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Styles, textural evolution, and sulfur isotope systematics of Cu-rich sulfides from the Cambrian Whalesback volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit, central Newfoundland, Canada

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Date
08/2015
Author
Cloutier, Jonathan
Piercey, Stephen J.
Layne, Graham
Heslop, John
Hussey, Andrew
Piercey, Glenn
Keywords
Economic Geology
Sulphur Isotopes
VMS deposit
QE Geology
NDAS
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Abstract
The Whalesback Cu-rich volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit in the Newfoundland Appalachians is a highly deformed deposit found on a steep limb of a closed and boudinaged overturned fold. The deposit was intensely deformed at low temperature but medium pressure (>175 MPa) during the accretion of the composite Lushs Bight oceanic tract-Dashwoods terrane onto the Humber margin at ca. 480 Ma. The ore mineralogy consists of chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, and pyrite with lesser sphalerite and trace Ag, Bi, and Hg tellurides. Four styles of sulfide mineralization are present: (1) disseminated (5%); (2) vein (50%); (3) breccia (25%); and (4) semimassive to massive (20%). Independent of mineralization style, massive pyrite and pyrrhotite (and some chalcopyrite) are commonly parallel to main S2 schistosity in the deposit, whereas late chalcopyrite piercement veins occur at a high angle to S2. The progressive increase in pressure and temperature produced a remobilization sequence wherein sphalerite was the first sulfide phase to cross the brittle-ductile boundary, followed by pyrrhotite and, finally, chalcopyrite. Maximum temperature was not high enough for the pyrite to cross the brittle-ductile boundary. Instead, pyrite grains were incorporated and transported by pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite during the ductile remobilization events, rounding and fracturing them. Remobilization of the sulfides occurred mainly by plastic flow, but some solution transport and reprecipitation is locally observed. In situ secondary ion mass spectrometry sulfur isotope geochemistry of sulfides yielded values of δ34S ranging from 2.7‰ to 4.7‰ for pyrite, 2.1‰ to 4.0‰ for pyrrhotite, and 1.3‰ to 4.7‰ for chalcopyrite. Sulfur isotope modeling suggests that at least 60% of the sulfur was derived from leaching of igneous rocks (i.e., basalts), with the remainder derived from thermochemical sulfate reduction of seawater sulfate during alteration of the basalts by seawater. At the deposit scale, sulfur isotopes retained their original signature and did not reequilibrate during the secondary deformation and remobilization events.
Citation
Cloutier , J , Piercey , S J , Layne , G , Heslop , J , Hussey , A & Piercey , G 2015 , ' Styles, textural evolution, and sulfur isotope systematics of Cu-rich sulfides from the Cambrian Whalesback volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit, central Newfoundland, Canada ' , Economic Geology , vol. 110 , no. 5 , pp. 1215-1234 . https://doi.org/10.2113/econgeo.110.5.1215
Publication
Economic Geology
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.2113/econgeo.110.5.1215
ISSN
0361-0128
Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2015 Society of Economic Geologists. This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://dx.doi.org/10.2113/econgeo.110.5.1215
Collections
  • Earth & Environmental Sciences Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/9234

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