Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Environments of generation of some base-metal ore deposits

June 1, 1968

The origin of the ore fluids, their dissolved constituents, the force that drives them, and the causes for deposition of their constituents are reviewed for five districts: Providencia, Mexico; Mississippi Valley (Pb-Zn); Salton Sea geothermal system; Red Sea geothermal system; Nonesuch Shale, Michigan. The compositions (chemical and isotopic) and temperatures, determined directly for brines and from fluid inclusions for ancient deposits, reveal significant differences between the Providencia deposit (close magmatic affiliations) and the others, in which connate water and constituents dissolved from country rock appear to be important. Deposits formed by complex processes, with multiple sources for materials, may well be more common than simple 'end-member' deposits.

Publication Year 1968
Title Environments of generation of some base-metal ore deposits
DOI 10.2113/gsecongeo.63.4.301
Authors Donald E. White
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Economic Geology
Index ID 70209025
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
Was this page helpful?