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C. D. Taylor

Publications and source records attributed to C. D. Taylor.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2008

Rates of zinc and trace metal release from dissolving sphalerite at pH 2.0-4.0

High-Fe and low-Fe sphalerite samples were reacted under controlled pH conditions to determine nonoxidative rates of release of Zn and trace metals from the solid-phase. The release (solubilization) of trace metals from dissolving sphalerite to the aqueous phase can be characterized by a kinetic distribution coefficient, (Dtr), which is defined as [(Rtr/X(tr)Sph)/(RZn/X(Zn) Sph)], where R is the trace metal or Zn release rate, and X is the mole fraction of the trace metal or Zn in sphalerite. This coefficient describes the relationship of the sphalerite dissolution rate to the trace metal mole fraction in the solid and its aqueous concentration. The distribution was used to determine some controls on metal release during the dissolution of sphalerite. Departures from the ideal Dtr of 1.0 suggest that some trace metals may be released via different pathways or that other processes (e.g., adsorption, solubility of trace minerals such as galena) affect the observed concentration of metals. Nonoxidative sphalerite dissolution (mediated by H+) is characterized by a "fast" stage in the first 24-30 h, followed by a "slow" stage for the remainder of the reaction. Over the pH range 2.0-4.0, and for similar extent of reaction (reaction time), sphalerite composition, and surface area, the rates of release of Zn, Fe, Cd, Cu, Mn and Pb from sphalerite generally increase with lower pH. Zinc and Fe exhibit the fastest rates of release, Mn and Pb have intermediate rates of release, and Cd and Cu show the slowest rates of release. The largest variations in metal release rates occur at pH 2.0. At pH 3.0 and 4.0, release rates show less variation and appear less dependent on the metal abundance in the solid. For the same extent of reaction (100 h), rates of Zn release range from 1.53 ?? 10-11 to 5.72 ?? 10-10 mol/m2/s; for Fe, the range is from 4.59 ?? 10-13 to 1.99 ?? 10-10 mol/m2/s. Trace metal release rates are generally 1-5 orders of magnitude slower than the Zn or Fe rates. Results indicate that the distributions of Fe and Cd are directly related to the rate of sphalerite dissolution throughout the reaction at pH 3.0 and 4.0 because these two elements substitute readily into sphalerite. These two metals are likely to be more amenable to usage in predictive acid dissolution models because of this behavior. The Pb distribution shows no strong relation to sphalerite dissolution and appears to be controlled by pH-dependent solubility, most likely related to trace amounts of galena. The distribution of Cu is similar to that of Fe but is the most-dependent of all metals on its mole fraction ratio (Zn:Cu) in sphalerite. The Mn distributions suggest an increase in the rate of Mn release relative to sphalerite dissolution occurs in low Mn samples as pH increases. The Mn distribution in high Mn samples is nearly independent of pH and sphalerite dissolution at pH 2.0 but shows a dependence on these two parameters at higher pH (3.0-4.0).

Applied Geochemistry↗
USGS2008

The metallogeny of Late Triassic rifting of the Alexander terrane in southeastern Alaska and northwestern British Columbia

A belt of unusual volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) occurrences is located along the eastern margin of the Alexander terrane throughout southeastern Alaska and northwestern British Columbia and exhibits a range of characteristics consistent with a variety of syngenetic to epigenetic deposit types. Deposits within this belt include Greens Creek and Windy Craggy, the economically most significant VMS deposit in Alaska and the largest in North America, respectively. The occurrences are hosted by a discontinuously exposed, 800-km-long belt of rocks that consist of a 200- to 800-m-thick sequence of conglomerate, limestone, marine elastic sedimentary rocks, and tuff intercalated with and overlain by a distinctive unit of mafic pyroclastic rocks and pillowed flows. Faunal data bracket the age of the host rocks between Anisian (Middle Triassic) and late Norian (late Late Triassic). This metallogenic belt is herein referred to as the Alexander Triassic metallogenic belt. The VMS occurrences show systematic differences in degree of structural control, chemistry, and stratigraphic setting along the Alexander Triassic metallogenic belt that suggest important spatial or temporal changes in the tectonic environment of formation. At the southern end of the belt, felsic volcanic rocks overlain by shallow-water limestones characterize the lower part of the sequence. In the southern and middle portion of the belt, a distinctive pebble conglomerate marks the base of the section and is indicative of high-energy deposition in a near slope or basin margin setting. At the northern end of the belt the conglomerates, limestones, and felsic volcanic rocks are absent and the belt is composed of deep-water sedimentary and mafic volcanic rocks. This northward change in depositional environment and lithofacies is accompanied by a northward transition from epithermal-like structurally controlled, discontinuous, vein- and pod-shaped, Pb-Zn-Ag-Ba-(Cu) occurrences with relatively simple mineralogy, to sulfosalt-enriched VMS occurrences exhibiting characteristics of vein, diagenetic replacement, and exhalative styles of mineralization, and finally to Cu-Zn-(Co-Au) occurrences with larger and more clearly stratiform orebody morphologies. Occurrences in the middle of the belt are transitional in nature between structurally controlled types of mineralization that formed in a shallow-water, near-arc setting, to those having a more stratiform appearance, formed in a deeper water, rift-basin setting. The geologic setting in the south is consistent with shallow subaqueous emplacement on the flanks of the Alexander terrane. Northward, the setting changes to an increasingly deeper back- or intra-arc rift basin. Igneous activity in the Alexander Triassic metallogenic belt is characterized by a bimodal suite of volcanic rocks and a previously unrecognized association with mafic-ultramafic hypabyssal intrusions. Immobile trace and rare earth element (BEE) geochemical data indicate that felsic rocks in the southern portion of the belt are typical calc-alkaline rhyolites, which give way in the middle of the belt to peralkaline rhyolites. Rhyolites are largely absent in the northern part of the belt. Throughout the belt, the capping basaltic rocks have transitional geochemical signatures. Radiogenic isotope data for these rocks are also transitional (basalts and gabbros: ??-Nd = 4-9 and 87Sr/86Sr initial at 215 Ma = 0.7037-0.7074). Together these data are interpreted to reflect variable assimilation of mature island-arc crust by more primitive melts having the characteristics of either mid-ocean ridge (MORB) or intraplate (within-plate) basalts (WPB). The ore and host-rock geochemistry and the sulfosalt-rich mineralogy of the deposits are strikingly similar to recent descriptions of active sea-floor hydrothermal (white smoker) systems in back arcs of the southwest Pacific Ocean. These data, in concert with existing faunal ages, record the formation of a belt of VMS deposits

Conference Paper↗
USGS1997

Environmental geochemistry of shale-hosted Ag-Pb-Zn massive sulfide deposits in northwest Alaska: Natural background concentrations of metals in water from mineralized areas

Red Dog, Lik and Drenchwater are shale-hosted stratiform Ag-Pb-Zn massive sulfide deposits in the northwestern Brooks Range. Natural background concentrations of metals in waters from the undisturbed (unmined) Drenchwater prospect and Lik deposit were compared to pre-mining baseline studies conducted at Red Dog. The primary factors affecting water chemistry are the extent of exposure of the deposits, the grade of mineralization, the presence of carbonate reeks in the section, and the proportion of Fe-sulfide in the ore. Surface water samples from the Drenchwater prospect, which has pyrite-dominant mineralization exposed in outcrop, have pH values as low as 2.8 and high dissolved concentrations of metals including as much as 95 mg 1-1 Al, 270 mg 1-1 Fe, 8 ??1-1 Cd, 10 ??1-1 Pb, and 2600 ??1-1 Zn, with As up to 26 ??g1-1. Surface waters from the Red Dog deposit prior to mining were also acidic and metal-rich, however, dissolved metal concentrations in Red Dog waters were many times greater. The higher metal concentrations in Red Dog waters reflect the high Zn grades and the abundant sphalerite, pyrite, and galena that were present in outcrop prior to mining. In contrast, despite significant mineralization at the Lik deposit, carbonate rocks in the section buffer the system, resulting in less acidic, mostly near-neutral pH values with low concentrations of most metals except Zn.

Applied Geochemistry↗