A genetic reinterpretation of the Falun and �mmeberg ore types, Bergslagen, Sweden

Abstract

The stratiform sulphide and oxide ores of Bergslagen, south-central Sweden, constitute the largest concentration of base metal and iron ores in northern Europe. They are hosted by Early Proterozoic metamorphosed volcanic and sedimentary successions, which (together with later granitoids) belong to the Svecofennian Domain. An earlier genetic model suggested that two principal types of sulphide ores existed in Bergslagen (Falun and Ammeberg), which had been formed through two contrasting granitoid-related processes, whereas the iron oxide ores were considered exhalative-volcanogenic. The prevailing view for the Bergslagen ores is that all stratiform sulphide (and oxide) ores were formed by exhalative-volcanogenic processes from one homogenous metal source. In this paper are presented new high-precision determinations of the ore lead isotopic composition of twentytwo stratiform sulphide and oxide ores in Bergslagen (among them Falun, Zinkgruvan-Ammeberg and Dannemora), in order to provide an improved base for their genesis. The results show that significant variations in metal sources existed in Bergslagen for the volcanogenic ores. Most ores (including the Falun Cu-Zn-Pb deposit) were formed from a major isotopic reservoir that occurs in the interior parts of Bergslagen. This source is defined as the Falun reservoir and is dominated by calcalkaline felsic volcanic rocks. A variable input from a more evolved source component (recycled pre-Svecofennian crustal components) is locally important in sedimentdominated areas, particularly the Stockholm archipelago. A third source, representing relatively primitive metabasalts, influenced the lead isotopic pattern of ores in westernmost Bergslagen. The composition of the Zinkgruvan (Ammeberg) ore lead is distinctly different from that of the Falun reservoir, but forms, together with other sulphide deposits along the southern margin of Bergslagen, a pronounced linear trend in standard isotope diagrams. The linear trend is interpreted as a mixing line and shows that the lead in these ores were derived partly from evolved and partly from primitive sources. The evolved end member has an isotopic composition, which is comparable with the sediment-dominated sources in the interior parts of Bergslagen and in the Stockholm archipelago. The primitive end member is represented by tholeiitic volcanics, which are more abundant in the southern margin of Bergslagen than elsewhere in Bergslagen. A significant variation with respect to metal sources and depositional environments can thus be recognized for the Bergslagen ores and a renaissance for the genetic concepts Falun and Ammeberg types is suggested.