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Date submitted2024-05-03
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Date accepted2024-09-05
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Date published2024-11-12
Platinum group elements as geochemical indicators in the study of oil polygenesis
This study examines elements of the platinum group (PGE), primarily platinum and palladium, as geochemical indicators in the investigation of oil polygenesis. It has been found that, like other trace elements such as nickel, vanadium, and cobalt, platinum group elements and gold can occur in oil fields at both background levels and in elevated or even anomalously high concentrations. The objective of this research is to analyze PGE and trace elements as geochemical markers to identify the geological factors, including endogenous processes, responsible for these unusually high concentrations in oil. A comprehensive review of the literature on this subject was conducted, along with new data on the presence of precious metals in oils from Russia and globally. The study explores the geological mechanisms behind elevated PGE concentrations in oils, utilizing atomic absorption spectroscopy with atomization in the HGA-500 graphite furnace to measure PGE content. Previously, the tellurium co-deposition method (ISO 10478:1994) was used to isolate noble metals from associated elements. Possible geological origins of abnormally high concentrations of platinum metals in oils have been identified. These include endogenous factors such as the spatial proximity of oil fields to ultrabasic rock massifs, the effects of contact-metasomatic processes, and influences from mantle dynamics. Moreover, data concerning mantle elements can serve as indicators of the depth origins of certain hydrocarbon fluids, thus contributing to the study of oil polygenesis.
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Date submitted2024-05-17
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Date accepted2024-10-14
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Date published2024-11-12
Black shales – an unconventional source of noble metals and rhenium
The content of noble metals and rhenium in the Lower Paleozoic black shales of the eastern Baltic paleobasin in Russia was estimated. Shales are enriched in platinoids (PGM to 0.12 g/t) and rhenium (to 1.54 g/t). The main accessory elements of noble metals and Re are U, V, Mo, Cu, and Ni. Black shales consist of organic (9-26 rel.%), clay (40-60 rel.%), and silt-sandy (25-50 rel.%) components and a nodule complex (2-5 rel.%) (carbonate, sulfide, phosphate and silicate nodules). Noble metals occur sporadically in the silt-sandy admixture as native forms and intermetallics: Aunat, Au-Ag, Au-Cu, Au-(Cu)-Hg, Au-Hg, Ag-Cu, Pt-Fe. Micromineral phases of noble metals were found in diagenetic sulfides: Aunat, chalcopyrite with Au admixture, pyrite with platinoid admixture. Clay fraction is 10-fold enriched in noble metals as compared to shale – to 0.28 g/t Au, 0.55 g/t Pt, 1.05 g/t Pd, and 1.56 g/t Re. Organic matter sorbs noble metals to a limited extent but accumulates rhenium. Pore space of black shales contains a colloidal salt component (submicron fraction) which is represented by particles smaller than 1,000 nm. The share of submicron fraction in black shales is 0.1-6 wt.%. The submicron fraction contains on average: PGM – 14 g/t, Au – 0.85 g/t, and Re – 4.62 g/t. The geochemical resource of noble metals (Au, Pt, Pd), Re and the accessory elements (U, V, Mo, Cu, and Ni) for black shales as a whole and their submicron fraction was estimated. Black shales are recommended as an integrated source of raw materials.
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Date submitted2024-10-29
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Date accepted2024-10-29
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Date published2024-11-12
Study of thermodynamic processes of the Earth from the position of the genesis of hydrocarbons at great depths
In the context of significant depletion of traditional proven oil reserves in the Russian Federation and the inevitability of searching for new directions of study and expansion of the raw material base of hydrocarbon raw materials in hard-to-reach regions and on the Arctic shelf, a scientific search is underway for accumulations in complex geological conditions and in manifestations that differ significantly from traditional ones, which include the processes of oil and gas formation and preservation of oil and gas in low-permeability “shale” strata and in heterogeneous reservoirs at great and super-great depths. Within the oil and gas provinces of the world, drilling of a number of deep and super-deep wells has revealed deposits at great depths, established connections between hydrocarbon deposits and “traces” of hydrocarbon migration left in the core of deep wells, which has made it possible to significantly re-evaluate theoretical ideas on the issue of oil and gas formation conditions and the search for technologies aimed at solving applied problems. Modern geochemical, chromatographic, bituminological, coal petrographic and pyrolytic methods of studying oil and bitumoids extracted from the host rocks of deep well cores give a hope for identifying correlations in the oil-source system, revealing processes that determine the possibility of hydrocarbon formation and accumulation, and defining predictive criteria for oil and gas potential at great depths.
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Date submitted2024-04-09
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Date accepted2024-06-03
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Date published2024-07-04
Analysis of the geochemical barriers effectiveness as the basis for the use of nature-like water purification technologies
Nature-like technologies are being introduced into many human activities including mining wastewater treatment. This work is based on long-term studies of the Sibay copper-zinc-pyrite deposit development. It is dedicated to assessment of geochemical barriers effectiveness in Cu, Zn, Cd removal from water of the Karagayly River (receiving quarry and dump drainage water). The research is based on the elements’ content and forms in water and bottom sediments, pH values etc. Four types of hydrogeochemical environment (formed due to changes in the water use over the past 20 years) were distinguished using discriminant analysis. The mechanisms of barriers formation and destruction were described. Statistical modeling of the metals’ precipitation was performed by multivariate regression analysis. Cu is adsorbed by recently formed Fe hydroxides, and, to a lesser extent, precipitates with sulfates as water pH increases. Antagonism to Mn hydroxides has been demonstrated, due to different physicochemical conditions for their precipitation. Zn enters solid phase mainly with sulfates, this element also forms its own mineral phases. The second mechanism is adsorption by recently formed Mn hydroxides, which corresponds to the idea of similar conditions for the precipitation of metal hydroxides. Cd behavior reflects conditions intermediate between these of Cu and Zn. Contribution of both mechanisms (related to Fe hydroxides and aqueous sulfates) is equal. Antagonism to Mn is absent. According to the assessment results using of nature-like technologies in situ in watercourses, canals and other water drainage systems is promising. Developed statistical models can be used for needs of experimental studies and artificial geochemical barriers engineering.
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Date submitted2023-04-13
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Date accepted2023-10-25
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Date published2025-02-25
Assessment of the ecological state of aquatic ecosystems by studying lake bottom sediments
- Authors:
- Mariya A. Chukaeva
- Tatyana V. Sapelko
The article presents the results of coupled palynological and geochemical studies of five various genesis lakes, located along the route of the expedition “In the footsteps of Alexander von Humboldt in Siberia, Altai and Eastern Kazakhstan”, dedicated to the double anniversary: the 190th anniversary of the expedition across Russia of the famous scientist and his 250th birthday. A geochemical analysis of water and bottom sediments of Ik Lake (Siberia), Lakes Kolyvanskoe and Beloe (Altai), Lake Bezymyannoe (Kazakhstan) and Nagornyi Pond (Altai) was carried out. Based on their results an assessment of studied lakes ecological state was given through single and integral criteria. A high level of pollution was noted for Nagornyi Pond and Lake Bezymyannoe, which is caused by a significant technogenic load from nearby mines. This is consistent with the data of palynological research. The aquatic ecosystems of Lakes Kolyvanskoe and Beloe are characterized by a satisfactory ecological situation, but they experience an increased recreational load. The results of spore-pollen analysis and analysis of non-pollen palynomorphs showed the low ability of these lakes to self-healing. The most favorable ecological state and high self-cleaning capacity were noted for Lake Ik, which is consistent with the data of palynological studies. It is being confirmed with the results of palynological studies. It was therefore concluded about the ability to make a quick assessment of the aquatic ecosystems’ ecological state by studying lakes using coupled palynological and geochemical analysis.
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Date submitted2022-04-11
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Date accepted2022-06-15
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Date published2022-07-26
Magma feeding paleochannel in the Monchegorsk ore region: geochemistry, isotope U-Pb and Sm-Nd analysis (Kola region, Russia)
A comprehensive study of a 340 m thick lenticular-sheet body of ultramafic composition penetrated by structural well M-1 at a depth of about 2.2 km was accomplished. Its main volume is composed of plagioharzburgite; fine-grained rocks of norite and orthopyroxenite chilling zones are preserved on endocontacts. The rocks of the body are similar in composition to the rocks near the underlying ore-bearing layered intrusion – the Monchepluton. The age of intrusion of the ultramafic body is 2510 ± 9 Ma (U-Pb, ID-TIMS, zircon) and, taking into account analytical errors, is comparable with the formation period of the Monchepluton (2507-2498 Ma). According to the study of the Sm-Nd system in rocks and minerals, a positive value of the e Nd (+1.1) parameter was established, similar to that in dunites and chromitites of the Monchepluton. Based on these results, the ultramafic body penetrated at depth was assigned to the magma feeding paleochannel through which the ultramafic, weakly contaminated magma entered the overlying magma chamber. This body is a unique example of a magma-feeding system for the ore-bearing layered intrusion of Precambrian age.
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Date submitted2021-04-11
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Date accepted2021-10-18
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Date published2021-12-16
Comprehensive assessment and analysis of the oil and gas potential of Meso-Cenozoic sediments in the North Caucasus
- Authors:
- Igor I. Bosikov
- Andrey V. Мaier
At the present stage, the development of the oil and gas industry in the Russian Federation is impossible without replenishing the raw material base, so the urgent task is to conduct investigations, prospecting and evaluation of oil and gas bearing capacity prospects in undiscovered areas. The purpose of the investigations is to analyze facies and thicknesses, choose the methodology of prospecting and exploration in reservoirs, make a comprehensive assessment of oil and gas bearing capacity prospects based on experimental investigations and construct a map of oil and gas bearing capacity prospects of the studied sediment structure. The methodology of the conducted investigations was to identify and trace zones of increased fracturing by qualitative interpretation of time seismic sections. Methods for qualitative interpretation of time seismic sections, the model of physical, chemical and geochemical criteria developed by I.A.Burlakov, gas and geochemical surveying and correlation analysis were used in the investigations. A number of prospecting criteria, established based on the analysis of reference seismic materials on well-studied areas in comparison with the results of well tests, were also used. Structural plan for forecast prospects of oil and gas bearing capacity in the studied area was made; zonal and local objects with prospects for oil and gas were identified. Graphical plotting of Eh and pH concentrations distribution and various gas and geochemical indicators allowed identifying zones of possible oil and gas accumulations and starting their detailed survey. Processing of gas and geochemical materials by means of software allowed efficient assessment of prospects for oil and gas bearing capacity of the investigated objects.
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Date submitted2020-10-13
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Date accepted2021-03-02
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Date published2021-04-26
Trace element accumulation by soils and plants in the North Caucasian geochemical province
Long-term studies of the North Caucasian geochemical province allowed to establish regional abundances and calculate accumulation (dispersion) factors for chemical elements in rocks, soils, and plants. Certain natural regional patterns characterize the province. Associations of elements in high and low concentrations are often determined by the predominant composition of rocks: carbonate-terrigenous, terrigenous, and igneous. The study of the average contents of several chemical elements in the soils of the province showed that the association of accumulated elements includes metals with different migration characteristics. Thus, despite the rather close values of the ionic radii, Pb, Zn, Cu, and Li (judging by the ionic potential) are characterized by the formation of cations, while Mn, Mo, and Zr form complex ions. Such elements as Zn, Cu, and Pb are mainly accumulated on hydrosulfuric barriers, while Mo, Co, and Mn are stopped by oxygenous barriers. For Cu, Zn, Mo, and Co, biogenic accumulation plays a significant role, while for Pb and Ni it is practically absent. The absolute dispersion of the elements did not reach environmentally hazardous values, although it indicates a fairly intensive migration. In woody plants, Ba, Nb, Sc, Sr, and Zn are accumulated most intensively.
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Date submitted2020-03-20
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Date accepted2020-05-24
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Date published2020-06-30
Landscape monitoring studies of the North Caucasian geochemical province
The data on the geochemical features of the bedrocks and soils of the province are given. Considerable attention is paid to regional abundances, as well as enrichment and dispersion factors of the chemical elements in landscapes. Using the example of the North Caucasus, it is shown that for such indicators as phytomass, geological, geomorphological, and geobotanical features, it is possible to make a preliminary outlining of regional structures corresponding to geochemical provinces. At the same time, a subsequent geochemical study of these structures remains mandatory. Upon determining certain geochemical associations, geochemical provinces can be basically distinguished; to a large extent, geochemical properties of these accumulated and scattered associations of elements contribute to the regional soil geochemistry. The results of long-term monitoring studies of the North Caucasus geochemical province have shown that the key features of the regional landscapes are due to the composition of bedrock and the presence of a large number of ore deposits and occurrences. The data obtained are the basis for assessing the state of the environment in conditions of increasing anthropogenic impact, and the established regional abundances can be used to assess the degree of pollution in agricultural, residential, and mining landscapes.
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Date submitted2020-06-14
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Date accepted2020-06-14
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Date published2020-06-30
Geochemical approach in assessing the technogenic impact on soils
- Authors:
- Galina I. Sarapulova
The soil assessment was carried out in the technogenically-affected area of Irkutsk Oblast with the geochemical approach as a key geoecological method using physical and chemical techniques of analysis and ecodiagnostics. Diagnostic signs of the disturbed natural properties of the soil were revealed up to a depth of 40 cm in the profile based on macro- and micromorphometric parameters. The content of heavy metals (HM) – Pb, Zn, Hg, and Cu with an excess of standards was determined, and empirical HM – pH correlations were obtained by statistical clustering of the data array. The contributions of additional factors affecting the chemical element distribution in the soil layer were investigated. Significant soil contamination with sulfates and the possibility of implementing the ion-exchange of HM andfor element immobilization were revealed. It was shown that reactions with sulfates and the influence of pH, HM exchange processes involving mobile K and P can determine the nature of the described chemical element distribution in the multi-factor-contaminated technogenic soil. However, the effectiveness of such types of interaction is different for each metal and also depends on the quantitative ratio of substances and soil characteristics, even under a minor change in pH. Two-parameter correlations of HM distribution in sulfate-contaminated soils confirmed the different degrees of involvement of chemical elements in these types of interactions. The results obtained and the identified factors are of applied significance and can be used as the basis for geoecological differentiation of the contaminated soil, as well as for determining local geochemical fields in the technogenesis zone. Areas of advanced research are related to three-dimensional modeling for a more complete study of the cause-and-effect relationships of geochemical parameters.
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Date submitted2020-01-10
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Date accepted2020-01-14
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Date published2020-02-25
Biogeochemical assessment of soils and plants in industrial, residential and recreational areas of Saint Petersburg
Soils and plants of Saint Petersburg are under the constant technogenic stress caused by human activity in industrial, residential, and recreational landscapes of the city. To assess the transformed landscapes of various functional zones, we studied utility, housing, and park districts with a total area of over 7,000 hectares in the southern part of the city during the summer seasons of 2016-2018. Throughout the fieldwork period, 796 individual pairs of soil and plant samples were collected.A complex of consequent laboratory studies performed in an accredited laboratory allowed the characterization of key biogeochemical patterns of urban regolith specimens and herbage samples of various grasses. Chemical analyses provided information on the concentrations of polluting metals in soils and plants of different land use zones.Data interpretation and calculation of element accumulation factors revealed areas with the most unfavorable environmental conditions. We believe that a high pollution level in southern city districts has led to a significant degree of physical, chemical, and biological degradation of the soil and vegetation cover. As of today, approximately 10 % of the Technosols in the study area have completely lost the ability to biological self-revitalization, which results in ecosystem malfunction and the urgent need for land remediation.
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Date submitted2018-07-04
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Date accepted2018-09-17
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Date published2018-12-21
Secondary dispersion halos as a prospecting indicator of platinum metal mineralization on the example of the Kamenushinsky massif (Middle Urals)
- Authors:
- A. M. Minibaev
The paper discusses the results of bulk rock geochemical sampling of the Kamenushinsky massif eluvial-deluvial deposits and the massifs bedrocks spectral analysis data. Evaluation of secondary dispersion halos using two-dimensional modeling and multivariate statistic processing of the results have allowed establishing the spatial collocation of platinum and chromium anomalies and high correlation between these elements. These facts confirm the considerable contribution of chromite-platinum mineralization to the primary ores of the entire Kamenushinsky massif. The geological observations and rocks chemical composition analysis has revealed that uranium and barium anomalies are associated with the areas of gabbro and granitoids dike bodies. The insignificant overlapping of uranium and barium anomalies with platinum and chromium ones, as well as the negative correlation between these two groups of elements, is inconsistent with earlier conclusions on the spatial association of platinum mineralization with gabbro and granitoids dikes and a possible connection between these dikes and platinum metal mineralization zones.
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Date submitted2018-07-12
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Date accepted2018-09-16
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Date published2018-12-21
Environmental Geochemical Assessment of Technogenic Soils
- Authors:
- G. I. Sarapulova
The purpose of this study was to obtain diagnostic features and criteria for the distribution of heavy metals in technogenically altered soils in the area of industrial facilities, depending on their altered geochemical properties, which make it possible to fix chemical elements in landscapes (the formation of geochemical barriers). On the basis of the geoecological assessment, disturbance of the soil buffer properties, which is reflected in the ionic composition change, alkalization, pH increase, and sulfate-chloride salinization have been revealed. This forms the heavy metals alkaline barrier. For example, in case of Cu, Pb, Zn, and N, it contributes to their accumulation and subsequent concentration in the soil layer due to the exchange interactions between chemical elements and Na + , K + , Ca 2+ cations. Soil saturation with sulphates also increases the probability of metals demobilization in the soil layer. It has been shown that intra-sectional soil migration of oil products (one of the most common pollutants of industrial areas) and chemical elements occurs at a depth of 30-50 cm, where the oil products based on a clay sorption layer form a technogenic barrier.
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Date submitted2014-11-08
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Date accepted2015-01-27
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Date published2015-10-26
Geochemistry of ore-forming hydrothermal fluids of the World ocean
- Authors:
- C. M. Sudarikov
- M. V. Zmievskii
The most complete results of the study of hydrothermal ore-forming solutions geochemistry in the Russian and international expeditions to deep-sea hydrothermal fields of the world ocean are analyzed. Solutions of both high and low salinity with respect to seawater are formed in the discharge zone of fluids. Positive correlation of ore components with the chloride ion and negative one with the pH value may indicate the migration of components in acidic hydrothermal solutions in the form of chloride complexes. Hydrogen sulfide is associated with the significant positive correlation with metals, which indicates reducing conditions forming in ore-bearing hydrothermal solutions. This is confirmed by the close relationship of ore components with hydrogen. The transfer of metals mainly in the form of chloride complexes at high temperatures of the solution is confirmed by the results of our thermodynamic modeling. Methane is characterized by negative dependence on temperature and concentration of ore components, associated with positive dependence on pH and negative one on hydrogen sulfide. Each of the observed dependencies can testify against abiotic theory of income of methane in hydrothermal solutions. The following geochemical indicators are the most promising for the discovery of new ore deposits and the organization of geochemical monitoring during the development of already discovered fields: Eh, pH, Cl, Fe, Mn, H 2 S, CO 2 , H 2 and possibly CH 4 .