Chemical composition of naturally occurring fluids in relation to mercury deposits in part of north-central California

Barnes, Ivan; Hinkle, Margaret E.; Rapp, John B.; Heropoulos, Chris; Vaughn, W.W.

doi:10.3133/b1382a

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1984

1999

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Cited by 4 publications

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Mercury deposits of western California: an overview

Studemeister

1984

Mineral. Deposita

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Summary. Mercury deposits in western California are near a thrust fault that separates two groups of Mesozoic rocks. The Franciscan Assemblage, a metamorphosed melange with serpentine and graywacke, is structurally overlain by the Great Valley Sequence, a sedimentary series resting on oceanic crust. These Mesozoic rocks are partly covered by volcanic and sedimentary rocks of Cenozoic age. Cinnabar with silica minerals, dolomite, native mercury, and bituminous matter occurs around the fractured margins of serpentine bodies and around hot springs that emanate from the Franciscan Assemblage. Fluid inclusions and hot springs suggest that cinnabar precipitated from CO2-H20 fluids with < 2 wt% chlorine at T < 250 °C. Prograde metamorphism of Mesozoic sediments expulsed mercury-bearing fluids that migrated up serpentine-related fractures and exhaled onto the surface.

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