Mineralogy,geochemistry, and structural controls of a disseminated gold-bearing alteration halo around the schist-hosted Bullendale orogenic gold deposit,New Zealand

Orogenic gold-bearing quartz veins in the middle Tertiary Bullendale Fault Zone, New Zealand were mined historically for coarse gold in a narrow zone (ca. 5 m thick). However, recent drilling has revealed a broad hydrothermal alteration zone extending into the host schist, in which disseminated sulphide and gold mineralisation has occurred. The evidence of alteration is first seen over 150 m across strike from the fault zone, and the best-developed alteration halo is about 50 m wide. The extent and intensity of alteration is strongly controlled by local structures that developed during regional Tertiary kink folding of the pervasively foliated and fissile metasedimentary schist host. The earliest structures are foliation-parallel microshears (micron to millimeter scale) formed during flexural-slip folding. Later, but related, structures are predominantly normal faults and associated shear zones that have formed extensional sites during the regional folding event. All these structures facilitated hydrothermal fluid penetration and rock alteration, with localised vein formation and brecciation. Where fluid has followed structures, metamorphic chlorite, phengite, and titanite have been altered to hydrothermal ankerite, rutile, and muscovite or kaolinite. Ankerite with Fe/(Fe + Mg) < 0.4 formed in host rocks with Fe/(Fe + Mg) of 0.6, and iron released by ankerite alteration possibly formed pyrite and arsenopyrite that host disseminated gold. Fault zones were extensively silicified and veined with quartz, albite, sulphides, and gold. Host rocks have wide compositional variations because of centimeter-scale metamorphic segregation. However, the alteration halo is characterised by elevated CO₂ and S, as measured by loss-on-ignition (doubled to ca. 6 wt.%), elevated As (100–10,000 ppm), and weakly elevated Sb (up to 14 ppm). Strontium is elevated and Ba depleted in many altered rocks, so Sr/Ba ratio increases from < 1 (host rocks) to > 3 in the most altered and silicified rocks. Many altered and mineralised rocks have low Sr/Ba (< 0.5) as well. The subtle geochemical signature is not useful as a vector to ore because of the strong microstructural control on alteration. Likewise, there is no evidence for spatial mineralogical zonation across the alteration halo, although the most intense alteration is centred on the main fault zone, and intensity of alteration is controlled by microstructures at all scales. As documented in previous studies, hydrothermal alteration haloes enlarge the exploration target for some orogenic gold deposits, and may include disseminated gold, as in this Bullendale example.     

Stable carbon isotope changes during artificial charring of propagules

Charred organic remains are ubiquitous in the archaeological and fossil record and are often used to interpret past environments and climate. This study focuses on the physical and chemical alteration that takes place during heating (i.e. charring). Modifications to the internal and external morphology were noted alongside the change in molecular and stable carbon isotope signature. Molecular analyses were undertaken using direct temperature resolved mass spectrometry and the stable carbon isotopes determined using isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The results of this study document a general enrichment in ¹³C/¹²C composition of charred material which could reflect the changes observed in both the molecular composition and the relative proportions of the molecules formed. These results indicate that spurious results might be inferred when comparing the stable carbon isotope signature of charred/charcoalified material with uncharred organic matter     

Catalysis and hydrogenation: volcanic activity and hydrocarbon generation in rift basins,eastern China

Major oil reserves in rift basins in eastern China are correlated with high quality source rocks. The high quality source rocks and their hydrocarbon generation are often related to volcanic activity in the basins. Three kinds of volcanic rocks in source rocks have been defined in the Songliao, Bohaiwan and North Jiangsu basins. Some of the volcanic rocks were formed in lacustrine environments during the deposition of source rocks. It is remarkable that a part of volcanic-derived materials serves as a source of nutrients for lacustrine organisms which resulted in the formation of the organic matter in source rocks with high organic C contents. Besides hydrothermal alteration, the volcanic minerals contributed catalysis and H₂ to thermal alteration of organic matter into hydrocarbons during burial and diagenesis of source rocks and volcanics. A series of thermal laboratory simulations were performed with various combinations of immature source rocks and natural mineral assemblages. Results indicate that a significant volume of H₂ was produced from the source rock mixed with olivine and zeolite; moreover, this combination provided a 3-fold increase in hydrocarbons. It is proposed that catalysis and hydrogenation by the volcanic minerals promote hydrocarbon generation, although organic matter type is significantly variable. Hydrocarbons are generated at a lower degree of thermal stress when the reaction mixture contains volcanic minerals, and have a heavier C isotopic composition, compared to the control set of experiments.     

Formation of the hydrothermal system in Geysers Valley (Kronotsky Nature Reserve,Kamchatka) and triggers of the Giant Landslide

The Geysers Valley hydrothermal system is hosted within a system of two permeable faults (revealed by mapping thermal features), located above a suggested partially melted magmatic body and recharged by meteoric water along the outcrops of rhyolite–dacite extrusions. Fast erosion is stimulating the significant discharge rate, the geyser’s cycling mode and landslide events. Natural state thermal hydrodynamic modeling shows that 20–30 ka of high temperature upflow of 250 kg/s and an enthalpy of 900 kJ/kg could build up the hydrothermal system in the Geysers Valley basin with output discharge parameters comparable to those at the current level. Modeling also shows that steam accumulation below an inclined caprock may have hydrothermal eruption potential. The Giant Landslide took place on June 3, 2007, when 20 × 10⁶ m³ of rocks were shifted 2 km downstream, more than 23 geysers were buried or submerged, and Podprudnoe Lake was dammed, injecting cold water into submerged geysers. Possible triggers of the Giant Landslide include the inclination of the sliding plane towards the Geysernaya river basin, a pressure increase in the fluid-magma system, hanging block saturation by water during spring flooding, hydrothermal alteration weakening of the sliding plane, and steam explosions. Recent geysers cycling activity monitoring data (2007–2010), hydrogeochemical sampling, and thermal area infra red (IR) survey data are also discussed.     

Defining trace-element alteration halos to skarn deposits hosted in heterogeneous carbonate rocks: Case study from the Cu–Zn Antamina skarn deposit,Peru

The presence of geochemical anomalies, defining haloes around hydrothermal ore deposits, can be used to vector towards mineralization, or identify ore bodies buried at depth. Several important types of ore deposits, including skarn deposits, are often hosted within carbonate-rich sedimentary rocks. Identifying anomalous trace-element concentrations in carbonate rocks is complicated by variable lithology (i.e. siliciclastic component) and volume loss during hydrothermal alteration. In this study of the world-class Antamina skarn deposit in Peru, we use the ratio of metals:immobile elements (e.g. La, Al₂O₃) to differentiate genuine and false geochemical anomalies in limestones and marbles surrounding the skarn deposit. Unaltered limestones are used to define threshold values for metal:immobile element ratios (through use of the median value ± 2 median absolute deviations). Genuine anomalies are identified when metal concentrations exceed those predicted using median + 2 median absolute deviations. In addition, comparison of “four acid” and lithium-borate fusion analytical techniques reveals that the lower cost four-acid techniques give reliable results. Our approach can be used to identify geochemical anomalies and halos related to hydrothermal alteration of carbonate-rich rocks, which have direct application to skarn deposits.     

The impact environment of the Hadean Earth

Impact bombardment in the first billion years of solar system history determined in large part the initial physical and chemical states of the inner planets and their potential to host biospheres. The range of physical states and thermal consequences of the impact epoch, however, are not well quantified. Here, we assess these effects on the young Earth's crust as well as the likelihood that a record of such effects could be preserved in the oldest terrestrial minerals and rocks. We place special emphasis on modeling the thermal effects of the late heavy bombardment (LHB) – a putative spike in the number of impacts at about 3.9 Gyr ago – using several different numerical modeling and analytical techniques. A comprehensive array of impact-produced heat sources was evaluated which includes shock heating, impact melt generation, uplift, and ejecta heating. Results indicate that ∼1.5–2.5 vol.% of the upper 20 km of Earth's crust was melted in the LHB, with only ∼0.3–1.5 vol.% in a molten state at any given time. The model predicts that approximately 5–10% of the planet's surface area was covered by >1 km deep impact melt sheets. A global average of ∼600–800 m of ejecta and ∼800–1000 m of condensed rock vapor is predicted to have been deposited in the LHB, with most of the condensed rock vapor produced by the largest (>100-km) projectiles. To explore for a record of such catastrophic events, we created two- and three-dimensional models of post-impact cooling of ejecta and craters, coupled to diffusion models of radiogenic Pb*-loss in zircons. We used this to estimate what the cumulative effects of putative LHB-induced age resetting would be of Hadean zircons on a global scale. Zircons entrained in ejecta are projected to have the following average global distribution after the end of the LHB: ∼59% with no impact-induced Pb*-loss, ∼26% with partial Pb*-loss and ∼15% with complete Pb*-loss or destruction of the grain. In addition to the relatively high erodibility of ejecta, our results show that if discordant ca. 3.9 Gyr old zones in the Jack Hills zircons are a signature of the LHB, they were most likely sourced from impact ejecta.     

Cementation of kerogen-rich marls by alkaline fluids released during weathering of thermally metamorphosed marly sediments. Part II: Organic matter evolution,magnetic susceptibility and metals (Ti,Cr, Fe) at the Khushaym Matruk natural analogue (Central Jordan)

Spontaneous combustion, less than 1 Ma ago, affected a 60-m thick sediment pile of biomicrite at the Khushaym Matruck site (Jordan). The present study shows that three retrograde alteration stages occurred: weathering, thermal stress and oxidative alkaline perturbation. μ-FT-i.r. spectra of isolated kerogens and oxygen index of whole rocks indicate that oxidation of organic matter occurred down to ∼10 m beneath the metamorphosed zone at Khushaym Matruck. The occurrence of the oxidative weathering bacterially mediated, as suggested by the mass chromatograms of saturated hydrocarbons, can explain high Rock-Eval T_max values and low petroliferous potential measured along the sedimentary pile. On the other hand, the thermal extent of combustion events was limited to the first 2 m from the contact. The mean reflectance of 0.20–0.24% and porosity of ca. 50% of the grey clayey biomicrites indicate that organic matter was very immature and sediments were unconsolidated at the time of the combustion event. Using mineralogy, microscopic analyses of vegetable debris and magnetic susceptibility, a suite of characteristic points corresponding to the thermal imprint can be assessed: (i) x = 0m, T ∼ 1000 °C, (ii) x = 1 m, T ∼ 350 °C, (iii) x = 2 m, T ∼ 150 °C and (iv) x > ∼ 8 m, T ∼ 30 °C. Paleocirculation of meteoric groundwater in the ‘cement-marbles’ generated high-pH fluids that have circulated via fractures and through the matrix porosity of the underlying biomicrites but have also induced alkaline hydrolysis and oxidative attack of the organic matter. The polysaccharide/lignin ratio derived from μ-FT-i.r. analyses shows that the delignification of vegetable debris and degradation of polysaccharides progressively decline in the indurated zone, which indicates a decrease in the pH of migrating solutions. The latter also severely oxidized organic matter at 2.10 and 3.05 m as revealed by the oxygen index and induced the generation of bitumen. The spatial correlation between the oxidation levels of organic matter and the metal contents (Fe, Ti and Cr) suggests that redox reactions were responsible for the immobilization of metals in the indurated biomicrites. The intensity of these reactions is attributed to changes in the fluid flow regime within the sedimentary column.     

Effects of hydrothermal alteration on Pb in the active PACMANUS hydrothermal field, ODP Leg 193, Manus Basin, Papua New Guinea: A LA-ICP-MS study

The conventional model of leaching volcanic rocks as a source of metals in a seafloor hydrothermal systems has been tested by examining the behavior of Pb and other trace elements during hydrothermal alteration. ODP Leg 193 drill sites 1188 (Snowcap) and 1189 (Roman Ruins) on Pual Ridge in the eastern Manus Basin offshore eastern Papua New Guinea provide a unique three-dimensional window into an active back-arc hydrothermal system. We investigate by means of a LA-ICP-MS microbeam technique the capacity of Pb to be leached from a host volcanic rock exposed to various types and intensities of alteration. Our results are in general agreement with previous studies that utilized bulk analytical techniques but provide a more detailed explanation of the processes.Fresh representative dacitic lavas from the Pual Ridge have an average whole rock Pb content of 5.2 ppm, an average interstitial glass Pb content of 5.6 ppm and an average plagioclase Pb content of 1.0 ppm. Altered matrix samples have highly variable Pb values ranging from 0 to 52.4 ppm. High Pb values in altered samples are associated with a low temperature chlorite and clay mineral assemblage, in some cases overprinted by a high temperature (up to 350 °C) silica-rich “bleaching” alteration. Only the most highly altered matrix samples have REE patterns that differ from the fresh Pual Ridge dacite. This may represent either different lava histories or alteration characteristics that have affected normally immobile REEs. Altered samples with the highest Pb values have similar REE patterns to those of the local unaltered lavas. They are compositionally similar to typical Pual Ridge dacites indicating a genetic relationship between the main regional volcanic suite and the subseafloor hydrothermally altered, Pb-enriched material.Relative loss/gain for Pb between the analyzed altered samples and a calculated precursor show a maximum relative gain of 901%. Samples with relative Pb gain from both drill sites are associated with lower temperature alteration mineral assemblages characterized by pervasive chloritization. The related lower temperature (220-250 °C) neutral to slightly acidic fluids have been ascribed by others to return circulation of hydrothermal fluids that did not interact with seawater. Because altered samples have a higher Pb content than the fresh precursor, leaching of fresh volcanic rocks cannot be the source of Pb in the hydrothermal systems.     

Variations in composition and abundance of white mica in the hydrothermal alteration system at Hellyer,Tasmania, as revealed by infrared reflectance spectroscopy

Short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectral reflectance of hydrothermally altered volcanic rocks in the footwall of the Hellyer massive sulfide deposit was measured with a portable PIMA-II infrared spectrometer. The Al–OH band was used to derive information on the octahedral Al content and the abundance of white mica (sericite) in the hydrothermal alteration and mineralization system. The range of the Al–OH band wavelength from 2192 nm to 2222 nm corresponds to the number of octahedral Al (Al^vi) in white mica approximately from 3.9 to 3.0 (based on 4 octahedral cations per formula). This Al^vi range represents a significant compositional variation, covering most of the compositional region between muscovite (Al^vi = 4.0) and phengite (Al^vi = 3.0). Furthermore, the spectral reflectance data show that the compositional variation of white mica is spatially related to hydrothermal alteration zoning, such that phengitic white mica tends to occur in 1) main upflow fluid channel, 2) intensely altered volcanic rocks, and 3) Pb–Zn mineralization, whereas muscovitic white mica was formed preferentially distal to massive sulfide mineralization on the margin of the footwall alteration system. The results suggest that the Al–OH band wavelength, and therefore the octahedral Al content, of white mica can be used as vectors to mineralization to map the hydrothermal system at Hellyer.     

Organic Geochemistry of Sedimentary Rock-hosted Disseminated Gold Deposits in Southwestern Guizhou Province, China

Sedimentary rock-hosted disseminated gold (SRHDG) deposits in the Youjiang-Nanpanjiang Basin,southwestem Guizhou Province are commonly hosted by the same fold crests that commonly contain a remarkable amount of organic material. The total organic carbon (TOC) contents of the ores and host rocks are usually less than 1%. The reflectance of vitrinite and pyrobitumen in the ores and the host rocks ranges from 1.5% to 4.5%, often in the range of 2% to 3%. In the Lannigou deposit, the reflectance of vitrinite and pyrobitumen in the ores is usually somewhat higher than those within the host rocks, indicating a hydrothermal impact on the organic matter in the altered host rocks. On the contrary, the estimated maximum paleotemperatures of the Getang and Zimudang deposits are higher than the homogenization temperatures of the fluid inclusions in the ores, signifying that the organic matter maturation predated Au mineralization. No correlation between the organic matter contents and Au concentrations were recognized in the ores.However, the most striking observation is that there is a positive correlation between the $2 (a parameter of Rock-Eval analysis), Au and As contents of the ores in the Lannigou deposit. Organic matter maturation and migration is apparent from the TOC vs. HCI diagram. Furthermore, group analysis of the dichloromethane extractable organic component of the ores and host rocks shows that the maturation degree of the organic matter in the ores is slightly higher than that of the host rocks in the Lannigou gold deposit. However, the compositions of their alkanes, steranes and terpenes, which serve as biomarkers, are quite similar; this suggests that the organic matter found in the ores and host rocks has a common marine source. Organic matter probably contributed to the preconcentration of Au in the host rocks. Hydrocarbons in the system,on the other hand, clearly contributed to the emplacement of the gold mineralization through thermal sulfate reduction.Organic matter in the solution might have increased the potential of the hydrothermal solution to transport Au.     

裂谷盆地生油层中火山岩及其矿物与有机质的相互作用——油气生成的催化和加氢作用研究进展及展望

我国裂谷盆地生油层中常有火山岩发育。在研究它们共生模式的基础上,利用地球化学和模拟实验等手段探索埋藏成岩期火山矿物与有机质的相互作用。初步成果表明,一些火山矿物对有机质生烃具有催化和加氢作用,可以使生油岩在较低温度和压力条件下生成较多的油气。但是不同火山矿物对油气生成的催化加氢效果及其动力学特征、这种成因类型的油气识别方法、成藏模式等,还需深入研究。因此,本研究对于丰富油气成因理论、提供新的找油领域具有重要意义。     

Origin,organic geochemistry,and estimation of the generation potential of Neogene lacustrine sediments from the Valjevo-Mionica Basin,Serbia

This paper reports an investigation of 60 samples of lacustrine sedimentary rocks of Neogene age lying at depths of 0–400 m in the Valjevo-Mionica Basin, Serbia. The goal of the study was to determine the origin and type of primary organic matter (OM), the degree of thermal alteration, the generation potential of OM from the rocks of this basin, and conditions in the sedimentation environment during the formation of the rocks. The potential of OM of the rocks was estimated on the basis of the thermolysis of a representative sample after its preliminary debituminization.     

Remote sensing for mineral exploration

Remote sensing is the science of acquiring, processing, and interpreting images and related data, acquired from aircraft and satellites, that record the interaction between matter and electromagnetic energy. Remote sensing images are used for mineral exploration in two applications: (1) map geology and the faults and fractures that localize ore deposits; (2) recognize hydrothermally altered rocks by their spectral signatures. Landsat thematic mapper (TM) satellite images are widely used to interpret both structure and hydrothermal alteration. Digitally processed TM ratio images can identify two assemblages of hydrothermal alteration minerals; iron minerals, and clays plus alunite. In northern Chile, TM ratio images defined the prospects that are now major copper deposits at Collahuasi and Ujina. Hyperspectral imaging systems can identify individual species of iron and clay minerals, which can provide details of hydrothermal zoning. Silicification, which is an important indicator of hydrothermal alteration, is not recognizable on TM and hyperspectral images. Quartz has no diagnostic spectral features in the visible and reflected IR wavelengths recorded by these systems. Variations in silica content are recognizable in multispectral thermal IR images, which is a promising topic for research.     

Isotopic and petrographic evidence for young Martian basalts

Radiometric age data for shergottites yield ages of 4.0 Ga and 180-575 Ma; the interpretation of these ages has been, and remains, a subject of debate. Here, we present new ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar laser probe data on lherzolitic shergottites Allan Hills (ALH) 77005 and Northwest Africa (NWA) 1950. These two meteorites are genetically related, but display very different degrees of shock damage. On a plot of ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar versus ³⁹Ar/³⁶Ar, the more strongly shocked ALH 77005 (45-55 GPa) does not yield an array of values indicating an isochron, but the data are highly scattered with the shock melts yielding ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratios of 1600-2026. Apparent ages calculated from these extractions range from 374-8183 Ma, with 50% of the data, particularly from the shock melts, yielding impossibly old ages (>4.567 Ga). On the same plot, extractions from igneous minerals in the less shocked NWA 1950 (30-44 GPa) yield a fitted age of 382 ± 36 Ma. Argon extractions from the shock melts are well distinguished from minerals, with the melts exhibiting the highest ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratios (1260-1488) and the oldest apparent ages. Laser step heating was also performed on maskelynite separates from NWA 1950 yielding ages of 1000 Ma at the lowest release temperatures, and ages of 360 and 362 Ma at higher temperature steps. Stepped heating data from previous studies have yielded ages of 500 and 700 Ma to 1.7 Ga for ALH 77005 maskelynite separates. If the ages obtained from igneous minerals represent undegassed argon from an ancient (4.0 Ga) rock, then the ages are expected to anticorrelate with the degree of shock heating. The data do not support this inference. Our data support young crystallization ages for minerals and Martian atmosphere as the origin of excess ⁴⁰Ar in the shock melts.The shock features of shergottites are also reviewed in the context of what is known of the geologic history of the Martian surface through remote observation. The oldest, most heavily cratered surfaces of Mars are thought to be ?4.0 Ga; we contend that ancient rocks from Mars (Noachian >3.5 Ga) are likely to record multiple impact events reflecting megaregolith formation and the cumulative effects of erosion and aqueous alteration occurring during or since that era. Young rocks (Late Amazonian, <0.6 Ga) should record a relatively simple history of emplacement and ejection from the near surface. We show that although shergottites are strongly shocked, they are relatively pristine crystalline igneous rocks and not pervasively altered breccias. The petrography of shergottites is at odds with an ancient age interpretation. A model in which young coherent rocks are preferentially sampled by hypervelocity impact because of material strength is considered highly plausible.     

U-Pb SHRIMP geochronology of Th-poor, hydrothermal monazite: An example from the Llallagua tin-porphyry deposit, Bolivia

In situ U-Pb SHRIMP analysis of hydrothermal monazite virtually free of Th and poor in U (<0.2 ppm Th, 40-103 ppm U) from the world-class Llallagua tin porphyry deposit in Bolivia defines a mineralization age of 23.4 ± 2.2 Ma (MSWD 0.48) confirming earlier K-Ar sericite alteration age data. These ages are, however, in contrast with a weighted mean single crystal ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb evaporation age of 39.3 ± 6.0 Ma, and a related Pb-Pb inverse isochron age of 42.4 ± 4.0 Ma (MSWD 0.66) on zircon from a post-porphyry dike, as well as with an earlier single crystal Sm-Nd apatite isochron age.Our data points to a significant time gap between emplacement of the ore-hosting porphyry intrusion (magmatism) and its hydrothermal overprint (tin mineralization), suggesting long-lived magmatic-hydrothermal activity in this part of the Andean back-arc crust. The decoupling of porphyry magmatism and hydrothermal activity may explain the unusual occurrence of relatively little fractionated felsic rocks together with extensive tin mineralization.Our study demonstrates the usefulness of the application of the U-Pb SHRIMP method to direct age determination of ore mineralization using Th-poor hydrothermal monazite even when dealing with geological young events. The common assumption of synchronous magmatism and hydrothermal ore formation in porphyry systems may not always be warranted.     

No major thermal event on the mid-Cretaceous Côte d'Ivoire–Ghana Transform Margin

Transient mid-Cretaceous thermal uplift induced by lateral heating from passing oceanic lithosphere is often invoked as a mechanism for the formation of the Côte d'Ivoire–Ghana basement ridge in the Equatorial Atlantic. This heating event should have affected mid-Cretaceous sedimentary rocks along the ridge. However, organic maturity and clay mineral data on the thermal evolution of these rocks suggest that burial temperatures did not exceed 80 °C and that palaeo–geothermal gradients are not anomalous. Optical petrography and the stratigraphic pattern of temperature-sensitive parameters indicate that higher palaeotemperature estimates are related to admixtures of preheated, detrital organic and inorganic matter. Erosion brought the sediments to their present shallow burial depths. Lack of evidence for significant thermal alteration implies that either thermal exchange between oceanic and continental lithosphere along the Côte d'Ivoire–Ghana Transform Margin was negligible, or that lateral heating by oceanic lithosphere was not strong enough to affect the sedimentary cover of the basement ridge.     

A demonstration of an affinity between pyrite and organic matter in a hydrothermal setting

One of the key-principles of the iron-sulphur world theory is to bring organic molecules close enough to interact with each other, using the surface of pyrite as a substrate in a hydrothermal setting. The present paper explores the relationship of pyrite and organic matter in a hydrothermal setting from the geological record; in hydrothermal calcite veins from Carboniferous limestones in central Ireland. Here, the organic matter is accumulated as coatings around, and through, pyrite grains. Most of the pyrite grains are euhedral-subhedral crystals, ranging in size from ca 0.1-0.5 mm in diameter, and they are scattered throughout the matrix of the vein calcite. The organic matter was deposited from a hydrothermal fluid at a temperature of at least 200°C, and gives a Raman signature of disordered carbon. This study points to an example from a hydrothermal setting in the geological record, demonstrating that pyrite can have a high potential for the concentration and accumulation of organic materials.     

Use of micro-XRF chemical analysis for mapping volcanogenic massive sulfide related hydrothermal alteration: Application to the subaqueous felsic dome-flow complex of the Cap d'Ours section,Glenwood rhyolite,Rouyn-Noranda,Québec,Canada

A new analytical method using micro-X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is presented for the in situ analysis of major elements in rock samples. This approach has allowed for a separate study of hydrothermal alteration of matrix versus fragments in volcaniclastic material (i.e. flow breccia). This is particularly important for volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) exploration in subaqueous felsic dome-flow complexes, where brecciated facies are omnipresent and the imprint of hydrothermal alteration is typically heterogeneous. In this study, eleven elements are measured with a 1.7 by 1.3 mm window considered to be representative of each sample, based on replicate analyses. An average is calculated for the analyzed window and yields a nearly complete analysis with the exception of loss of ignition (LOI). Micro-XRF data were validated using whole rock XRF analyses performed on the same sample block. The application of this chemical method has been tested successfully on thin sections from the Cap d'Ours section of the Glenwood rhyolite in the Rouyn-Noranda region of Québec, Canada. With 58 samples spaced at approximately 50 m intervals, two styles of alteration zoning were recognized: (1) a lateral and concordant zoning expressed by vent-proximal silicification in the west grading toward vent-distal chlorite–sericite alteration to the east, and (2) vertical and discordant zoning expressed by stronger sericitization in the upper part of later volcanic quartz- and feldspar-phyric endogenous lobes. The former is typical of cooling induced by seawater interaction at the lava–water interface at temperatures greater than 400 °C, whereas the latter is related to lower temperature (< 300 °C) hydrothermal mineralization associated with endogenous lobe emplacement within the volcanic pile. The presented results clearly demonstrate the potential use of the micro-XRF data for characterizing weak to intense hydrothermal alteration in highly fragmented volcanic rocks.     

Oxygen isotope studies of the geothermal system at Wairakei,New Zealand

Volcanic rocks in the Wairakei geothermal field have undergone extensive oxygen isotope exchange with the thermal waters, resulting in an O¹⁸-depletion averaging about 4%. A lower limit on the ratio of the mass of water to rock in the exchange system is 4·3, at least ten times greater than the corresponding figure for the Salton Sea geothermal system. Carbonates, present as alteration products in most samples, are found to be in equilibrium with waters at present-day temperatures in some wells, and to record higher ‘fossil’ temperatures in others. Quartz phenocrysts and xenocrysts remain unexchanged, and only new hydrothermal quartz is in isotopic equilibrium with geothermal solutions.     

Early maturation of organic matter and genesis of hydrocarbons as a result of heat from a shallow piercement salt dome

The Primrose Prospect lies 48 km east of Sable Island on the Scotian Shelf below 80 km of water. The subsurface geology is characterized by the presence of Jurassic salt that has pierced the early Cretaceous sediments and uplifted late Cretaceous and early Tertiary beds to provide localized structural closure, shale compaction, and anomalously high heat gradients in the younger sediments overlying the salt mass.The reservoir rocks interbedded with the compacted shales contain wet gas, condensate, and 31° API oil. The organic matter in these shales, which consists essentially of amorphous material, has undergone thermal alteration and maturation at a very shallow depth, a condition not apparent in coeval beds elsewhere in the area. This localized alteration of the organic matter is considered to have occurred in response to the thermal and pressure effects of the underlying halokinetic structure and could have resulted in the genesis of the mature hydrocarbons.