Identifying Copper Arsenate Minerals
Different groups of minerals occur in secondary supergene zones. If an original deposit contains arsenic, secondary arsenic minerals will form as well. For example, when examining Porphyry Copper, bayldonite, chenevixite, conichalcite, clinoclase, and olivenite are among the secondary minerals commonly found. Identifying these arsenate-bearing minerals is essential to exploration. The challenge is distinguishing between the different types of arsenate-bearing minerals in porphyry copper deposits.
The plot to the left displays the spectral signatures of the secondary minerals that are regularly found in porphyry copper samples.
NIR spectroscopy is an excellent tool for mineral identification in copper exploration. Spectral Evolution designed our oreXpress, oreXplorer, and oreXpert field geological spectrometers precisely for this kind of application. Coupled with our EZ-ID mineral identification libraries, geologists looking for minable copper deposits can map alteration zone mineralogy and identify diagnostic minerals quickly and efficiently.
Every spectrometer in our oreX-line includes our DARWin SP Data Acquisition software. Add on EZ-ID with the Custom Library Builder Module to compare your target sample with a known library of mineral spectra. EZ-ID comes pre-loaded with the USGS spectral library and is available with the optional GeoSpec and SpecMIN libraries for instant identification of over 731 minerals.
