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Minerals
Special Issues
Mineralization and Geochemistry of VMS Deposits
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Mineralization and Geochemistry of VMS Deposits

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Deposits".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 275

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Stavros Triantafyllidis

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Guest Editor
School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Iroon Polytechneiou 9, Zografou, 15780 Athens, Greece
Interests: ore deposit geology; sulfide-sulfosalt mineralogy and geochemistry; applied geochemistry; stable and radiogenic isotopic geochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Stylianos Tombros

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Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science, School of Natural Sciences, University of Patras, 26504 Rio Patras, Greece
Interests: VMS deposits; hydrothermal mineralization; geochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Volcanogenic or volcanic-hosted massive sulfides (VMSs) form in submarine volcanic and volcano-sedimentary successions located at, or close to, divergent margins, convergent arcs, and back-arc spreading settings. In general, they can be connected with nearly all possible geotectonic environments related to volcanic activity in deep marine settings, regardless of the type of volcanism.

VMS bear several characteristics beneficial to mankind, present since the earliest stages of human history, including ease of identification, mining, and ore processing. Their significance is primarily their base metal potential. Technological advances during the 20th century have made VMS deposits perfect targets for precious, strategic/critical metals, and metalloids (such as Au, Ag, Ga, Ge, As, Mo, Cd, In, Sn, Sb, and Bi to name a few), the latter characterized by continuous and exponential demand. Therefore, VMSs are considered, to this day, essential for evolution and societal development.

Due to the large diversity in the geologic and geotectonic setting, the geochemical and mineralogical characteristics vary both between the various VMS types, as well as within the same type. These variations determine the recoverable commodities. The objective of this Special Issue is to compile available and newly aquired geochemical and mineralogical information on VMS and demonstrate how these data may be employed and utilized in the development of new deposits.

Dr. Stavros Triantafyllidis
Dr. Stylianos Tombros
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sulfides and sulfosalts
  • base, precious, strategic, and critical metals
  • massive, stringer ore
  • polymetallic mineralization
  • host lithologies
  • geotectonic setting

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

30 pages, 8427 KiB  
Article
Characterization of a Metamorphosed Volcanic Stratigraphy and VMS Alteration Halos Using Rock Chip Petrography and Lithogeochemistry: A Case Study from King North, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia
by Jamie Kelly, Steven P. Hollis, Cendi D.P. Dana, Allan Kneeshaw, Darryl Podmore, Megan James, Riquan Azri, Conal Rodgers and Stephen Roberts
Minerals 2024, 14(5), 481; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14050481 (registering DOI) - 30 Apr 2024
Viewed by 158
Abstract
Despite countless advances in recent years, exploration for volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits remains challenging. This is particularly the case in the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia, where outcrop is limited, weathering is deep and extensive, and metamorphism is variable. At Erayinia in [...] Read more.
Despite countless advances in recent years, exploration for volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits remains challenging. This is particularly the case in the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia, where outcrop is limited, weathering is deep and extensive, and metamorphism is variable. At Erayinia in the southern Kurnalpi terrane, intercepts of VMS-style mineralization occur along ~35 km strike length of stratigraphy, and a small Zn (-Cu) deposit has been defined at King (2.15 Mt at 3.47% Zn). An extensive aircore and reverse circulation drilling campaign on the regional stratigraphy identified additional VMS targets, including the King North prospect. Through a combination of detailed rock chip logging, petrography (inc. SEM imaging), and lithogeochemistry, we have reconstructed the volcanic stratigraphy and alteration halos associated with the King North prospect. Hydrothermal alteration assemblages and geochemical characteristics at King North (Mg-Si-K enrichment, Na depletion, and high Sb, Tl, Eu/Eu*, alteration index, CCPI, and normative corundum abundance values) are consistent with an overturned VMS system. The overturned footwall stratigraphy at King North is dominated by metamorphosed volcanic rocks, namely the following: garnet amphibolite (tholeiitic, basaltic), biotite amphibolite (andesitic, calc-alkaline), chlorite–quartz schist (dacitic), and narrow horizons of muscovite–quartz schist (dacitic to rhyolitic, HFSE-enriched). The hanging-wall to the Zn-bearing sequence is characterized by quartz–albite schists (metasedimentary rocks) and thick sequences of amphibolite (calc-alkaline, basaltic andesite). An iron-rich unit (>25% Fe2O3) of chlorite–actinolite–quartz schist, interpreted as a meta-exhalite, is associated with significant Cu-Au mineralization, adjacent to a likely syn-volcanic fault. Extensive Mg metasomatism of the immediate felsic footwall is represented by muscovite–chlorite schist. Diamond drilling into the deep hanging-wall stratigraphy at both King North and King has also revealed the potential for additional, stacked VMS prospective horizons in the greenstone belt stratigraphy. The discovery of HFSE-enriched rhyolites, zones of muscovite–chlorite schist, presence of abundant sulfide-rich argillaceous metasedimentary rocks, and a second upper meta-exhalite horizon further expand the exploration potential of the King–King North region. Our combined petrographic and lithogeochemical approach demonstrates that complex volcanic lithologies and VMS alteration signatures can be established across variably metamorphosed greenstone belts. This has wider implications for more cost-effective exploration across the Yilgarn Craton, utilizing RC drilling to reconstruct the local geology and identify proximal halos, and limiting more costly diamond drilling to key areas of complex geology and deeper EM targets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mineralization and Geochemistry of VMS Deposits)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

1. Stavros Triantafyllidis et al. Mineralogy and geochemistry of a concealed VMS deposit, Molai, south-eastern Peloponnese, Greece.
 
2. Jamie Kelly, Steven P. Hollis, Cendi D.P. Dana, Allan Kneeshaw, Darryl Podmore, Megan James, Riquan Azri, Conal Rodgers & Stephen Roberts Characterization of a metamorphosed volcanic stratigraphy and alteration halos through rock chip petrography and lithogeochemistry: constraints from the King North Zn-Cu-Au VHMS prospect, Yilgarn Craton.
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