Rare graphic textures of cinnabar–stibnite and cinnabar–chalcopyrite pairs and their genesis

Abstract We consider the rare graphic textures of cinnabar–stibnite and cinnabar–chalcopyrite pairs from the Khaidarkan Sb–Hg deposit (Kyrgyzstan) and the Idermeg-Bayan-Haan-Uul polysulfide–fluorite complex deposit (Mongolia). They resemble the ridge pattern on finger skin. Typical signs suggest the formation of the cinnabar–stibnite graphic texture in two stages of hypogene mineralization: (1) interstitial replacement of granulated stibnite by cinnabar and (2) local recrystallization of combined aggregates during the dynamic metamorphism of the ores with partial migration of substance and the formation of “ordered” graphic textures. This texture is named “the graphic texture of hypogene recrystallization.” The formation of the cinnabar–chalcopyrite graphic texture, which has been observed for the first time, is attributed to direct hypogene replacement of cinnabar by chalcopyrite. Chalcopyrite crystallization along the contacts of cinnabar grains is accompanied by the growth of the replacement area. It is proposed to name this texture “the graphic texture of hypogene replacement.” The causes of the selective replacement of cinnabar by chalcopyrite, which gave rise to this peculiar texture, remain uncertain.