INVESTIGATION OF FERROELECTRIC EFFECTS IN 2 SULFIDE DEPOSITS

Laboratory studies by different investigators using various techniques have expanded the number of known ferroelectric ore minerals to about twenty at present from the first discovery of makedonite (PbTiO3) in 1950. These include such common ore minerals as bismuthinite (Bi2S3), cassiterite (SnO2), chalcocite (Cu2S), pyrrhotite (Fe1-xS), and stibnite (Sb2S3). Two field investigations of sulfide ore bodies that contain known ferroelectric minerals were undertaken to investigate possible in-situ effects in these deposits. These deposits, at Mount Emmons (38-degrees-53'N, 107-degrees-03'w), Colorado, and Three R Canyon (31-degrees-28'N, 110-degrees-46'W) in the Patagonia Mountains, Arizona, demonstrate ferroelectric effects that include directional polarization and apparent resistivity, electrically-excited resonance, and lack of reciprocity. Other phenomena include history-dependent electrical behavior and inductive effects. Ferroelectrics polarize as a function of applied potential. It is much easier to generate a large potential than the high currents commonly used in IP surveys. Thus, in electrical surveys of deposits known, or suspected, to contain ferroelectric minerals it may be advantageous to maximize the applied potential. It may also be relatively easy to induce electrical resonance in these deposits that could provide an inexpensive reconnaissance technique. In IP and CR surveys, ferroelectric effects can mask the deposit since rho(a) may approach zero in the polar direction, or chargeability may be undetectable. Phase relations will most likely be uninterpretable in CR surveys over such deposits. In CSAMT surveys, directional resonance effects may preclude depth interpretation. Frequency-dependent inductive and capacitive effects may be observed in CR and CSAMT surveys over deposits containing significant quantities of ferroelectric minerals. Ferroelectricity may also be useful in exploitation efforts for electrical beneficiation during ore processing.