Comments on minor elements in pyrrhotite [Idaho]

The cobalt and nickel content of pyrrhotite from the Highland-Surprise mine, Coeur d'Alene district, Idaho, was determined by spectrographic methods. The Co and Ni values fall within the ranges of values found by other investigators. Comparison of the distribution of Co and Ni in the Highland-Surprise ore shoot with the distribution of these elements in the Silberberges, Germany, and Noranda, Canada, ore shoots suggests that caution must be used in the determination of relative temperature conditions in ore shoots by means of studies of minor elements, principally because it seems likely that equilibrium concentrations are commonly absent.