Abstract

The San Finx W–Sn ore deposit is located in the Spanish province of A Coruña (Galicia, NW Spain). Geologically, it occurs in the Galicia-Trás-os-Montes zone which is one of the innermost zones of the Iberian Variscan collisional belt. This ore deposit is characterized by NE–SW trending quartz-dominated veins with centimeter-size hübnerite and cassiterite. This research focuses on one sector of this deposit known as Buenaventura. The aim of this work is to present a mineralogical and petrological characterization of the ore-bearing veins, their host rocks and associated hydrothermal alteration. The vein mineralogy is mainly quartz, muscovite, K-feldspar, apatite and scarce fluorite. The ore minerals are hübnerite, scheelite and cassiterite with columbite and ilmenorutile-struverite inclusions, together with sulfides, mainly chalcopyrite and arsenopyrite, and, in less abundance, molybdenite, löllingite, pyrrhotite, sphalerite, stannite, pyrite, Bi-Pb-Ag sulfosalts and native bismuth. The main host-rocks are micaschist and paragneiss and two types of pegmatites, homogeneous pegmatites and banded aplite-pegmatites with columbite. The host rocks are affected by four types of hydrothermal alterations: tourmalinization, greissenization, feldspathization and silicification. The more widespread alteration is the feldspathization in which the protolith is replaced by massive albite and K-feldspar with fibrous habit, accompanied by apatite, chlorite, rutile, magnetite, hematite, chalcopyrite and sphalerite. In addition, there are highly deformed areas with a complex alteration rich in K-feldspar and sulfides, mainly chalcopyrite, minerals of the stannite group and sphalerite and, in less abundance, bismuthinite, native bismuth, galena and pyrite. This deposit shares features in terms of geological setting, hydrothermal alteration and ore assemblages with exogreisen systems formed in the cupolas of highly fractionated granites in collisional settings.

Highlights

  • The demand for tin and tungsten has increased over the last decade, tin due to its variety of uses in new technologies

  • We focus on an Sn–W deposit, the San Finx Mine (Galicia, Spain), located in NW Iberia, within the southern part of the above-mentioned metallogenic province

  • The results of this study provide a tentative paragenetic sequence with an earlier oxide stage and later sulfide stage

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Summary

Introduction

The demand for tin and tungsten has increased over the last decade, tin due to its variety of uses in new technologies. Tungsten is a strategic metal that has been on the EU's list of Critical Raw Materials since it released the first one in 2011. The Sn–W metallogenic province of the European Variscan Belt contains numerous Sn-W ore fields associated with highly evolved Variscan S-type granites. We focus on an Sn–W deposit, the San Finx Mine (Galicia, Spain), located in NW Iberia, within the southern part of the above-mentioned metallogenic province. The San Finx Mine was opened in 1884, being one of the first tungsten mining operations in Europe. The mine has closed and reopened several times; it has been in mining operation for the last decade

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