Massive Sulfide Ores in the Iberian Pyrite Belt: Mineralogical and Textural Evolution

The Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB) is recognized as having one of the major concentrations of volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits on Earth. Original resources of about 2000 Mt of massive sulfides have been reported in the province. Recent classifications have considered the IPB deposits as the bi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Minerals (Basel) 2019-11, Vol.9 (11), p.653
Main Authors: Almodóvar, Gabriel R., Yesares, Lola, Sáez, Reinaldo, Toscano, Manuel, González, Felipe, Pons, Juan Manuel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antimony
Arsenopyrite
Barite
Belts
Bismuth
Cassiterite
Chalcopyrite
Computational fluid dynamics
Diagenesis
Distillation
Distilling
Evolution
Fluids
Galena
Geology
Haematite
Heavy metals
Hematite
iberian pyrite belt
Magnetite
Metallurgy
Metals
Mineral composition
Mineral exploration
Mineralization
Mineralogy
Minerals
Ores
Pyrite
Recrystallization
Rocks
Sedimentary environments
Sedimentary rocks
Shale
Sphalerite
Sulfides
Sulfur
Sulphides
textural evolution
vms
Zincblende
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB) is recognized as having one of the major concentrations of volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits on Earth. Original resources of about 2000 Mt of massive sulfides have been reported in the province. Recent classifications have considered the IPB deposits as the bimodal siliciclastic subtype, although major differences can be recognized among them. The main ones concern the hosting rocks. To the north, volcanic and volcaniclastic depositional environments predominate, whereas to the south, black shale-hosted VMS prevail. The mineral composition is quite simple, with pyrite as the main mineral phase, and sphalerite, galena, and chalcopyrite as major components. A suite of minor minerals is also present, including arsenopyrite, tetrahedrite–tennantite, cobaltite, Sb–As–Bi sulfosalts, gold, and electrum. Common oxidized phases include magnetite, hematite, cassiterite, and barite. The spatial relationship between all these minerals provides a very rich textural framework. A careful textural analysis reported here leads to a general model for the genetic evolution of the IPB massive sulfides, including four main stages: (1) Sedimentary/diagenetic replacement process on hosting rocks; (2) sulfides recrystallization at rising temperature; (3) metal distillation and sulfides maturation related to late Sb-bearing hydrothermal fluids; and (4) metal remobilization associated with the Variscan tectonism. The proposed model can provide new tools for mineral exploration as well as for mining and metallurgy.
ISSN:2075-163X
2075-163X
DOI:10.3390/min9110653