A New Type of Pt‒Pd Mineralization in Chromitites of the Saranovskoye Deposit (Perm Krai)

A new type of Pt–Pd mineralization has been established in the chromite ores of the Main Saranovskoye deposit. The palladium content in the studied chromitites reaches 7.7 g/t, and that of platinum, 0.5 g/t. The minerals are represented by tellurides, arsenides, and arsenido-antimonides of Pt and Pd—kotulskite, temagamite, atheneite, sperrilite, and isomertieite. Chromitites have a specific spotted structure and occur in the form of lenticular segregations among the massive medium- and high-grade ores of the eastern and western ore bodies of the deposit. As in other stratiform complexes, the formation of Pt–Pd mineralization is associated with the crystallization of a residual melt, which penetrated already crystallized chrome ores. The structural and textural features of chromitites suggest that the localization of platinum–palladium mineralization occurred under the influence of tectonic processes at a late magmatic stage.