Ore Deposits in an Evolving Earth

Ore deposits form by a variety of natural processes that concentrate elements into a volume that can be economically mined. Their type, character and abundance reflect the environment in which they formed and thus they preserve key evidence for the evolution of magmatic and tectonic processes, the state of the atmosphere and hydrosphere, and the evolution of life over geological time. This volume presents 13 papers on topical subjects in ore deposit research viewed in the context of Earth evolution. These diverse, yet interlinked, papers cover topics including: controls on the temporal and spatial distribution of ore deposits; the sources of fluid, gold and other components of orogenic gold deposits; the degree of oxygenation in the Neoproterozoic ocean; bacterial immobilization of gold in the semi-arid near-surface environment; and mineral resources for the future, including issues of resource estimation, sustainability of supply and the criticality of certain elements to society.
How the Neoproterozoic S-isotope record illuminates the genesis of vein gold systems: an example from the Dalradian Supergroup in Scotland
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Published:January 01, 2015
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CiteCitation
Nyree J. Hill, Gawen R. T. Jenkin, Adrian J. Boyce, Christopher J. S. Sangster, David J. Catterall, David A. Holwell, Jonathan Naden, Clive M. Rice, 2015. "How the Neoproterozoic S-isotope record illuminates the genesis of vein gold systems: an example from the Dalradian Supergroup in Scotland", Ore Deposits in an Evolving Earth, G. R. T. Jenkin, P. A. J. Lusty, I. Mcdonald, M. P. Smith, A. J. Boyce, J. J. Wilkinson
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Abstract
The genesis of quartz vein-hosted gold mineralization in the Neoproterozoic–early Palaeozoic Dalradian Supergroup of Scotland remains controversial. An extensive new dataset of S-isotope analyses from the Tyndrum area, together with correlation of the global Neoproterozoic sedimentary S-isotope dataset to the Dalradian stratigraphy, demonstrates a mixed sedimentary and magmatic sulphur source for the mineralization. δ34S values for early molybdenite- and later gold-bearing mineralization range from −2 to +12‰, but show distinct populations related to mineralization type. Modelling of the relative input of magmatic and sedimentary sulphur into gold-bearing quartz veins with δ34S values of +12‰ indicates a maximum of 68% magmatic sulphur, and that S-rich, SEDEX-bearing, Easdale Subgroup metasedimentary rocks lying stratigraphically above the host rocks represent the only viable source of sedimentary sulphur in the Dalradian Supergroup. Consequently, the immediate host rocks were not a major source of sulphur to the mineralization, consistent with their low bulk sulphur and lack of metal enrichment. Recent structural models of the Tyndrum area suggest that Easdale Subgroup metasedimentary rocks, enriched in 34S, sulphur and metals, are repeated at depth owing to folding, and it is suggested that these are the most likely source of sedimentary sulphur, and possibly metals, for the ore fluids.