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Boron isotope evidence for the involvement of non-marine evaporites in the origin of the Broken Hill ore deposits

Nature volume 342, pages 913–916 (1989)Cite this article

Abstract

IDENTIFYING the palaeogeographic setting and mode of origin of stratabound ore deposits can be difficult in high-grade metamorphic terranes, where the effects of metamorphism may obscure the nature of the protoliths. Here we report boron isotope data for tourmalines from the early Proterozoic Broken Hill block, in Australia, which hosts giant lead-zinc-silver sulphide deposits. With one exception the 11B/10B ratios are lower than those for all other tourmalines from massive sulphide deposits and tour-malinites elsewhere in the world. We propose that these low ratios reflect leaching of boron from non-marine evaporitic borates by convecting hydrothermal fluids associated with early Proterozoic continental rifting. A possible modern analogue is the Salton Sea geothermal field in California.

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Author notes

  1. Martin R. Palmer

    Present address: Department of Geology, Wills Memorial Building, Queen's Road, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. US Geological Survey, National Center, MS 954, Reston, Virginia, 22092, USA

    John F. Slack

  2. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, E34-254, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA

    Martin R. Palmer

  3. Geological Survey of New South Wales, 32 Sulphide Street, Broken Hill, New South Wales, 2880, Australia

    Brian P. J. Stevens

Authors
  1. John F. Slack
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  2. Martin R. Palmer
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  3. Brian P. J. Stevens
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Slack, J., Palmer, M. & Stevens, B. Boron isotope evidence for the involvement of non-marine evaporites in the origin of the Broken Hill ore deposits. Nature 342, 913–916 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/342913a0

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