Abstract
At the Sweetwater mine bitumen exudes from mine walls as a tacky liquid and is present as spherical blebs in vugs throughout the Bonneterre Formation. Bitumen blebs occur as overgrowths on older mineral phases and are frequently over-grown by late vug-filling sulfides. Slickensided bitumen interlayered with deformed galena occurs in Middle Bonneterre Formation collapse breccias. Anthraxolite, a coal-like bitumen, has also been identified in these collapse breccias and is commonly overgrown by cubic-form galena in vugs. Petrographic examination, verified by SEM analysis, reveals inclusions of dendritic-form galena intimately intergrown in such anthraxolite samples; pyrite and chalcopyrite also occur as inclusions. The presence of sulfide inclusions in anthraxolite establishes a direct paragenetic link between organic matter and ore deposition. Generation of bituminous material appears to correspond to a major period of solution-induced brecciation during main-stage mineralization. Observations indicate that precipitation of dendritic-form galena in anthraxolite coincides with subsequent deposition of cubic-form galena. Such a paragenetic link supports the proposal that nonbiologic sulfate reduction by organic matter has occurred and is a precipitation mechanism for sulfide ores in the Viburnum Trend.
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