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An Archaean sub-seafloor geothermal system, ‘calc-alkali’ trends, and massive sulphide genesis

Abstract

Archaean Noranda-type exhalative massive sulphide ores were formed by sub-seafloor geothermal activity which leached mafic constituents and ore metals from iron-rich bimodal (basalt–rhyolite) tholeiites and converted them to hydrothermally altered greenschist facies ‘intermediate’ rocks of apparent calc-alkaline affinity.

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MacGeehan, P., MacLean, W. An Archaean sub-seafloor geothermal system, ‘calc-alkali’ trends, and massive sulphide genesis. Nature 286, 767–771 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/286767a0

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