Abstract
The Bukit Botol and Bukit Ketaya deposits are two examples of volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) deposits that occur in the Tasik Chini area, Central Belt of Peninsular Malaysia. The mineralisation is divided into subzones distinguished by spatial, mineralogical, and textural characteristics. The primary sulphide minerals include pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and galena, with lesser amounts of Sn- and Ag-bearing minerals, with Au. However, pyrrhotite is absent from both deposits. This study presents the results of sphalerite chemistry analysed by using an electron microprobe. Two types of sphalerite are recognised: sphalerite from the Bukit Botol deposit reveals a range of <DL to 24.0 mole% FeS, whereas sphalerite from the Bukit Ketaya deposit shows a range of <DL to 3 mole% FeS. Significant variations are shown in Zn, Cu, Cd, and Ag levels. Although the sphalerite has a wide variation in composition, a discernible decreasing Fe trend is exhibited from the stringer zone towards massive sulphide. This compositional variation in sphalerites may in part reflect variable temperature and activity of sulphur in the hydrothermal fluids during ore formation. Alternatively, the bimodal composition variations suggest that mineral chemistry relates to contrasting depositional processes. The Zn/Cd ratios for sphalerite from both these deposits are similar to those exhibited by volcano−sedimentary deposits with a volcanic origin. Therefore, the consistently low Cd concentrations and moderate to high Zn/Cd ratios suggest mixing of seawater and minor magmatic fluids controlling the chemistry of sphalerite at both deposits during their formation.
Highlights
The concentrations of Fe, Mn, and Cd in sphalerite can be related to compositional variations in ore-forming fluids for many ore deposits of different genesis (e.g., [1,2]), and provide important information on the changes in temperature and chemistry of mineralising fluids (e.g., [3])
This paper presents an interpretation of the chemical compositions of sphalerite from the Permian volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) deposits in the Tasik Chini area, Peninsular Malaysia
At the Bukit Botol deposit, sphalerite forms as a fine-grained to irregular grain type and occurs in all mineralisation styles
Summary
The concentrations of Fe, Mn, and Cd in sphalerite can be related to compositional variations in ore-forming fluids for many ore deposits of different genesis (e.g., [1,2]), and provide important information on the changes in temperature and chemistry of mineralising fluids (e.g., [3]). Sphalerite can be enriched in a wide variety of elements, such as Fe, Mn, Cd, Cu, Sn, Ag, Ga, and In [4], potentially influencing the economic value of a zinc sulphide deposit [5]. The potential application of the FeS contents as an indicator for fluid origin and its temperature of deposition was first recognised by [7]. The Fe content in sphalerite has been applied to measure the pressure and depth of many metamorphosed massive sulphide deposits with variable success (e.g., [9,10,11,12,13]), there is some controversy over the application of this method [14]
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