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Item type:Publication, Trace element composition and U-Pb ages of cassiterite from the Bolivian tin belt(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2021-11-01)The Bolivian tin belt is a metallogenic province in the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes known for its Sn, W, Ag, and base metal deposits. Cassiterite, which is a major constituent in many magmatic-hydrothermal ore deposits from the Bolivian tin belt, can incorporate dozens of elements within its crystal lattice, making it a useful geological tracer mineral and also a potential host of critical elements. New U-Pb dating of cassiterite yields Late Triassic (Kellhuani deposit) and Late Oligocene to earliest Miocene (Viloco, Huanuni, and Llallagua deposits) ages. These ages confirm that Sn mineralization in the Bolivian tin belt occurred at least in two separate events during two major magmatic episodes apparently triggered by mantle upwelling, decompression melting, and basalt production promoting high heat flow into the overlying crust. The composition of studied hydrothermal cassiterite yields some geochemical trends that are attributed to its distance to the causative intrusion and/or level of emplacement. For example, cassiterite is generally enriched in Nb and Ta and yields higher Ti/Zr and Ti/Sc ratios in samples from xenothermal ore deposits located adjacent to intrusive complexes relative to shallow xenothermal and epithermal ore deposits. Therefore, these geochemical trends in cassiterite are useful tracers pointing to magmatic-hydrothermal centers. REE distribution in cassiterite was likely influenced by boiling processes, which resulted in tetrad-type irregularities. Cassiterite from the Bolivian tin belt is unattractive as a source for Nb (interquartile range [IQR] 4.84–0.037 ppm), Ta (IQR 0.0924–0.0126 ppm), and Ge (IQR 3.92–0.776 ppm). Some deposits, however, contain cassiterite relatively enriched in In (IQR 96.9–9.78 ppm, up to 1414 ppm) and Ga (IQR 92.1–3.03, up to 7437 ppm), that could constitute an attractive supplementary source for these elements in addition to sulfide minerals in the same deposits. - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Geology, mineralogy, and cassiterite geochronology of the Ayawilca Zn-Pb-Ag-In-Sn-Cu deposit, Pasco, Peru(Springer Science+Business Media, 2021-09-13)The Ayawilca deposit in Pasco, Peru, represents the most significant recent base-metal discovery in the central Andes and one of the largest undeveloped In resources globally. As of 2018, it hosts an 11.7 Mt indicated resource grading 6.9% Zn, 0.16% Pb, 15 g/t Ag, and 84 g/t In, an additional 45.0 Mt inferred resource grading 5.6% Zn, 0.23% Pb, 17 g/t Ag, and 67 g/t In, and a separate Sn-Cu-Ag inferred resource of 14.5 Mt grading 0.63% Sn, 0.21% Cu, and 18 g/t Ag. Newly obtained U–Pb dates for cassiterite by LA-ICP-MS (22.77 ± 0.41 and 23.05 ± 2.06 Ma) assign the Ayawilca deposit to the Miocene polymetallic belt of central Peru. The polymetallic mineralization occurs as up to 70-m-thick mantos hosted by carbonate rocks of the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic Pucará Group, and subordinately, as steeply dipping veins hosted by rocks of the Pucará Group and overlying Cretaceous sandstones-siltstones of the Goyllarisquizga Group. Relicts of a distal retrograde magnesian skarn and cassiterite (stage pre-A) were identified in the deepest mantos. The volumetrically most important mineralization at Ayawilca comprises a low-sulfidation assemblage (stage A) with quartz, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, Fe-rich sphalerite, and traces of stannite and herzenbergite. Stage A sphalerite records progressive Fe depletion, from 33 to 10 mol% FeS, which is compatible with the observed transition from low- to a subsequent intermediate-sulfidation stage (B) marked by the crystallization of abundant pyrite and marcasite. Finally, during a later intermediate-sulfidation stage (C) sphalerite (up to 11 mol% FeS), galena, native bismuth, Cu-Pb-Ag sulfosalts, siderite, Mn-Fe carbonates, kaolinite, dickite, and sericite were deposited. This paragenetic evolution shows striking similarities with that at the Cerro de Pasco Cordilleran-type polymetallic deposit, even if at Ayawilca stage C did not reach high-sulfidation conditions. The occurrence of an early retrograde skarn assemblage suggests that the manto bodies at Ayawilca formed at the transition between distal skarn and skarn-free (Cordilleran-type) carbonate-replacement mineralization. Mineral assemblages define a T-fS2 evolutionary path close to the pyrrhotite-pyrite boundary. Buffering of hydrothermal fluids by underlying Devonian carbonaceous phyllites of the Excelsior Group imposed highly reduced conditions during stage A mineralization (logfO2 < − 30 atm). The low fO2 favored efficient Sn mobility during stages pre-A and A, in contrast to other known ore deposits in the polymetallic belt of central Peru, in which the occurrence of Sn minerals is minor. Subsequent cooling, progressive sealing of vein walls, and decreasing buffering potential of the host rocks promoted the shift from low- (stage A) to intermediate-sulfidation (stages B and C) states. LA-ICP-MS analyses reveal significant In contents in Fe-rich sphalerite (up to 1.7 wt%), stannite (up to 1908 ppm), and chalcopyrite (up to 1185 ppm). The highest In content was found in stage A sphalerite that precipitated along with chalcopyrite and stannite, thus pointing to the early, low-sulfidation assemblage as prospective for this high-tech metal in similar mineral systems. Indium was likely incorporated into the sphalerite crystal lattice via Cu+ + In3+ ↔ 2 Zn2+ and (Sn, Ge)4+ + (Ga, In)3+ + (Cu + Ag)+ ↔ 4 Zn2+ coupled substitutions. Indium incorporation mechanisms into the stannite and chalcopyrite crystal lattices remain unclear.
