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Mid Ocean Ridge Ore Deposits

Mid Ocean Ridge Ore Deposits. Patrick Loury and Olivia Miller. Processes of Ore Formation. Exhalative deposition Related to submarine hot-springs or fumaroles Mineralizing fluids pour onto the seafloor or raise to some height before deposition Deposit characteristics are a function of:

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Mid Ocean Ridge Ore Deposits

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  1. Mid Ocean Ridge Ore Deposits Patrick Loury and Olivia Miller

  2. Processes of Ore Formation • Exhalative deposition • Related to submarine hot-springs or fumaroles • Mineralizing fluids pour onto the seafloor or raise to some height before deposition • Deposit characteristics are a function of: • Water depth, temperature, and salinity • Distance from vent • Proximal ore deposits • Intermediate volcanic processes and products • Distal ore deposits • Lateral transmission of ore forming fluids through seawater • Host rocks: volcanic tuffs and seafloor sediments

  3. Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS) Deposits • Lenses of polymetallic massive sulfides that form in submarine volcanic environments • Distribution: • 800 known deposits worldwide • Age: Archean to present day • Classification based on chemical composition and host rock lithology: • Cu-Zn, Zn-Cu and Zn-Pb-Cu groups • Mafic dominated, bimodal mafic, siliciclasticmafic, bimodal felsic, high sulfidation bimodal felsic, siliciclasticfelsic groups

  4. Sp, sphalerite; Gn, galena; Py, pyrite; Ba, barite; Cpy, chalcopyrite; Po, pyrrhotite; and Hem, hematite (Taylor et al., 1995)

  5. VMS deposits provide: at least 22% of the world's Zn 6% of the world's Cu 9.7% of the world's Pb 8.7% of it's Ag 2.2% of it's Au World’s Most Acidic Water $862 million cleanup (Galley et al., 2007, Nordstron et al., 2000)

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