In search of the lost zinc: A lesson from the Jabali (Yemen) nonsulfide zinc deposit

The Jabali nonsulfide zinc deposit, located northeast of Sana'a (Yemen) contains a geological resource of 12.6 million tonnes of ore grading 8.9% zinc, 1.2% lead and 68 g/t silver, with a projected recovery of ca. 80% zinc. The primary sulfide deposit shows features of both Mississippi Valley and Carbonate Replacement types, and is believed to have been formed by circulating hydrothermal fluids, either associated with Mesozoic rifting, or generated from Tertiary igneous activity, developed in the area during the Red Sea crustal extension. An extension of this phenomenon should have also triggered the late uplift, which favored the oxidation of sulfides. Ore deposition has been accompanied by several dolomitization phases, some of which have been considered strictly hydrothermal.