InterRidge 2022 Webinar October

Chalcophile element geochemistry of arc-related submarine lavas associated with seafloor massive sulfide deposits 

Summary

There are two principal hypothesis for the origin of metals in seafloor massive sulfide (SMS) deposits, the wall-rock leaching and magmatic-hydrothermal hypothesis. In the former, the metals are leached from the wall rocks above a sub-volcanic magma chamber, whereas the latter requires them to be deposited from magmatic fluids derived from an underlying magma chamber. The SMS deposits forming at arc volcanos or immature back-arc spreading centers are considered to have more magmatic fluid components than those at mid-ocean ridges spreading centers. Therefore, the abundance of ore metals in the magma at the time of volatile exsolution may be a critical factor for the formation of a Cu-Au-rich SMS deposit in arc-related settings. Here, I will present the chalcophile element geochemistry of several volcanic suites associated with SMS deposits and discuss the role of chalcophile element fertility on the formation of SMS deposits.

Main points 

  1. The magmas associated with Au-rich SMS deposits have experienced late sulfide saturation during their evolution.
  2. Chalcophile element fertility may play an important role in controlling the Au grade of the SMS deposits at arc-related settings.


Brief information about Dr. Jung-Woo Park: Main career and academic interest

He is an igneous petrologist and marine geologist. He has spent much of his career in the study of magmatism at subduction zones and mid-ocean ridges. The chalcophile element behavior during igneous processes and associated magmatic-hydrothermal mineralization are the main research interest. His Ph.D on platinum group element geochemistry of arc-related magmas at Australian National University found fundamental information on the behavior of chalcophile elements in the evolved arc magmas, which has been continued at Seoul National University. He is currently investigating the role of magma fertility (chalcophile metal contents in magma) on the formation of porphyry Cu±Au deposits. 


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