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Tourmalinites Associated with Australian Proterozoic Submarine Exhalative Ores

  • Conference paper
Book cover Base Metal Sulfide Deposits in Sedimentary and Volcanic Environments

Part of the book series: Special Publication of the Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits ((MINERAL DEPOS.,volume 5))

Abstract

Tourmalinites and tourmaline-rich sediments are associated with exhalative mineralization in greenschist, amphibolite, and granulite metamorphic terrains. They have undergone mild to intense deformation, have stratigraphic continuity around fold structures and display sedimentary structures such as bedding, graded bedding, cross-bedding, intraformational slumps, and pull-aparts. In higher metamorphic grade areas they display metamorphic textures and are commonly cut by remobilized quartz-tourmaline veins. Tourmaline-rich rocks are present beneath, within, laterally equivalent to, and above submarine exhalative mineralization of Pb-Zn-Ag, Cu-Co, Cu-Bi, W, Sn, Au, and rare earth elements. In some places tourmalinites have no associated mineralization and in no environment are they associated with granitic rocks which could be interpreted as their source. The tourmaline composition is schorl-dravite and reflects the bulk rock composition and cannot be used as a guide to mineralization. Although tourmaline is a common mineral associated with granites, metasomatized rocks and breccia pipes, the tourmaline-rich rocks described herein are interpreted as boron-rich siliceous iron formations derived from the metamorphism of a silica-tourmaline precursor. They are a common exhalite type and most commonly are present in thick sequences of Lower-Middle Proterozoic pelitic metasediments and evaporites. It is suggested that the boron has derived from leaching of clays which contained adsorbed and substituted boron or from leaching of borate-bearing evaporites.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Geology, University of Newcastle, New South Wales 2308, Newcastle, Australia

    I. R. Plimer

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  1. I. R. Plimer
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  1. Institute of Mineralogy and Geology of Ore Deposits, RWTH Aachen, Wüllnerstraße 2, D-5100, Aachen, Germany

    Günther H. Friedrich  & Peter M. Herzig  & 

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© 1988 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Plimer, I.R. (1988). Tourmalinites Associated with Australian Proterozoic Submarine Exhalative Ores. In: Friedrich, G.H., Herzig, P.M. (eds) Base Metal Sulfide Deposits in Sedimentary and Volcanic Environments. Special Publication of the Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits, vol 5. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-02538-3_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-02538-3_16

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-02540-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-02538-3

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