Melt inclusions in quartz from felsic volcanic rocks of the Iberian Pyrite Belt: Clues for magmatic ore metal transfer towards VMS-forming systems

Abstract

The Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB) is a major metallogenic province with numerous volcanic-hosted massive sulfide (VMS) deposits. Albernoa, Serra Branca and Neves-Corvo represent three well-known felsic volcanic centers in the Portuguese portion of the IPB. Albernoa has no known VMS mineralization, whereas gossans are well known in Serra Branca. Neves-Corvo is a world-class VMS deposit with high grade and tonnage for massive Cu and Zn sulfide ores as well as for Sn (massive and stringer cassiterite ores; now exhausted). Magmatic-hydrothermal fluids may contribute to the metal budget in some VMS-forming systems. In the IPB, direct evidence for this has been lacking and the magmatic link was not yet fully established. This work presents the first quartz-hosted melt inclusion data of phyric felsic volcanic rocks from the Albernoa, Serra Branca and Neves-Corvo areas in the IPB. Melt inclusions of intermediate composition found in Albernoa felsic volcanics show evidence for early stages of crustal melt assimilation supporting previous petrogenetic models for the IPB. High Sn contents (up to 46 ppm) found in the melt inclusions from all volcanic centers are a primary magmatic feature on these IPB volcanic rocks and are above the background value for the IPB felsic volcanic rocks. Estimated temperature of formation of magmatic quartz, in excess of 800 °C, suggests that all three volcanic centers gathered favorable conditions for sustaining long-lived hydrothermal cells. Highest estimated temperatures (>892 °C) are attributed to one sample from Albernoa and one sample from Neves-Corvo. Their similar, pre-eruptive, Cu and Sn distribution supports the model for the Neves-Corvo deposit indicating that Sn and (at least part of the) Cu decoupled from a common magmatic source in the early stages of the ore-forming process. The occurrence of barren volcanic sequences originating from Sn-rich melts is evidence that a set of concurrent factors are additionally required to generate a high-grade VMS-deposit. Melt inclusion data can be used as a tool to assist future exploration of favorable volcanic centers in the IPB.