Actively forming Kuroko-type volcanic-hosted massive sulfide (VHMS) mineralization at Iheya North,Okinawa Trough,Japan

Modern seafloor hydrothermal systems provide important insights into the formation and discovery of ancient volcanic-hosted massive sulfide (VHMS) deposits. In 2010, Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 331 drilled five sites in the Iheya North hydrothermal field in the middle Okinawa Trough back-arc basin, Japan. Hydrothermal alteration and sulfide mineralization is hosted in a geologically complex, mixed sequence of coarse pumiceous volcaniclastic and fine hemipelagic sediments, overlying a dacitic to rhyolitic volcanic substrate. At site C0016, located adjacent to the foot of the actively venting North Big Chimney massive sulfide mound, massive sphalerite-(pyrite-chalcopyrite ± galena)-rich sulfides were intersected (to 30.2% Zn, 12.3% Pb, 2.68% Cu, 33.1 ppm Ag and 0.07 ppm Au) that strongly resemble the black ore of the Miocene-age Kuroko deposits of Japan. Sulfide mineralization shows clear evidence of formation through a combination of surface detrital and subsurface chemical processes, with at least some sphalerite precipitating into void space in the rock. Volcanic rocks beneath massive sulfides exhibit quartz-muscovite/illite and quartz-Mg-chlorite alteration reminiscent of VHMS proximal footwall alteration associated with Kuroko-type deposits, characterized by increasing MgO, Fe/Zn and Cu/Zn with depth. Recovered felsic footwall rocks are of FII to FIII affinity with well-developed negative Eu anomalies, consistent with VHMS-hosting felsic rocks in Phanerozoic ensialic arc/back-arc settings worldwide.Site C0013, ∼100 m east of North Big Chimney, represents a likely location of recent high temperature discharge, preserved as surficial coarse-grained sulfidic sediments (43.2% Zn, 4.4% Pb, 5.4% Cu, 42 ppm Ag and 0.02 ppm Au) containing high concentrations of As, Cd, Mo, Sb, and W. Near surface hydrothermal alteration is dominated by kaolinite and muscovite with locally abundant native sulfur, indicative of acidic hydrothermal fluids. Alteration grades to Mg-chlorite dominated assemblages at depths of >5 mbsf (metres below sea floor). Late coarse-grained anhydrite veining overprints earlier alteration and is interpreted to have precipitated from down welling seawater as hydrothermal activity waned. At site C0014, ∼350 m farther east, hydrothermal assemblages are characterized by illite/montmorillonite, with Mg-chlorite present at depths below ∼30 mbsf. Recovered lithologies from distal, recharge site C0017 are unaltered, with low MgO, Fe₂O₃ and base metal concentrations.Mineralization and alteration assemblages are consistent with the Iheya North system representing a modern analogue for Kuroko-type VHMS mineralization. Fluid flow is focussed laterally along pumiceous volcaniclastic strata (compartmentalized between impermeable hemipelagic sediments), and vertically along faults. The abundance of Fe-poor sphalerite and Mg-rich chlorite (clinochlore/penninite) is consistent with the lower Fe budget, temperature and higher oxidation state of felsic volcanic-hosted hydrothermal systems worldwide compared to Mid Ocean Ridge black smoker systems.     

REE Characteristics of the Kalatongke Cu-Ni Deposit, Xinjiang, China

On the basis of the study on the REE geochemistry of the ore minerals and host rocks of the Kalatongke Cu-Ni deposit, Xinjiang, it is indicated that the major ore minerals, sulfides, were sourced from the host mafic-ultramafic magma. Characterized by low REE content of sulfide, such a Cu-Ni sulfide deposit occurring in the orogen is obviously different from that on the margin of the craton. Because the mafic-ultramafic rocks from the Cu-Ni sulfide deposit occurring in the orogen is water-rich and the REEs of some sulfides show a particular "multiple-bending" pattern, which suggests coexistence of multiple liquid phases (fluid and melt), the sulfide melt possibly contains a great deal of hydrothermal fluids and increasingly developed gases and liquid-rich ore-forming fluids after the main metallogenic epoch (magmatic segregation stage).     

Mineralogy and composition of Kuroko deposits from northeastern Honshu and their possible modern analogues from the Izu-Ogasawara (Bonin) Arc south of Japan: Implications for mode of formation

The Kuroko deposits of NE Honshu are a key type deposit for the study of volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits. However, these deposits have not been studied in detail since the early 1980's and knowledge of their mode of formation is now dated. In this study, we present the analysis of 12 samples of the Kuroko deposits, 12 samples of submarine hydrothermal minerals from the Sunrise deposit and 6 samples from Suiyo Seamount, both of which are located on the Izu-Ogasawara (Bonin) Arc, for 27 elements. For the Kuroko deposit, Cd>Sb>Ag>Pb>Hg>As>Zn>Cu are highly enriched, Au>Te>Bi>Ba>Mo are moderately enriched, In>Tl are somewhat enriched and Fe is not significantly enriched relative to the average continental crust. Within each of these deposits, a similar pattern of element associations is apparent: Zn–Pb with As, Sb, Cd, Ag, Hg, Tl and Au; Fe–Cu–Ba with As, Sb, Ag, Tl, Mo, Te and Au; Si–Ba with Ag and Au; CaSO₄. The enrichment of the chalcophilic elements in these deposits is consistent with hydrothermal leaching of these elements from the host rocks which are dominantly rhyolite–dacite in the case of the Kuroko deposits, rhyolite in the case of the Sunrise deposit and dacite–rhyolite in the case of the Suiyo Seamount deposit. However, this pattern of element enrichment is also similar to that observed in fumarolic gas condensates from andesitic volcanoes. This suggests that there may be a significant magmatic contribution to the composition of the hydrothermal fluids responsible for the formation of the Kuroko deposits, although it is not yet possible to quantify the relative contributions of these two sources of elements.The compositional data show that Sunrise and Suiyo Seamount deposits are much closer compositionally to the Kuroko deposits from NE Honshu than are the submarine hydrothermal deposits from the JADE site in the Okinawa Trough which contain, on average, significantly higher concentrations of Pb, Zn, Sb, As and Ag than each of these deposits. In spite of the greater similarity in tectonic setting of the Hokuroku Basin in which the Kuroko deposits formed to the Okinawa Trough (intracontinental rifted back-arc basin) compared to Myojin Knoll and Suiyo Seamount (active arc volcanoes), it appears that submarine hydrothermal deposits from Myojin Knoll and Suiyo Seamount are closer analogues of the Kuroko deposit than are those from the Okinawa Trough. The present data are consistent with the magmatic hydrothermal model for the formation of Kuroko-type deposits as formulated by Urabe and Marumo [Urabe, T., Marumo, K., 1991. A new model for Kuroko-type deposits of Japan. Episodes 14, 246–251].     

Re-Os Age of Cu-Ni Ores from the Huangshandong Cu-Ni Sulfide Deposit in the East Tianshan Mountains and Its Implication for Geodynamic Processes

An isochron age of 282±20 (95% conf. limit) Ma of the sulfide ores in the Huangshandong Cu-Ni sulfide deposit, the East Tianshan Mountains has been obtained through Re-Os isotopic measurement. The age implies that the Cu-Ni sulfide deposit and other related deposits in the same area occurred in a Permian extensional environment of post-collision instead of Devonian-Early Carboniferous ophiolite-related oceanic or island arc environments inferred before. It shares the same ages with the orogenic and epithermal gold deposit systems in the same area. An initial 187Os/188Os ratio of 0.25±0.04 (1σ) and a γos value of 99 on average display the participation of large quantities of crustal components into the rock-forming and ore-forming system during mineralization and magmatic emplacement.     

云南会泽铅锌矿床分散元素的富集机制——兼论浅色闪锌矿富集Cd的原因

文章对云南会泽铅锌矿床的黄铁矿、方铅矿和闪锌矿中的分散元素进行了电子探针分析(EMPA),探讨了分散元素的富集机制.结果表明,分散元素含量已达到综合利用指标,且富集规律为:分散元素以类质同象的形式赋存,黄铁矿中分散元素含量较低,而方铅矿中分散元素的含量稍高于闪锌矿.闪锌矿中:Cd富集顺序为红色＞杂色＞黑色,在高温阶段Cd置换Fe,低温阶段Cd置换Zn;Ga通过置换Zn进入闪锌矿,Ge可能主要替代Fe而进入闪锌矿晶格.方铅矿中:Cd和Ga元素置换Fe或Pb先进入方铅矿晶格内,Ge则富集较晚,具体表现为:当Ga含量较低时,元素进入方铅矿品格顺序为Fe,Zn→Cd→Ga,Ge,当Ga含量较高时,元素进入方铅矿品格的顺序依次为Cd,Ga→Ge.     

新疆坡北铜镍矿床铂族元素特征及其对成矿过程的约束

坡北铜镍矿床位于塔里木克拉通东北缘,矿石类型主要为星点状和稀疏浸染状,二者之间呈渐变过渡关系。矿石∑PGE含量较低,变化范围为2.47×10-9~404.17×10-9;S与Ni之间相关性较差,与Cu、Ir、Ru、Rh、Pt、Pd之间除个别样品外均呈较好的正相关性,表明铂族元素主要赋存于硫化物中。在铂族元素相关性图解上,Ir与Ru、Rh之间呈明显的正相关性,与Pd之间相关性较差,Pd与Ru、Rh、Pt之间均呈很好的正相关性,表明硫化物熔离后未发生明显的单硫化物固溶体（MSS）的分离结晶。100%硫化物计算后,矿石∑PGE平均含量为2 806.9×10-9,原始地幔标准化图解呈Pd、Pt略富集的左倾型,相对于Ni、Cu明显亏损铂族元素。模拟计算表明坡北矿床多数样品硫化物熔离时“R”因子变化范围为50~500,母岩浆中Ru含量约为0.56×10-9,Pd含量为3.6×10-9。研究表明导致铂族元素亏损的主要原因是岩浆源区残留有少量硫化物,成矿过程中深部携带硫化物珠滴的岩浆进入现存空间时岩浆流动速度较慢,硫化物聚集过程中流动分异作用微弱,限制了硫化物的聚集,使硫化物较为分散,可能是导致该矿床金属品位较低的主要原因。     

热液脉型铅-锌-银矿床富铁闪锌矿中硫化物包裹体成因探讨

通过对热液脉型的铅－锌－银矿床（３个）和银矿床（１个）和闪锌矿中硫化物包囊体的特征研究表明,石英－硫化物阶段富铁闪锌矿（主矿物）的硫化物包裹体十分发育：沿生长带产出的乳滴状黄铜矿与主矿物为共同沉淀成因;沿穿切主矿物的黄铜矿或石英细脉两侧,和受粗粒黄铜矿溶蚀的富铁闪锌矿近接触部位发育的乳滴状黄铜矿为渗透－交代产物;沿解理（裂隙）或粒间、粒内产出的各种形态磁黄铁矿是充填－交代的结果;沿解理分布的脉状毒     

Myojin Rift, Izu–Bonin Arc as the Modern Analog of Hokuroku Basin, Northeast Japan: Geotectonic Significance of the New Hydrothermal Deposit in the Back-Arc Rift

A huge hydrothermal field, named the "Hakurei Sulfide Deposit" (HSD) was discovered in the North Myojin Rift (NMR), Izu–Bonin Back-Arc Rift (BAR) during the 2003 survey cruise of R/V Hakurei-maru No.2 . This paper investigates the geotectonic features and the tectonic setting of ore deposits between the NMR and the Hokuroku Basin, which is representative of kuroko fields in Japan. The topographic features of the NMR and the Hokuroku Basin are similar. Both have a clear ring structure surrounded by faults and the east–west width is almost the same. Many kuroko deposits were formed on the extrusion centers of the five pre-mineral acidic volcanic complexes, located in a loop inside the Hokuroku Basin. In the case of the NMR, seven submarine volcanoes are also located in a loop, and the HSD formed inside the summit caldera of Bayonnaise Knoll, which is one of the seven volcanoes. These topographic similarities highlight that the NMR is a modern analog of the Hokuroku Basin. Identifying such similarities is extremely useful when prospecting kuroko deposits on land equivalents as well as on the other segments of the Izu–Bonin BAR. The probability of finding kuroko deposits on land is expected to increase when the following are identified: (i) location of back-arc rift and the volcanic front; (ii) direction of the arc–trench system and intra-rift faults (and/or fracture zone); (iii) position of submarine volcanoes surrounding a back-arc rift; and (iv) intersections of a caldera fault and intra-rift fault (and/or fracture zone) inside the summit caldera of submarine volcanoes. Within these aforementioned points a ring structure, acidic volcanic complexes that circle the circuit and submarine calderas along the volcanic front, are an important indication of submarine hydrothermal deposits.     

华南寒武纪早期牛蹄塘组黑色岩系中Ni-Mo多金属硫化物矿层的Mo同位素组成讨论

华南寒武纪早期牛蹄塘组黑色岩系底部赋存有一层富Ni-Mo多金属元素的硫化物矿层.Lehmann等(2007)报道Ni-Mo矿石的Mo同位素组成十分均一,δ98/95MoMOMO值为-1.24‰±0.10‰;而赋矿围岩黑色页岩的Mo同位素组成变化较大,δ98/95MoMOMO值为-1.82‰～-0.40‰,并认为Mo全部来源于海水.笔者发现,含Mo低的黑色页岩具有Mo含量与Mo同位素组成的正相关关系,可能反映了海水来源Mo(以富重Mo同位素为特征)与页岩中碎屑组分来源Mo(以富轻Mo同位素为特征)两者的混合.Ni-Mo矿石非常均一的Mo同位素组成可能反映了它们的Mo来源既不是海水,也不是碎屑组分,而很可能是第3种来源,即以海底热液占主导.有必要对含矿与不含矿的该套黑色岩系开展更详细的Mo同位素研究,以便进一步确定寒武纪早期海水的Mo同位素组成和Ni-Mo矿层的成因.     

内蒙古突泉县莲花山银铜矿床成矿地质背景探讨

文章通过对莲花山银铜矿床与成矿关系较密切的次火山岩的岩石化学、微量元素、稀土元素和同位素分析,对该矿床的成矿地质背景进行了探讨;认为莲花山银铜矿床是在太平洋板块向亚洲大陆板块俯冲下产生的弧后引张区,由来源于上地幔或下地壳的深源钙碱性岩浆多次上侵,在相对封闭的还原环境下形成的中高温热液矿床.