;
and may form a partial binary solid solution
Znn-2,CuJn,S:. Indium and copper were concentrated to form roquesite during the mobilization
process of older sulfide-rich material at relatively
high temperafures.
Keywords: roquesite, hdium,
Sweden.
sphalerite, L&ngban,
Sorvrruerns
La roquesite
CuIn$,est le premiermin6rald'indium trouv6 i L6ngban. La sphal6ritecoexistante,
qui montre une zonation p6riodiqueen Cu et In,
forme probablementune solution solide binaire
incompldte Zns-2"Cu"In"Sr.L'indium et le cuivre
ont 6t6 concentr6spour former la roquesitelors de
processusde mobilisationde sulfuresplus anciens
d temp6raturesrelativement6lev6es.
(Traduit nar la Rddaction)
Mots-cl€s: roquesite,indium, sphal6rite,L&ngban,
Sudde.
INt.lR,opuctroN
The rare indium mineral roquesite, CuInSr,
has been described from Charrier (Allier),
France (Picot & Pierrot 1963), the Akenobe
mine, Japan (Kato & Shinohara 1968), Mount
Pleasant, New Brunswick (Sutherland & Boorman 1969), central Kazakhstan, U.S.S.R.
(Yarenskaya & Slyusarev 1970), col du Lautaret
(Hautes-Alpes), France (Picot 1973) and the
Urup deposit (northern Caucasus), U.S.S.R.
(Kachalovskaya et al. 1973). During an investigation of some sulfide minerals from the
well-known mines of L&ngban, Bergslagen
province, central Sweden, roquesite was found
in sample RM 670226 of the Swedish Natural
History Museum. Indium had not previously
been reported from Lingban; it can now be
added to the list of more than 30 elements
that are present in major quantities in at least
one mineral species (Moore l97O),
MrNrner.ocy
Sample RM 670226 consists of magnetite replaced by Cu-bearing minerals, mainly bornite
and chalcocite, which locally form myrmekitic
intergrowths. Galena,digenite, roquesite,sphalerite and native bismuth are present as small
inclusions in bornite and chalcocite. Wittichenite, CusBiSa,has been formed as a reaction
rim (up to20 p,m wide) around native bismuth.
Magnetite coniains small inclusions of chalcopyrite, bornite and digenite. Blue-remaining
covellite is present as an alteration product. The
sample has been described in some detail in
connection with other sulfide specimens from
L&ngban (Burke 1980).
Roquesite occurs as small roundish grains
(maximum diameter 30 pm) in bornite and
chalcocite. In reflected light roquesite shows
a brownish-grey color, similar to wittichenite but
with a reflectivity only slightly higher (its R
is about 227o) than magnetite. The mineral is
isotropic and has a polishing hardness higher
than for bornite and lower than for sphalerite.
Roquesite is always associated with Cu-Inbearing sphalerite, which is optically homogeneous in-reflected light. In transmitted light these
sphalerite grains show irregular cores con-sisting
of oscillatory-zoned, darker and lighter brown
sphalerite and homogeneous rims of light yellow
to colorless sphalerite. Sphalerite grains not associated with roquesite are entirely colorless.
361
362
THE
CANADIAN
IVIINERALOCIST
The sulfide minerals of L8ngban belong to
period C in the model of Magnusson (1930):
SPHALER1TE
*r
R0qUEslTE
vein fillings and the irnpregnation of older ores
with sulfides. Bostriim et al. (1979) suggested
567
234
r
an exhalative-sedimentary origin for the ISng66.5 64.5 60.4 57.2 51.8 51.1
Zn
6.0
6.9
LU
2 6 . 5 5r 0 . 4
0.2
0.9
2.7
4.0
ban ores; the early stagesof ore formation prob9.1 10.4
ln
5.5
47.9 i o.z
0,6
0.7
0.1
1.1
0.3
0.6
Fe
0.4_! o.l
ably consisted of sulfide deposition, followed
0.4
0.3
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.3
cd
26.0 : 0.15
33.0 32.4 32.0 3 2 , 0 3 1 . 1 3 1 . 0
by iron- and manganese-oxidedeposition. SubTota l
100.95
1 0 0 I. 1 0 0 . 5 9 9 . 3 9 9 . 7 9 8 . 9 1 0 0 . 5
sequent folding and metamorphic events caused
recrystallization of the ores and mobilization of
Nmber of jons based on a total of 4 (rcquesite) or 2 (sphalerite)
sulfide-rich materials, which intruded the ores
0.88 0.81 0.80
0.99 0.97
Zn
(Bostriim et al. 1979).
LU
0.003 0.01 0.04 0,06 0.10 0.11
1.01
ln
0.01 0.03 0.05 0.08 0.10
1.01
High concentrations of indium usually occur
0 . 0 0 2 0 . 0 2 0.005 0 , 0 1 0 . 0 1 0 . 0 r
Fe
0.0?
0.003 0 . 0 0 3 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.004
cd
in cassiterite-sulfide deposits and in copper1.00 1.00 0.99 0.98
1.96
1.00
pyrite polymetallic deposits, both of hydrothert Averagevalu€ and range of sjx analyses
mal or exhalative-sedirnentary origin. In all
s c o l o r l e s ss p h a l e r l t e( a n a l y s e 2
previously described occulrences, In-bearing
s & 3), llght brcm sphalerit€
(analyses4 & 5), dark brM sphalerltr (analyses6 & 7)
minerals are associatedwith Sn minerals (cassiterite, stannite, mawsonite). In this respect
Electron-microprobe analyses were carried Lingban forms an exception: the only Sn minout with a Cambridge Instruments Microscan eral reported from this deposit is wickmanite,
9. As the oscillatory zones in the core of the a late-stage low-temperature mineral (Moore &
sphalerite grains have a width of less than 1 pm, Smith 1967). A number of trace elementsin
their true composition could not be measured, the L&ngban ores were evidently concentrated
but Cu and In oscillate sympathetically in step in individual minerals during the mobilization
traverses across the zones of lighter and darker prosess, which occurred at relatively high temsphalerite. Analyses of roquesite and of differ- peratures(Burke 1980).
ently colored sphalerite are given in Table 1.
Apparent concentrations were ZAF-corrected
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
with a modified Springer (1967) program and
with the Microscan 9 on-line program.
Professor Oen Ing Soen (University of Am'
sterdam) is thanked for helpful discussions.MiDlscussroN
croprobe work was made possible by courtesy
of the Free University (Amsterdam) and of
Data have been published on the limited the WACOM, a working group for analytical
solubilities of indium (0.15 wt. % at 60O"C) geochemistry subsidized by the Netherlands
and copper (lessthan 7 wt. %, even at 800"C) brganization for the Advancemenl ef Pure
in sphalerite (Boorman & Sutherland 1969, Research(Z.W.O.). Dr. E. Welin of the Swedish
Craig & Kullerud 1969), but no quantitative data Natural History Museum placed the specimen
are available on the system sphalerite-roquesite. at our disposal.A visit to the Stockholm Museum
Oen et al. (198O) have described oscillatory- was made possibleby a grant from the Stichting
zoned crystals in the pseudoternary system stan- Molengraaff-Fonds.
nite--sphalerite-roquesite-hydrothermal solution,
in which crystallization temperatures of Cu-InRrrsnsNcrs
rich sphalerite are assumed to be intermediate
between those of stannite-rich sphalerite and
BooRMAN.R.S. & StmlrnlANo, J.K. (1959): Sub'
pure sphalerite. The occurrence in L&ngban of
solidus phase relations in the ZnS-Ina$ system:
zoned sphalerite crystals having Cu and In
600 - 1080'C.l. Mat.,tci. 4, 658-671.
contents with atomic proportions close to 1: 1
(Table I ) confirms the assumption of Oen et Bosrn6u, K., Rvprtl, H. & Josxsw, O. (1979),:
Lingban - an exhalative sedimentary deposit?
a/. (1980) that sphalerite and roquesite form a
Econ.Geol. 74, 1002-1011.
discontinuous binary solid solution seriessimilar
to the series sphalerite-stannite. The rims and Bunrn, E.A.J. (1980): Cuprostibite,cupriangalena,
grains of colorless sphalerite with low Cu and
altaite, cuprian massicot, wittichenite, and bisIn contents are related to later stages in which
muthinite from L6ngban, Sweden;Neues tahrb.
crystallization took place at lower temperatures.
Mineral. Monatsh. t980, UI-246.
g) OF ROQUESITE
(XETGHT
ANDSPHALERITE
TABLE1. MICROPROBE
ANALYSES
ROQUESITE
FROM
L.6,NGBAN, swBDEN
Cnerc, J.R. & Kulr.rnuo, G. (1969): The Cu-ZnS system. Carnegie Inst. Wash. Yearbook 67,
177-179.
V.M., Kurorv, V.A., KozLovA,
KAcHALovsKAyA,
E.V. & BAsovA,G.V. (1973): Roquesitefrom
bornite ores from the Urup deposit. ln Investigations on Ore Mineralogy (M.S. Bezsmertnaya,
ed.), Nauka, Moscow (in Russ.).
Kero, A. & Srmloruu, K. (1968): The oeurrence of roquesitefrom the Akenobe ming Hyogo
prefecture,Japan. Mineral. l, (lapan) 5, 276284.
MAGNUs$N,N.H. (1930): Lingbans Malmtrakt.
Sver. Geol. Unders. Ser.Ca 23, (in Swed.,Engl.
summary).
363
mine, Cartagena, Spain. Amer. Mineral. 65 (in
press).
Prcor, P. (t973): Un nouvel indice de roquesite,
Culn$l Les Clochettes, col du Lautaret (HautesAlpes). Soc. frang. Mindral. Crist. Bull. 96,
3t9-320,
& PrBnnor, R. (1963): La roquesite, premier min6ral d'indium: CuIn$. Soc. franc. Min6'
ral. Crist. BulL 86, 7-I4,
SpnrNcB& G. (1967): Die Berechnung von Korrekturen fiir die quantitative ElektronenstrahlMikroanalyse. Fortschr, Mineral. 46, 103-124.
Srmrnnr-eNo, J.K. & BooRIviAN, R.S. (1969): A
new occurrence of roquesite at Mount Pleasant,
New Brunswick. Amer. Mineral. 54, 1202'L203.
Moonr, P.B. (1970): Mineralogy and chemistryof
I;frngban-tlpe deposits in Bergslagen, Sweden.
Mineral. Record t, t5+L72.
YARENSKAvA,M.A. & Sr-vusenrv, A'P. (1970):
First find of roquesite in the U.S.S,R. Dokl.
& Srrarrn,J.V. (1967): Wickmanite,Mn+2
Acad. Sci. U.,SJ.R., Earth Sci. Sect. 1,9L' t38'
[Sn+a(OH)el,a new mineral from Hngban. lrlr,
140.
Mineryl. Geol. il, 395-399.
OsN, I.S., KecB& P. & Krrrr, C. (1980): Orcillatory zoning of a discontinuous solid solution Received March 1980, revised manuscript accepted
June 1980.
series: sphalerite-stannitecrystals from J. Cesar