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Economic geology

Volatile destruction

Direct evidence for the role of volatiles in magmatic ore formation has been elusive. Magma degassing at Merapi volcano in Indonesia is found to be directly linked to the selective leaching of metals from sulphide melts that ultimately form ore deposits.

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Figure 1: Sulphide melt behaviour in magmas.

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Scaillet, B. Volatile destruction. Nature Geosci 3, 456–457 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo908

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