Geology and geochemistry of the Dengjiashan Zn–Pb SEDEX deposit, Qinling Belt, China

2007 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoliang Ma ◽  
Georges Beaudoin ◽  
Shaojun Zhong ◽  
Ying Li ◽  
Zhangren Zeng
Keyword(s):  
Sulfate Reduction ◽  
Sulfur Isotopes ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Massive Sulfide ◽  
Western Qinling ◽  
Crustal Rocks ◽  
Open Platform ◽  
Basement Rocks ◽  
Seawater Sulfate ◽  
Extensional Tectonic

Dengjiashan, with 25 Mt at 4.77% Zn, 1.27% Pb, and 14 g/t Ag, is one of the largest SEDEX (sedimentary-exhalative) Zn–Pb sulfide deposits in the western Qinling orogenic belt, China. The ore is hosted in chert stratigraphically conformable with underlying bioclastic micrite and overlying phyllite of an intensely folded and faulted Middle Devonian sedimentary sequence. The fact that the major orebodies are located between platformal limestone and overlying phyllite indicates that mineralization took place when the Dengjiashan sedimentary sub-basin subsided from an open platform to a shallow-marine basin within an extensional tectonic setting. The deposit comprises 16 sulfide orebodies, of which the #1 and #9 orebodies are the two largest and account for 95% of ore reserves. The massive sulfide lenses are mainly composed of sphalerite, pyrite, and galena, with minor chalcopyrite, tetrahedrite, cinnabar, pyrargyrite, freibergite, boulangerite, polybasite, and trace amounts of owyheeite and native gold. The gangue is dominated by quartz, calcite, barite, and ankerite, with minor amounts of sericite, chlorite, celsian, cymrite, and albite. The rare-earth element patterns of sulfide beds and host chert suggest that the mineralizing fluids were dominated by oxidized seawater that leached Eu from feldspar in basement rocks. Strontium isotopes also suggest that the hydrothermal fluids were composed of Devonian seawater that leached radiogenic Sr along the flow path. Lead isotope ratios form an array between the upper crust and orogene curves in the 207Pb/204Pb–206Pb/204Pb diagram, indicating that lead was leached from crustal rocks below the deposits. Sulfur isotopes indicate that bacterial sulfate reduction (BSR) sulfide formed in a sub-basin restricted to sulfate where it mixed with heavy hydrothermal sulfur from thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR) of Devonian seawater sulfate.

scholarly journals The Discovery of the Romero VMS Deposit and Its Bearing on the Metallogenic Evolution of Hispaniola during the Cretaceous

Minerals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisard Torró ◽  
Joaquín Proenza ◽  
Julio Espaillat ◽  
Albert Belén-Manzeta ◽  
María Román-Alday ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Open Space ◽  
Massive Sulfide ◽  
Axial Position ◽  
Greater Antilles ◽  
Stratigraphic Sequence ◽  
Copper Mineralization ◽  
Seawater Sulfate ◽  
Extensional Tectonic ◽  
Volcaniclastic Rocks ◽  
Host Rocks

The recently discovered Romero deposit, located in the Tres Palmas district, Cordillera Central of the Dominican Republic, has probable reserves of 840,000 oz gold, 980,000 oz silver and 136 Mlb copper. Mineralization is hosted by intermediate volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the lower stratigraphic sequence of the Cretaceous Tireo formation. The andesitic host rocks yield a U-Pb zircon concordia age of 116 ± 10 Ma. Au–Ag–Cu(–Zn) mineralization is divided into: (1) an upper domain with stacked massive sulfide lenses and sulfide dissemination within a 20-m-thick level of massive anhydrite-gypsum nodules, and (2) a lower domain with a high-grade stockwork mineralization in the form of cm-scale veins with open space fillings of fibrous silica and chalcopyrite, sphalerite, pyrite (+electrum ± Au–Ag tellurides). The δ34S values of sulfides from the upper (−7.6 and +0.9‰) and lower (−2.4 and +5.6‰) domains are consistent with a heterogeneous sourcing of S, probably combining inorganically and organically induced reduction of Albian-Aptian seawater sulfate. Despite this, a magmatic source for sulfur cannot be discarded. The δ34S (+19.2 and +20.0‰) and δ18O (+12.5 and +14.2‰) values of anhydrite-gypsum nodules are also consistent with a seawater sulfate source and suggest crystallization in equilibrium with aqueous sulfides at temperatures higher than 250 °C. These data point to a classification of Romero as a volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposit formed in an axial position of the Greater Antilles paleo-arc in connection with island arc tholeiitic magmatism during a steady-state subduction regime. Circulation of hydrothermal fluids could have been promoted by a local extensional tectonic regime expressed in the Tres Palmas district as a graben structure.

Pb-Nd-Sr Isotope Geochemistry of Metapelites from the Iberian Pyrite Belt and Its Relevance to Provenance Analysis and Mineral Exploration Surveys

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filipa Luz ◽  
António Mateus ◽  
Ezequiel Ferreira ◽  
Colombo G. Tassinari ◽  
Jorge Figueiras
Keyword(s):  
Isotope Geochemistry ◽  
Mineral Exploration ◽  
Hanging Wall ◽  
Massive Sulfide ◽  
Iberian Pyrite Belt ◽  
Isotopic Signature ◽  
Sr Isotope ◽  
Provenance Analysis ◽  
Basement Rocks ◽  
World Class

Abstract The boundary in the Iberian Pyrite Belt is a world-class metallogenic district developed at the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary the Iberian Variscides that currently has seven active mines: Neves Corvo (Cu-Zn-Sn) and Aljustrel (Cu-Zn) in Portugal, and Riotinto (Cu), Las Cruces (Cu), Aguas Teñidas (Cu-Zn-Pb), Sotiel-Coronada (Cu-Zn-Pb), and La Magdalena (Cu-Zn-Pb) in Spain. The Iberian Pyrite Belt massive sulfide ores are usually hosted in the lower sections of the volcano-sedimentary complex (late Famennian to late Visean), but they also occur in the uppermost levels of the phyllite-quartzite group at the Neves Corvo deposit, stratigraphically below the volcano-sedimentary complex. A Pb-Nd-Sr isotope dataset was obtained for 98 Iberian Pyrite Belt metapelite samples (from Givetian to upper Visean), representing several phyllite-quartzite group and volcano-sedimentary complex sections that include the footwall and hanging-wall domains of ore horizons at the Neves Corvo, Aljustrel, and Lousal mines. The combination of whole-rock Nd and Sr isotopes with Th/Sc ratios shows that the siliciclastic components of Iberian Pyrite Belt metapelites are derived from older quartz-feldspathic basement rocks (–11 ≤ εNdinitial(i) ≤ –8 and (87Sr/86Sr)i up to 0.727). The younger volcano-sedimentary complex metapelites (upper Tournaisian) often comprise volcanic-derived constituents with a juvenile isotopic signature, shifting the εNdi up to +0.2. The Pb isotope data confirm that the phyllite-quartzite group and volcano-sedimentary complex successions are crustal reservoirs for metals found in the deposits. In Neves Corvo, where there is more significant Sn- and Cu-rich mineralization, the higher (206Pb/204Pb)i and (207Pb/204Pb)i values displayed by phyllite-quartzite group and lower volcano-sedimentary complex metapelites (up to 15.66 and 18.33, respectively) suggest additional contributions to the metal budget from a deeper and more radiogenic source. The proximity to Iberian Pyrite Belt massive sulfide ore systems hosted in metapelite successions is observed when (207Pb/204Pb)i >15.60 and Fe2O3/TiO2 or (Cu+Zn+Pb)/Sc >10. These are important criteria that should be considered in geochemical exploration surveys designed for the Iberian Pyrite Belt.

scholarly journals Mineralization and Alteration of a Modern Seafloor Massive Sulfide Deposit Hosted in Mafic Volcaniclastic Rocks

2019 ◽  
Vol 114 (5) ◽  
pp. 857-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa O. Anderson ◽  
Mark D. Hannington ◽  
Timothy F. McConachy ◽  
John W. Jamieson ◽  
Maria Anders ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperature ◽  
Massive Sulfide ◽  
Hydrothermal Fluids ◽  
Sulfide Deposit ◽  
Massive Sulfide Deposit ◽  
Remotely Operated Vehicle ◽  
Eruptive Fissure ◽  
Seawater Sulfate ◽  
Volcaniclastic Rocks ◽  
Seafloor Massive Sulfide

Abstract Tinakula is the first seafloor massive sulfide deposit described in the Jean Charcot troughs and is the first such deposit described in the Solomon Islands—on land or the seabed. The deposit is hosted by mafic (basaltic-andesitic) volcaniclastic rocks within a series of cinder cones along a single eruptive fissure. Extensive mapping and sampling by remotely operated vehicle, together with shallow drilling, provide insights into deposit geology and especially hydrothermal processes operating in the shallow subsurface. On the seafloor, mostly inactive chimneys and mounds cover an area of ~77,000 m2 and are partially buried by volcaniclastic sand. Mineralization is characterized by abundant barite- and sulfide-rich chimneys that formed by low-temperature (<250°C) venting over ~5,600 years. Barite-rich samples have high SiO2, Pb, and Hg contents; the sulfide chimneys are dominated by low-Fe sphalerite and are high in Cd, Ge, Sb, and Ag. Few high-temperature chimneys, including zoned chalcopyrite-sphalerite samples and rare massive chalcopyrite, are rich in As, Mo, In, and Au (up to 9.26 ppm), locally as visible gold. Below the seafloor, the mineralization includes buried intervals of sulfide-rich talus with disseminated sulfides in volcaniclastic rocks consisting mainly of lapillistone with minor tuffaceous beds and autobreccias. The volcaniclastic rocks are intensely altered and variably cemented by anhydrite with crosscutting sulfate (± minor sulfide) veins. Fluid inclusions in anhydrite and sphalerite from the footwall (to 19.3 m below seafloor; m b.s.f.) have trapping temperatures of up to 298°C with salinities close to, but slightly higher than, that of seawater (2.8–4.5 wt % NaCl equiv). These temperatures are 10° to 20°C lower than the minimum temperature of boiling at this depth (1,070–1,204 m below sea level; m b.s.l.), suggesting that the highest-temperature fluids boiled below the seafloor. The alteration is distributed in broadly conformable zones, expressed in order of increasing depth and temperature as (1) montmorillonite/nontronite, (2) nontronite + corrensite, (3) illite/smectite + pyrite, (4) illite/smectite + chamosite, and (5) chamosite + corrensite. Zones of argillic alteration are distinguished from chloritic alteration by large positive mass changes in K2O (enriched in illite/smectite), MgO (enriched in chamosite and corrensite), and Fe2O3 (enriched in pyrite associated with illite/smectite alteration). The δ18O and δD values of clay minerals confirm increasing temperature with depth, from 124° to 256°C, and interaction with seawater-dominated hydrothermal fluids at high water/rock ratios. Leaching of the volcanic host rocks and thermochemical reduction of seawater sulfate are the primary sources of sulfur, with δ34S values of sulfides, from –0.8 to 3.4‰, and those of sulfate minerals close to seawater sulfate, from 19.3 to 22.5‰. The mineralization and alteration at Tinakula are typical of a class of ancient massive sulfide deposits hosted mainly by permeable volcaniclastic rocks with broad, semiconformable alteration zones. Processes by which these deposits form have never been documented in modern seafloor massive sulfide systems, because they mostly develop below the seafloor. Our study shows how hydrothermal fluids can become focused within permeable rocks by progressive, low-temperature fluid circulation, leading to a large area (>150,000 m2) of alteration with reduced permeability close to the seafloor. In our model, overpressuring and fracturing of the sulfate- and clay-cemented volcaniclastic rocks produced the pathways for higher-temperature fluids to reach the seafloor, present now as sulfate-sulfide veins within the footwall. In the geologic record, the sulfate (anhydrite) is not preserved, leaving a broad zone of intense alteration with disseminated and stringer sulfides typical of this class of deposits.

Late Mesozoic Paleo-Pacific Plate “scissors-like” subduction: Insight from the magmatism in the Gan-Hang Belt, Southeast China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liu Boran ◽  
Zhao Xilin ◽  
Yu Shengyao ◽  
Jiang Yang ◽  
Mao Jianren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continental Margin ◽  
Middle Jurassic ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Pacific Plate ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Asian Continent ◽  
Southeast China ◽  
Late Mesozoic ◽  
Extensional Tectonic ◽  
Roll Back

Though it is widely accepted that the Paleo-Pacific Plate has a subducted beneath the eastern Asian continent, controversy still exists regarding the initial timing and geodynamic model of the subduction. In this contribution, we report new geochronology and geochemical data of granitic plutons within the Gan-Hang Belt in Southeast China. The Damaoshan pluton yields zircon U-Pb ages of 139.60 ± 0.69 Ma and 133.90 ± 1.70 Ma, and the Qianshan and Fenglonggu plutons are dated at 135.70 ± 1.30 Ma and 135.33 ± 0.93 Ma, respectively. The Hecun and Huangtuling plutons yield ages of 157.85 ± 0.77 Ma and 167.10 ± 7.50 Ma, respectively. The Damaoshan pluton has an obvious A-type geochemical signature in terms of major and trace element compositions, such as high K2O+Na2O contents (average 8.46 wt%) and FeOT/MgO ratios (average 10.29). The low CaO/Na2O ratios but high Al2O3/TiO2 (average is 110.05), Rb/Ba (average is 9.14), and Rb/Sr (average is 22.53) ratios indicate a derivation from pelite-derived melt. Meanwhile, we also studied the Mesozoic adakites related to magmatic ore formed during a compressive tectonic setting as well as the later bimodal dikes and A-type granitic plutons formed during the extensional tectonic setting in the Gan-Hang Belt. The multiphase qualitative plutons with geochemical characteristics of the adakitic and island arc types (175−150 Ma) related to the northwestward subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate, several bimodal dikes, and A-type granitic plutons (135−123 Ma) related to the subducted slab roll-back are found within the Gan-Hang Belt. All of these plutons show a decreasing trend of isotopic ages from the inland area to the coast, from SW to NE. We propose that the distribution pattern of these plutons in Southeast China was controlled by a scissors-like subduction and slab roll-back of the Paleo-Pacific Plate, which occurred roughly from SW to NE along the continental margin approximately during the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous.

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