Origins and exploration significance of replacement and vein-type alunite deposits in the Marysvale volcanic field, west central Utah

Cunningham, Charles G.; Rye, Robert O.; Steven, Thomas A.; Mehnert, Harald H.

doi:10.2113/gsecongeo.79.1.50

Cited by 64 publications

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“…The similarities between X-ray absorption spectra of these samples and those of gallium sulfate suggest that the Ga there is predominantly hosted in alunite [82]. Alunite is a primary ore mineral for Al, K and S in exceptionally alunite-rich HS deposits similar to those at Alunite Ridge in Utah [83] and Red Mountain in Colorado [84], several of which have been exploited historically. The added possibility of recovering Ga as a by-product could spark a renewed interest in such occurrences.…”

Section: Ga Enrichment In Al-bearing Sulfates and Silicatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mineralogical Distribution of Germanium, Gallium and Indium at the Mt Carlton High-Sulfidation Epithermal Deposit, NE Australia, and Comparison with Similar Deposits Worldwide

et al. 2017

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Germanium, gallium and indium are in high demand due to their growing usage in high-tech and green-tech applications. However, the mineralogy and the mechanisms of concentration of these critical elements in different types of hydrothermal ore deposits remain poorly constrained. We investigated the mineralogical distribution of Ge, Ga and In at the Mt Carlton high-sulfidation epithermal deposit in NE Australia, using electron probe microanalysis and laser ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Parageneses from which selected minerals were analyzed include: Stage 1 acid sulfate alteration (alunite), Stage 2A high-sulfidation enargite mineralization (enargite, argyrodite, sphalerite, pyrite, barite), Stage 2B intermediate-sulfidation sphalerite mineralization (sphalerite, pyrite, galena) and Stage 3 hydrothermal void fill (dickite). Moderate to locally high concentrations of Ga were measured in Stage 1 alunite (up to 339 ppm) and in Stage 3 dickite (up to 150 ppm). The Stage 2A ores show enrichment in Ge, which is primarily associated with argyrodite (up to 6.95 wt % Ge) and Ge-bearing enargite (up to 2189 ppm Ge). Co-existing sphalerite has comparatively low Ge content (up to 143 ppm), while Ga (up to 1181 ppm) and In (up to 571 ppm) are higher. Sphalerite in Stage 2B contains up to 611 ppm Ge, 2829 ppm Ga and 2169 ppm In, and locally exhibits fine colloform bands of an uncharacterized Zn-In mineral with compositions close to CuZn 2 (In,Ga)S 4 . Barite, pyrite and galena which occur in association with Stage 2 mineralization were found to play negligible roles as carriers of Ge, Ga and In at Mt Carlton. Analyzed reference samples of enargite from seven similar deposits worldwide have average Ge concentrations ranging from 12 to 717 ppm (maximum 2679 ppm). The deposits from which samples showed high enrichment in critical elements in this study are all hosted in stratigraphic sequences that locally contain carbonaceous sedimentary rocks. In addition to magmatic-hydrothermal processes, such rocks could potentially be important for the concentration of critical elements in high-sulfidation epithermal deposits.

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Section: Ga Enrichment In Al-bearing Sulfates and Silicatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mineralogical Distribution of Germanium, Gallium and Indium at the Mt Carlton High-Sulfidation Epithermal Deposit, NE Australia, and Comparison with Similar Deposits Worldwide

et al. 2017

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“…During World War I, alunite from both types of deposits was mined at Marysvale as a source for potash, and during World War II, shortages of bauxite resulted in renewed exploration and development of alunite for alumina (Callaghan, 1973). Cunningham et al (1984) recognized that the principal, bulk-tonnage alunite deposits replace similar-aged, intermediate-composition lava flows and tuffs in an approximately equally spaced pattern around the perimeter of similar-aged quartz monzonite stocks (Fig. 2).…”

Section: Replacement Alunite Depositsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These replacement centers, discussed by Cunningham et al (1984), Rye et al (1992), and Rye and Alpers (1997), have been shown to have a classical steam-heated origin. The Big Rock Candy Mountain center is unique in that exposure of its lower parts by downcutting of the Sevier River has led to intense supergene alteration and the formation of abundant natrojarosite and gypsum.…”

Section: Introduction and Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A low-temperature spring emanating from the mountain also has a low pH and a composition typical of solutions that produce natrojarosite. The mountain was not studied earlier by Cunningham et al (1984) but was assumed to have had an origin similar to that of the other replacement alunite centers at Marysvale. The current study integrates mineralogy, remote-sensing spectroscopy (AVIRIS), stable isotopes, and Ar radiometric ages to show that the hypogene history of Big Rock Candy Mountain is indeed similar to that of the other replacement alunite deposits at Marysvale, but that it has a subsequent supergene evolution caused by the downcutting of the Sevier River, that led to its present unique mineral assemblage and appearance.…”

Section: Introduction and Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Supergene destruction of a hydrothermal replacement alunite deposit at Big Rock Candy Mountain, Utah: mineralogy, spectroscopic remote sensing, stable-isotope, and argon-age evidences

et al. 2005

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Big Rock Candy Mountain is a prominent center of variegated altered volcanic rocks in west-central Utah. It consists of the eroded remnants of a hypogene alunite deposit that, at~21 Ma, replaced intermediate-composition lava flows. The alunite formed in steam-heated conditions above the upwelling limb of a convection cell that was one of at least six spaced at 3-to 4-km intervals around the margin of a monzonite stock. Big Rock Candy Mountain is horizontally zoned outward from an alunite core to respective kaolinite, dickite, and propylite envelopes. The altered rocks are also vertically zoned from a lower pyritepropylite assemblage upward through assemblages successively dominated by hypogene alunite, jarosite, and hematite, to a flooded silica cap. This hydrothermal assemblage is undergoing natural destruction in a steep canyon downcut by the Sevier River in Marysvale Canyon. Integrated geological, mineralogical, spectroscopic remote sensing using AVIRIS data, Ar radiometric, and stable isotopic studies trace the hypogene origin and supergene destruction of the deposit and permit distinction of primary (hydrothermal) and secondary (weathering) processes. This destruction has led to the formation of widespread supergene gypsum in cross-cutting fractures and as surficial crusts, and to natrojarosite, that gives the mountain its buff coloration along ridges facing the canyon. A small spring, Lemonade Spring, with a pH of 2.6 and containing Ca, Mg, Si, Al, Fe, Mn, Cl, and SO 4 , also occurs near the bottom of the canyon. The 40 Ar/ 39 Ar age (21.32F0.07 Ma) of the alunite is similar to that for other replacement alunites at Marysvale. However, the age spectrum contains evidence of a 6.6-Ma thermal event that can be related to the tectonic activity responsible for the uplift that led to the downcutting of Big Rock Candy Mountain by the Sevier River. This~6.6 Ma event also is present in the age spectrum of supergene natrojarosite forming today, and probably dates the beginning of supergene alteration at Big Rock Candy Mountain. O SO 4 values of gypsum show an excellent correlation, with values ranging from 15.2x to À5.2x and 7x to À8.2x, respectively. The stable-isotope data indicate that the aqueous sulfate for gypsum is a mixture derived from the dissolution of hypogene gypsum and alunite, and from the supergene oxidation of pyrite. The aqueous sulfate for the natrojarosite, however, is derived largely from the supergene oxidation of pyrite, with a minor contribution from the dissolution of alunite and gypsum. The exceptional detailed spectral mapping capabilities of AVIRIS led to the recognition of a small amount of jarosite that is probably the top of the steam-heated system that produced the primary hypogene alteration at Big Rock Candy Mountain. Published by Elsevier B.V.

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“…El análisis de la zonación en las secuencias estudiadas permite establecer una comparación con los modelos de alteración desarrollados por Berger (1985), Y Cunningham et al, (1984) en relación con alteración hidrotermal de tipo arg¡lico avanzado en ambientes de tipo «fuente termal», relacionados en ocasiones con yacimientos de metales preciosos. Estos autores describen secuencias de ronación en la vertical en las que encajan los perfiles de alteración estudiados, particularmente en la manifestación superficial del modelo que describen, destacando las siguientes características:…”

Section: Discusión De Resultadosunclassified

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Medina²,

Coedo³

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Origins and exploration significance of replacement and vein-type alunite deposits in the Marysvale volcanic field, west central Utah

Cited by 64 publications

References 0 publications

Mineralogical Distribution of Germanium, Gallium and Indium at the Mt Carlton High-Sulfidation Epithermal Deposit, NE Australia, and Comparison with Similar Deposits Worldwide

Mineralogical Distribution of Germanium, Gallium and Indium at the Mt Carlton High-Sulfidation Epithermal Deposit, NE Australia, and Comparison with Similar Deposits Worldwide

Supergene destruction of a hydrothermal replacement alunite deposit at Big Rock Candy Mountain, Utah: mineralogy, spectroscopic remote sensing, stable-isotope, and argon-age evidences

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