Geochemical Prospecting For Fluorspar In Southern Illinois - Results of Chemical Analysis of A-Horizon Soils Above a Deep-Seated Manto And Vein Complex

The secondary dispersion of copper, zinc and fluorine in A horizon soils was examined in Pope and Hardin Counties, IL, by sampling 122 sites along five traverses. Four of the traverses were taken above a deeply buried manto; a fifth intersected a vein complex exposed at the bedrock surface. Plants at each site were examined and analyzed for fluorine and on one traverse for copper and zinc. The A horizon soils were also tested for lead, manganese, barium, nickel and cobalt. The total content of copper, zinc, and other heavy metals in soils was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) after acid bomb dissolution. Fluorine in soils was determined by fluoride ion-specific electrode after fusion with NaOH. Several cold- leach methods were also used. The analysis of A horizon soils for copper and zinc by AAS after acid bomb dissolution is a promising geochemical tool in the search for fluorspar. The acid bomb dissolution method is simple and takes little laboratoy time; it Produces a total dissolution of the sample with relatively little loss of the elements, and 20 elements can be analyzed from the same sample. In this study, the highest copper values were 80 times the local background level of 25 ppm and anomalies of this element tended to outline the fluorspar orebody better than either zinc or fluorine. The greatest zinc value was 15 times the local background level of 100 ppm, while the highest fluorine values were approximately four times the local background level of 165ppm.