First results on the LPO-derived seismic properties of iron ores from the Quadrilátero Ferrífero region, southeastern Brazil.

Abstract

Determinations of the LPO-derived seismic properties of iron ores were carried out in five samples with contrasting mineralogy (hematite, magnetite and quartz) and deformed in different conditions. All the samples are seismically quasi-isotropic or weakly anisotropic, which reflect (i) an absent or weak crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) in some samples; (ii) the high modal content of magnetite, (iii) the relatively weak anisotropy of elastic stiffness of hematite single crystal. Such variables induce a low anisotropic seismic behavior even in high strained iron ores with strong preferred orientation of hematite. A plane of seismic transversal isotropy parallel to the foliation of the aggregates is developed in hematite ± magnetite aggregates and in itabirites with strong CPO of hematites. In these high strained aggregates, some relationships between the crystallographic axes of hematite and the propagation velocities can be observed. The magnitudes of P and S-wave velocities derived of hematite CPO are lower than the values experimentally determined in iron ores. Such a difference probably reflects other microstructural variable which were not taken into account in the present contribution (e.g. shape preferred orientation).