Vanadium Deposits

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David

Table of Contents

Yauli District Geology

Geology
Quisque District Geology
Geology
The Vanadium Deposit

Effects of Oxidation

Conclusions

The scope of this paper is the description of two districts in Peru in which vanadium deposits have been found,
and the consideration of much laboratory-work that I and others have done to determine the nature of these
deposits. It is with regret that I present some of the data in a state of evident incompletion, particularly the
analyses of a few of the minerals, which leaves some doubt as to whether the true nature of the minerals is
understood. I make no apology, however, since in this case, as in many others referring to ore-deposits,
conclusive opinions cannot be stated until a great amount of work has been done, and the deposit has been
thoroughly exploited. I believe that the data and the tentative conclusions here presented indicate a unique and
interesting condition which may assist others in work along similar lines; and further, what is of more practical
importance, stimulate a search for a metal which, though long considered rare, is probably so merely because
proper care has not been taken to recognize it.

An excellent bibliography on the occurrence of vanadium in nature is given by F. W. Clarke in his paper, Data of
Geo-chemistry; and in the preparation of this paper I have consulted many of the references contained in the
Bibliography of the Chemistry of Vanadium, by M. Moissan. A brief review of the subject having special reference
to the metallurgy of vanadium is contained in the small book by P. Nicolardot.

One of these vanadium-deposits has already been briefly described, and analyses of some of the minerals have
been published.

Both of the vanadium districts are situated in the Department of Junin; Yauli, the less important, being in the
Province of Tarma, and Quisque (Minasragra) in the Province of Pasco. The Peruvian Central railroad
(Ferrocarril Central Del Peru) passes through the first district, and the second is accessible by

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horseback from Fundicion on the Cerro de Pasco railroad, as shown in the map, Fig. 1.

Though within 80 miles of the Pacific ocean, both districts are on the eastern slope of the main range of the
Andes, and the drainage in each case is into the Mantaro river, the waters of which enter the Ucayali, the main
branch of the Amazon.

Topographically, the districts are similar, though the relief in the Yauli region is stronger. The features depend
upon geological structure rather than variety of rock; faults and folds in the sedimentary rocks being common.

The main range of the mountains, lying approximately N. 30° W., is well defined. Summits often attain elevations
of 18,500 ft., and passes are seldom lower than 16,000 ft. The main range is succeeded to the east by similar
though lower parallel ranges. The intervening valleys, when narrow, resemble the U-shaped glacial valleys of the
Rocky mountains, but when broad (up to 20 miles) they are low in relief, and contain many lakes and marshes.

There are two distinct seasons—the wet, which begins during November and lasts until May; and the dry, which
comprises the remaining months. During the wet season precipitation occurs daily and regularly, even to the
hour. Above 14,000 ft., in latitude S. 12°, it is invariably snow, and is often confined to the higher ranges. Except
in sheltered places, the snow melts quickly below 17,000 ft., so that it can be understood that erosion by water in
altitudes of from 14,000 to 17,000 ft. is a minor feature, a consideration that has great bearing upon the deposit
in the Quisque district.

During the dry season precipitation may occur, but it is irregular, and streams in the upper valleys become dry to
such an extent, in fact, that the herds of sheep and llamas must he taken to the lower valleys for pasture. Severe
electrical storms, unaccompanied by rain, are common during the dry season.

A description of the Yauli district will precede that of the more important Quisque district, for the reason that the
first enables a more thorough understanding of the second, as well as the fact that this was the order in which I
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examined them. It was a coincidence that the Quisque deposit was discovered while I was examining the Yauli
district.

Yauli District Geology

Historical.—Though not announced until 1894, the presence of vanadium in the so-called “anthracite”
(asphaltite) of the Yauli region was known in 1892. Theretofore, the asphaltite had been held under
denouncement, and exploited with the view to utilizing it as fuel. In 1895 the Llacsacocha deposits were acquired
by a French company, whose principal resources were some nearby silver-mines (Andaychagua). This company
attempted to utilize the vanadium contained in the asphaltite, but, with the impoverishment of the silver-veins in
depth, the company became bankrupt and ceased operations in 1899. It is reported that several tons of
vanadiferous ashes were sent to France for treatment, but beyond this very little asphaltite was mined. No work
has been done since 1899.

Several of the less-important deposits in the northern portion of the district have been developed to a slight
extent, and the asphaltite locally used for fuel.

vanadium deposits

Geology
Fig. 2, embracing an area about 5 by 12 miles, gives the location of known occurrences of asphaltite.

The broken line on the map marks the contact between folded Jura-Trias and Cretaceous sedimentary rocks on
the southwest, and more recent eruptive rocks on the northeast, which contain the silver-veins of Andaychagua
and the copper-silver veins of Yauli. The famous Carahuacra silver-mine, and several less important, are in the
contact-zone.

The Jura-Trias rocks are coarse conglomerates and sand-stones, and the Cretaceous is represented by thin-
bedded gray and green shales and limestones, the latter predominating, illustrated in Fig. 14. In the vicinity of
Toldorumi the intrusion of the eruptive rocks on the northeast has brought up a narrow belt of slates.

The veins of asphaltite occur in a well-defined belt in the sedimentary rocks, following the stratification and
approximately parallel, therefore, to the contact mentioned above. The stratification varies from N. 15° W., with a
dip of 75° NE., in the vicinity of Rumichaca, to N. 50° W., with a dip of 60° SW., in the vicinity of Llacsacocha.
(Cocha is the Indian (Quichua) name for “lake,” so Llacsacocha “lake” would be superfluous.) Asphaltite-veins
have been found over a distance of 15 miles.

The veins occur as lenses, varying from 0.5 in. to 22 ft. wide, the maximum known length of a lens being about
500 ft. These veins are not necessarily confined to one bedding-plane, and may not only break through from one
to another, but there may be asphaltite to the extent of 5 ft. in width, filling each of two or three contiguous
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bedding-planes, so that there appear to be three veins separated by single layers of shale from 8 to 10 in. thick.
There is evidence of movement subsequent to the intrusion of the asphaltite, which is shown by the pencillate
structure of the asphaltite, and numerous faults of small throw.

The asphaltite is black, lustrous, and softer than ordinary bituminous coal. The hardness does not appear to be
affected by the amount of ash present. The material lacks completely any evidence of clay-bands and the
columnar structure common to most bituminous coals. It breaks clean from the walls, though the country-rock
adjoining often contains a large amount of carbonaceous matter. No pyrite was observed in the asphaltite at any
of the exposures.

The mode of occurrence of the asphaltite is essentially the same at the various exposures marked on the map,
so that only the most important, that on the north side of Llacsacocha, will be described.

The vein has been developed by five tunnels, aggregating about 2,000 ft., within a vertical elevation of 300 ft.
The tunnels are from 150 to 500 ft. long. Table I., a record of samples from Tunnel No. 2, serves to explain in
detail the variation in the width of the vein, and the amount of vanadium contained in the asphaltite

Table II. shows the amount of ash and of vanadic oxide contained in the samples from the various tunnels.

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The series of proximate analyses in Table III. were made in the hope of recognizing some relation between the
possible metamorphism of the asphaltite and the proximity of the eruptive contact, but such does not appear to
be the case. Nor was it found that there was any apparent relation between physical properties and constitution.

It is apparent that the percentage of ash in the asphaltite from the Yauli district varies considerably. Further, the
amount of vanadic oxide in the residue after burning varies between wide limits. This appeared to suggest that
the vanadium was independent of the mineral matter in the asphaltite and that, therefore, its origin might be
traced to the hydrocarbon portion.

The last column in Tables I., II., and III. gives a factor de-

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rived by dividing the percentage of vanadic oxide in the asphaltite by the percentage of hydrocarbon, considering
all combustible matter as hydrocarbon. It appears to me that this factor is constant enough to be considered an
index of the solubility of vanadium (probably as the sulphide) in the hydro-carbon. This matter will be referred to
later.

About 100 ft. east of the asphaltite-vein there is an outcrop of a dike of devitrified perlitic obsidian about 50 ft.
wide. It appears to have been intruded along one of the bedding-planes. There are no contact-phenomena other
than a noticeable hardening of the shales, though the dike appears to have been the cause of the formation of a
zone of pyrite more or less replacing the shale in the footwall of the asphaltite-vein.

Quisque District Geology

Historical.—About Nov. 20, 1905, a party of Indians, who had been in the mountains searching for coal, brought
to Senor AntenorRizo Patron, metallurgist at the Huaraucaca smelter, on the Cerro de Pasco railway, samples of
a material thought
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to be coal. The material came from a prospect near the crest of the main Cordillera, within the concession of the
hacienda Quisque, the Indians having been led in this direction in the hope of finding an extension of the coal-
fields of Oyon, 20 miles north. The prospect had been located for coal no less than three times previously, but
was abandoned in each case when it was found that the material contained a large amount of sulphur. Under
these old locations the prospect became known as Minasragra.

Upon analysis, the material was found to contain a high percentage of vanadium, which fact was subsequently
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confirmed in the laboratory of the Corps of Engineers in Lima. I was able to see the prospect in January, 1906,
and as engineer for the American company which purchased the property, I have subsequently made two visits
to the prospect.
Geology
The geology can best be explained by reference to Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.

The area under consideration lies along the western limb of a broad anticlinal in Jura-Trias and Cretaceous
rocks, similar in character to those exposed near Yauli, and over a large area along the axis of the mountains in
this portion of Peru. The section shows the series in this locality to be composed of green shales, thin-bedded
limestones, and red shales. The red shales are succeeded to the west by a great thickness of limestones, of
which the main range is composed. The vanadium-deposit occurs entirely within the red shales.

Igneous activity in the form of the intrusion of dikes, laccoliths, and domes, has been a feature throughout a
large area in this portion of the Province of Pasco, and these forms have been controlling factors in determining
the local topography. It is evident from the map, Fig. 3, that this locality has been a unique center of this activity,
there being no less than four systems of dikes, and the entire area being probably underlain by a laccolith.

The following rocks have been identified :

Dike B’.—A typical trachyte in an advanced state of decomposition. Contains red orthoclase, hornblende, and
much secondary magnetite and calcite. Biotite and quartz are absent.

Laccolith E.—Dolerite, much altered. Contains oligoclase (?); short prisms of augite; idiomorphic olivine, slightly
altered ; laths of hornblende; pyrite, calcite, original and secondary magnetite.

Dike C.—Typical andesite, comparatively fresh. Contains phenocrysts of oligoclase; laths of hornblende, and
some biotite in a ground-mass of feldspar. This rock bears some resemblance to dikes A and D, though it shows
more alteration.

Dikes A and D. —Typical quartz-porphyry, as shown in Fig. 13. Contains predominating plagioclase in
phenocrysts; ortho- clase, generally corroded; quartz as rounded grains, and as comparatively perfect di-
hexagonal pyramids; biotite, in a ground-mass of feldspar fragments. The feldspars from four

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specimens are crushed, due to stress. There can be no doubt that dikes A and D are derived from the same
magma, and probably are contemporaneous.

Dike B.—Diabase, without olivine, slightly decomposed. Contains decomposed hornblende; plagioclose; much
magnetite, both original and secondary; no biotite, quartz, or olivine.

The following order of intrusion is deduced from the extra-ordinary number of intersections of the dikes, and the
unique faulting: 1, dike B’; 2, laccolith E; 3, dike C; 4, dikes A and D (contemporaneous); 5, faulting: 6, dike B.

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