首页|Patterns and forms of copper and cobalt in Macrotermes falciger mounds of the Lubumbashi area, DR Congo
Patterns and forms of copper and cobalt in Macrotermes falciger mounds of the Lubumbashi area, DR Congo
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NSTL
Elsevier
Using termite mounds as sampling medium for geochemical exploration is based on the assumption that mound construction results in upward transfer of particles that could reflect the composition of the underlying material. For large mounds such as those constructed by Macrotermes species, this is complicated by their dimensions and age. To investigate whether and how such mounds can be sampled to provide information about the nature of subsurface deposits, two Macrotermes falciger mounds built over mineralized deposits were sampled. For comparison, the soils around those mounds, as well as four control mounds in areas without mineralized deposits, were also sampled. Copper and cobalt concentrations were measured using hand-held XRF spectrometry, and chemical speciation analyses were performed for selected samples. The termite mounds built on mineralized deposits contained up to 9 times more Cu than the surrounding soils and up to 13 times more than termite mounds built over non-mineralized deposits. Cobalt concentrations were well above the detection limit in mounds on mineralized deposits, with values of up to 630 ppm, in contrast to the surrounding soils and the control mounds. Copper concentrations were found to be highest in the central basal part of the metal-bearing active mound. The speciation study showed that Co was predominantly in reducible form, whereas Cu was predominantly in both reducible and residual forms. Sampling of large termite mounds is confirmed as a possible tool in Cu-Co prospection, whereby it must be taken into account that metal distribution within the mounds is neither uniform nor static.
NSTL
Elsevier
