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Contribution of infrared microscopy to studies of fluid inclusions hosted in some opaque ore minerals: possibilities, limitations, and perspectives

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Abstract

During the past two decades, several studies of fluid inclusions hosted in some opaque ore minerals using near-infrared microscopy have been performed. Results indicated that this method can be applied to several sulfidic ores and metal oxides depending on their electronic band structures and infrared-active vibration modes. Infrared transmittance of individual ore minerals can be best characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Infrared microscopic observations are limited to the near-infrared region to about 2.3 μm depending on the IR sensitivity of the IR camera. The trace element content in ore minerals can be another limiting factor for optical observations in near-infrared light. Still, IR transmittance gradually decreases upon heating caused by shifting of IR absorption edges for higher wavelengths. Possibilities and limitations of studying fluid inclusions hosted in opaque minerals by near-infrared light microthermometry and laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

I am indebted to the curators of the Naturkundemuseum Berlin, G. Wappler, and R.-T. Schmitt for providing ore mineral samples used for FT-IR spectroscopy and microprobe analysis in this study. I am grateful to D. Rhede and M. Koch-Müller both from GFZ, Potsdam, for microprobe analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy, respectively. P. Möller is thanked for fruitful discussions on semiconducting properties of ore minerals. The attentive reviews by Alfons van den Kerkhof and Matthew Steele-MacInnis are gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre For Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, 14473, Potsdam, Germany

    Volker Lüders

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Correspondence to Volker Lüders.

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Lüders, V. Contribution of infrared microscopy to studies of fluid inclusions hosted in some opaque ore minerals: possibilities, limitations, and perspectives. Miner Deposita 52, 663–673 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-016-0694-4

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