Abstract
We evaluated the significance of the iron and manganese content in sphalerite as a tool for distinguishing between low-sulfidation and intermediate-sulfidation epithermal deposits on the basis of new and previously published electron probe microanalyses data on the Roșia Montană epithermal ore deposit and available microchemical data from the Neogene epithermal ore deposits located in the Apuseni Mountains and Baia Mare region, Romania. Two compositional trends of the Fe vs. Mn content in sphalerite were delineated, a Fe-dominant and a Mn-dominant, which are poor in Mn and Fe, respectively. The overlapping compositional range of Fe and Mn in sphalerite in low-sulfidation and intermediate-sulfidation ores suggests that these microchemical parameters are not a reliable tool for distinguishing these epithermal mineralization styles.
Highlights
Two styles of epithermal ore deposits were distinguished in the late 1980s under the names adularia-sericite and acid-sulfate [1] or low- and high-sulfidation [2], respectively
The Ros, ia Montană native gold (Au)-Ag epithermal ore deposit from the South Apuseni Mountains (Romania) consists of both low-sulfidation and intermediate-sulfidation ore bodies characterized by specific ore and gangue mineral assemblages, hydrothermal fluid composition, and distinct crosscutting and timing relationships [6]
Sample 1372 was collected from a hydrothermal breccia dyke structure (Figure 2a) that belongs to the early was collected from a hydrothermal breccia dyke structure (Figure 2a) that belongs to the early Au-rich LS ore deposition event separated by [6]
Summary
Two styles of epithermal ore deposits were distinguished in the late 1980s under the names adularia-sericite and acid-sulfate [1] or low- and high-sulfidation [2], respectively. Both terminologies were used in parallel for more than a decade and afterward lowsulfidation (LS) and high-sulfidation (HS) gradually became the usual terms employed. Among the numerous distinguishing criteria between LS and IS deposits, one is the abundance and the composition of the sphalerite This mineral tends to be uncommon or locally minor, Fe-rich, and compositionally zoned in LS ores, whereas, in IS deposits, it is common, Fe-poor, and compositionally homogeneous [3,5]. Published and new electron probe microanalyses data on the Ros, ia Montană ore deposit facilitate the evaluation of the content range of Fe and Mn in sphalerite from both LS and IS ores
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