Neoproterozoic–Cambrian synsedimentary magmatism in the Central Iberian Zone (Spain): geology,petrology and geodynamic significance

Petrographic, geochemical and field studies in low grade metamorphic areas (Ciudad Rodrigo-Hurdes-Sierra de Gata domain, CRHSG, central-western Spain) show that Neoproterozoic-Lowermost Cambrian series in the Central Iberian Zone (CIZ) record two kinds of provenance sources including: (1) detrital material derived from recycled orogens and (2) a Cadomian coeval juvenile contribution that governs their isotopic signature. Evidence of magmatism contemporaneous with Neoproterozoic-Cambrian sedimentation is provided by the presence of coherent, massive volcanic rocks (metabasalts, metaandesites, and metarhyolites), volcaniclastic shales, sandstones, conglomerates and breccias. The appearance of volcanogenic lithic fragments and crystals mixed in different proportions with siliciclastic constituents and also present within calcareous components in the sedimentary succession, reinforces this evidence. Although most of the selected volcanic and volcaniclastic samples appear to show tholeiitic affinity, some of them display calc-alkaline affinity. Different trace element ratios, such as Sm/Nd, Nb/Yb and Ta/Yb, suggest a magmatic evolution in the same tectonic setting. The geochemical results reported here support the existence of an active geodynamic setting as a direct contributor to the synsedimentary and magmatic content of the Neoproterozoic–Lowermost Cambrian successions in the CIZ. In particular, the relatively high Nd _(T) values and the high range of f ^Sm/Nd ratios are consistent with an active margin during the Neoproterozoic–Early Cambrian. The existence of tectonic activity is also confirmed by the presence of synsedimentary deformation and volcanic rocks. All of these traits favour a geodynamic model in which the Iberian Cadomian segment represented in the CIZ would have been part of an active northern margin of Gondwana, with an associated magmatic arc and related basins during Neoproterozoic–Lower Cambrian times. A proposed link between the Ossa Morena and the Central Iberian Zones might account for late Cadomian pull-apart basins developed on both sides of the magmatic arc, sharing the same scenario and involving similar magmatic activity during the Neoproterozoic–Cambrian transition.

Dioritic intrusions of the Slavkovský les (Kaiserwald), Western Bohemia: their origin and significance in late Variscan granitoid magmatism

Mafic and intermediate intrusions occur in the Slavkovsky les as dykes, sills and minor tabular bodies emplaced in metamorphic rocks or enclosed in late Variscan granites near the SW contact of the Western Krušné hory/Erzgebirge granite pluton. They are similar in composition and textures to the redwitzites defined in NE Bavaria. Single zircon Pb-evaporation analyses constrain the age of a quartz monzodiorite at 323.4 ± 4.4 Ma and of a granodiorite at 326.1 ± 5.6 Ma. The P–T range of magma crystallization is estimated at ~1.4–2.2 kbar and ~730–870°C and it accords with a shallow intrusion level of late Variscan granites but provides lower crystallization temperatures compared to the Bavarian redwitzites. We explain the heterogeneous composition of dioritic intrusions in the Slavkovsky les by mixing between mafic and felsic magmas with a minor effect of fractional crystallization. Increased K, Ba, Rb, Sr and REE contents compared to tholeiitic basalts suggest that the parental mafic magma was probably produced by melting of a metasomatised mantle, the melts being close to lamprophyre or alkali basalt composition. Diorites and granodiorites originated from mixed magmas derived by addition of about 25–35 and 50 vol.%, respectively, of the acid end-member (granite) to lamprophyre or alkali-basalt magma. Our data stress an important role of mafic magmas in the origin of late Variscan granitoids in NW Bohemian Massif and emphasize the effect of mantle metasomatism on the origin of K-rich mafic igneous rocks.     

The origin of zircon and the significance of U–Pb ages in high-grade metamorphic rocks: a case study from the Variscan orogenic root (Vosges Mountains, NE France)

U–Pb zircon dating is combined with petrology, Zr-in-rutile thermometry and mineral equilibria modelling to discuss zircon petrogenesis and the age of metamorphism in three units of the Variscan Vosges Mountains (NE France). The monotonous gneiss unit shows results at 700–500?Ma, but no Variscan ages. The varied gneiss unit preserves ages between 600 and 460?Ma and a Variscan group at 340–335?Ma. Zircon analyses from the felsic granulite unit define a continuous array of ages between 500 and 340?Ma. In varied gneiss samples, zoned garnet includes kyanite and rutile and is surrounded by matrix sillimanite and cordierite. In a pseudosection, it points to peak conditions of?~16 kbar/850?°C followed by isothermal decompression to 8–10 kbar/820–860?°C. In felsic granulite samples, the assemblage K-feldspar–garnet–kyanite–Zr-rich rutile is replaced by sillimanite and Zr-poor rutile. Modelling these assemblages supports minimum conditions of?~13 kbar/925?°C, and a subsequent P–T decrease to 6.5–8.5 kbar/800–820?°C. The internal structure and chemistry of zircons, and modelling of zircon dissolution/growth along the inferred P–T paths are used to discuss the significance of the U–Pb ages. In the monotonous unit, inherited zircon ages of 700–500?Ma point to sedimentation during the Late Cambrian, while medium-grade metamorphism did not allow the formation of Variscan zircon domains. In both the varied gneiss and felsic granulite units, zircons with a blurred oscillatory-zoned pattern could reflect solid-state recrystallization of older grains during HT metamorphism, whereas zircons with a dark cathodoluminescence pattern are thought to derive from crystallization of an anatectic melt during cooling at middle pressure conditions. The present work proposes that U–Pb zircon ages of ca. 340?Ma probably reflect the end of a widespread HT metamorphic event at middle crustal level.     

Serpentinization of mantle formations in the Mauritanides Belt: regions of Agane and Gouérarate (middle-western Mauritania)

Regions of Agane and Gouérarate represent an ancient fragment of ophiolitic suture localized in the axial area of the Mauritanides Belt. These two regions are characterized by the abundance of completely serpentinized formations. In this study, we present the first use of Raman spectroscopy for identifying the species of serpentine present in the Mauritanides Belt. Serpentinites of Agane are derived from refractory peridotites composed of dunites–harzburgites; however, there are also rare serpentinites derived from ultramafic cumulates. Antigorite represents the dominant species in the serpentinite. Furthermore, chrysotile is found as post-antigorite veins. These veins are post-obduction and mark the final phase of serpentinization. The abundance of antigorite and the absence of lizardite confirm that subduction was the environment of serpentinization in these two regions, and that “the oceanic opening” responsible for the formation of ophiolitic sutures in the Mauritanides Belt was limited. The term “serpentinite” is no longer applicable to the formations of Gouérarate. As a result, these formations correspond to old serpentinites transformed to birbirites which are in phase of transformation into laterites.     

Petrogenesis of lherzolites from the Purang ophiolite,Yarlung-Zangbo suture zone,Tibet: origin and significance of ultra-high pressure and other ‘unusual’ minerals in the Neo-Tethyan lithospheric mantle

ABSTRACT

The Purang ultramafic massif, located in the Yarlung-Zangbo Suture Zone (YZSZ) of the Tibetan Plateau, consists mainly of harzburgites and minor lherzolites. The spinel-bearing lherzolites of the NW part of the massif display a granular texture, consisting of large olivine and pyroxene crystals with curvilinear grain boundaries. These lherzolites contain chromian spinel (Cr-spinel) of low Cr# [100 × Cr/(Cr +Al) = 24.7–30.2], enstatite with high Mg# [100 × Mg/(Mg + Fe²⁺) = 90.0–91.2] and relatively high Al₂O₃ content (3.3–4.1 wt%), and diopside with high Mg# (90.2–93.3) and Al₂O₃ content (4.6–5.0 wt%). These compositions are analogous to those of spinel and pyroxenes from residual peridotites. However, the Purang lherzolites show U-shaped primitive mantle (PM)-normalized rare earth element (REE)-profiles, which are not consistent with a potential origin as melting residues. The high LREE contents and positive Ti anomalies shown by the investigated lherzolites coupled with the low TiO₂ content of their mineral constituents imply that these rocks possibly stored LREE- and Ti-bearing arc-related melts/fluids in their groundmass.

A mineral assemblage composed of diamond, super-reduced [(SuR) moissanite, native Cr] and crustal-derived minerals (zircon, corundum, rutile), has been separated from the Purang lherzolites. Uranium-Pb geochronological dating of zircons yielded an age range between 1718 and 465 Ma, indicating that they represent ancient crustal material delivered into the upper mantle via previous subduction events. Diamonds and old zircons (± crustal minerals) were carried to shallow mantle levels by asthenospheric magmas produced during a slab rollback-induced decompression melting process. The recovery of SuR minerals is consistent with fluid percolation and crystallization of alteration-related minerals in the lithospheric parts of a (hydrated) mantle wedge, resulting in the formation of highly reduced micro-environments.     

The Tectonic Implications of the Hongliuhe-Xichangjing Ophiolitic Mélanges Belt in the Central Region of the Beishan Orogen, NW China — Constrained by the U-Pb Ages of Detrital Zircons of the Metasandstones

The tectonic attributes of different blocks within orogenic belts are of great significance for the study of accretionary processes and the evolution of Earth. The Hongliuhe-Niujianzi-Baiyunshan-Xichangjing ophiolitic mélange belt(HXOMB) is distributed in the heart of the Beishan Orogen, the Shuangyingshan and Minshui-Hanshan blocks being distributed in the south and north of the HXOMB respectively, and a large number of Early Paleozoic geological units are exposed on the blocks. According to the zircon age populations of the metasandstones in the Baiyunshan area recovered in this paper, when compared with the zircon age populations of the Paleozoic metasandstones reported in the Niujuanzi and Hanshan areas, we found that the metasandstones of the Shuangyingshan Block have age peaks at c. 598 Ma, 742 Ma, 828 Ma, 941 Ma, 990 Ma, 1168 Ma, 1636 Ma, 2497 Ma with non-significant age populations of 1500–1300 Ma, showing a possible affinity with the Tarim Craton; the metasandstones of the Minshui-Hanshan Block have age peaks at c. 606 Ma, 758 Ma, 914 Ma, 1102 Ma, 1194 Ma, 1304 Ma, 1672 Ma with significant age populations of 1500-1300 Ma, showing a possible affinity with the Chinese Central Tianshan Block. Therefore, the HXOMB of the Beishan Orogen is of great significance in plate segmentation, which separates the Tarim Craton in the south and the Chinese Central Tianshan Block in the north. Based on the evolutionary process of the Hongliuhe-Xichangjing ocean in the Beishan Orogen, we believe that break-up and convergence can be recognized as having occurred twice between the Chinese Central Tianshan Block and the Tarim Craton since the Mesoproterozoic in the Beishan area. This was related firstly to the break-up of the Columbia Supercontinent and the convergence of the Rodinia Supercontinent, mainly during the Middle Mesoproterozoic to Early Neoproterozoic, and secondly to the opening and closing of the Hongliuhe-Xichangjing ocean, mainly during the Early Paleozoic.     

Location of the Suture Zone between the South and North China Blocks in Eastern Dabie Orogen

INTRODUCTION TheDabieMountainsareacollisionalorogenbe tweentheSouthandNorthChinablocks.Theageof theultrahighpressuremetamorphism(Hackeretal., 1998;Rowleyetal.,1997;Amesetal.,1993;Liet al.,1993)andthelateststratainvolvedintheforeland fold thrustbelt(Xueta…     

The significance of the Variscan orogeny in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Mid Polish Uplands)

The witokrzyski Horst, created during the Laramide phase, is situated in the central part of the Mid Polish Uplands. It is composed of folded Paleozoic rocks partly covered by Mesozoic sediments. In this area two tectonostratigraphic units can be distinguished: the Kielce Unit to the S and the ysogóry Unit to the N.They are separated by the WNW-ESE trending witokrzyski overthrust, along which the rocks of the ysogóry Unit have been transported towards the south over the Kielce Unit. Thrusting took place after the Early Carboniferous, and before the Permian. As it is concluded from the differences of their stratigraphic and tectonic evolution, these two juxtaposed units of the witokrzyskie Mts were originally set at a considerable distance one from another. The present area of these units developed in two blocks of crust differing in structure, thickness and evolution. It is proposed that the important fault situated north of the witokrzyski overthrust and accompanied by magmatic phenomena could be a reactivation of a Variscan suture zone.

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Zusammenfassung Im Zentrum des Polnischen Mittelgebirges entstand während der laramischen Phase der witokrzyski Horst. Er besteht aus gefalteten Gesteinen, die zum Teil mit mesozoischen Ablagerungen bedeckt sind. Es lassen sich in diesem Gebiet zwei geologische Einheiten unterscheiden, die in Bau und Entwicklung wesentliche Unterschiede aufweisen: die Kielce-Einheit im S und die ysogóry-Einheit im N. Diese Einheiten werden von der WNW-OSO vorlaufenden witokrzyski-Überschiebung voneinander getrennt, an der die Gesteine des ysogóry-Einheit nach SW auf die gefalteten Ablagerungen der Kielce-Einheit überschoben worden sind. Dieser Vorgang erfolgte während der variszischen Orogenese, und zwar nach dem Unterkarbon und vor dem Oberen Perm.Die Unterschiede in der stratigraphischen und tektonischen Entwicklung der Kielce-Einheit und der ysogóry-Einheit deuten darauf hin, daß die beiden Einheiten vor der variszischen Gebirgsbildung weit voneinander entfernt gelegen haben: zwischen beiden lag im Unterkarbon ein tiefes Becken. Darauf deuten sowohl die im nördlichen Teil der Kielce-Einheit auftretenden bathypelagischen Ablagerungen aus dem Visé, als auch Spuren vulkanischer Tätigkeit.Die nördlich der witokrzyski-Überschiebung gelegene Störung, an der zahlreiche magmatische und hydrothermale Erscheinungen auftreten, ist wahrscheinlich das Relikt einer während der variszische Orogenese entstandene Suturzone.

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Résumé Le horst de Swietokrzyski, situé dans la partie centrale des «Uplands» de la Pologne moyenne, s'est formé au cours de la phase laramide. Il est constitué de roches paléozoïques plissées partiellement recouvertes de sédiments mésozoïques. Dans cette région, on distingue deux unités tectono-stratigraphiques: l'unité de Kielce au sud et celle de Lysogory au nord. Elles sont séparées par le charriage de Swietokrzyski, d'orientation WNW-ESE, suivant lequel les roches de l'unité de Lysogory ont été transportées vers le SW sur l'unité de Kielce. Ce charriage a eu lieu après le Carbonifère inférieur et avant le Permien. Les différences d'histoires stratigraphiques et tectoniques qui existent entre ces deux unités ainsi juxtaposées indiquent qu'elles devaient se trouver à l'origine à grande distance l'une de l'autre: elles étaient séparées au Carbonifère inférieur par un bassin profond. En témoignent les dépôts bathy-pélagiques viséens, ainsi que des traces d'activité volcanique dans la partie nord de l'unité de Kielce.La faille importante située au nord du charriage, faille jalonée par de multiples manifestations magmatiques et hydrothermales, est probablement la trace d'une zone de suture engendrée au cours de l'orogenèse varisque.

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Petrographic and structural analysis of the Precambrian rocks in the Zalbi Sector,northwest Léré, Chad

The northwestern part of southwest Chad is one of the best regions to find exposed Precambrian terrains and their Phanerozoic cover. In this area, it is easy to establish the lithostratigraphic and structural relationships between sedimentary and granitic rocks, greenstone belts and dolerite dykes. Based on petrographic and structural studies, we distinguished the greenstone belts that belong to the Neoproterozoic Zalbi Series. The Neoproterozoic greenstone belts that are intruded by three generations of Pan-African granitoids (gabbro-diorite, biotite monzogranite and leucogranite) host the mineral resources in the region. The Precambrian rocks are covered by Cretaceous shale, sandstone and microconglomerate in the Kebbi Basin, and intruded by dolerite dykes. These late dolerite dykes, have a continental tholeiitic composition, which is supported by the presence of orthopyroxene in the mineralogical assemblage. Structurally, two major deformation events are present in the Zalbi Series. The earliest D₁ event is the most intensive and is associated with vertical to subvertical north-trending S₁ foliation, a vertical L₁ lineation and P₁ folds; the metamorphism associated with this phase is equilibrated in greenschist facies conditions. The second D₂ event is discrete and is characterised by large-amplitude folds and fractures.     

Jade in the Serpentinite Mélanges of the Rio San Juan Complex from the Dominican Republic

<正>New occurrences of jadeitite,jadeite quartzites,and jadeite-lawsonitequartzites have recently been discovered in the Rio San Juan Complex(RSJC)of the northern Dominican Republic.These rocks are found in serpentinite mélanges associated with a former intra-oceanic     

Palaeoproterozoic subduction‐related and passive margin basalts in the Halls Creek Orogen,northwest Australia

Palaeoproterozoic basaltic rocks in the Halls Creek Orogen form part of two stratigraphic sequences on either side of a major structure, the Angelo‐Halls Creek‐Osmond Fault System. The two sequences have contrasting geological histories and probably formed in different tectonostratigraphic terranes. To the east, basalts of the Biscay Formation, which are part of the Halls Creek Group, were erupted at ca 1880 Ma and deformed and metamorphosed first at low grade between ca 1845 and ca 1820 Ma. To the west, basalts of the Tickalara Metamorphics were deposited after 1865 Ma, and were metamorphosed at medium to high grade and intruded by tonalite and leucogranite sheets at 1850 to 1845 Ma. Two groups of metabasalts are identified in the Biscay Formation. Group 1 samples have compositions similar to enriched (E‐)MORB. Group 2 samples have lower TiO₂, P₂O₅, Cr, Y, Nb and Zr contents, and trace‐element ratios (e.g. Ti/V and Zr/Nb), similar to low‐TiO₂ continental flood basalts. Metabasalts from the Tickalara Metamorphics consist of depleted and enriched types. The depleted samples have high field strength element (HFSE) and rare‐earth element (REE) abundances similar to oceanic island arc/backarc basin tholeiites. The enriched samples have compositions similar to E‐MORB, and are similarto group 1 samples from the Biscay Formation. Basalts of the Biscay Formation were erupted on a passive continental margin, whereas those of the Tickalara Metamorphics formed in an oceanic island arc/backarc basin or ensialic marginal basin, the two terranes being brought together by ca 1820 Ma. This is consistent with the evolution of the Halls Creek Orogen during the Palaeoproterozoic by plate‐tectonic processes similar to those operating in the Phanerozoic.     

Strain and deformation mechanisms in the Variscan nappes of Vendée,South Brittany,France

The Variscan nappes of Vendée (South Brittany, France) were displaced westward through a mechanism of regional subhorizontal ductile shear involving the entire body of the nappes. Ductile shear also affected the upper part of the Silurian footwall, including the rhyolite of Chapelle-Hermier, which was mylonitized and sheared with upward-increasing intensity, as well as the calcalkaline Vendée porphyroids of volcanic and volcanoclastic origin which form a mylonite sheet outlining the major basal thrust zone of the nappes. Nappe displacement was accompanied by a severe extensional strain, estimated at up to 300–400% in both the porphyroids and the rhyolite, and indicating that the deformational history may have involved a gravitational spreading component. Within the mylonitic rhyolite, accommodation of the bulk strain was mainly by solution-assisted mass-transfer, as shown by (1) growth of quartz fibres in low-pressure zones, (2) development of polycrystalline ribbons through continuous growth of quartz grains in pressure shadows and (3) crystallization of muscovite at the expense of the felsitic groundmass. A similar deformation process was probably active in the mylonitic porphyroids at the sole of the nappe, suggesting that pressure-solution flow was an important mechanism in nappe displacement.     

Upper Neoproterozoic–Lower Cambrian sedimentary successions in the Central Iberian Zone (Spain): sequence stratigraphy, petrology and chemostratigraphy. Implications for other European zones

2 O₃, TiO₂, Zr, and Nb abundances in shales from all the units, strongly suggest a gradual compositional change within this sedimentary succession. Together with the petrological data, the chemical results do not reveal any obvious coeval volcanic contribution to the sediments. On the basis of the chemical data, a comparison is made with other European zones containing detrital sediments composed of reworked crustal components. Received: 4 January 1999 / Accepted: 1 December 1999     

Age and origin of uranium mineralization in the Camie River deposit (Otish Basin,Québec,Canada)

The Camie River uranium deposit is located in the southeastern part of the Paleoproterozoic Otish Basin (Québec). The uranium mineralization consists of disseminated and vein uraninite and brannerite precipitated close to the unconformity between Paleoproterozoic fluviatile, pervasively altered, sandstones and conglomerates of the Matoush Formation and the underlying sulfide-bearing graphitic schists of the Archean Hippocampe greenstone belt. Diagenetic orange/pink feldspathic alteration of the Matoush Formation consists of authigenic albite cement partly replaced by later orthoclase cement, with the Na₂O content of clastic rocks increasing with depth. Basin-wide green muscovite alteration affected both the Matoush Formation and the top of the basement Tichegami Group. Uraninite with minor brannerite is mainly hosted by subvertical reverse faults in basement graphitic metapelites ± sulfides and overlying sandstones and conglomerates. Uranium mineralization is associated with chlorite veins and alteration with temperatures near 320 °C, that are paragenetically late relative to the diagenetic feldspathic and muscovite alterations. Re-Os geochronology of molybdenite intergrown with uraninite yields an age of 1724.0 ± 4.9 Ma, whereas uraninite yields an identical, although slightly discordant, 1724 ± 29 Ma SIMS U-Pb age. Uraninite has high concentrations in REE with flat REE spectra resembling those of uraninite formed from metamorphic fluids, rather than the bell-shaped patterns typical of unconformity-related uraninite. Paragenesis and geochronology therefore show that the uranium mineralization formed approximately 440 million years after intrusion of the Otish Gabbro dykes and sills at ∼2176 Ma, which constrains the minimum age for the sedimentary host rocks. The post-diagenetic stage of uraninite after feldspathic and muscovite alterations, the paragenetic sequence and the brannerite-uraninite assemblage, the relatively high temperature for the mineralizing event (∼320 °C) following the diagenetic Na- and K-dominated alteration, lack of evidence for brines typical of unconformity-related U deposits, the older age of the Otish Basin compared to worldwide basins hosting unconformity-related uranium deposits, the large age difference between basin fill and mineralization, the older age of the uranium oxide compared to ages for worldwide unconformity-related U deposits, and the flat REE spectra of uraninite do not support the previous interpretation that the Camie River deposit is an unconformity-associated uranium deposit. Rather, the evidence is more consistent with a PaleoProterozoic, higher-temperature hydrothermal event at 1724 Ma, whose origin remains speculative.     

Proximal–distal facies relationships and sedimentary processes in a storm dominated carbonate ramp (Kimmeridgian,northwest of the Iberian Ranges,Spain)

Facies analysis of the upper Kimmeridgian rocks in the outcrops located near Ricla (Zaragoza province, northeast Spain) and the integration of the resultant data in a broader context (the northern part of the Iberian Basin), has produced two general models showing the facies distribution and the processes that controlled the sedimentation in the Kimmeridgian carbonate ramp. Using these two models the transition from shallow to relatively deep environments of the carbonate ramp is examined in detail. Model 1 corresponds to the development of a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic ramp during a slow rise and stillstand of sea level (Sequence 1-HST), whereas Model 2 represents the growth of a pure carbonate ramp during a rapid rise of sea level (Sequence 2-TST).Carbonate production was higher in the shallow ramp domains (coral reefs and oolitic shoals in Model 1 and reefs in Model 2) than in deeper domains, where there is no indication of significant pelagic or benthic production. The activity of unidirectional return flows induced by winter storms and hurricanes, played an important role in the redistribution of the sediment across the ramp, generating different coarse-grained deposits. In the inner and mid-ramp settings dunes, lower scale bedforms and tempestites occur in Model 1, and storm lobes, bars and tempestites in Model 2. Moreover, a significant bulk of the carbonate mud produced in shallow areas would eventually be resedimented in the outer ramp as suspended load in the density currents. Stillstand of sea level in Model 1 involved a rapid progradation of the inner and proximal mid-ramp carbonate and siliciclastic facies. The rapid relative sea level rise of Model 2 is determined by the dominance of the carbonate facies and by the presence of aggradational geometries in the transitional area between shallow and deep-ramp domains. The presence of relatively thick sections in the outer-ramp settings (instead of condensed sections, as observed in Model 1) during times of sea level rise (Model 2) can mainly be explained by the increase of the shallow production in the reef dominated areas.     

Mineralogical and geochemical characterization of the Riópar non-sulfide Zn-(Fe-Pb) deposits (Prebetic Zone,SE Spain)

The present paper reports the first detailed petrological and geochemical study of non-sulfide Zn–(FePb) deposits in the Riópar area (Prebetic Zone of the Mesozoic Betic Basin, SE Spain), constraining the origin and evolution of ore-forming fluids. In Riópar both sulfide and non-sulfide Zn–(FePb) (“calamine”) ores are hosted in hydrothermally dolomitized Lower Cretaceous limestones. The hypogene sulfides comprise sphalerite, marcasite and minor galena. Calamine ores consist of Zn-carbonates (smithsonite and scarce hydrozincite), associated with abundant Fe-(hydr)oxides (goethite and hematite) and minor Pb-carbonates (cerussite). Three smithsonite types have been recognized: i) Sm-I consists of brown anhedral microcrystalline aggregates as encrustations replacing sphalerite; ii) Sm-II refers to brownish subhedral aggregates of rugged appearance related with Fe oxi-hydroxides in the surface crystals, which replace extensively sphalerite; and iii) Sm-III smithsonite appears as coarse grayish botryoidal aggregates in microkarstic cavities and porosity. Hydrozincite is scarce and appears as milky white botryoidal encrustations in cavities replacing smithsonite. Also, two types of cerussite have been identified: i) Cer-I cerussite consists of fine crystals replacing galena along cleavage planes and crystal surfaces; and ii) Cer-II conforms fine botryoidal crystals found infill porosity. Calcite and thin gypsum encrustations were also recognized. The field and petrographic observations of the Riópar non-sulfide Zn–(FePb) revealed two successive stages of supergene ore formation under meteoric fluid processes: i) “gossan” and “red calamine” formation in the uppermost parts of the ore with deposition of Fe-(hydr)oxides and Zn- and Pb-carbonates (Sm-I, Sm-II and Cer-I), occurring as direct replacements of ZnPb sulfides; and ii) “gray calamine” ore formation with deposition of Sm-III, Cer-II and hydrozincite infilling microkarst cavities and porosity. The stable isotope variation of Riópar smithsonite is very similar to those obtained in other calamine-ore deposits around the world. Their CO isotope data (δ¹⁸O: + 27.8 to + 29.6‰ V-SMOW; δ¹³C: − 6.3 to + 0.4‰ V-PDB), puts constrains on: i) the oxidizing fluid type, which was of meteoric origin with temperatures of 12 to 19 °C, suggesting a supergene weathering process for the calamine-ore formation under a temperate climate; and ii) the carbon source, that resulted from mixing between two CO₂ components derived from: the dissolution of host-dolomite (¹³C-enriched source) and vegetation decomposition (¹³C-depleted component).     

Magnetic particles of industrial origin in different environments—Measurements, identification and significance

Various anthropogenic activities, in particular industrial processes based on combustion of fossil fuel, produce iron-oxides, which, being included in fly ashes, are transported through atmospheric pathways and deposited on ground. Upon deposition, they p…