TIMA-X bright phase analysis of platinum-group minerals in selected samples from the Chrome and Iron Mountain areas of the Stillwater Complex, Montana

Sulfide- and chromite-bearing samples of the Basal and Ultramafic series of the Stillwater Complex are known to contain elevated concentrations of platinum-group elements (PGE). Thin sections were prepared from drill core and surface samples from the Chrome and Iron Mountain areas. Core samples are from exploration drilling programs by AMAX in the 1960s and 1970s and Beartooth Platinum in 2004-2007. The degree to which PGE occur in the rocks as discrete platinum-group minerals was investigated using a TESCAN Integrated Mineral Analyser (TIMA-X) based on a TESCAN MIRA 3 field-emission scanning electron microscope coupled with an EDAX energy-dispersive spectrometer. TIMA-X combines backscattered electron (BSE) imaging and energy-dispersive [...]