Abstract
In the ca. 3.8 b.y.-old Isua supracrustal belt, West Greenland, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite occur as strata-bound mineralizations in layered tuffaceous amphibolites and in an iron-formation. Mineralizations with more complex mineral assemblages comprising galena and sulphides of Ni, Sb, Cd, and Ag are of limited extent only. Field relationships, rare-earth elements and isotopic data indicate that the sulphides are partly of submarine exhalative origin, and partly derived through leaching of basaltic rocks. The sulphides were precipitated on the sea-floor without influence of sulphur bacteria. The mineral zonation was governed by differences in Eh and pH in the depositional environment.
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References
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© 1982 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Appel, P.W.U. (1982). Strata-Bound Sulphides in the Early Archaean Isua Supracrustal Belt, West Greenland. In: Amstutz, G.C., et al. Ore Genesis. Special Publication of the Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits, vol 2. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68344-2_40
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68344-2_40
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