40Ar-39Ar Spectra of Alunite from Phreatic Craters in the Muine Volcano, Hokkaido, Japan

Abstract. ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar analyses of two alunite samples from phreatic craters in the Pliocene Muine volcano in southwest Hokkaido, Japan, were carried out. The alunite with 17.4 permil δ³⁴S_{V_CDT} value in hydrothermal breccia from the Nagaoyama crater and that with 14.3 permil δ³⁴S_{V_CDT} value in silicified andesite from the Konuma crater give total fusion ages of 1.40 ± 0.04 Ma (la uncertainty) and 1.24 ± 0.08 Ma, respectively. However, the spectra of these samples indicate they have been effected by thermal overprinting and/or the existence of excess argon. These preliminary ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹A analyses suggest that the alunite underwent multiple hydrothermal activity by magmatic gas and vapor subsequent to the main hydrothermal activity.     

Hydrogen, Oxygen and Sulfur Isotope Studies of Seafloor Hydrothermal System at the Desmos Caldera, Manus Back-arc Basin, Papua New Guinea: An Analogue of Terrestrial Acid Hot Crater-lake

Abstract. The Onsen site is an active submarine hydrothermal system hosted by the Desmos caldera in the Eastern Manus Basin, Papua New Guinea. The hydrothermal fluid is very acidic (pH=1.5) and abundant native sulfur is deposited around the vent. The δ³⁴S values of native sulfur range from -6.5 to -9.3 %o. δ³⁴S values of H₂S and SO₄ in the hydrothermal fluid are -4.3 to -9.9 %o and +18.6 to +20.0 %o, respectively. These δ³⁴S values are significantly lower than those of the other hydrothermal systems so far reported. These low δ³⁴S values and the acidic nature of the vent fluids suggest that volcanic SO₂ gas plays an important role on the sulfur isotope systematic of the Onsen hydrothermal system. Relationship among the δ³⁴S values of S-bearing species can be successively explained by the model based on the disproportionation reaction starting from the volcanic SO₂ gas. The predicted δ³⁴S values of SO₂ agree with the measured whole rock δ³⁴S values. δD and δ¹⁸O values of clay minerals separated from the altered rock samples also suggest the contribution of the magmatic fluid to the hydrothermal system. Present stable isotopic study strongly suggests that the Onsen hydrothermal site in the Desmos caldera is a magmatic submarine hydrothermal system.     

Geochemical Characteristics of the Akiyoshi Limestones, Japan and Their Bearing on Exploration for Blind Skarn Deposits

Abstract. Carboniferous-Permian limestones of the Akiyoshi Plateau, in the Inner Zone of southwestern Japan, are composed of essentially pure calcium carbonate containing only small amounts of other elements, and they are accompanied by marble and copper skarn deposits near the contact with late Cretaceous granitoids. The δ¹⁸O values of the Akiyoshi limestones range widely from 7.6 to 28.3% and are mostly lower than those of other areas of the same age (23–29%), whereas the differences among the δ¹³C values are small. The δ¹⁸O values are negatively correlated with Mn and Fe contents. Samples with high δ¹⁸O (>25%) and δ¹³C (>2%) values do not contain Fe, Zn, or Pb, but those with low δ¹⁸O values tend to be rich in these elements, indicating that these elements were introduced by interaction with H₂O dominant fluids, possibly of magmatic origin. Potential scores for evaluating the degree of interaction with hydro thermal fluids were calculated for δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C, Fe, Mn, Zn, Pb, and Sr. Higher scores implying much hydrothermal interaction were evident in the Mt. Hananoyama area, where there are many skarn deposits, and along faults oriented mainly NNW-SSE. Therefore, these are promising areas for exploring for blind deposits. It is likely that the hydrothermal fluid traveled through the limestones along fractures at the time of the granitic intrusions. However, the potential scores here are much smaller than those in the Pb-Zn mineralized area of the Kamioka mine, so more detailed petrological and mineralogical investigations are necessary.     

Mass Transfer, Oxygen Isotopic Variation and Gold Precipitation in Epithermal System: A Case Study of the Hishikari Deposit, Southern Kyushu, Japan

Abstract: Transportation of various kinds of elements occurred in wall rocks (Quaternary andesites) during the hydrothermal alteration accompanied by the Hishikari epithermal gold mineralization. For example, K₂O and MgO contents of wall rocks decrease away from the gold-quartz veins, while (CaO+Na₂O) content increases, and SiO₂ content is variable near the veins. Hydrothermal alteration zoning and bulk compositional variations in wall rocks suggest that the mixing of hydrothermal solution and acidic groundwater took place an important role as the cause for the hydrothermal alteration and bulk compositional variations. The relationship between dissolved silica concentration and temperature of hydrothermal solution mixed with groundwater is obtained based on precipitation kinetics-fluid flow–mixing model, and the computed results are compared with the distribution of SiO₂ minerals (quartz and cristobalite) in the hydrothermal alteration zones. This comparison suggests that the most reasonable flow rate of fluids migrating through hydrothermal alteration zones, and A/M (A: surface area of rocks interacting with fluid, M: mass of fluid) are estimated to be ca. 10^-4.2 m/sec, and ca. 0.10 m²/kg, respectively. The mixing of two fluids (hydrothermal solution and acidic groundwater) can also explain δ¹⁸O zoning in the altered country rocks, hydrothermal alteration zoning from K-feldspar through K-mica to kaolinite from the center (veins) to margin, and deposition of gold.     

A new source of isotopically heavy sulphur in lode-gold deposits of NW Spain: a batch volatilization process in the conversion of pyrite to pyrrhotite by contact metamorphism

The conversion of pyrite to pyrrhotite is identified in this study as a new source of isotopically heavy sulphur in thermal domes. Contact metamorphism of a sequence of pyrite-rich shales by the Penedela blind intrusion (NW Spain) causes the conversion of diagenetic pyrite to pyrrhotite at a temperature of 150 °C. This process occurred in a closed system with total consumption of the diagenetic pyrite and production of H₂S-rich fluids. The H₂S liberated in this unidirectional reaction shows a relatively heavy δ³⁴S, in agreement with a batch volatilization process. The mixture of this H₂S-rich fluids with derived sulphur from Lower Cambrian carbonates produced gold-bearing pyrite at a temperature of 340 °C. The contribution from these two different sulphur sources was 86% and 14%, respectively. The metamorphic fluids migrated through permeable zones such as fractures and shear zones, producing a lode-gold deposit.     

K-Ar Ages of Tin-Polymetallic Mineralization in the Oruro Mining District, Central Bolivian Tin Belt

Abstract. K-Ar age determinations were carried out on vein- and rock-forming minerals from five vein-type tin-polymetallic ore deposits of the Oruro mining district in the central part of the Bolivian tin belt. The sericite from vein selvedges and an altered host rock provides good estimates of the ages of hypogene mineralization, and supergene alunite and jarosite provide ages for erosional and weathering episodes. It is concluded that hypogene mineralization in the Oruro mining district took place during the early to middle Miocene: 15.8±0.8 Ma at San José, 20.1±l.l Ma at Morococala, 20.5±1.0 Ma at Avicaya, and 19.6±1.0 Ma at Llallagua. Fine grained supergene alunite (δ³⁴S = -10.1 960) and jarosite yield K-Ar ages of 6.7±0.7 Ma at Avicaya and 3.9±0.7 Ma at Bolivar, respectively, suggesting that erosion and chemical weathering were active at those times.     

Tectonothermal evolution of high-alumina rocks within the Protogine Zone, southern Sweden

Abstract The Protogine Zone comprises a system of anastomosing deformation zones which approximately parallel the eastern boundary of the Sveconorwegian (1200–900 Ma) province in south-west Sweden. Ages of granulite facies metamorphism in the Sveconorwegian province require exhumation from c . 30 to 35 km crustal depths after 920–880 Ma. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹ Ar cooling ages are presented for muscovite from high-alumina rocks formed by hydrothermal leaching associated with the Protogine Zone. Growth of fabric-defining minerals was associated with a ductile deformational event; muscovite from these rocks cooled below argon retention temperatures ( c . 375 ± 25° C) at c . 965–955 Ma. Muscovite from granofels in zones of intense alteration indicates that temperatures > 375 ± 25° C were maintained until c . 940 Ma. Textural relations of Al₂SiO₅ polymorphs and chloritoid suggest that dated fabrics formed during exhumation. The process of exhumation, brittle overprint on ductile structures and hydrothermal activity along faults within the Protogine Zone tentatively are interpreted as the peripheral effects of initial Neoproterozoic exhumation of the granulite region of south-western Sweden.
Muscovite in phyllonites associated with the 'Sveconorwegian thrust system'cooled below argon retention temperatures at c . 927 Ma. Exhumation associated with this cooling could have been related to extension and onset of brittle-ductile deformation superimposed on Sveconorwegian contraction.     

Active skarn formation beneath Lascar Volcano, northern Chile: a petrographic and geochemical study of xenoliths in eruption products

Calcsilicate xenoliths occur in large numbers in some lavas and pyroclastic flows of Lascar Volcano. Their whole-rock major element and REE compositions indicate that the protolith was the Upper Cretaceous Yacoraite Formation, which crops out extensively in NW Argentina. The whole-rock major element compositions of the xenoliths fall into specific groups suggesting a strong geochemical zonation in the skarn zone. Three geochemical zones have been identified; (1) an outer metamorphic zone rich in wollastonite; (2) a middle zone rich in pyroxene and garnet; (3) an inner zone rich in pyroxene and magnetite. The two innermost zones have developed from the wollastonite zone by infiltration of metasomatic fluids rich in Fe, Mn, Mg, Ti and Al. Whole-rock REE patterns have not changed significantly during prograde metamorphism and metasomatism, indicating REE immobility in the altering fluids. Retrograde alteration by acid-sulphate fluids produced anhydrite skarns and secondary calcite and wilkeite veins in the wollastonite zone. The carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of this calcite indicate that it formed by Rayleigh crystallization from a low-temperature (<200 °C) fluid containing dissolved H₂CO₃. The calculated δ¹⁸O of the water in this fluid suggests a magmatic origin whereas the calculated δ¹³C of the dissolved carbonate is consistent with derivation from rocks of the Yacoraite Formation at 350 °C. It is suggested that the magmatic acid-sulphate fluid was responsible for leaching carbonate from the surrounding carbonate rocks and redepositing it in the skarn zone. REEs were mobilized during the retrograde acid-sulphate and acid-carbonate alteration. A negative Ce anomaly associated with this carbonate and sulphate indicates high oxygen fugacities in the mineralizing fluids.     

Sn, B and Pb-Zn Skarn, Vein and Disseminated Deposits in the East Sikhote–Alin, Russia

Abstract: Sn, B and Pb-Zn skarn, vein and disseminated deposits occur in the eastern part of Sikhote-Alin fold system associated with the late Cretaceous-earliest Paleogene volcano-plutonic complexes, which are products of a continental margin-type subduction along the East Sikhote-Alin belt. There are two metallogenic zones where the ore deposits are concentrated. The Taukha metallogenic zone combining B and Pb-Zn skarn, vein and disseminated deposits occurs on the main volcanic chain along the Japan Sea coast. Late Cretaceous-earliest Paleogene calc-alkaline plutonic and volcanic rocks of magnetite series predominate here. Volcanic rocks overlie on the lower Cretaceous Taukha terrane which consists of abundant olistostromes with numerous olistoliths of Triassic limestones. During the middle-late Cretaceous time, an ignimbrite erupted and formed a huge borosilicate skarn deposit. A later subduction related volcanism of the late Cretaceous-earliest Paleogene stage (70–55 Ma) was predominated by andesites and rhyodacites. Many Pb-Zn skarn and vein deposits were formed. Sulfur isotope compositions of galena in the B and Pb-Zn deposits of the Taukha metallogenic zone vary from –1. 3 to +2. 0%, averaging 0% in the δ³⁴S.     

Thermochemical sulphate reduction in the Upper Devonian Cairn Formation of the Fairholme carbonate complex (South-West Alberta, Canadian Rockies): evidence from fluid inclusions and isotopic data

The Fairholme carbonate complex is part of the extensively dolomitized Upper Devonian carbonate reefs in west-central Alberta. The studied formations contain moulds (up to 10 cm in diameter), which are filled partially with (saddle) dolomite, quartz and calcite cements. These cements precipitated from a mixture of brines that acquired high salinity by dissolution of halite and brines derived from evaporated sea water. The fluids were warm (homogenization temperature of primary fluid inclusions of 76 to 200 °C) and saline (20 to 25 wt% NaCl equivalent) and testify to thermochemical sulphate reduction processes. The latter is deduced from S in solid inclusions, CO₂ and H₂S in volatile-rich aqueous inclusions and depleted δ¹³C values down to −26‰ Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite. High ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values (0·7094 to 0·7110) of the cements also indicate interaction of the fluids with siliciclastic sequences. The thermochemical sulphate reduction-related cements probably formed during early Laramide burial. Another (younger) calcite phase, characterized by depleted δ¹⁸O values (−23·9‰ to −13·9‰ Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite), low Na (27 to 37 p.p.m.) and Sr (39 to 150 p.p.m.) concentrations and non-saline (∼0 wt% NaCl equivalent) fluid inclusions, is attributed to post-Laramide meteoric water.     

Structurally controlled fluid flow associated with breccia vein formation

A breccia vein sampled from a shear zone in greenschist facies metapelites at Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia, shows a systematic variation in vein geometry that is related to the geometry of folding and faulting within the sample. Calcite vein-fill is coarse grained and equigranular, suggesting precipitation in a fluid-filled space. Partially folded veins suggest that veining occurred during folding and faulting. The breccia vein contains a central zone in which dilation has occurred simultaneously in all directions in the plane of section, implying that this was a zone of high fluid pressure and nearly isostatic differential stress during folding and faulting. From these observations, it can be inferred that the breccia vein was a zone of high permeability and a likely fluid channel during deformation. This hypothesis was tested by stable isotope analysis of veins and host rocks. The calcite veins have δ¹³C values of -11.1 ± 0.1% and δ¹⁸O values of 6-10%_o, whereas the host metapelite has δ¹³C values of -10.62 and -10.11% and δ¹⁸O values of 14-15%_o. These values are consistent with an igneous-derived, H₂O-dominated fluid that exchanged little oxygen with the host rocks, but derived much of its carbon from the wall rock. The isotopic disequilibrium between the veins and the wall rock confirms that the fluid was externally derived, and that the breccia vein acted as a channel for large-volume fluid flow within the shear zone.     

Dolomites in the Tazekka Pb–Zn district, eastern Morocco: polyphase origin from hydrothermal fluids

Many different types of water and processes have been proposed for the formation of dolomites. The three phases of hydrothermal dolomites in the Middle Atlas Causse were investigated to elucidate their formation processes. The first two of these are associated with sphalerite and galena in stratiform and open space-filling deposits. These formed early in the history of the deposition of the Pb–Zn mineralization and commonly reveal a paragenetic overlap. A later phase, post-dating Pb–Zn mineralization, is reflected in saddle dolomite.
All three phases show a decrease in δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values passing from sterile (unmineralized) to mineralized rocks, and isotopic signatures are independent of the carrier facies. However, early-formed dolomites can be separated into two distinct groups on the basis of δ¹⁸O values. Type 1 dolomites host stratiform ore deposits, whereas type 2 dolomites host an open space-filling ore-body. Later saddle dolomites are more depleted in ¹⁸O than either of these.
The early hydrothermal and saddle dolomites precipitated from similar fluids during three distinct events, but formed by two mechanisms: replacement (hydrothermal dolomite) and cement precipitation (saddle dolomite). They show different isotopic signatures and apparently formed at different temperatures. Field data, petrographic and stable isotope results suggest a continuum of replacement, during the Carixian for the early hydrothermal dolomite 1, and during the Toarcian for early hydrothermal dolomite 2, followed by a cement precipitation phase for saddle dolomite.     

Stable isotopic and fluid inclusion evidence for meteoric fluid penetration into an active mountain belt; Alpine Schist, New Zealand

Calcite and quartz veins have formed, and are forming, in steeply dipping fissures in the actively rising Alpine Schist metamorphic belt of New Zealand. The fluids that deposited these minerals were mostly under hydrostatic pressure almost down to the brittle-ductile transition, which has been raised to 5-6 km depth by rapid uplift. Some fluids were trapped under lithostatic pressures. Fluids in the fissure veins were immiscible H₂O + NaCl-CO₂ mixtures at 200-350 C. Bulk fluid composition is 15-20 mol% CO₂ and <4.3 total mol CH₄+ N₂+ Ar/100mol H₂O. Water hydrogen isotopic ratio δD_H2O in the fissure veins spans -29 to -68‰, δ¹⁸O_H2O -0.7 to 8.5‰, and bulk carbon isotopic ratio δ¹³C ranges from -3.7 to -11.7‰. The oxygen and hydrogen isotopic data suggest that the water has a predominantly meteoric source, and has undergone an oxygen isotope shift as a result of interaction with the host metamorphic rock. Similar fluids were present during cooling and uplift. Dissolved carbon is not wholly derived from residual metamorphic fluids; part may be generated by oxidation of graphite.     

40Ar/ 39Ar dating of Penninic Front tectonic displacement (W Alps) during the Lower Oligocene (31–34 Ma)

Direct absolute dating of the Penninic Frontal Thrust tectonic motion is achieved using the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar technique in the Pelvoux Crystalline Massif (Western Alps). The dated phengites were formed syn-kinematically in shear zones. They underline the brittle-ductile stretching lineation, pressure-shadow fibres and slickensides consistent with underthrusting of the European continental slab below the propagating Penninic Thrust. Chlorite–phengite thermobarometry yields 10–15 km and T ∼280 °C, while ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar phengite ages mainly range between 34 and 30 Ma, with one younger age at 27 Ma. This Early Oligocene age range matches a major tectonic rearrangement of the Alpine chain. Preservation of prograde ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages is ascribed to passive exhumation of the Pelvoux shear zone network, sandwiched between more external thrusts and the Penninic Front reactivated as an E-dipping detachment fault. Partial resetting in the Low Temperature part of argon spectra below 24 Ma is ascribed to brittle deformation and alteration of phengites.     

Temperatures and Oxygen Isotopic Compositions of Hydrothermal Fluids for the Takatori Tungsten-copper Deposit, Japan

Abstract. Fluid inclusion and oxygen isotope studies are performed to obtain temperatures and oxygen isotopic compositions of hydrothermal fluids for the vein-type tungsten-copper deposit at Takatori in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. Temperatures of the hydrothermal fluids are calculated from fluid inclusion data. The calculation incorporates the effects of the salinity, gas concentration, and fluid pressure. The fluid temperatures range from 370 to 460C. For these calculations, this study obtains a density equation for H₂O-NaCl-CO₂ solution at the vapor-liquid two-phase boundary. Then the present study combines the obtained equation with the equation of state by Bowers and Helgeson (1983).
The fluid temperatures determined in this study are applied to the calculation of oxygen isotopic compositions of the hydrothermal fluids. The calculation of the oxygen isotopic compositions is based on the oxygen isotope analyses of vein quartz. The oxygen isotopic compositions of vein quartz range from +13.5 to +14.4 % relative to SMOW. Then, the oxygen isotopic compositions of the hydrothermal fluids in equilibrium with the vein quartz are calculated to be from +9.7 to +10.5 %. These δ¹⁸O_fluid values agree with those of magmatic fluids derived from the ilmenite-series granitic rock, which is related to the mineralization. Keywords: Takatori tungsten-copper deposit, fluid inclusion, oxygen isotope, vein quartz, H₂O-NaCl-CO₂ solution, density     

The flow of surface-derived fluids through Alice Springs age middle-crustal ductile shear zones, Reynolds Range, central Australia

The south-east Reynolds Range, central Australia, is cut by steep north-west-trending Alice Springs age ( c. 334  Ma) shear zones that are up to hundreds of metres wide and several kilometres long with reverse senses of movement. Amphibolite facies (550–600  °C, 500–600  MPa) shear zones cut metapelites, while greenschist facies shear zones (420–535  °C, 400–650  MPa) cut metagranites. The sheared rocks commonly underwent metasomatism implying that the shear zones were the pathways of significant fluid flow. Altered granites within greenschist facies shear zones have gained Si and K but lost Ca and Na relative to their unsheared counterparts, suggesting that the fluid flowed down-temperature (and hence probably upward) through the shear zones. Time-integrated fluid fluxes calculated from silica addition are up to 2.1×10¹⁰ mol  m⁻² ( c. 4.2×10⁵  m³  m⁻²). Similar time-integrated fluid fluxes are also estimated from changes in K and Na. The sheared granitic rocks locally have δ¹⁸O values as low as 0 which is much lower than the δ¹⁸O values of the adjacent unsheared granites (7 to 9), implying that the fluid which flowed through these shear zones was derived from the surface. For the estimated time-integrated fluid fluxes, the fluids would be able to retain their isotopic signature for many tens to hundreds of kilometres. The flow of surface-derived fluids into the ductile middle crust, with subsequent expulsion upwards through the shear zones, may have been driven by seismic activity accompanying the Alice Springs deformation.     

Distinguishing between seafloor alteration and fluid flow during subduction using stable isotope geochemistry: examples from Tethyan ophiolites in the Western Alps

Large amounts of fluid, bound up in the hydrated upper layers of the ocean crust, are consumed at convergent margins and released in subduction zones through devolatilization. The liberated fluids may play an integral role in subduction zone processes, including the generation of arc-magmas. However, exhumed subduction zone rocks often record little evidence of large-scale fluid flow, especially at deeper levels within the subduction zone. Basaltic pillows from the high-pressure Corsican and Zermatt-Saas ophiolites show a range of δ¹⁸O values that overall reflect seafloor alteration prior to subduction. However, comparison between the δ¹⁸O values of the cores and rims of the pillows suggests that the δ¹⁸O values of the pillow rims at least have been modified during subduction and high-pressure metamorphism. Pillows that have not undergone high-pressure metamorphism generally have rims with higher δ¹⁸O values than their cores, whereas the converse is the case in pillows that have undergone high-pressure metamorphism. This reversal in the core to rim oxygen isotope relationship between unmetamorphosed and metamorphosed pillows is strong evidence for fluid–rock interaction occurring during subduction and high-pressure metamorphism. However, the preservation of different δ¹⁸O values in the cores and rims of individual pillows and within and between different pillows suggests that fluid flow within the subduction zone was strongly channelled. Resetting of the δ¹⁸O values in the pillow rims was probably due to fluid-hosted diffusion that occurred over relatively short time-scales (<1 Myr).     

Oxygen Isotopic Characteristics of Granitic Intrusions Related to Haobugao Zn-Pb-Cu-Sn Skarn Deposit, East Inner Mongolia, China

Abstract. Granitic rocks related to the formation of Haobugao Zn-Pb-Cu-Sn skarn deposit, Inner Mongolia, China, show unusual low whole-rock δ¹⁸O values down to -8.8 % (V-SMOW), whereas separated quartz crystals from those rocks give positive δ¹⁸O values of+4.1 to +9.9 %. Chemical analyses and microscopic observation of those granitic rocks confirm that they suffered hydrothermal alteration. Some skarn specimens and quartz from the Haobugao deposit also show negative δ¹⁸O values. The isotopic evidence indicates that intensive meteoric water circulation occurred at the time of granitic intrusion, and caused the pervasive hydrothermal alteration of granitic rocks and the precipitation of skarn deposit in this area.     

Re-Os Dating of Sulfides from the Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposit at Gacun, Southwestern China

Abstract. The Re-Os isotopic compositions of sulfide ores were analyzed for the Gacun, a volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit in southwestern China, to constrain the timing of mineralization. Sulfide ores from the deposit have a wide range of Re and Os concentrations, varying from 80.2 to 1543.2 ppb and from 0.307 to 8.83 ppb, respectively, and yielded a limited field of high ¹⁸⁷Re/¹⁸⁸Os and high ¹⁸⁷Os/188Os ratios, ranging from 1452 to 3309 and from 5.77 to 13.24, respectively. All sulfide samples yielded an isochron with an age of 217±28 Ma and an initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratio of around 0.52±0.73. The Re-Os isochron age agrees with ages previously constrained by the other isotopic dating of the host rocks and fossil strata for the deposit. The rhythmic variation in ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os and ¹⁸⁷Re/¹⁸⁸Os ratios within massive sulfide zone records a complicated process for ore-forming fluids episodically vented into the brine pool on the Mesozoic seafloor.     

Possible Carbonate Origin of Ore Sulfur from Geumseong Mo Deposit, South Korea

Abstract: In order to know the cause of the high δ³⁴S values of the Korean ore deposits (Ishihara et al., 2000), Geumseong molybdenum skarn deposit and related Jurassic granitoids and Cambro-Ordovician carbonates were selected for the δ³⁴S analyses. Two sulfide samples occurring in hydrothermal veins in fresh granitoids quarry at Songhaksan yielded δ³⁴S values of +6.9 and +8.8 permil. These are slightly higher than +5.3 permil δ³⁴S of the averaged rock sulfides for the Jurassic Daebo granitoids. Pyrite and molybdenite from the Geumseong deposit vary from +8.6 to +11.5 permil (average + 10.7 permil). The intruded carbonates contain very low amount of SSS (structurally substituted sulfate) as 2.9 to 8.1 ppm with high δ³⁴S values between +28.8 and + 40.0 permil, and sulfides sulfur of 52 to 779 ppm with variable δ³⁴S values between +3.2 and +22.5 per–mil. It is concluded that sulfur of the host carbonates was extracted and migrated into the skarn deposit at the time of the granitoid intrusion and the related hydrothermal convection, on the basis of the location of the skarn deposit occurring between the carbonates and Jurassic granitoids, and of very low contents of SSS sulfur in the carbonates. A part of SSS possibly contaminated into the Jurassic granite.