The Pb-rich sulfide veins in the Boccassuolo ophiolite: Implications for the geochemical evolution of hydrothermal activity across the ocean-continent transition in the Ligurian Tethys (Northern-Apennine, Italy)

Abstract

Galena bearing sulfide veins have been discovered coexisting with Fe–Cu–Zn dominated veins in the hydrothermal stockwork of the Boccassuolo ophiolite (External Ligurides, Northern Apennine, Italy). The galena-rich veins cut across a volcanic pile composed of pillow lava flows, pillow breccia, and ophiolitic sandstone. Bulk-ore analyses indicate significant enrichment in Pb giving raise to mantle normalized Pb–Ag–Au–Zn–Cu patterns with unusual negative slope, in contrast with the average flat pattern of most sulfide deposits in the Internal Liguride ophiolites which reflect the Fe–Cu–Zn assemblage of ophiolite-hosted Volcanic-associated Massive Sulfide (VMS) deposits all over the world. A wide literature shows that, in contrast with the Internal Ligurides, plutonic and volcanic rocks of the External Ligurides display less depleted and even enriched geochemical characters, not consistent with common oceanic crust at mid oceanic ridges (MOR), but probably originated in the ocean–continent transition of the Adria continental margin. In this geodynamic context, pillow basalts become locally enriched in Pb with high Pb/Cu ratios, and other crustal-compatible elements such as Mo and U. The Pb enrichment observed in the veins Boccassuolo is interpreted to be a result of leaching of such anomalous volcanics forming the ophiolitic substrate. The case of Boccassuolo supports the conclusion that the geochemical character of hydrothermal activity evolved from Cu–Zn rich in MOR-type assemblages of the Internal Ligurides, towards composition enriched in Pb in the External Liguride domain, representing the transition from the Ligurian ocean to the Adria continental margin.