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The fluorine link between a supergiant ore deposit and a silicic large igneous province

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 08:58 authored by Jocelyn McPhieJocelyn McPhie, Vadim Kamenetsky, Sharon AllenSharon Allen, Ehrig, K, Agangi, A, Bath, A
Olympic Dam is a supergiant Fe oxide Cu-U-Au-Ag ore deposit (~9 × 109 t) that is also enriched in rare earth elements (REEs) and fluorine (F). The immediate host to the ore is hydrothermal breccia within granite and volcanic rocks of a Mesoproterozoic silicic large igneous province. Analyses of melt inclusions in quartz phenocrysts in rhyolite show that the silicic magmas of this province were unusually rich in F (up to 1.3 wt%). Fluorite and other F-rich minerals that crystallized from these magmas provided a gigantic reservoir of F. As a result, the Olympic Dam ore-forming fluid was F-rich and had exceptional capacity to transport diverse elements. Further, we infer that hydrofluoric acid, the most corrosive acid known, contributed to hydrothermal breccia formation by dissolution that in turn increased permeability and accelerated the rate of fluid-rock interaction. It is no accident that the world’s largest hydrothermal ore deposit occurs in an F-rich silicic large igneous province.

History

Publication title

Geology (Boulder)

Volume

39

Issue

11

Pagination

1003-1006

ISSN

0091-7613

Department/School

School of Natural Sciences

Publisher

Geological Soc America

Place of publication

Inc, Po Box 9140, Boulder, USA, Co, 80301-9140

Rights statement

© 2011 Geological Society of America. Geological Society of America, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301-9140 USA (http://www.geosociety.org)

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Copper ore exploration

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