Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Publication
    Preliminary paragenetic studies of the high grade Island Pod Zn-Pb orebody, Lisheen
    (The Institute of Geologists of Ireland, 2017-03-05) ; ; ;
    Irish-type deposits are a series of Zn-Pb orebodies which formed from the carbonate replacement of Lower Carboniferous limestone, triggered primarily by fluid mixing. This project aims to use isotopic (Zn-Cu-S and clumped O-C) techniques to identify geochemical halos and increase our understanding of hydrothermal fluid processes in these deposits.
      148
  • Publication
    A comparison between clumped C-O and fluid inclusion temperatures for carbonates associated with Irish-type Zn-Pb orebodies
    (Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, 2017-08-12) ; ; ; ;
    Ireland hosts the greatest concentration of discovered zinc per square kilometre on Earth, with past and current production from five Irish-type carbonate-hosted deposits, including the giant Navan deposit. Clumped C-O isotope analysis of carbonate phases offers a powerful new technique to deliver accurate fluid temperatures and fluid O isotope compositions, refining evolving genetic models and developing new tools for exploration.
      567
  • Publication
    Enhancing current understanding of Irish Zn-Pb mineralization: a closer look at the Island Pod orebody, Lisheen deposit
    (Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits, 2017-08-23) ; ; ; ;
    Irish-type deposits are a series of Zn-Pb orebodies, formed from the carbonate replacement of Lower Carboniferous limestone, triggered primarily by fluid mixing. Current understanding of the complex fluid flow and mixing dynamics associated with mineralization is limited. By applying clumped O-C isotope analysis to these deposits, these processes can be constrained. Preliminary paragenetic studies of the Island Pod orebody (0.4 Mt @ 20% Zn & 1.6% Pb) have yielded textural evidence for early fluid mixing of sulphide-rich fluids, in a quiescent, far-from equilibrium environment, resulting in the rapid precipitation of dendritic galena and intergrowths of dolomite and sphalerite. Initial clumped O-C analysis has revealed temperatures of 100-170°C for hanging-wall white matrix breccias that accompanied ore formation. This technique will be used to constrain temperature variations across the orebody, thus yielding information on how the fluid evolved as precipitation continued. A more detailed paragenetic study is underway and will form the foundation of future clumped O-C isotope and Zn-Cu-S isotope analysis.
      424
  • Publication
    Clumped C-O isotope temperature constraints for carbonate precipitation associated with Irish-type Zn-Pb orebodies
    Ireland hosts the greatest concentration of discovered zinc per square kilometre on Earth, with production from 5 carbonate-hosted deposits, including the giant Navan deposit. Clumped C-O isotope analyses of carbonates offer a powerful new technique to directly deliver accurate fluid temperatures and precise calculations of fluid O isotope compositions, offering a significant opportunity to refine the evolving genetic models, and develop new vectoring tools for exploration. We present the first clumped C-O isotope results for parageneticallyconstrained carbonate generations from a number of Irishtype Zn-Pb deposits. Preliminary analysis of hanging-wall white matrix breccias from Lisheen show non-systematic temperature variation (~100 to 170°C), with fluid d18OV-SMOW increasing with temperature. Significant variations in temperature at the thin section scale may be indicative of fluid mixing and/or multiple phases of WMB dolomite brecciation. Post-ore pink dolomite at Lisheen, and crosscutting calcite veins formed at significantly lower temperatures (67 to 42°C). Temperatures of 61 to 110°C were obtained for sphalerite-bearing calcite veins in the hanging-wall of the Randalstown Fault near Navan. These veins contain coarse sphalerite interpreted to have been remobilised from the nearby Navan orebody by a single, cool fluid (Marks, 2015). Clumped C-O data will also be presented for samples from Galmoy, Kilbricken and Castlegard ("Pallas Green"), from which existing fluid inclusion constraints are available.
      232
  • Publication
    Clumped C-O isotope temperature constraints for carbonate precipitation associated with the Irish-type Lisheen and Navan Zn-Pb orebodies
    Mineral C-O isotope values are controlled by crystallization temperature and the isotopic composition of the fluid.
      350