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Rb–Sr dating of sphalerites from Tennessee and the genesis of Mississippi Valley type ore deposits

Nature volume 346, pages 354–357 (1990)Cite this article

Abstract

MISSISSIPPI Valley type (MVT) ore deposits commonly consist of some combination of lead, zinc and iron sulphides accompanied by barite, fluorite, dolomite and calcite. They are thought to form by fluid expulsion from sedimentary successions1–3,but their exact origin has remained controversial because of the scarcity of reliable geochronological data. In a recent and widely quoted model the MVT deposits of the central and eastern United States formed as a result of large-scale lateral fluid flow driven by the tectonic squeezing of sedimentary successions during the late Palaeozoic Alleghenian orogeny (330–250 Myr)4. Here we report the first direct Rb–Sr dating of sphalerites from an MVT deposit and propose this as a useful geochronological technique for sulphide mineralization with poor age control. Rb–Sr data for sphalerites from Coy mine, East Tennessee, define an isochron age of 377 ± 29 Myr, ruling out any genetic connection with the Alleghenian orogeny. Instead, MVT mineralization in the eastern United States was apparently generated from fluids expelled during thrusting associated with the older Acadian orogeny (380–350 Myr).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109-1063, USA

    Shun'ichi Nakai, Alex N. Halliday, Stephen E. Kesler & Henry D. Jones

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  1. Shun'ichi Nakai
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  2. Alex N. Halliday
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  3. Stephen E. Kesler
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  4. Henry D. Jones
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Nakai, S., Halliday, A., Kesler, S. et al. Rb–Sr dating of sphalerites from Tennessee and the genesis of Mississippi Valley type ore deposits. Nature 346, 354–357 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/346354a0

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