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Efficiency of hydrothermal ore formation and the Panasqueira W–Cu(Ag)–Sn vein deposit

Nature volume 333, pages 838–841 (1988)Cite this article

Abstract

Hydrothermal ore bodies are the concentrated manifestations of the large-scale mass transfer of ore-forming elements by aqueous fluids flowing through the Earth's crust. Existing mass transfer estimates1–3 for hydrothermal ore-forming systems are based on ore reserve data, which do not take into account the mass of ore-forming elements dispersed in the metasomatized crust around the ore bodies. Here I report a method for the quantitative determination of this dispersed mass and hence the efficiency of ore formation. Application to the Panasqueira W–Cu(Ag)–Sn vein deposit in Portugal shows that only a few per cent of the hydrothermal ly introduced material (W, 33% ; Cu, 8% ; Sn, 3% ; Zn, 1.5%) is concentrated in the ore body itself, implying that much greater volumes of ore-forming fluid are required than previously supposed. The efficiency of Panasqueira vein formation in concentrating these elements is variable, reflecting the relative importance of fluid pressure4–6 and acid-consuming fluid/rock reactions7 in determining different ore mineral solubilities, but it is broadly similar to the efficiency of sea-water mixing in immediately removing Pb and Zn from black smoker fluids8.

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  1. Department of Geology, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

    David A. Polya

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Polya, D. Efficiency of hydrothermal ore formation and the Panasqueira W–Cu(Ag)–Sn vein deposit. Nature 333, 838–841 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/333838a0

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