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Ore Deposits
Ore Deposits
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02fire/background/hirez/chemistry-
Ore deposit environments
• Magmatic
– Cumulate deposits – fractional crystallization processes can
concentrate metals (Cr, Fe, Pt)
– Pegmatites – late staged crystallization forms pegmatites
and many residual elements are concentrated (Li, Ce, Be,
Sn, and U)
• Hydrothermal
– Magmatic fluid - directly associated with magma
– Porphyries - Hot water heated by pluton
– Skarn – hot water associated with contact metamorphisms
– Exhalatives – hot water flowing to surface
– Epigenetic – hot water not directly associated with pluton
Ore deposit environments
• Sedimentary
– Placer – weathering of primary minerals and transport
by streams (Gold, diamonds, other)
– Banded Iron Formations – 90%+ of world’s iron tied
up in these
– Evaporite deposits – minerals like gypsum, halite
deposited this way
– Laterites – leaching of rock leaves residual materials
behind (Al, Ni, Fe)
– Supergene – reworking of primary ore deposits
remobilizes metals (often over short distances)
Geochemical Traps
• Similar to chemical sedimentary rocks – must leach
material into fluid, transport and deposit ions as
minerals…
• pH, redox, T changes and mixing of different fluids
results in ore mineralization
• Cause metals to go from soluble to insoluble
• Sulfides (reduced form of S) strongly binds metals
many important metal ore minerals are sulfides!
• Oxides – Oxidizing environments form
(hydroxy)oxide minerals, very insoluble metal
concentrations (especially Fe, Mn, Al)
Hydrothermal Ore Deposits
• Thermal gradients induce convection of
water – leaching, redox rxns, and cooling
create economic mineralization
Massive sulfide deposits
• Hot, briny, water
leaches metals
from basaltic
ocean rocks
• Comes in contact
with cool ocean
water
• Sulfides
precipitate
Vermont Copperbelt
• Besshi-type massive sulfide deposits
• Key Units:
– Giles Mountain formation – More
siliciclastic, including graphitic pelite,
quartoze granofels (metamorphosed
greywacke), hornblende schist,
amphibolite
– Standing Pond Volcanics – mostly a fine
grained hormblende-plagioclase
amphibolite, likely formed from extrusive
basaltic rocks (local evidence of pillow
structures in St. Johnsbury). Felsic dike
near Springfiled VT yielded a U-Pb age
of 423± 4 Ma.
– Waits River formation – Calcareous
pelite (metamorphosed mudstone),
metalimestone, metadolostone,
quartzite.