Geology and genesis of the Aznalcóllar massive sulphide deposits, Iberian Pyrite Belt, Spain

Almodóvar, G. R.; Sáez, Reinaldo; Pons, Juan Manuel; Maestre, Ana; Toscano, Manuel; Pascual, Emilio Soler

doi:10.1007/s001260050136

Cited by 54 publications

(54 citation statements)

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“…The temperature range (252-325 oC) ca1culated for chlorites produced by the hydrothermal system which led to the formation of the Masa Valverde orebody (Table 2) is also consistent with the temperature range suggested by Almodóvar et al (1998) for the chlorite chemistry-based temperatures in the Azna1cóllar deposit.…”

Section: Chlorite Geochemistrysupporting

confidence: 82%

Mineralogy and geochemistry of the Masa Valverde blind massive sulphide deposit, Iberian Pyrite Belt (Spain)

Ruiz¹,

Arribas²

2002

Ore Geology Reviews

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Masa Valverde is a blind, volcanic-hosted massive sulphide deposit recently discovered in the Spanish sector of the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB). The deposit is more than 1 km long and is located at depths between 400 and 850 m, in direct spatial association with a residual gravimetric anomaly. The ore body is concealed beneath Culm sedimentary rocks which cover the westem extension of a Hercynian age anticline, a few kilometers west of an area where older massive sulphide workings existed. The Masa Valverde deposit consists of two main ore bodies composed dominantly of massive and banded pyrite which are hosted by a volcano-sedimentary sequence made up of felsic tuffs interlayered with shale, siliceous exhalite and radiolarian chert. The abundance of sedimentary host rocks to the deposit is a feature shared by other large massive sulphide deposits in the eastem sector of the IPB and is interpreted as significant with respect to the origin of the deposit (a break in volcanic activity). The thickness of the upper massive sulphide orebody varies between a few meters and 70 m, and it consists of lenses and blankets of massive sulphides with interbedded tuff and shale and occasionally stockwork zones. The lower orebody is smaller and thinner than the upper one, but this may be due to incomplete drilling. Two types of stockwork occur beneath the massive sulphide bodies, the more common type consists of irregular and anastomosing sulphide veinlets and irregular blebs formed by replacement. Stockwork with cross-cutting, generally straight-sided, sulphide veins is, by contrast, suggestive of formation by hydraulic fracturing. The mineralogy and alteration processes of the ore and host rocks at Masa Valverde are analogous to those of other IPB massive sulphides. The average temperature of formation of the components of the ore zones estimated on the basis of chlorite thermometry are as follows: siliceous exhalites (290 OC), massive sulphides (325 OC) and stockworks (305 OC). Rare earth element measurements indicate that the lowest metal concentrations occur in chloritites, which occasionally host Cu-rich stockwork and are characterised by a strongly negative Eu anomaly. By contrast, rocks hosting the sulphide lenses, where silicification, sericitization and carbonatization are more intense, are enriched in LREE. Two main stages of hydrothermal activity are suggested for the Masa Valverde deposit. During an early stage, ore fluids would have discharged onto the sea floor resulting in the deposition of pyrite with sphalerite and galena. Later on, with continued input of high temperature fluids (290 to 315 OC), chalcopirite precipitated, especially in the stockworks and at the base of the sulphide lenses. At Masa Valverde, this late Cu-rich hydrothermal event would have produced an ascending Cu-front which overpassed the stockwork zone and reached a higher temperature (325 OC) at the base of the massive sulphide lenses. The combination of geological, mineralogical and geochemical features of the Masa Valverde deposit p...

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Section: Chlorite Geochemistrysupporting

confidence: 82%

Mineralogy and geochemistry of the Masa Valverde blind massive sulphide deposit, Iberian Pyrite Belt (Spain)

Ruiz¹,

Arribas²

2002

Ore Geology Reviews

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“…Pyrite mining has been conducted on the Iberian Pyrite Belt (Southwest Spain and Portugal) for over 5,000 years [11]. Massive sulfide deposits are widespread throughout the region, and are hosted by a Volcano-Sedimentary Complex, which is composed of a thick stratigraphical series of volcanic detrital origin [12]. Figure 1.…”

Section: Regional Geology and Climatementioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring the Extent of Contamination from Acid Mine Drainage in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (SW Spain) Using Hyperspectral Imagery

et al. 2011

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Monitoring mine waste from sulfide deposits by hyperspectral remote sensing can be used to predict surface water quality by quantitatively estimating acid drainage and metal contamination on a yearly basis. In addition, analysis of the mineralogy of surface crusts rich in soluble salts can provide a record of annual humidity and temperature. In fact, temporal monitoring of salt efflorescence from mine wastes at a mine site in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (Huelva, Spain) has been achieved using hyperspectral airborne Hymap data. Furthermore, climate variability estimates are possible based on oxidation stages derived from well-known sequences of minerals, by tracing sulfide oxidation intensity using archive spectral libraries. Thus, airborne and spaceborne hyperspectral remote sensing data can be used to provide a short-term record of climate change, and represent a useful set of tools for assessing environmental geoindicators in semi-arid areas. Spectral and geomorphological indicators can be monitored on a regular basis through image processing, supported by field and laboratory spectral data. In fact, hyperspectral image analysis is one of the methods selected by the Joint Research Centre of the European OPEN ACCESS

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“…framboidal pyrite) found within the strata, whereas hotter fluids (N200°C) may be derived from channelized high-T fluid flow indicated by the calcite of stage I (Almodóvar et al, 1997) or overprinting by later hotter fluids (see below discussion).…”

Section: Formation Of Sedimentary Pyrite Of Stage Imentioning

confidence: 99%

Ore geology and fluid evolution of the giant Caixiashan carbonate-hosted Zn–Pb deposit in the Eastern Tianshan, NW China

Chen

Zhang

et al. 2016

Ore Geology Reviews

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Geology and genesis of the Aznalcóllar massive sulphide deposits, Iberian Pyrite Belt, Spain

Cited by 54 publications

References 0 publications

Mineralogy and geochemistry of the Masa Valverde blind massive sulphide deposit, Iberian Pyrite Belt (Spain)

Mineralogy and geochemistry of the Masa Valverde blind massive sulphide deposit, Iberian Pyrite Belt (Spain)

Monitoring the Extent of Contamination from Acid Mine Drainage in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (SW Spain) Using Hyperspectral Imagery

Ore geology and fluid evolution of the giant Caixiashan carbonate-hosted Zn–Pb deposit in the Eastern Tianshan, NW China

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