Applications of computer modeling to the study of the genesis of stratiform sulfide deposits

Abstract

Stratiform sulfide deposits are considered to have formed at or near the discharge vents of submarine hydrothermal systems. Such deposits constitute an important source of zinc, lead, copper, silver, and gold. They are often divided on the basis of the dominant host-rock lithology into volcanogenic and sediment-hosted types. In terms of their economic base metal contents, volcanogenic deposits contain either Cu and Zn or Zn, Pb, and Cu, whereas sediment-hosted deposits usually contain predominantly Zn and Pb.