The Hiendelaencina epithermal silver-base metal district,Central Spain: Tectonic and mineralizing processes

The northeastern sector of the Spanish Central System hosts important Stephanian-Permian silver-base metal epithermal mineralizations defining the so-called Hiendelaencina District. The overall geotectonic evolution of this region indicates a major late Variscan extensional period involving the unroofing of dome-shaped metamorphic core complexes, which ultimately led to the radial brittle disruption of these bodies allowing the ascent of andesitic magmas and high-level hydrothermal activity. The deposits are hosted by high-grade metaphorphic rocks belonging to these complexes. Mineralogical and fluid inclusion studies reveal that the mineralizations were formed during two to four hydrothermal stages. These are the result of complex interactions between fluids of contrasted temperatures and salinities. Data on sulphur isotopes suggest that two sources of sulphur existed: magmatic (andesitic derived, with ³⁴S + 6) and metasediment-derived (with initial ³⁴S probably + 25).     

Rb-Sr isochron dating of late paleozoic epithermal ore-forming processes: A case study of the Kairagach gold deposit, Kurama ore district, Central Tien Shan

The paper reports Rb-Sr isotopic data obtained by the authors on ore-hosting rocks from the Kairagach epithermal Au-Ag deposit in the Kurama ore district in the Central Tien Shan, Uzbekistan. The influence of mineralizing hydrothermal solutions on the host volcanic rocks of andesite-dacite composition and the metasomatic alterations of these rocks are proved to have been resulted in with the homogenization of the Sr isotopic composition, i.e., its equalization between various modes of Sr occurrence. This offers additional possibilities of the application of the Rb-Sr isochron method in dating hydrothermal processes. The application of Rb-Sr isotopic methods in studying samples from the Kairagach deposit allowed the authors to obtain dates whose reliability corresponds to isochron one (291 ± 3 Ma) or is very close to it (290 ± 6 Ma). The data thus obtained provide good reasons to believe that the corresponding epithermal mineral deposits in the Kurama ore district (Kairagach, Kochbulak, and others) were genetically related to and simultaneous with the emplacement subvolcanic porphyry intrusions.     

Comment on 'Mexican Peridotite Xenoliths and Tectonic Terranes: Correlations among Vent Location, Texture, Temperature, Pressure, and Oxygen Fugacity' by J. F. Luhr & J. J. Aranda-Gomez (1997)

This comment addresses the interpretation of oxygen fugacitydata for spinel peridotite xenoliths from five Mexican volcanicfields presented by Luhr & Aranda-Gomez (Journal of Petrology,38, 1075–1112, 1997). The postulated east–west increaseof the FMQ (‘relative oxygen fugacity’, where FMQis fayalite–magnetite–quartz) values is inherentto the method and therefore of questionable geological significance.Increases in FMQ do not necessarily mirror oxidation processesin the mantle controlled by subduction-related fluids. KEY WORDS: mantle metasomatism; Mexico; peridotite xenoliths; relative oxygen fugacity     

Comment on “A critical evaluation of the boron isotope-pH proxy: The accuracy of ancient ocean pH estimates” by M. Pagani, D. Lemarchand, A. Spivack and J. Gaillardet

Pagani et al. [Pagani M., Lemarchand D., Spivack A., and Gaillardet J. (2005). A critical evaluation of the boron isotope-pH proxy: the accuracy of ancient ocean pH estimates. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta69(4), 953-961] use data from previous boron isotope studies to suggest that the fractionation between boric acid and borate in seawater as well as the history of δ¹¹B in seawater are poorly understood, thus limiting our ability to capture realistic ocean pH with this proxy. Although we agree with the authors that the long recognized uncertainty in the secular variation of δ¹¹B_seawater imposes a temporal limit on paleo-pH reconstructions, their evaluation of the δ¹¹B/pH relationship in carbonates is flawed. Potential complications from vital, temperature and dissolution effects reported in that paper are based on studies that are experimentally and/or analytically poorly constrained. Using published validation studies we will demonstrate that many of the problems outlined by Pagani et al. have already been addressed, or are based on misinterpretations of previous work. Most importantly, statistical evaluation suggests empirical data are best described by a fractionation of ∼20‰. Recent paleoreconstructions confirm that the boron isotope proxy can be used with confidence, if sample selection and analyses are done carefully.