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Textures Follow - The Geology of Ore Deposits (Guilbert and Park)
Textures Follow - The Geology of Ore Deposits (Guilbert and Park)
Textures vary among ore deposits, depending upon the nature of the mineralizing
fluids, the physical and chemical characteristics of the host rocks, and the mode
of emplacement. Textural interpretation can assist greatly in determining the
time relationships of successive mineral assemblages in a rock, the overall
environment of formation, and the manner of deposition. In epigenetic deposits,
textures can help define the sequence and nature of events as in the complex
vein shown in Figure 3-11, and they permit the distinction of mechanical and
chemical controls as mentioned earlier in this chapter. In syngenetic deposits
such as sedimentary, volcanic-hosted, and mafic igneous onestextures may
reveal accumulation rates and styles, cooling histories, and the nature of
precipitation. Resorption of early formed crystals may produce peculiar textures
in magmatic segregation ores (Figures 4-2, 9-3, and 9-4), and diagenetic changes
may modify the primary
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Replacement
As defined by Lindgren (1S33), replacement, or metasomatism, is . . .
the process of practically simultaneous capillary solution and deposition by which
a new mineral of partly or wholly differing chemical composition may grow in the
body of an old mineral or mineral aggregate. Replacement ordinarily implies
little or no change in the volume of the replaced rock, although in some rocks
considerable shrinkage or expansion takes place. The process of metasomatism
is of great significance in the emplacement of epigenetic ore deposits; many ores
are deposited almost entirely in this manner, and nearly all ores show some
evidence of replacement of preexisting materials. The process is especially
characteristic of deposits formed at high temperatures and high pressures where
open spaces are scarce and where communication with the surface is impeded.
The efficacy of replacement is often astounding. The intimate preservation of plant cell or growth-ring morphology in petrified wood is well known,
as is the fact that wooda fibrous substance composed of carbon, hydrogen,
oxygen, nitrogen, and minor elementscan be replaced by silica, even though
there is no apparent similarity between the two substances. The replacement of
one mineral or rock by another may be striking and clear; fossils, sedimentary
textures, and folded structures are commonly preserved in faithful molecule-bymolecule detail. A compilation of the minerals that can replace one another
indicates that there is practically no limit to the direction of metasomatism. As a
bold generalization, it might be stated that given the proper conditions, any
mineral can replace any other mineral, though natural processes usually result in
favored, commonly recurring reactions. The important factor seems to be the
chemical difference between the mineral or rock being replaced and the
replacement medium, be it liquid, gas, or a wave of diffusing ions. Hence merely
because quartz is stable at the Earths surface, we cannot conclude that quartz
will resist metasomatism. In fact, quartz and the silicates very commonly
undergo replacement. In contrast, a fluid that reacts with and replaces limestone
may be inert to quartz, or vice versa. As a result, selective replacement may be
of the most detailed character. Bastin and his colleagues (1931) proposed the
following general rules for replacement: (1) sulfides, arsenides, tellundes, and
sulfosalts can replace any rock, gangue, or ore mineral, (2) gangue minerals
replace rock and other gangue minerals, but do not commonly replace sulfides,
arsenides, tellurides, and sulfosalts, (3) oxides replace all rock and gangue
minerals but are rarely replaced by gangue minerals, and (4) oxides rarely
replace sulfides, arsenides, tellurides, and sulfosalts. These statements reflect
the normal course of ore deposition,
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whereby fluids carrying ore components typically invade and replace rocks
dominated by silicates. Statements (2) and (4) are correct because the gan-gue
and oxide minerals referred to are part of the ore deposition event and are
commingled with it rather than replacing it.
Although replacement has been generally recognized and described
for many years, the means by which the actual transfer of materials takes place
has been the subject of debate. One fundamental question is how the
tremendous volumes of the old replaced materials are removed by the same
solution that deposits the new minerals. Presumably the dissolved materials
are transported back from a replacement front through the aqueous ore solutions
by diffusion, as in wall rock alteration. In other words, different ions may be
diffusing down chemical gradients in quite different directions. The fact that
replacement generally appears to take place volume for volume (without
increasing porosity) raises another major problem: How can we write chemical
equations representing electrically and molec-ularly balanced reactions with
equal volumes of solid materials on each side? Ridge (1949, 1961) attempted to
illustrate replacement with equations that balanced molecularly, volumetrically,
and electrically. He found that he could write equations acknowledging nearsurface chemistry and geology but could develop only rough approximations for
deep-seated reactions.
In fact, the budget approach to metasomatism requires that atomic
structure, space, and valence all be conserved, but there is no real evidence that
all of those requirements must be met. Metasomatism can be molecule for
molecule, but it may also involve one structure growing while another decays,
with components being added and subtracted diffusionally from outside as
required by the relative rates of destruction and construction. In other words,
there may be no molecular-level structural inheritance at all. Barnes (1979)
describes the replacement of limestone by sphalerite in a brine medium as
involving etching and dissolution of calcite, especially along grain boundaries,
merely with the concomitant precipitation of sphalerite and iron sulfides in the
space thus created. The reactions were probably
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with the H+ generated in Equations (4-6) and (4-7) aiding in the dissolution
expressed by Equation (4-5). Ridge (1961) showed the same reactions
summarized as
Such careful treatment shows that volume for volume space can be conserved.
Limestone replacement at low temperature and pressure was studied
by Garrels and Dreyer (1952). They were able to produce replacement textures
similar to natural ones under controlled laboratory conditions. Many variables
were examined, and it was concluded" that the major control of replacement was
the pH of the mineralizing fluid, which in turn controlled the solubility of the
carbonate host rock. Garrels and Dreyer suggested that dissolving limestone
changes ore-bearing solutions in the direction of ore-mineral precipitation.
Accordingly, they consider the solubility of the host to be the key factor in
metasomatism. Ames (1961) proposed that the principal factor is the solubility of
the replacement product relative to the solubility of the host rock in the same
solution, rather than merely the solubility of the host. In any case, the
(a) Carbonate
(.b)
Figure 4-6. (ft) Pseudomorphism. Bementite (crosshatched) has replaced most
of a rhomb of preexisting carbonate. Bementite, a manganese silicate, is
monoclinic and could not form a rhombohedron by itself. Olympic Peninsula,
Washington. 60 x. (6) Fluorite ha replaced a fossil (circled) in Doctores
Formation limestone at the Las Cuevas fluorite deposit, Mexico. The original form
of the fossil is obliterated where replaced by fluorite. Replacement is irrefutable
since no CaF2 shells are known. (From Ruiz et ah, 1980.)
and textures in sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic rocks, as well as organic
remains, may be pseudomorphic. For example, preore fold structures or oolites
now pseudomorphed by sulfides are conclusive evidence of replacement.
2. Widening of a fracture filling to an irregular mass where a fracture crosses a
chemically reactive mineral grain or rock (Figure 4-7). If a
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veinlet widens across only one variety of mineral, it suggests that this mineral
was receptive to replacement and that replacement occurred. Mineralization
spreading laterally into a single limestone unit in a sequence of varied
sedimentary layers is a large-scale example.
3. Irregular or vermicular intergrowths at wide places along fractures or at
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Figure 4-9. (a) Oriented islands of one mineral in another. In this texture, pyrite
relict fragments form an atoll structure, a common texture in Cu-Fe-S vein ores.
An early pyrite cube, the outline of which is preserved, has been almost
completely replaced by bomite. Chalcopyrite is an intermediate reaction product.
Bisbee, Arizona. 40 x. (6) Photo-micrographic example of oriented relict islands
of a replaced mineral. Clusters of pyrite relicts (white) in chalcopyrite (light gray,
within pyrite) and bomite (medium gray, external to pyrite) clearly reflect earlier
grain forms. Dark gray is quartz; black is holes in polished surface. Butte,
Montana. (Photo by Geological Research Laboratory, Anaconda Company.)
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an earlier form or common orientation is perceptible, require a replacement
relationship, one that did not carry to completion.
5. Concave surfaces into the host, the cusp and caries texture (Figure 4-10).
The diffusion of ions at the replacement front goes on at different rates, so that
some parts of the front form concave reentrants as if the replacing mineral had
bitten into the host. The cusp and caries designation is a dental analogycaries
are cavities in teeth, clearly
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later than the enamel; the cusps are relict protuberances between cavities. The
texture is a familiar one to microscopists.
6. Nonmatching walls or borders of a fracture (Figure 4-11). If replacement works
outward from a central fissure, the opposite fronts of replacement will almost
never match in detail and may differ radically.
7. Rims of one mineral penetrating another along its crystallographic directions
(Figure 4-12). Replacement may work outward from any small fissures or from
grain margins and boundaries, but has advanced preferentially along
cleavages. For example, galena may be replaced by covellite or cerussite that
penetrate it preferentially along directions that are obviously parallel to its
cleavages (see also Figure 3-3).
8. Oriented unsupported fragments (Figure 4-13). If a piece of one mineral is
completely surrounded by another mineral and still maintains its
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orientation with respect to more of the same material on the outside, the texture
is practically diagnostic of replacement at any scale. The fragment may be any
size, and the orientation may be established by crystallographic directions,
cleavage, bedding, or foliation.
9. Selective association (Figure 4-14). Since replacement is a chemical process,
specific selective associations of pairs or combinations of minerals can be
expected. If the chemistry of a system changes, it will more likely reflect a
changed ratio of related constituents than a complete switch to different ones.
Chalcopyrite is more likely to replace bornite by virtue of a changed Cu/Fe ratio
or a different /(S2) than it is to replace quartz. Thus consanguinity of assemblages
is part of the diagnosis of replacement.
10. A. younger mineral that transects older structures (Figure 4-15). The
presence of a crystala metablast, for examplethat interrupts bedding or
foliation requires that the structure is older. If the crystal had
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Figure 4-15. Metablasts of pyrite that cut foliation in schist from the Mother
Lode district, California. The pyrite cubes grew in the rock but do not bend or
displace the foliation. They must, then, have replaced the material that occupied
their space. About 0.9 x.
grown by any process other than replacement, it would have displaced or
deformed the structure.
A young phase deposited in obvious relation to microfractures, cleavage
planes, or grain boundaries (Figure 4-16). Ore-forming fluids can be introduced
along small fractures. If grains of a young phase grow athwart such fractures and
protrude into the walls, replacement is indicated.
11.
A mineral deposited along what was clearly an advancing alterationreaction front. If deposition took place by open-space filling, ore minerals should
stop abruptly at the wall of a fissure. Conversely, replacement is indicated by the
gradual enlargement and merging of meta- somes along a replacement front.
Such a zone should also be evident
13.
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from the progressive increase in size of metacrysts and from the gradation of
replacement from the wall rock into the vein. Figure 3-4 is an excellent example.
The presence of a depositional sequence in which minerals become progressively richer in one constituent (Figure 4-17). For example, if polybasite
(Ag16Sb2Sn) has been acted upon by more silver-rich solutions, the replacement
material should show a progressive enrichment in silver. A crystal or fragment of
polybasite may grade first to acan- thite (Ag 2S) and then eventually to native
silver, reflecting the gradual displacement of antimony and sulfur. An
intermediate-stage specimen might show relict cores of polybasite rimmed in
sequence by acanthite and native silver.
14.
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Figure 4-18. Doubly terminated quartz crystal from the Stibnite Vein, Wolf
Creek, Fairbanks district, Alaska, containing stibnite crystals. The quartz is said to
be a replacement of gangue minerals in the vein, and probably overgrew and
enclosed the stibnite granules. 18x. (Collected by P. 0. Sandvik; photo by W. J.
Crook.)
Residual resistant minerals. Some minerals are refractory to most
mineralizing solutions and may be preserved even after the surrounding minerals
have been replaced. For example, zircon or corundum found in the same
proportions in the sulfides of an orebody as in a nearby schist would support the
argument that the ore had replaced some of the schist. The resistant minerals
are special types of islands or unreplaced fragments of host rock (criterion 4).
17.
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at the same time. Both fractures may be enlarged by replacement of their walls
and tend to cross one another without any change in course, but only a
coincidence of displacement would permit a rematch of intersecting veins that
had been spread apart and open-space-filled.
Exsolution
A near neighbor to replacement is the process of exsolution. In both
phenomena, migration of one or more components, commonly involving diffusion, results in the supplanting of a preexisting phase by a younger one.
Exsolution textures and their evaluation are normally only seen by the
mineragrapher (the ore microscopist). It is true that exsolution is not strictly
speaking a depositional feature, and perhaps should not be included in this
chapter. But there are enough situations in which exsolution textures and
distributions can be mistaken for those of replacement that their description is
justified.
Reexamine Figure 3-5. Were the process of exsolution to be carried
further, the miniscule blebs of chalcopyrite would migrate to cleavages and
crystallographic planes and collect there, leaving impoverished zones behind.
That process can be seen to have begun especially on the right side of Figure 35. Taken even further, the chalcopyritenow essentially all on planesmight
resemble a phenomenon of chalcopyrite from outside invading and replacing the
sphalerite. Taken to completion, the lowest free- energy state is for the exsolved
phase to form separate grains occupying texturally equivalent positions in a
mosaic with the original host phase. For many years, veinlets and grains of
pentlandite t(Fe,Ni)9S8] in pyrrhotite (Fe^a-S) in the Sudbury Complex (Chapter
9) were perplexing. Some considered them to be of replacement origin, with
pentlandite invading from outside the pyrrhotite. Others thought them to be
the product of well- developed exsolution. A careful textural study of scores of
polished pieces of ore sulfides has verified the latter explanation. It matters
because it
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Excellent lists of criteria for distinguishing exsolution and replacement are available in Edwards (1965), Ramdohr (1980), and Craig and Vaughan
(1981), but need not be reviewed here.
Open-Space Filling
Open-space filling is common in shallow zones where brittle rocks yield by
breaking rather than by plastic flow. The openings in these zones tend to remain
open because of low pressure transmitted through surrounding rock. At shallow
depths, ore-bearing fluids have relatively free circulation, and their open
connection with the surface permits deposition to be brought about by abrupt
pressure and temperature changesincluding retrograde boilingas opposed to
prolonged contact with surrounding rocks which undergo slow chemical changes
in deeper environments. Although ores deposited in vugs and open cavities are
generally readily distinguishable from replacement ores, criteria associated with
open-space deposition must nevertheless be used with caution because they are
sometimes inconclusive (Kutina and Sedlackova, 1961). As stated earlier, it
should also be stressed that many ore types show evidences of both replacement
and open-space filling and thus an overlap of the two processes. A list of
common criteria by which open-space filling may be recognized is given below.
Open-Space Filling Textures
Many vugs and cavities (Figure 4-21). If veins, breccias, and other partlyfilled openings contain many vugs and cavities that can be interpreted as spaces
left by incomplete filling of larger open spaces, then open-space filling is
indicated. The inward growth of ore and gangue minerals in an open fissure stops
when opposite walls meet. Since growth is not uniform along a fissure, the
progressively impeded circulation of ore-bearing solutions normally leaves
unfilled pockets. These crystal- lined centerline openings are called vugs.
1.
2.
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grown from opposite walls of a fissure, there is generally an interdigitated vuggy zone due to the merging of euhedral prismatic crystals.
Because this jagged zone of juncture resembles the outline of a roosters
comb, it is known as comb structure.
5. Symmetrical banding (Figure 4-24). Crystals deposited along a cavity or
fissure ordinarily grow symmetrically toward the center, in which case the
orientations, morphologies, and compositions of crystals on opposite sides
of a vein are mirror images. As the ore fluid or environment changes,
minerals deposited will differ in composition, forming crustification in a
bilaterally symmetrical pattern inward from vein walls. Such symmetrical
banding may involve mineralogical and color changes, and can produce a
banded vein diagnostic of open-space filling.
E. Matching walls. If an open fissure has been filled without replace-
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Figure 4-22. Fine-grained quartz grading into coarser crystals in a vug. Locality
unknown. See also Figure 4-23.
ment, the outlines of opposite walls should match, that is, if the vein material
were removed, the unreacted wall rocks on opposite sides should fit together like
mated pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The fit across many veins is readily apparent.
7. Cockade structure (Figure 4-25). Mineralization within the open spaces of a
breccia, or any other fragmental rock, commonly produces a special pattern of
symmetrical banding or erustincation known as cockade structure. Each opening
is a receptacle for sequential deposition. The overall rock pattern is one of hostrock fragments coated with layers of inward-radiating crystals, with triangular
patterns predominating.
8. Offset oblique structures (Figure 4-26). If a planar or linear feature is cut
obliquely by an open fissure, it is offset at right angles to the vein walls because
it was spread apart as the fissure opened. Replacement along a fracture would
cause no offset along such a preexisting structure; it would project straight
across. (See also Figure 4-19.)
9. Colloform structures. Colloform banding, composed of fine onionskinlike
successively deposited layers (Figures 4-27 and 4-28 and next section), can only
form in open space.
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Figure 4-23. Crustification, comb structure, and centerline vugs, (a) Veinlet of
aragonite through limestone and shale. Locality unknown. (b) Vein from latite
porphyry (top and bottom) through amethyst (medium gray) to centerline
inward-facing chalcedonic quartz. Commonwealth mine, Pearce, Arizona. The bar
scale is in centimeters. (Photo of b by W. K. Bilodeau.)
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Figure 4-26. (a) Offset of an oblique structure. A and B were adjacent before
the vein opened; the two segments no longer lie in a single plane, and the
intervening material is open-space filling. Lateral wall movement can of course
complicate relationships. Compare with Figure 4-19. (6) Specimen from Silver
Bell, Arizona, in which the white quartz vein is 1 cm wide. (Photo by W. K.
Bilodeau.)
Colloidal-Colloform Textures
Amorphous minerals, such as opal, neotocite, copper pitch, wood
tin, and some garnierite, used to be thought to have been deposited from
colloidal suspensions. Moreover, it was believed that many cryptocrystal- line
mineralschalcedony, some manganese oxides, pyrite, marcasite, and
pitchblende, and the oxidation products of copper, lead, and zinc, such as
malachite, azurite, chrysocolla, anglesite, cerussite, and smithsonitewere
carried and deposited as colloids that aggregated and crystallized shortly after
deposition. Some geologists think that gold, especially in shallow lowtemperature deposits, travels short distances in the colloidal state. Most
geochemists now consider the existence of colloids in hydrothermal systems
highly unlikely.
A colloidal system consists of two phases, of which one, the dispersed
phase, is diffused in the other, the dispersion medium.. Colloidal particles range
in size between ions in true solution and particles in coarse suspension, the
general limits being defined at 10-7 and 10-3 cm. The colloidal material may be
solid, liquid, or gas, and may be dispersed in a medium of any of these same
states. In the study of ore transport, however, we are concerned essentially with
solids dispersed in liquid media. A colloidal system consisting of solid particles
dispersed in a liquid is called a sol. A given kind of colloidal particle may adsorb
cations and behave as a positively charged body, or it may adsorb anions and
become negatively charged. Since the particles of a sol all have the same
charge, they repel each other and prevent coagulation. If an electrolyte is added
to the sol, the colloidal particles become neutralized and flocculate, or deposit.
The result can be a
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Figure
4-27.
Colloform
texture.
Globular
sphalerite with concentric banding, considered to
be of colloidal origin. Orzel Bialy mine, Katowice,
Poland. Natural size. Also see Figures 20-9 and 2010. (From, Kutina, 1957.)
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with the modern concept that these deposits were formed from warm electrolyte
brines; clearly, we need more experimentation and morphological data.
The terms colloidal texture and colloform texture should be used
carefully. The former should be used only where deposition from a true colloidal
system is demonstrable; colloform suggests a texture that resembles, and could
be, colloidal in origin, but cannot be determined to be so. A truly colloidal origin
can be postulated if the following are observed: (1) infinitesimal grain sizes in
banded textures as in some malachite (Figure 4-28) and most wad, (2) shrinkage
or dehydration cracks, as in opal and some limonites, (3) diffusion bands, or
Liesegang rings (Figure 4-29), (4) chaotic, amorphous noncrystalline structure of
component compounds, (5) the presence of unpredicted, possibly originally
adsorbed ions, such as barium in psilomelane, and (6) continuous spherulitic
textures demonstrably controlled by surface tension. Interrupted bands normally
deny the role of
Figure 4-28. Colloform banding in malachite from Kolwezi, Zaire. Some of the
bands can be traced through the whole specimen, but some lobes interfere with
others, perhaps as stalagmite-stalactite masses were filled in. Deposition can
have been either truly colloidal or as banded microcrystalline accumulations. The
bar scale is in centimeters. (Photo by W. K. Bilodeau.)
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colloids (Figures 20-9 and 20-10). Clearly, all colloform textures are open-space
fillings; they may or may not have involved colloids.
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