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Metal Transport in Ore Fluids by Organic Ligand Complexation

  • Chapter
Organic Acids in Geological Processes

Summary

The association of organic matter with ore minerals, gangue, and host rock in many low- to moderate-temperature ore deposits has been known for many years. As a reductant or oxidant, organic matter may function as an active ore-forming agent up to magmatic temperatures, however, most other roles for organic matter, including metal complexation, are limited to less than about 200 °C.

Metal-humate and metal-fulvate complexes probably contribute significantly to metal transport and speciation in interstitial waters of subaqueous sediments, in shallow sediments undergoing early diagenesis, and in the supergene environment. It is, therefore, likely that these complexes are involved in ore-forming processes responsible for syngenetic fixation of metals in young sediment as well as epigenetic transport and deposition of metals in shallow subsurface environments. Because concentrations of amino acids are typically an order of magnitude lower than concentrations of humic and fulvic acids in interstitial waters, metal-amino acid complexes are probably less important than humate or fulvate complexes in most low temperature ore-forming environments. Organosulfur ligands may contribute to the speciation of metals and sulfur in ore-forming processes responsible for syngenetic deposition of metal sulfides in low-temperature subaqueous environments. If they are sufficiently stable at elevated temperatures, thiols and other organosulfur ligands could conceivably contribute to both metal and sulfur transport in moderate-temperature (50 to 250 °C) hydrothermal ore fluids. The concentrations of carboxylate ions in surface and shallow subsurface interstitial waters are sufficiently low to preclude the importance of metal-carboxylate complexes as significant metal-transporting agents in low-temperature ore fluids responsible for supergene mineralization, syngenetic deposition in anoxic environments, and low-temperature epigenetic ores. However, the observed elevated concentrations of organic acids in oil-field brines strongly suggest that metal-carboxylate complexes may contribute significantly to metal transport in ore fluids with temperatures ranging from roughly 75 to 150 °C.

To evaluate the ore transport potential of a particular metal-organic complex, the theoretically estimated concentration of that species in the ore solution of interest must be determined by calculation. Concentrations of Ca, Mg, Na, Pb, Zn, Fe, and A1 as acetate, oxalate, malonate, succinate, and catechol complexes were calculated for three reconstructed Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) ore solutions and a model composite ore fluid for red bed-related base metal (RBRBM) deposits. Based on these calculations, some important inferences can be made regarding metal transport by organic complexes in ore fluids of sedimentary origin. Significant amounts of lead and zinc cannot be mobilized as metal-organic complexes involving acetate or other carboxylate ligands in ore fluids containing greater than 10-5 molal reduced sulfur as hydrogen sulfide or bisulfide. However, in reduced ore fluids sufficient metal and reduced sulfur may be transported as complexes involving organosulfur ligands. On the other hand, significant quantities of dissolved lead and zinc can be transported by carboxylate complexes in oxidized ore fluids containing less than 10-9 molal reduced sulfur. It is hoped that these results will encourage investigators to evaluate the role of metal-organic complexing in the genesis of all those deposits with a clear genetic link to organic processes.

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  1. Department of Geological Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, 88003, USA

    Thomas H. Giordano

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    Edward D. Pittman (Consulting Petrologist-Sedimentologist) (Consulting Petrologist-Sedimentologist)

  2. U.S. Geological Survey, P.O. Box 25046, M.S. 977, Denver, Colorado, 80225, USA

    Michael D. Lewan

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Giordano, T.H. (1994). Metal Transport in Ore Fluids by Organic Ligand Complexation. In: Pittman, E.D., Lewan, M.D. (eds) Organic Acids in Geological Processes. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-78356-2_11

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