Coupled magmatic and tectonic activity plays an important role in high-temperature hydrothermal circulation at mid-ocean ridges. The circulation patterns for such systems have been elucidated by microearthquakes and geochemical data over a broad spectrum of spreading rates, but such data have not been generally available for ultra-slow spreading ridges. Here we report new geophysical and fluid geochemical data for high-temperature active hydrothermal venting at Dragon Horn area (49.7°E) on the Southwest Indian Ridge. Twin detachment faults penetrating to the depth of 13 ± 2 km below the seafloor were identified based on the microearthquakes. The geochemical composition of the hydrothermal fluids suggests a long reaction path involving both mafic and ultramafic lithologies. Combined with numerical simulations, our results demonstrate that these hydrothermal fluids could circulate~6 km deeper than the Moho boundary and to much greater depths than those at TransAtlantic Geotraverse and Logachev-1 hydrothermal fields on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

High‐temperature hydrothermal venting has been discovered on all modern mid‐ocean ridges at all spreading rates. Although significant strides have been made in understanding the underlying processes that shape such systems, several first‐order discrepancies between model predictions and observations remain. One key paradox is that numerical experiments consistently show entrainment of cold ambient seawater in shallow high permeability ocean crust causing a temperature drop that is difficult to reconcile with high vent temperatures. We investigate this conundrum using a thermo‐hydro‐chemical model that couples hydrothermal fluid flow with anhydrite‐ and pyrite‐forming reactions in the shallow subseafloor. The models show that precipitation of anhydrite in warming seawater and in cooling hydrothermal fluids during mixing results in the formation of a chimney‐like subseafloor structure around the upwelling, high‐temperature plume. The establishment of such anhydrite‐sealed zones reduces mixing between the hydrothermal fluid and seawater and results in an increase in vent temperature. Pyrite subsequently precipitates close to the seafloor within the anhydrite chimney. Although anhydrite thus formed may be dissolved when colder seawater circulates through the crust away from the spreading axis, the inside pyrite walls would be preserved as veins in present‐day metal deposits, thereby preserving the history of hydrothermal circulation through shallow oceanic crust.