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Geometry and genesis of feeder zones of massive sulphide deposits:

Constraints from the Rio Tinto ore deposit (Spain)

Article  in  Mineralium Deposita · December 1997

DOI: 10.1007/s001260050137

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Mineralium Deposita (1998) 33: 137±149
ARTICLE
P. Nehlig á D. Cassard á E. Marcoux
Geometry and genesis of feeder zones of massive sulphide deposits:
constraints from the Rio Tinto ore deposit (Spain)
Received: 10 Jaunary 1996 / Accepted: 10 April 1997
Abstract Vein-related data have been collected around
the giant Rio Tinto orebody in southern Spain within
the root zones of the massive sulphide deposits. Here, we
report the main results of this study, concerning the
geometry of the stockwork and the conditions of for-
mation. Although ®eld and thin-section studies have
shown that a wide range of vein con®gurations exist,
from micro cracks (¯uid-inclusion planes) to large paleo-
¯ow channels, two groups seem to dominate. The ®rst
corresponds to small, constricted micro cracks and
capillary-¯ow channels, now mainly ®lled with quartz,
whereas the veins of the second group have large widths,
are continuous over several meters and are ®lled with
quartz and sulphides. Most are tension veins and only
very few (<0.1%) show evidence of shearing. The py-
rite-dominated variety (i.e., pyrite > quartz) tends to
post-date the quartz-dominated veins (quartz > pyrite).
The vein-thickness and -spacing distribution is modal
rather than logarithmic, and their densities are not
fractal, but are characterized by a Poisson distribution.
From the immediate sub-surface zone to more than
100 m below the base of the massive sulphide deposits,
most hydrothermal quartz-sulphide stockwork veins are
sub-parallel to the base of the massive sulphide deposit.
The assumption that the base of this deposit corre-
sponds to a paleo-horizontal plane, implies that most
veins were sub-horizontal. This is particularly evident
for small veins, but the larger ones can be strongly ob-
lique to the base of the deposit. The hydrothermal ¯uids
that generated the massive sulphide deposits and un-
derlying stockworks, were very saline and probably
underwent sub- or super-critical phase separation in the
Editorial handling: DR
P. Nehlig (&)
BRGM-SGN, BP 6009, 45060 OrleÂans cedex, France
e-mail: p.nehlig@brgm.fr
D. Cassard á E. Marcoux
BRGM-DR, BP 6009, 45060 OrleÂans cedex, France
Ó Springer-Verlag 1998
root zones of the system. This phase separation was the
probable mechanism producing the periodic over-pres-
sures of at least 20 MPa that were necessary to generate
the sub-horizontal veins of the stockworks.
Resumen (translated by E. Pascual) Se han recogido
datos relacionados con las venas hidrotermales en las
proximidades de la mineralizacioÂn gigante de Riotinto,
en la zona de raõÂ z de los sulfuros masivos. Describimos
aquõÂ los principales resultados de este estudio, referentes
a la geometrõÂ a del stockwork y sus condiciones de
formacioÂn. Aunque los estudios de campo y en laÂmina
delgada han demostrado que hay un amplio rango de
con®guraciones de venas, desde microfracturas (planos
de inclusiones ¯uidas) hasta grandes canales de pale-
o¯ujo, dos grupos parecen dominantes. El primero
corresponde a pequenÄas microfracturas y canales de
¯ujo capilar, rellenos de cuarzo, en tanto que las venas
del segundo grupo son mucho maÂs anchas, continuas a
lo largo de varios metros y rellenas de cuarzo y sulfuros.
La mayor parte de venas son de tensioÂn, y soÂlo algunas
(<0,1%) muestran cizallado. La variedad en que pre-
domina la pirita (es decir, pirita>cuarzo) tiende a ser
tardõÂ a respecto de las venas en que domina el cuarzo
(cuarzo>pirita). La anchura y distribucioÂn espacial de
las venas es modal maÂs que logarõÂ tmica y sus densidades
no son fractales, sino que se caracterizan por una dis-
tribucioÂn de Poisson. Desde la zona inmediatamente
subsuper®cial hasta maÂs de 100 m bajo la base de los
sulfuros masivos, la mayor parte de las venas hidroter-
males del stockwork con cuarzo y sulfuros son subpar-
alelas a la base del depoÂsito de sulfuros masivos. La
suposicioÂn de que la base de eÂste corresponde a un plano
paleohorizontal implica que la mayor parte de las venas
sean subhorizontales. Esto es particularmente evidente
en el caso de las pequenÄas, pero las mayores pueden ser
fuertemente oblicuas a la base del depoÂsito. Los ¯uidos
hidrotermales que generaron sulfuros masivos y los
stockworks infrayacentes fueron muy salinos y sufrieron
probablemente separacioÂn de fases sub- o supercrõÂ tica en
la zona de raõÂ z del sistema. Esta separacioÂn de fases fue
138
probablemente el mecanismo que produjo las sobre-
presiones perioÂdicas de al menos 20 Mpa necesarias para
generar las venas subhorizontales de los stockworks.
Introduction
Studies of fossil and active hydrothermal systems have
shown that volcanic massive sulphide deposits are un-
derlain by stockworks, which mark the paleo-subsurface
path of the ascending ore ¯uids that deposited massive
sulphides (Davis et al. 1992; Nehlig et al. 1994; Tivey
et al. 1995).
However, few studies have attempted a geometric and
geologic characterization of the physico-chemical pa-
rameters of this zone. In this study we examine the
fracturing processes in several selected areas of the gi-
gantic Rio Tinto ore deposits in southern Spain, corre-
sponding to di€erent levels and types of root zones. We
then discuss the mechanisms involved in vein genesis,
and propose a geometric and genetic model of fracture
evolution in the root zones of massive sulphide deposits.
The work was carried out by studying the material
®lling veins, and their continuity, spacing and orienta-
tion, and by large-scale ®eld sampling in the Rio Tinto
and San Miguel areas. The Corta Atalaya open-pit was
chosen for a more detailed study, the results of which are
compared with data obtained from the Dehesa, Lago in
Rio Tinto and San Miguel open-pits.
Geology
Regional geology
The Iberian Peninsula (Fig. 1) is largely underlain by a Hercynian
belt that is approximately 750 km long in a NW-SE direction. The
Fig. 1 Location of the massive sulphide deposits (*) studied
South Iberian Pyrite Belt (SIPB) belongs to the South Portuguese
Zone in the southern part of the Iberian meseta (Fig. 1). It is one of
the largest (if not the largest) of the world's massive sulphide
provinces, with more than 80 known deposits containing
>1300 Mt of sulphide ore (mined and reserves). Geologically, this
belt of 250 ´ 25±70 km comprises rocks ranging from the Late
Devonian to the Middle Carboniferous with, in particular, a thick
volcano-sedimentary formation of acid and basic volcanic rocks,
intercalated between Late Devonian phyllitic quartzites and the
detrital Culm deposits of Dinantian age (Schermerhorn, 1971;
Strauss and Gray 1984; Strauss and Madel 1974; Routhier et al.
1980; Munha 1983; Oliveira 1990). Paleontological data constrain
the age of the volcano-sedimentary formation between the Early
Tournaisian (360 Ma) and Middle Visean (342 Ma) (Oliveira
1990). The rocks were a€ected by Hercynian deformation during
the Middle Westphalian (Schermerhorn 1971; Silva et al. 1990).
Stockwork zones are generally well exposed in the footwall
zones of the massive sulphide bodies, particularly ar Rio Tinto (San
Dionisio, Lago and Dehesa in Cerro Colorado), San Miguel,
Aznalcollar, Tharsis, San Telmo and ConcepcioÂn. They are com-
posed of anastomosing, 2±3 cm-wide veinlets of quartz with dis-
seminated sulphides (San Dionisio body and Dehesa open-pit in
Rio Tinto), and pyritic-chloritic-siliceous matrix-supported brec-
cias showing transitional boundaries with the host volcanic rocks
(San Miguel north of Rio Tinto, Lago in Rio Tinto).
These veins were channel-ways for hydrothermal solutions as-
cending through the alteration zones to the deposits. Two speci®c
mineral parageneses are generally present and show an early as-
semblage with pyrite and cobalt-bearing minerals, the latter are
fairly rare but highly characteristic and seem to indicate deep zones,
and a late assemblage with Bi (Cu, Pb, Te) sulphides and sulfosalts
that are much more common (Marcoux et al. 1995). These as-
semblages do not occur in distinct veins as at Hellyer in Australia
(Gemmel and Large 1992), but generally are telescoped within the
same veins, thus showing that the feeder channels had a certain
longevity. These results con®rm the existence of late-stage high-
temperature in¯ow of Cu (Bi, Te) solutions as proposed by Large's
model (1992), which remobilized inter alia pre-existing Pb, Sb and
Ag, and redistributed these elements in more outlying zones.
Geology of the Rio Tinto area
The Rio Tinto orebody lies in an east-west anticline (Figs. 1, 2). It
consists of three distinct mineralized zones that, though now dis-

Fig. 2 On top: Geological map of the Rio Tinto anticline (modi®ed
from Garcia Palomero, 1980) (see location on Fig. 1). Below:
Schematic cross section of the Rio Tinto anticline in the Cerro
Colorado area (from Garcia Palomero et al. 1986)
connected, originally formed a single body of about
5 km ´ 750 m ´ 40 m, or about 500 Mt of sulphides. The three
bodies are San Dionisio (about 45 Mt of sulphides) in the south
limb, San Antonio (about 9.5 Mt) in the east-plunging axis, and the
Cerro Colorado unit. The last includes the ``Filon Sur'' and the
``Filon Norte'' (comprising the Lago and Solomon bodies) that,
respectively, lie in the south and north limbs of the anticline, are
interconnected by the central stockwork in the fold hinge (Cerro
Colorado sensu stricto) and are opened by the ``Corta Dehesa''
(Corta is a local term for open-pit) (Fig. 2). Solomon et al. (1980)
showed more or less continuous stockwork-containing zones along
the north and south margins of the pyritite sheet.
Intense chemical weathering (undated) of the sulphides led to
the formation of a gossan that can be up to 70 m thick, and which
is still mined for its gold content. The massive and stockwork
sulphides were extensively mined from open-pits, such as the Corta
Atalaya in the San Dionisio body, the Cortas Lago, Dehesa and
Solomon in the Filon Norte of the Cerro Colorado, and the Corta
Sur on the Filon Sur. Underground mining took place from the
Alfredo mine in the San Dionisio orebody. The di€erent orebodies
are autochthonous and underlain by three main stockwork zones:
San Dionisio, much dissected by the Atalaya pit, Lago, and the
Dehesa-Cerro Colorado pit that is directly overlain by the gossan,
in which the sulphides of the massive body have been completely
oxidized. Our observations on stockworks were made in all three
sites, with the added advantage that the San Dionisio massive
sulphide could be studied on several levels in the Corta Atalaya.
The underground workings in the San Dionisio body are no longer
accessible since pyrite mining was halted.
Methods of study and paleo-tectonic framework
The stockwork was studied in the Corta Atalaya, along three sec-
tions that were chosen on the basis of accessibility of the various
benches (Table 1; Fig. 15). For each section, a line was drawn on
the wall at about 1.2 m from the bench ¯oor, and the length and
orientation of the various sections were recorded. All veins inter-
secting this line were measured (strike, dip, thickness along the
intersecting plane, type of in®lling, distance from preceding vein).
139
The measuring of planes along a one-dimensional line greatly re-
duces the likelihood of intersecting any planes inclined at a low
angle to the line (by an amount proportional to the cosine of the
dip for a randomly distributed vein set, Terzaghi 1965). The data
were stored in a GDM database, a computer-software package
developed by the BRGM for the management and processing of
geologic and mining data. GDM is particularly useful for the
spatial representation of such data, i.e., the calculation of coordi-
nates, maps and sections, and their structural processing into ste-
reograms, iso-density contour maps, rotated measurements, etc.
The data were manipulated to yield:
1. The true distance to the massive sulphide of each observation
point, i.e., measured perpendicular to the base of the body;
2. The original orientation of the veins prior to the Hercynian
tectonism of Westaphalian age (Schermerhorn 1971), seen as
WNW±ESE to E±W folds that are overturned to the south.
The parameters for such rotation depend upon the choice of the
reference paleo-horizontal. In the absence of other, more reliable,
markers (no bedding is seen in this area), this was taken to be the
base of the San Dionisio body, even though this plane may not
have been strictly horizontal. Its orientation is approximately
constant throughout the study area (Table 1) and can be estimated
to have an average strike and dip of N100°±87°S, which is coherent
with the geometry of the south limb of the Rio Tinto anticline. This
structure is unfolded by rotation along a sub-horizontal axis
trending N100°, parallel to the main fold axes and the bottom of
the orebody (Figs. 3, 4). Within the stockwork, no evidence was
found for second-order folding of the main deformation, and the
same rotation was thus applied to all measurements.
Table 1 Principal characteristics of the three studied pro®les (level
6, level 15 and level 19±20), with indication of the absolute altitude,
the length of the pro®le, the number of measurements, and the
attitude of the base of the massive sulphide deposit at the start of
the pro®le
Pro®le Altitude Length Number of Attitude of the
(m) (m) measurements base of the massive
sulphide deposite
Level 6 406 179 242 N95°E±85°S
Level 15 285.8 297.6 348 N96°E-vertical
Level 19±20 209 119.7 69 N105°E-vertical
Fig. 3 Sub-north-south section through the San Dionisio orebody
(from Garcia Palomero 1980) with indication of the rotation
parameters that were applied to the base of the massive sulphide,
and the location of the studied sections
140
Fig. 4 Stereographic plot of the magmatic ¯ow planes in the
hypovolcanic rhyolite, before and after rotation of the base of the
San Dionisio body to a horizontal plane. Schmidt projection, lower
hemisphere
Vein geometry
The hydrothermal vein systems
Although ®eld and thin-section studies have shown that
a wide range of vein types exists, from micro-cracks
(¯uid-inclusion planes) to large paleo-¯ow channels, two
groups dominate. The ®rst consists of small narrow
micro-cracks and capillary ¯ow channels (now mainly
®lled with quartz), whereas the veins of the second group
have large widths, are continuous over meters, and are
®lled with quartz and sulphides. In this study we shall
discuss only the macroscopic veins, i.e., those visible to
the naked eye, because they have the largest e€ect on
permeability. Most are extension veins and only few
(<0.1%) show evidence of shearing.
When considering vein in®lling, the two main vein
groups in the stockwork zone are quartz-dominated and
pyrite-dominated, some being banded with alternating
quartz and sulphides. The quartz in the quartz-sulphide
veins is mainly located along the margins, the sulphides
having a strong tendency to occupy vein centers.
Within the Rio Tinto anticline, cross-cutting rela-
tionships and polished thin-section studies indicate that
the pyrite-dominated veins (i.e., pyrite  quartz) post-
date the quartz dominated veins (quartz  pyrite). Both
were later intersected by quartz-bearing en-echelon
tension gashes, related to the regional tectonic event that
post-dated mineralization.
The Corta Atalaya stockwork
The stockwork was studied by means of three pro®les.
As the strong iron-staining, combined with the mining,
Fig. 5 Stockwork of the San Dionisio body, Corta Atalaya. Contour
diagram of vein distribution after rotation; 659 measurements.
Contours at 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3 and 5% relative density. Schmidt
projection, lower hemisphere
made it impossible to see the transition zone within the
massive sulphides, the sections all started several meters
below the base of the massive sulphides.
The plots of vein poles, after rotation (Fig. 5), show
three main points:
1. A strong and well-structured concentration of poles is
seen close to, and slightly NE of, the center of the
diagram: numerous veins have a very small dip and
are sub-parallel to the base of the orebody. It should
be noted that these sub-¯at veins intersect the mag-
matic ¯ow structures with an angle of about 15°.
2. The south half of the diagram has almost no mea-
surements, showing that north-dipping veins are rare.
3. Within the north half of the diagram and disregard-
ing the concentration of poles mentioned in 1, the
veins have an almost homogeneous distribution that
covers a wide range of dips and strikes.
In the stereogram of Fig. 6, the veins are individually
represented by their poles and have been subdivided into
six groups according to their thickness. Although the
veins with a width between 1 and 9 cm (groups 1±3, 3±5
and 5±9 cm) do not show a preferential distribution, it
can be seen that the veins in the end groups have a well-
de®ned distribution: (a) veins whose width is less than
1 cm are preferentially grouped near the center of the
diagram and are mostly parallel to the base of the ore-
body; and (b) thick veins, i.e., those between 9 and
43 cm at most, preferentially plot around the rim of the
diagram; their strike is variable, but they are generally
quite steep.
Figure 7, where each vein is shown by the type of its
in®lling except where this was too oxidized to be rec-
ognizable, shows that quartz-dominant veins preferen-
tially plot in the central part of the diagram, and Fig. 6
shows that these are mostly thin veins. Thick veins, i.e.,
those between 9 and 43 cm, carry most of the sulphides
and are commonly sub-vertical.

Fig. 6 Stockwork of the San Dionisio body, Corta Atalaya.
Stereogram after rotation, of the veins ranked according to thickness;
659 data points. Schmidt projection, lower hemisphere
Fig. 7 Stockwork of the San Dionisio body, Corta Atalaya.
Stereogram after rotation, of the veins by type of their in®lling; 294
data points. Schmidt projection, lower hemisphere
The transition zone between stockwork
and massive sulphide deposit: examples
from the cortas Dehesa and Lago
Near the base of the massive bodies, no stockwork sensu
stricto (i.e., a three-dimensional system of intersecting
planar to curviplanar veins) is preserved. The bleached
and altered rhyolitic host rock is intensely fragmented,
with the development of a characteristic crust texture
(Fig. 8, point 1), the partings of which are preferentially
sub-parallel to the base of the massive sulphide. The
main blocks in the mass can be several decimeters in size
and the structures between them, which can be up to
141
several centimeters wide, are ®lled with pyrite and minor
sphalerite. Three type of structures were identi®ed
within this host rock:
1. True veins, up to a decimeter thick, that intersect the
base of the massive sulphides at variable angles
(Fig. 8, point 8).
2. Lens-shaped sulphide bodies, several meters in size,
that are sub-parallel to the base of the massive sul-
phide, and which can have a ribbon or brecciated
texture. They are generally around a decimeter thick,
but can be up to a 1 m thick (Fig. 8, points 2, 5, 6).
The ribbon structure is caused by alternating bands
of ®ne and coarsely crystalline pyrite. Locally, later
reopening is manifested by white quartz veins that
occur by preference in the coarse-pyrite bands
(Fig. 8, point 5). The breccia bodies have a ®ne-
grained pyrite cement, whereas the clasts are either
rounded pyrite aggregates, resulting from the frag-
mentation of earlier ®lling, or fragments of host-rock.
Both the ribbon and breccia structures have several
pyrite generations (elements and cement) suggesting
that such bodies, which morphologically resemble
tension gashes, episodically functioned as valves.
3. Massive pyrite zones with a poorly de®ned mor-
phology, which lie at the base of the massive sul-
phides and which are roughly parallel to the
mentioned structures, represent impregnation zones
in which the host-rock only occurs as relics (Fig. 8,
point 7).
The geometric data concerning the subsurface zone
con®rm the data obtained on the underlying stockwork
s.s., in particular the strong development of fracturing
sub-parallel to the base of the massive sulphide, which
clearly was quite close to horizontal. However, the
thickest veins, (>9 cm), steeply intersect the base of the
massive bodies.
Width and spacing of veins
Vein-width distribution presents a mode between 1 and
2 cm (Fig. 9) within the Corta Atalaya stockworks at
level 15 and though this is not the case at level 6, it must
be stressed that even there the distribution of widths is
not exponential. While the quartz-dominated veins are
characterized by small widths (i.e., only 5% of the veins
are wider than 3 cm), and a mode between 1 and 2 cm,
75% of the pyrite-dominated veins are larger than 3 cm,
and have a mode between 3 and 4 cm. This is a rather
surprising result because we expected an exponential
rather than modal distribution of vein thickness.
Vein spacing, measured along a virtual line, has a
mode between 20 and 30 cm in Corta Atalaya in levels 6
and 15 (Fig. 10).
Ideally, the total surface of veins divided by the total
volume (m2/m3) would provide the closest approxi-
mation of vein density. However, such measurements
being impractical, we chose to calculate vein density by
142
Fig. 9 Histogram showing the modal distribution of the widths (cm) of
hydrothermal veins within the three studied levels of the Corta Atalaya
measuring it along pro®les (1/m ˆ mÿ1 ). The results
were compared with measurements of the total length of
veins on a plane that were divided by the surface of this
plane (m/m2 ˆ mÿ1 ). Figure 11 shows that the vein
Fig. 8 Schematic block diagrams by zone, in the ®rst meters of crust,
below the massive sulphides of the cortas Dehesa and Lago.
1 Fragmented rhyolite with a crusty texture; the open fractures are
®lled by pyrite; 2 ¯at, lens-shaped sulphide body with ribbon texture
of alternating ®ne and coarse pyrite; lateral passage possible to, 3
¯attened lens-shaped sulphide body with breccia texture with di€erent
types of elements such as (a) host-rock (in white) mostly found in the
hanging wall of the body, and (b) pyrite aggregates from a fragmented
earlier in®lling. 4 Roof of the body in the process of brecciation. 5
Sulphide body with ribbon texture identical to 2; ``late'' reopening
®lled with white quartz is found in the coarse pyrite ribbons. 6
Sulphide-breccia body, several meters thick, enclosing host-rock
elements. 7 Impregnation zone with massive pyrite and relics of host
rock. 8 Feeder veins of the massive sulphide, later remobilized in
reverse faulting
density is around 5 veins/m over large distances. When
taking the cumulative vein width into account, it appears
that, at least for level 15, the vein density is homoge-
neous and decreases slightly with depth. In addition,
there is a strong linear correlation between the sum of
vein widths over ®xed intervals and the number of veins

Fig. 10 Histogram showing the modal spacing (cm) of hydrothermal
veins for the three studied levels of the Corta Atalaya
Fig. 11 Density of veins (expressed as number of veins) for pro®le 15,
from 0 m (base of massive sulphide deposit) to 138 m below the
massive sulphide deposit. The ®gure shows an average density of
5 veins per 2 m. Negative values stand for (parts of) segments without
measurements (talus rubble, drifts, etc.)
Fig. 12 Binary diagram showing a strong positive correlation between
the sum of vein widths (cm) over 2 m intervals (y axis) and the
number of veins over the same interval (x axis). The ®gure shows that
there is no correlation between the density of veins and their width
over the same intervals (Fig. 12). This implies that there
is no correlation between vein density and width.
In order to quantify the heterogeneity of vein distri-
bution, Cantor's method for fractal analysis of veins was
applied to the quartz-sulphide vein networks. Detailed
descriptions of this analytical method are given by Velde
et al. (1991) and Manning (1994), in which a vein set is
characterized by fractal clustering if the change in log 1/r
143
Fig. 13 Results of the fractal analysis along the two transects (level 15
and 6 of the Corta Atalaya) plotted in a log1/r -log Nr diagram. The
spatial scale r used for normalization varies between 10 and 400 cm
(see Velde et al. (1991), and Manning (1994) for details of calculation)
with log Nr is linear. Figure 13 shows that this is not the
case in this study, and the curvature instead implies that
the veins de®ne a Poisson distribution.
Variation with depth
In Fig. 14, drawn for the section of level 15 in Corta
Atalaya, the distance to the massive sulphide, measured
at right angles to the base, is plotted against the spacing
between veins (Fig. 14a), and their apparent thickness
(Fig 14b). In both cases, the values were measured along
the section. The values for the spacing variable are rel-
atively stable down to 87 m, but beyond this depth they
increase rather abruptly. The evolution of the thickness
variable is inverse: structures that are thicker than 5 cm
occur almost exclusively in the interval 0±87 m while the
thickest veins (>20 cm) only occur in the 0±50 m inter-
val. Pro®le 6, although shorter, gives a similar result,
whereby the transition depth now lies at about 63 m
below the massive body.
Except that the thickest and steepest structures pref-
erentially occur close to the base of the massive sulphide,
no other change seems to occur with depth. Sequential
stereographic plotting of the data by slices of 50 m,
combined with the drawing of sub-N-S sections where
the veins are shown by class of thickness, does not show
a clear change in the spatial organization of veins; on the
contrary, the sub-horizontal veins, in particular those
with a thickness <5 cm, have a vertical distribution that
is virtually homogeneous.
All these structural and geometrical results are sum-
marized on a schematic cross-section of the San Dionisio
ore body (Fig. 15).
Physical conditions of formation
Pressure
Both volcanologic and sedimentologic data indicate that
the depositional basin was shallow. The sills and domes,
144

which intruded as ¯at bodies with hydroclastic breccias Fig. 14a, b Binary diagrams that show the change of fracturing in
on the edges, were emplaced at shallow depth in tur- level 15 (San Dionisio body, Corta Atalaya) in terms of depth. The
ordinate shows a vein spacing and b vein thickness. Values are
bidites (Boulter 1993). The overlying massive sulphides expressed in meters. The ®gure shows that these variables do not
were the result of sub-aqueous deposition in con®ned evolve in linear fashion with depth
sedimentary basins. The environment was almost cer-
tainly a shallow-water one, in view of the presence of the
air-fall pyroclastic rocks that overlie them and of the
sub-aerial volcanic centers to the north of the site (J.L.
Lescuyer, personal communication). Furthermore, distal
storm deposits were identi®ed in the thin sediment layer
immediately below the massive sulphide, and macro-
fauna remains in the overlying sedimentary rock show
that water depth probably was less than 200 m (J.F.
Becq-Giraudon, personal communication). This implies
a hydrostatic pressure at the bottom of the basin of
approximately 2 MPa.

Temperature and density of the hydrothermal ¯uids

Because there are no existing data on the salinity and

temperature of the Rio Tinto mineralizing ¯uids we
undertook a microthermometric study of ¯uid inclusions
of seven samples from Corta Atalaya (Table 2). We
report here the preliminary results of this study.
Measurements were also made in en-echelon quartz-
bearing tension gashes that are widespread throughout
the Rio Tinto anticline. They cross-cut the mineraliza-
tion and are interpreted as being related to the regional
metamorphism and folding a€ecting the whole belt.
Our work covered the study of primary and/or sec-
ondary ¯uid inclusions in hydrothermal quartz-pyrite
veins, as well as of secondary ¯uid inclusions in rhyolitic
quartz phenocrysts, found in the vein foot- and hanging-
walls. Most of the analyzed ¯uid inclusions within the
hydrothermal veins occur in planes and thus are sec-
ondary in nature; they are so abundant that the exis-
tence of primary inclusions among them cannot be
recognized. Although the rocks were a€ected by Her-
Fig. 15 Representative section through the Corta Atalaya stockwork
(for symbols see Fig. 3). The preferential orientation of the thin veins
is clearly sub-parallel to the base of the massive sulphide body,
whereas the thicker and rarer veins tend to be more upright. The
®gure also shows that the studied area does not lie immediately above
the main feeder area, the latter being marked by breccia textures and a
network of veinlets with chalcopyrite, galena and pyrite that intersects
the acid lava. The main feeder zone is clearly exposed in the
underground workings below level 26, but access is no longer
possible; here, the orientation of the vein network is more or less
random, but numerous veinlets and veins with sulphides and/or
sulphides + quartz, cm to dm thick, are parallel to the base of the
massive sulphides
 145

Table 2 Description of the samples selected for ¯uid-inclusion stage was calibrated with potassium dichromate
studies, with location, sample number, orientation (depth below (398 °C), standard melting products (200°, 180°, 135°,
massive sulphide and orientation of vein) and mineralogy of
gangue and ore: bold, abundant; normal, frequent; italics, rare 70 °C), synthetic ¯uid inclusions (pure water) and CO2
¯uid inclusions ()56.6 °C). The accuracy is estimated
Localization Sample Orientation Mineralogy at ‹2 °C around 400 °C and ‹0.2° below 0 °C. Un-
saturated solution salinities were obtained using the
Corta Atalaya-6 CA 39 Depth 42m Qtz undulose,
brecciated equation of Potter et al. (1978).
Py-Sp-Cpy
CA 40 Depth 42m Qtz crack seal
Py-Cpy Results and interpretation
CA 43 Depth 50m Qtz undulose,
brecciated
Py-Cpy Microthermometric results are summarized in Table 3
Corta Atalaya-15 CA 67 Depth 17m Qtz equant and Fig. 16, the latter showing that most homogeniza-
Py-Cpy-Bi-Sp tion temperatures and salinities are rather well grouped,
CA 75 Depth 87m Qtz and that 90% of the measurements fall between 2 and 10
Py-Bi-Cpy
Corta Atalaya-20 CA 36 Qtz equant weight % NaCl equivalent and 130° and 230 °C, with a
Py-Sp
CA 60 N 130 89 N Qtz equant
brecciated
Py-Cpy

cynian deformation and recrystallization, we postulate

that some, if not all, of the analyzed ¯uid inclusions are
related to the ore-forming process, as is suggested by the
fact that the pervasive fracturing associated with the
ore-forming event should have left ¯uid inclusions
within the abundant veins and the rhyolitic-quartz
phenocrysts.

Method

Microthermometric studies were carried out on doubly Fig. 16 Binary diagram plotting the homogenization temperature
polished thick sections, using a modi®ed Chaixmeca (°C) and salinities (wt.% NaCl eq.) of the studied ¯uid inclusions from
heating and freezing stage (e.g., Roedder 1984). The Corta Atalaya levels 6, 15 and 20, and from late tension gashes

Table 3 Main microthermometric results of the studied samples ture interval (°C); AV, mean homogenization temperature (°C);
with indication of: sample location; ¯uid-inclusion host (Q, Quartz, STD, standard deviation (°C); INT TM, range of melting tem-
and vein or phenocryst); H, homogenization in liquid (L) phase; N, peratures in °C; AV, average melting temperature
the number of measurements; INT TH, homogenization-tempera-

Location and sample Host Heating Results Freezing Results

H N INT TH AV STD N INT TM AV STD

Corta atalaya
Level 6
CA 39 Q-Phenocryst L 6 132±193 153 21 5 )2.6/)8.9 )4.2 3.0
Q-Vein L 9 119±183 150 22 2 )4.5/)7.3 )5.9 1.9
CA 40 Q-Phenocryst L 24 140±196 159 15 16 )2.1/)5.9 )3.5 1.5
Q-Crack seal L 5 )3.7/)5.9 )4.7 0.9
CA 43 Q-Phenocryst L 12 137±208 154 19 5 )1.8/)3.6 )2.7 0.8
Level 15
CA 67 Q-Phenocryst L 9 147±227 170 28 8 )5.8/)7.2 )6.2 0.5
Q-Vein L 15 125±330 234 60 13 )2.5/)6.5 )4.9 1.5
CA 75 Q-Phenocryst L 21 159±222 174 15 21 )4.7/)9.5 )6.1 1.1
Q-Vein L 9 160±310 211 51 8 )2.8/)4.5 )3.5 0.7
Level 20
CA 36 Q-Phenocryst L 25 143±207 166 18 24 )3.0/)11 )5.0 2.9
Q-Vein L 38 109±240 171 22 30 )0.8/)5.9 )3.1 1.2
CA 60 Q-Vein L 16 135±196 155 20 15 )1.7/)5.1 )3.8 1.2
146
mode at 5.5 wt.% NaCl equivalent and 155 °C. Mea-
surements done within the tension gashes fall within that
range, although with higher salinities and tend to indi-
cate that some analyzed ¯uid inclusions correspond to
the metamorphic ¯uids trapped during the regional
tectono-metamorphic event and are unrelated to the
mineralizing event. Only a few measurements from the
Corta Atalaya reach higher temperatures and salinities
(e.g., CA 67 and CA 75). They correspond to samples in
which Bi sulphides and sulfosalts have been observed.
These few inclusions are interpreted as representing
¯uids related to the ore-forming process.
The analyzed ¯uid inclusions exhibit very high sa-
linities relative to seawater or to salinities measured in
other massive sul®de deposits or ¯uids escaping active
hydrothermal vents on the sea¯oor. This has profound
implications for the mode of formation of the massive
orebody.
Discussion
Many observations suggest that hydrothermal ¯uids
have played a primordial role in the fracturing processes:
1. The walls of both steep and ¯at veins of stockwork
are parallel over decimeters to meters of length, re-
gardless of vein thickness, and revealing negligible
rotation or transport of rock following the fracturing
process;
2. Evidence of o€set of ``old'' veins by younger veins is
extremely rare (less than 1 vein in 1000), and the
dominant motion or displacement is normal to the
vein wall;
3. Field evidence does not indicate that volume increase
was produced instantaneously, but rather that veins
were created episodically, as was con®rmed by the
observation of several crack-seal phenomena (Ram-
say 1980; Cox and Etheridge 1983) in the veins;
4. The absence of collapse breccias within the veins.
These data all indicate that a ¯uid phase was present
during fracturing, and that rupture probably occurred
through extension (Secor 1965). Due to local ¯uid over-
pressure, the extension veins could propagate through
the adjacent non-porous medium according to the
principle of hydraulic fracturing (e.g., Gratier 1984). The
fracturing temporarily opened a passage for the ¯uid,
which could deposit dissolved substances along the
conduit walls that would ®nally clog the conduit. During
this process, the ¯uid pressure dropped and the ®lled
vein would close. Continuous ¯uid liberation could then
lead to a cyclical valve-like operation (Etheridge et al.
1984), which would explain the textures seen in many
veins, and in particular in those in the ¯attened lens-
shaped sulphide bodies that are found just below the
base of the massive sulphides.
We have suggested already that the described veins
are of the brittle, extension-type ± which in theory
should be parallel to the maximum principal stress r1.
However, the veins in this case are relatively irregular,
and have a heterogeneous distribution and varied ori-
entation, without any clear relationship with a stress
®eld. This apparent contradiction might be explained by
the fact that the con®ning pressure was low (e.g., Pat-
erson 1958), or by supposing that the fracturing was
(partially?) guided by pre-existing discontinuity planes
that showed extension in all directions (Gratier, 1984;
Cornet 1992).
However, notwithstanding a certain variability, the
fracturing shows a clear preferential orientation, as
shown by the well-de®ned statistical maximum of veins
that are sub-parallel to the base of the massive sulphides,
and thus close to paleo-horizontal after rotation (Figs. 5
and 15). This concerns in particular the thin and weakly
developed veins with a mostly siliceous ®lling (Figs. 6
and 7), which still are common at a depth of 145 m
below the massive sulphides, as well as lens-shaped sul-
phide bodies with a ribbon- or breccia texture that are
well developed near the base of the massive sulphides
(Fig. 8).
Considering this geometry, it is possible to propose
an estimate of the pressure needed for rupture. We as-
sume that these veins started out as planar, disk-shaped,
®ssures that were perpendicular to the minimum-com-
pression direction r3, and in stable equilibrium with a
stress ®eld (r1, r2, r3). In that case, the ¯uid pressure Pf,
needed for propagating these veins parallel to r1, has to
be higher than the sum of the normal stress to the
fracture plane (r3 ) and of the tensile strength of the rock
T0 (Jaeger and Cook 1971), assuming that the tangential
stress rt at the head of the crack is equal to r3:
Pf > r 3 ‡ T 0 …1†
In the present case, most veins being sub-horizontal, it
can be considered that the minimum principal stress r3
probably was close to vertical:
r3  r v …2†
The two other main stresses (r1 and r2) then had to be
sub-horizontal, which seems to be compatible with the
tectonic regime of plate convergence (Silva et al. 1990).
In view of the fact that the massive sulphides were
formed at the bottom of a basin, the lithostatic pressure
rv at depth z in the rhyolite body, which was vertically
oriented and created by the weight of the overlying
formations, can be written as:
rv ˆ qr
g
z ‡ qw
g
h …3†
qr and qw being the average speci®c gravity of rhyolite
and sea water, g being the gravitational acceleration, z
being the depth, and h being the height of the water
column, i.e. the depth of the basin.
We can now estimate the value of rv at 10 m and
150 m below the massive sulphides. If h ˆ 200 m, z will
respectively be 210 m and 350 m. qw can be estimated to
be 1, and in the absence of speci®c data for the Rio Tinto
rhyolite, qr takes the standard value of 2.6 (Olhoeft and
Johnson 1989). This gives the values rv210 ˆ 2:46 MPa
and rv350 ˆ 6:1 MPa. If no new fractures were created

and only pre-existing ones were reactivated, these values
represent the thresholds of Pf at the depths considered.
If, however, such fractures were newly formed, these
values have to be added to the tensile strength T0 of the
rhyolite (1). The rock being strongly altered and
weathered, it seems to be doubtful that a realistic value
for T0 could be obtained, and we thus attributed a value
of 12.5 MPa to T0, which is the average value obtained
from 18 tests on the rhyolite around the massive sul-
phide stockwork at Jabal Sayid, Saudi Arabia
(F. Wojtkowiak, personal communication). This gives
the following two estimates for Pf :
Pf 210 > 15 MPa
Pf 350 > 18:6 MPA
This pressure estimate is also close to that provided by
the ¯uid inclusions: the highest homogenization tem-
perature that is in liquid phase (CA67), requires a min-
imum pressure of 13 MPa.
Thus, in order to generate the horizontal stockwork
fractures requires an over-pressure of approximately
20 MPa for the out¯owing ¯uid in respect to the in-
¯owing ¯uid, in order to generate the horizontal stock-
work veins.
Several theoretical mechanisms allow to achieve such
an over-pressure:
1. Assuming that the hydrothermal system responsible
for depositing the Rio Tinto massive sulphides was
broadly analogous to an open thermosyphon with an
in¯ow zone, a heat source and a discharge zone en-
able the calculation of a minimum hydrothermal-
¯uid-circulation depth, in order to obtain the over-
pressure required for generating the horizontal veins.
Taking an in¯owing seawater density of close to 1
(present-day seawater is about 1020 kg/m3 at 2 °C)
and a hydrothermal-¯uid density of 0.7 (350 °C,
20 MPa), an over-pressure of 20 MPa requires a si-
phon at least 4400 m high, not taking into account
the pressure drop due to friction.
This simple calculation, which provides an unre-
alistic size of the thermosyphon in view of the present
knowledge of geothermal systems, shows that the
hydrothermal system cannot be treated as a simple
open thermosyphon. Other models are necessary to
explain the 20 MPa over-pressure required to gener-
ate the horizontal veins.
2. Solomon (1984) has developed an alternative model
to explain the formation of stockworks beneath
massive sulphide deposits in boiling free hydrother-
mal systems. He has shown that reaction between
¯uids and volcanic rocks generally reduces the per-
meability. The ¯uids then circumvent the partially
sealed rock by expanding the width of the ¯uid col-
umn and they overcome the increased resistance by
increased ¯uid pressure due to an increased temper-
ature, until fracturing occurs. Typical values of the
isochoric coecient of thermal expansion of H2O
(Johnson and Norton 1991), indicate that to obtain
147
an over-pressure of 20 MPa in a closed system, an
approximate temperature increase of 20 °C is neces-
sary. However, this temperature increase in the root
zone of the system is likely to be counterbalanced by
conductive cooling in other parts of the system. In
addition, although this mechanism is likely to generate
small veins, it is highly improbable to have generated
the wide and >10-m-long veins of the stockwork.
3. The most probable model is suggested by the mea-
sured high salinities of the hydrothermal ¯uids, which
are interpreted as the result of phase separation within
the root zones of the hydrothermal system. Sub- or
super-critical phase separation generates large volume
increases of the hydrothermal ¯uids, and is likely,
when occurring in the root zone of the hydrothermal
system, to create the over-pressures of 20 MPa needed
to develop the horizontal stockwork veins.
Fluid-inclusion measurements within the plutonic
root zones of massive sulphide deposits (not detailed
here as they fall beyond the scope of this work), have
provided evidence of very-high-salinity ¯uids, similar
to those measured within oceanic plagiogranites in
the root zones of black-smoker-type hydrothermal
circulation, or associated with porphyry-copper
deposits and interpreted as the result of super-critical
phase separation of hydrothermal or magmatic ¯uids
(Nehlig 1991).
This mechanism has been investigated recently by
Germanovich and Lowell (1995) in a study of the
mechanisms for initiating phreatic eruptions following
the emplacement of a shallow magmatic intrusion into
water saturated permeable rock which contains subsid-
iary low-permeability crack networks and disconnected
cracks. In their model, heat from the intrusion causes the
local groundwater to boil. As the ascending superheated
steam heats the overlying rock, the water in the sub-
sidiary and disconnected cracks will boil. The pressure
exerted by the vapor in the subsidiary and disconnected
cracks can lead to rapid horizontal crack propagation,
resulting in an increase in crack length by more than an
order of magnitude.
The presence of a heat source (magma chamber) is
suggested close to Campofrio, north of the Rio Tinto
anticline. Here, spectacular trondhjemite-tonalite mag-
matic breccias have been subjected to intense hydro-
thermal alteration (Halsall and Sawkins, 1989), as
shown by porphyry-style iron-sulphide mineralization
with pegmatitic amphibole-bearing pockets. Schutz et al.
(1987) and ThieÂblemont et al. (1994) have shown that
these intrusions are the co-magmatic equivalents of the
felsic volcanic group of the volcano-siliceous complex at
Rio Tinto. The heated hydrothermal ¯uids were subject
to sub- and/or super-critical phase separation associated
with slight phase segregations. It is unknown whether a
magmatic ¯uid-component was added to the hydro-
thermal ¯uid, but this is suggested by the oxygen-isotope
studies of Halsall and Sawkins (1989). A periodic func-
tioning of such phase separation and a critical value of
148
the generated over-pressure, might explain the modal
distribution of the vein widths (Fig. 9).
The physical behavior of hydrothermal solutions
entering seawater is a direct function of the density
contrast between the two ¯uids. The rather low ho-
mogenization temperatures and high salinities measured
in the ¯uid inclusion indicate that the hydrothermal
¯uids were much denser than previously thought and
have thus a lower density contrast with seawater than
previously thought (Solomon et al. 1980). They are thus
likely to pond easier upon mixing with seawater (Sato
1972) and generate smaller hydrothermal plumes (Sol-
omon et al. 1980).
Conclusion
Our study of a massive sulphide deposit and its fossil
feeder zone has led to the ``artists impression'' (Fig. 17)
of the San Dionisio massive sulphide during its creation,
showing the preferential orientation of the hydrothermal
veins.
The main result of our work lies in the observation and
quanti®cation of an apparent order in the stockwork,
which at ®rst sight consists of a chaotic interlacing of veins.
Most veins were found to be (sub)-parallel to the base of
the massive sulphides; the rare thick veins are generally
secant to, and were seen to be feeders of, the thin veins.
Fig. 17 Interpretative reconstruction of the formation of a Rio Tinto-
type massive sulphide body. The axial part has been drawn from the
indications by Garcia Palomero (1980). Outside the axis, the veins
have a preferential horizontal orientation, but the thick massive
sulphide veins in the axis tend to be sub-vertical. The passage from
stockwork to massive sulphide is characterized by a progressive
substitution of host-rock relics by sulphides. The paleo-location of the
zones studied in the cortas Atalaya and Lago has been indicated
The formation of the stockwork can be best explained
by horizontal propagation of subsidiary and discon-
nected cracks following periodic phase separations
during heating and mineral precipitation during cooling.
Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Bureau de
Recherches GeÂologiques et MinieÁres (France) (Project: Fractura-
tion, permeÂabilite et instabilite dans la crouÃte supeÂrieure). Special
thanks are extended to the geological sta€, Felix Garcia Palomero
and Frederico Sobol, of Rio Tinto Minera, and to J-F. Becq-
Giraudon, D. Bonijoly, D. Burlet, G. Courrioux, L. Germanovich,
M. JeÂbrak, J.-M. Leistel, J.-L. Lescuyer, R. Lowell and C. Ramboz
who helped to clarify several aspects of the study. H.M. Kluyver
translated and edited the paper for publication.
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