New data concerning the major ore minerals and sulphosalts from the Pb-Zn Zletovo Mine, Macedonia

Based on its mineral content (around 40 minerals) and certain solid solution mineral phases, Zletovo has been classified as a subvolcanic hydrothermal Pb-Zn ore deposit. The main ore minerals are galena and sphalerite. They occur in very characteristic structures, microstructures and textures, which often enclose sulphosalt mineral phases. The most common sulphosalts are bournonite, boulangerite, proustite and luzonite. So far the sulphosalt minerals and their solid solution phases from the Zletovo ore deposit have not been studied in detail. This paper presents the results of a detailed study of ore samples from different levels of the Zletovo mine based on electron microprobe analysis. In the already known mineral assemblage, which is composed mainly of galena, sphalerite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and siderite, the sulphosalts series, which includes tetra-hedrite-tennantite, luzonite, stibioluzonite and pearceite, was distinguished. The composition of the tetrahedrite-tennantite solid solution ranges from pure tetrahedrite to pure tennantite, with the presence of minerals that are representatives of the processes of the intermixing of solid solutions. The compositions of the determined pearceites and luzonites almost match the compositions of the standards for these minerals.