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At least 775 records · Page 43Linked to original sources
USGS1969

Devonian laterite in Chitral state, West Pakistan

A Devonian laterite has recently been discovered near Reshun in the Mastuj valley of Chitral State, West Pakistan. It is believed to be the fourth recorded Paleozoic laterite in the world. The laterite is entirely within a thick carbonate of the Shogram Formation of Upper Devonian (Frasnian) age. A chemical analysis of the laterite shows the principal constitutents to be: Al 2 O 3 35.5%, SiO 2 , 21.7% Fe 2 O 3 16.0%, FeO 10.3%, TiO 2 , 3.5% CaO 0.97%, and MgO 0.70%. Minerals determined by X-ray analysis include hematite, boehmite, diaspore, anatase, rutile, kaolinite, pyrophyllite and what is probably chamosite.

Chitral↗
USGS1969

Chemical composition of the hydrothermal fluids responsible for the lead-zinc deposits at Providencia, Zacatecas, Mexico

The chemical composition of 22 samples of primary fluid inclusions in quartz, calcite, and sphalerite from Providencia, Mexico, has been determined. Samples were prepared, crushed, and leached as described by Roedder et al. (1963). Cation analyses of leachates were made by atomic absorption spectroscopy, and the anions were analyzed by a special X-ray fluorescence technique. The Na, K, Ca, and C1 concentrations show a considerable range that reflects the widespread salinity variations in the hydrothermal fluids observed by Sawkins (1964). The K/Na atomic ratios of most samples range from 0.18 to 0.43 and the ratios tend to increase with the salinity of the inclusions. The temperatures indicated by the K/Na ratios from the published curves of K/Na ratios vs. temperature are mostly at least 100 ø C greater than corresponding filling temperatures. The Ca/Na atomic ratios of inclusions in sphalerite range from 0.12 to 0.61. The K/Na and Ca/Na data agree well with previous δO¹⁸ data (Rye, 1966; Rye and O'Neil. 1968) which indicate that the hydrothermal fluids were derived from the magma related to the Providencia granodiorite stock and that the fluids reacted only slightly with the crystalline stock during the late phases of ore deposition. The data also indicate that the salinity variations in the hydrothermal fluids probably occurred at the source of the fluids and may have resulted from boiling in the magma chamber. Mg concentrations are generally no more than a few hundred parts per million. Most of the Mg in the hydrothermal fluids was evidently removed during the formation of calcium-magnesium silicates in the lower levels of the ore pipes. Mg/Ca atomic ratios are generally less than 0.08 and are consistent with the paucity of dolomite in the area. Zn and Cu concentrations in water leaches of inclusions in calcite are generally less than 50 ppm. Maximum base-metal concentrations from water leaches of two samples of inclusions in quartz are 890 ppm Zn and 530 ppm Cu. Chloride is the major anion in the fluids, and C1 concentrations vary with corresponding cation concentrations. With two exceptions, sulfur concentrations of the inclusions in calcite and quartz, analyzed as SO₄, are below the level of detection

Zacatecas↗
USGS1969

Merumite occurrence in Guyana

Merumite was discovered with associated diamonds and gold in 1937 in gravels of the Merume River in Guyana. It was described as essentially a hydrous chromium oxide that contains more than 80 percent Cr2Oa. Milton and Chao in 1958 found it to be a complex aggregate, mainly eskolaite (Cr2Oa) with five or more new chromium minerals which have recently been identified. The deposit is unique. The richest gravel, averaging several ounces merumite per cubic yard, extends about 2 miles along the base of an east-dipping (35°) ridge of sandstone and ash beds, perhaps an outlier of the Precambrian Roraima Formation that forms bold mountainous scarps a few miles south. No chromium mineralization has been observed in the ridge or anywhere in the region, other than the merumite in the placer gravel. Merumite commonly occurs as grains a few millimeters across, but specimens as large as 10 cm have been found. Almost all the merumite is in rounded grains, many with broken worn edges, indicating wear in transport. Granular gold is enclosed in merumite, as is chromian pyrophyllite. Many merumite grains have impressions, and some contain crystals, of doubly terminated "needle" quartz. Water-worn gorceixite, rutile, tourmaline-quartz fels, jasper, euhedral glassy quartz (as much as several centimeters long), and fragments of basaltic rock accompany merumite at all localities; rarely, gold and diamonds are associated in the placers. Merumite was probably derived from a local moderate-temperature hydrothermal deposit possibly formed in the adjacent sandstone-volcanic ash bed from solutions related to local ash deposits and massive gabbro-dolerite intrusive bodies in the Roraima Formation. If the deposit was formed at depths of less than a few thousand feet, erosion may have reached it and re-deposited the merumite and accompanying resistant minerals, mostly'quartz and jasper, in local stream beds. © 1969 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.

Merume River↗
USGS1970

Studies of hydrothermal gold deposition (I). Carlin gold deposit, Nevada: The role of carbonaceous materials in gold deposition

Studies of fresh carbonate host rocks and unoxidized gold ores of the Carlin mine indicate that gold, quartz, barite, pyrite, and other sulfides were introduced into the Roberts Mountains Formation by acid hydrothermal solutions. Laboratory investigations on the carbonaceous materials in the host rocks and ores and studies of reactions between carbonaceous materials and gold-bearing solutions show that the rocks contain: (1) An activated carbon component capable of adsorbing gold chloride or gold cyanide complexes from solution; (2) A mixture of high-molecular-weight hydrocarbons usually associated with the activated carbon components; and (3) An organic acid, similar to "humic acid," containing functional groups capable of interacting with gold complexes to form gold organic compounds. Although the exact structure of the gold organic compound(s) is not known, the most attractive possibility is chelation, where ligands such as N, S, or O in organic acids would easily displace the chloride ion from aurous chloride complexes and form stable gold chelates. Subsequent oxidation of the gold organic compounds destroys the organic component and leads to the formation of metallic gold. The relative amounts and types of carbonaceous materials are of principal importance in determining the chemical state and amount of gold deposited in carbonaceous limestone, although such factors as temperature, pH, and the oxidation state of the system are also involved.Although most of the gold ores at the Carlin mine are in the Silurian Roberts Mountains Formation and are at least several hundred feet stratigraphically below the Roberts Mountains thrust fault, disseminated replacement-type gold deposits could form in the lower-plate Devonian limestones (designated the Popovich Formation at the Carlin mine) and in carbonate and shale units of the upper-plate Ordovician Vinini Formation. In a structural setting that would provide satisfactory channels for movement of gold-bearing solutions, physical characteristics and chemical and mineralogical compositions, including the presence of organic materials, indicate that all three formations are favorable for replacement and deposition of gold.

Nevada↗
USGS1970

Similarities, differences, and some genetic problems of the Wyoming and Colorado plateau types of uranium deposits in sandstone

Uranium deposits of the Wyoming roll type and the Colorado Plateau peneconcordant type are the principal domestic resources of uranium. Both types occur in lenticular sandstone beds of continental origin, have a similar suite of elements and minerals, are associated with mildly altered rock, and are thought to have formed by reduction precipitation from ground waters before significant regional deformation. They differ in several respects. The Wyoming deposits are in unlithified sandstone that is highly arkosic, whereas the Colorado Plateau deposits are in lithified sandstone that is only slightly to moderately arkosic. Uranium is the only ore metal in the Wyoming deposits, whereas vanadium or copper is more abundant than uranium in some of the Plateau deposits. The Wyoming deposits are elongate crescent-shaped bodies that extend vertically through, or partly through, a sandstone unit and which are scattered, like widely spaced beads on a string, along miles-long interfaces between oxidized (altered) and unoxidized sandstone, whereas the Plateau deposits are thin tabular layers that are nearly concordant to bedding and which occur as discrete bodies, like raisins in raisin bread, enveloped in rock altered by reduction. The Wyoming ore rolls and interfaces were dynamic, having been pushed downdip by downward-moving oxygen-bearing water that passed through the interfaces and deposited the ore minerals on the reducing side, whereas the Plateau deposits seemingly formed as static bodies, localized by intensive reducing "patches" in a mildly reducing environment. These differences focus attention on genetic problems relating to the Eh of the ore-bearing and altering solutions, the shape and localization of deposits, and the source of the uranium.

Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah,↗
USGS1970

Uraninite-bearing contact metamorphic deposits, Heaths Peak, Carbon County, Wyoming

Deposits that contain uraninite and sulfide minerals at Heaths Peak, Carbon County, Wyo., display a zoned distribution of metals from the edge of granite into adjacent metamorphic rocks. The metallic minerals -- uraninite, molybdenite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, pyrrhotite, and marcasite -- are concentrated on the undersides of metamorphosed roof pendants. At the Little Man mine, deposition was related to a small cupola projecting into the central part of an elongate pendant. The host rocks and the deposits are of Precambrian age.

Wyoming↗
USGS1970

Distribution of silver and copper in placer gold derived from the northeastern part of the Colorado Mineral Belt

Placer gold grains from the modern streams originating in the Colorado Mineral Belt were examined for silver and copper content on a quantitative basis utilizing the electron microprobe. The variation among grains from a particular locality is large, but the mean silver content of the interior of the placer gold grains from each locality and (or) the variation in copper content may be of value in distinguishing lode sources and gold mining districts. Microprobe analysis of the interior of gold grains is independent of chemical actions that affect the border of placer gold grains during their transport history, and it is shown that distinct compositional groups of different lode sources may be identified even in a single sample--information that may aid in recognizing the existence of concealed lodes that once contributed to a placer environment.

Colorado↗
USGS1971

A paleohydrologic model for mineralization of the White Pine copper deposit, northern Michigan

Pertinent physical properties of the upper Keweenawan rocks can be measured or inferred within a sufficiently narrow range to make the quantitative evaluation of various paleohydrologic models for the origin of the White Pine copper deposit feasible. The approach is illustrated here by calculations for models that involve lateral migration of fluids through the subjacent Copper Harbor Conglomerate to the site of the deposit and stripping of copper from these solutions where they percolated upward through the Nonesuch Shale. The calculations reveal limitations to theories of origin that would not be evident from purely qualitative consideration; some of these limitations could be useful to exploration. For example, if the water was yielded by compaction of the Copper Harbor Conglomerate and contained 50 ppm Cu, there must have been significant convergence of solution paths toward White Pine. Surface water entering the Copper Harbor Conglomerate on the north limb of the Lake Superior syncline is an adequate source if it could be shown that the point of entry was once significantly higher in altitude than the water table at White Pine; this model implies a major copper deposit at great depth north of the axis of the syncline. Ground water entering the Nonesuch Shale up dip from White Pine is not a possible source of mineralizing solutions.

Michigan↗