| Title | Genetic model for Jurassic shale-hosted Zn-Pb deposits of the Arak Mining District, Malayer-Esfahan metallogenic belt: insight from sedimentological, textural, and stable isotope characteristics |
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| Author | Mahmoodi, P ;
Rastad, E; Rajabi, A; Alfonso, P; Canet, C; Peter, J M |
| Source | Ore Geology Reviews vol. 136, 104262, 2021 p. 1-24, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2021.104262 |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2021 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20210102 |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf; html |
| Area | Iran (Islamic Republic of) |
| Lat/Long WENS | 49.3661 50.1014 34.0281 33.4514 |
| Subjects | economic geology; sedimentology; geochemistry; Science and Technology; Nature and Environment; models; mineral deposits; sedimentary ore deposits; sulphide deposits; zinc; lead; mineralization; ore
mineral genesis; facies; hydrothermal systems; paleoenvironment; host rocks; bedrock geology; lithology; sedimentary rocks; shales; textural analyses; stable isotope studies; Arak Mining District; Malayer-Esfahan Metallogenic Belt; Phanerozoic;
Mesozoic; Jurassic |
| Illustrations | location maps; diagrams; photomicrographs; graphs; tables; cross-plots; cross-sections |
| Program | Targeted Geoscience Initiative (TGI-5) Volcanic and sedimentary systems - volcanogenic massive sulphide ore systems |
| Released | 2021 05 30 |
| Abstract | The genetic model, including conditions under which mineralization formed, and relative timing of mineralization are critical questions for SEDEX deposits. There is increasing awareness that
sub-seafloor replacement is an important process in the formation of some SEDEX deposits. We have studied the Hossein-Abad and Western Haft-Savaran Zn-Pb SEDEX deposits are located in the Arak basin of the Malayer-Esfahan Metallogenic Belt, Iran to
address these questions of genesis. This metallotect formed in a back-arc paleotectonic setting as a result of the subduction of the Neo-Tethys oceanic plate beneath the Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone. The rocks that host the mineralization are Jurassic
organic matter-bearing, fine-grained sandstones, siltstones and shales. Asymmetric lenticular bedding, unidirectional flow (based on oblique silt lamination direction relative to horizontal bedding), graded bedding and clay-rich interbeds indicate
sediments were deposited from turbidity currents in a low-energy basin environment. There are three ore facies in the Hossein-Abad and Western Haft-Savaran Zn-Pb deposits: 1) bedded ore; 2) massive ore; 3) feeder zone. Bedded ore contains pyrite
framboids and polyframboidal clusters. The size range of the pyrite framboids (3 to 6 µm in diameter) indicates they formed in the water column and not in the subsurface. Characteristic structures in bedded ore are: 1) sulfide-bearing silt injections
into clay-filled burrows 2) injection of sulfide-bearing silt into flame structures of claystone laminae, and 3) organic matter in claystone oriented oblique relative to bedding. These structures are the result of seismic deformation induced by
synsedimentary earthquakes, whereby sulfides that formed in permeable unconsolidated sediment were injected into the organic matter-bearing claystone unit. The d18O and d13C values of siderite, calcite and dolomite in veins from the feeder zone and
massive ore range from 12.2 to 23.8 and -16.7 to 1.7 #0, respectively. These values indicate that formational water, seawater and organic matter oxidation-decomposition all played a role in hydrothermal carbonate formation. Melting and
homogenization temperatures for CO2 for CO2-bearing fluid inclusions range from -57.5 to -60 °C and 6.6 to 29.5 °C, respectively, and indicate the presence of <15 mol percent CH4. The CO2 homogenization temperature range suggests the CO2-rich phase
is a CO2-CH4 mixture. The CH4 and CO2 in the H2S-bearing fluid were likely generated by biodegradation and oxidation of organic matter via BSR and methanogenesis. The sulfur isotope compositions of pyrite, galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite from the
feeder zone and the massive ores range from d34S -4.3 to +7.2 and display equilibrium fractionations, indicating that the sulfur originated from two processes: (a) bacterial reduction of seawater sulfate (BSR) (distal from mineralization site), and
(b) thermochemical reduction of seawater sulfate (TSR) (in both massive ore and feeder zone). Sulfur isotope geothermometric calculations ([galena-sphalerite) for two samples give temperatures in the range 209-224°C for the massive ore facies. Such
high temperatures negate a contribution of sulfur from BSR. However, BSR likely occurred in sediments distal to the feeder zone, where seawater sulfate was bacterially reduced to H2S, and this H2S migrated to the mineralization site during
diagenesis. Collectively, the stable isotope data indicate mineralization formed in response to mixing occurred between ascending hot metalliferous hydrothermal fluid that rose up the fault and fracture network, with H2S-bearing fluid and
sulfate-bearing percolating seawater, triggering sulfide deposition. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
This paper deals with the genetic controls on Pb-Zn mineralization hosted in sedimentary rocks in an important mining district of Iran. The conclusions
that mineralization formed in and around faults that brought fluids to the seafloor have exploration implications elsewhere, including Canada. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 328367 |
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