Ore textures within the U lens of the Navan Zn-Pb deposit, Ireland

Recent exploration in the vicinity of the giant (>90 Mt) Navan orebody has resulted in the discovery of ore-grade mineralisation to the southwest of the deposit, much of which occurs within the Upper Pale Beds, a horizon that is only weakly mineralised above the main orebody. Within this new U lens, mineralisation preferentially occurs within bioclastic carbonate grainstones and calcareous quartz sandstones, and is dominated by sulphide replacement of the carbonate component of the host sequence. Much of the replacive mineralisation is spatially associated with hydrothermal cavities, which are filled by a variable mixture of brecciated replacement sulphide minerals, space-filling sulphide and gangue cements, and internal sediments. Mineralisation also occurs within veins and dissolution seams, and as disseminated sulphide minerals. Massive mineralisation is typically a complex, chaotic, combination of replacement, cavity, and fracture-filling sulphides. Fluid inclusion analyses of ore-stage saddle dolomite indicate temperatures at the time of sulphide precipitation of ~90–150 °C, with a maximum of 175 °C. These temperatures are lower than those typically proposed for Irish-type deposits.