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The role of magmas in the formation of hydrothermal ore deposits

Nature volume 370, pages 519–527 (1994)Cite this article

Abstract

Magmatic fluids, both vapour and hypersaline liquid, are a primary source of many components in hydrothermal ore deposits formed in volcanic arcs. These components, including metals and their ligands, become concentrated in magmas in various ways from various sources, including subducted oceanic crust. Leaching of rocks also contributes components to the hydrothermal fluid—a process enhanced where acid magmatic vapours are absorbed by deeply circulating meteoric waters. Advances in understanding the hydrothermal systems that formed these ore deposits have come from the study of their active equivalents, represented at the surface by hot springs and volcanic fumaroles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mineral Resources Department, Geological Survey of Japan, Tsukuba, 305, Japan

    Jeffrey W. Hedenquist

  2. US Geological Survey, MS 910, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, California, 94025, USA

    Jacob B. Lowenstern

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  1. Jeffrey W. Hedenquist
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Hedenquist, J., Lowenstern, J. The role of magmas in the formation of hydrothermal ore deposits. Nature 370, 519–527 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1038/370519a0

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