PRIMER REGISTRO DE MINERALIZACIÓN DE Mo Y HALLAZGO DE SULFUROS DE Pb Y DE Sb EN EL YACIMIENTO DE Bi-Cu-Au TIPO BRECCIA PIPE SAN FRANCISCO DE LOS ANDES, SAN JUAN, ARGENTINA

TESTA, FRANCISCO JOSÉ; BENGOCHEA, AMADO LEANDRO; MAS, GRACIELA RAQUEL

Río Cuarto, Córdoba

Congreso; 10 Congreso de Mineralogía y Metalogenia; 2010

Asociación Mineralógica Argentina, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto

ABSTRACT San Francisco de Los Andes ore deposit is located on the eastern flank of Cordillera Principal, San Juan province, Argentina. Up to the present time it represents the largest Bi ore deposit emplaced in a hydrothermal breccia system in the country. As well as this, it is a unique example of a mineralized breccia pipe deposit. San Francisco de los Andes has been sporadically mined between 1940 and 1980 but most of the orebody remains intact and its root has not been reached. The aim of this paper is to report the existent of Mo mineralization. The Mo ore, basically consisting of molybdenite, was determined by means of detailed chalcographic and X-ray diffraction studies. Scanning electron microscopy and EDX analysis were carried out in order to determine the morphology and qualitative composition of each sample. The present contribution also helps expanding the current Pb-Sb mineralization knowledge of the area.