Carbonate-hosted nonsulphide Zn–Pb mineralization of southern British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

Many carbonate-hosted sulphide deposits in the Salmo district of southern British Columbia have near-surface Zn- and Pb-bearing iron oxide-rich gossans. The gossans formed when carbonate-hosted, base metal sulphides were subjected to intense supergene weathering processes and metals were liberated by the oxidation of sulphide minerals. Two types of supergene carbonate-hosted nonsulphide deposits, direct replacement (‘red ore’) and wallrock replacement (‘white ore’), are present in the Salmo district. The direct replacement deposits formed by the oxidation of primary sulphides; the base metals passed into solution and were redistributed and trapped within the space occupied by the oxidized portion of the sulphide protore. Depending on the extent of replacement of the sulphides by Zn-, Pb- and Fe-bearing oxides, silicates, carbonates and phosphates, the resulting ore can be called ‘mixed’ (sulphides and nonsulphides) or simply ‘nonsulphide’. The wallrock replacement deposits formed when base metals liberated by the oxidation of sulphides were transported by circulating supergene solutions down and/or away from the sulphides to form wallrock replacement deposits. The direct replacement nonsulphide zones of the Salmo district overlay the sulphide bodies in which they replaced the sulphides and carbonates, forming large irregular replacement masses, encrustations and open-space fillings. They consist predominantly of hematite, goethite, hemimorphite [Zn4Si2O7(OH)2·H2O], minor hydrozincite [Zn5(CO3)2(OH)6], cerussite [PbCO3] and traces of willemite [Zn2SiO4]. The wallrock replacement zones consist mainly of hemimorphite with local occurrences of iron oxides, hopeite [Zn3(PO4)2·4H2O] and tarbuttite [Zn2(PO4)(OH)]. No remnants of sulphides were observed in the replacement zones. The Salmo nonsulphide deposits were formed by prolonged weathering of Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) mineralization that underwent dissolution and oxidation of the pyrite, sphalerite and galena protore. The weathering also leached out highly mobile Zn, less mobile Pb and left behind the iron oxides, precipitating Zn and Pb silicates within the protore or at a distance from the protore.