Economic Geology

Vol. 89, 1994, pp. ]183-1191

ZEBRA TEXTURES FROM CARBONATE-HOSTED SULFIDE DEPOSITS: SHEET CAVITY NETWORKS

PRODUCED BY FRACTURE AND SOLUTION ENLARGEMENT

MALCOLM W. WALLACE,
Schoolof Earth Sciences,
Universityof Melbourne,Parkville,Victoria3052,Australia

Ross A. BOTH,
Departmentof Geologyand Geophysics,
University
of Adelaide,G.P.OBox498, Adelaide,SouthAustralia5001,Australia

S. MORALESRUANO, P. FENOLL HACH-ALI,

Departmento
deMineralogiay Petrologia,
Universidad
de Granada,Avda.Fuentenueva
s/n, 18002Granada,Espana

AND TERRY LEES

PastaintoExploration,KentTownPlace,47 FullertonRd, KentTown,SouthAustralia5067,Australia

Introduction In thispaper,we havecarriedouta petrologicanal-

Bandedtexturesare commonlypresentwithin car- ysis(usingopticalandcathodoluminescence petrogra-
bonate-hostedsulfide deposits.Terms which have phy) of thesebandedfabricsfrom severalcarbonate-
been used to describe these banded fabrics include hostedsulfidedeposits andtheir hostrocks.All avail-
"diageneticcrystallizationrhythmites" (Levin and ablepetrologicevidenceindicatesthat thesebanded
Amstutz, 1976; Fontbot& 1981; Fontbot6 and Am- fabricsare cement-filled,sheetcavity networksin
stutz, 1983a and b), bandedor ribbon ores (Sass- which the host rocks were replacedby ore-stage
Gustkiewiczet al., 1982), andzebratextures(Beales phases. Thesesheetcavitiesappearto havebeenpro-
andHardy,1980).Thesefabricsarecharacterized by ducedimmediatelypriorto, or during,sulfideprecip-
a bilateralsymmetryabouta repeatedcentralmin- itation and, in one instance,appearto postdatethe
eralband(generationI), with repetitionof sulfideor onsetof stylolitization.The sheetcavitiesappearto
ganguemineral bands in the form: III-II-I-II-III, be produced by fracturingandsolutionenlargement.
whereI, II, andIII representdifferentmineralphases Furtherresearchisrequiredto establishthe mechan-
or differentgenerations of the samemineral(Font- ical conditions under which these sheet fracture net-
bot6, 1981). worksdevelop.
The suggestion of an early diageneticoriginand
strongsedimentaryfaciescontrolon bandedtextures Methods
from severalcarbonate-hosted Pb-Zn-F depositsled
appropriatelyto the term "diageneticcrystallization Polishedthin sectionswere examinedusingplane
rhythmites" (Fontbot6, 1981; Amstutz and Font- light and cathodoluminescence microscopy.Pol-
bot& 1983; Fontbot6and Amstutz,1983a and b). ished, unstained thin sectionswere examined under
Arne and Kissin(1989) noted that the suggested cathodoluminescence, usinga Technosyn8200 MK
as 11 cold cathodeapparatusand a Nuclide ELM 2A
earlydiagenetictimingforthe textureissignificant
sulfide luminoscope.We have examinedbanded fluorite
it bearson the originof the carbonate-hosted
depositsthemselves,someof which are of the Missis- fromthe Sierrade Lfijarmine,Spain;zebradolomite
sippiValley type. from Zebra Klint, Bredehorn, Greenland; banded
Bealesand Hardy (1980) describedzebra or ze- sphaleriteore from the Cadjebutmine, andbanded
broid texturesin host dolomitesfrom the Gayna smithsonite
from the Narlarladeposit,both located
River zinc-leaddepositandsuggested that thesetex- on the Lennardshelf,Canningbasin,WesternAus-
tralia.
turesmayhavedevelopedby replacementof evapor-
itc minerals.Arne et al. (1991) proposeda genetic Results
model for banded ore from the Nanisivik Fe-Zn-Pb-
Ag depositwhichinvolveddiffusionalreplacement of Althougheachexampleof bandedmaterialdiffers
the dolostonewall rock.Similarly,Sass-Gustkiewiczin mineralogy,all samples,
regardless
of locality,con-
et al. (1982) proposeda replacementmodel for tain preciselythe sametexturalpatterns.In two di-
bandedoresfrom Upper Silesia,Poland.There is, mensional cut faces, the fabric consistsof mineral
therefore,no consensuson the originof thesewide- bandswith irregularmargins,whichare surrounded
spreadand enigmatictextures. on eithersideby a secondmineralband.Other min-

0361-0128/94/1602/1183-954.00 1183
1184 SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATIONS

eral bandsor pore spacemay surroundthis second

mineralband.Examinationof intersectingcut faces
indicates that the mineral bands are sheets in three
dimensions,someof which are continuousfor several .. :.......
tens of centimeters.

Bandedfluorite,Sierrade L•jar, Spain

Strata-bound fluorite _+Pb +_Zn _+barite mineral-
izationiswidespreadin the centralBeticcordillerain
southernSpain. The depositsare hosted by the ,. ,•, :• .:, ?,_::**.:,•".,.'. . 5mm
>3,000-m-thickTriassicAlpujfirrideCarbonateFor-
mation and are concentrated at two well-defined
stratigraphic
positions,at the baseof the Anisianand
at the Ladinian-Carnian transition. Martin et al.
(1987) interpretedthe depositional environmentof
the hostrocksto mineralizationas representingla- .

goonalandrelated(tidalfiat andbarrier)facies;min- ,.•..

.• • 7½ , t*-% " ""•':.:'' ' :½'
'½,,.
;•'
eral depositsdo not appearto be presentin the reef
andslopefacies.Ore-bearinghorizonsmarkeither a
transitionfrom evaporiticto normalmarinedeposi-
tion (asin the caseof the Anisianhorizon)or vice
versa(Ladinian-Carnian).The AlpujfirrideComplex
has been folded and thrust faulted into several
nappesasa resultof the Alpinedeformationandhas FIC. 1. Photomierographs illustratingbandedfluoritefromthe
alsoundergoneregionalmetamorphism. Sierrade L6jar deposit,Spain.A. Bandedfluoritewith replace-
ment(i.e., i,elusio,-rieh)fluorite(dark)surrounded by cavity-fill-
Three typesof mineraldepositshavebeenrecog- ing (i.e., inclusion-free)fluorite cements(light). The opposing
nized (Fenoil Hach-All, 1987; Martin et al. 1987). marginsof fluoritecement-filled cavitiesare approximately nega-
The maintype is stratiform,consisting of ore lenses tiveimagesof eachother(e.g.,arrows).B. Enlargement of A illus-
rangingfrom a few metersup to severalhundred tratingstylolite(arrows)wit•i• replacement fluorite.The stylolite
metersin bothlengthandwidthandfroma few centi- ist•eated at the eo•tactwith the fluoritecement,indicatingthe
cavitieswereproducedafterthe onsetof stylolitedevelopment. d
metersup to 10 to 15 m in thickness. Of lesserimpor- = dolomite.
tance are karst- and vein-fillingtypes. Currently,
there are no operatingmines;the lastof the impor-
tant producers,Sierrade Lfijar, closedin 1988. clusion-richand inclusion-freefluorite is typically
Mineralassemblages are similarin all threedeposit sharp.Dolomite and coarselycrystallinegalenaare
types.Bandedtexturesare a characteristic featureof alsopresentandtypicallysurroundthe inclusion-free
the Alpujfirridedeposits(Fontbot(•,1981; Fenoil fluorite.The inclusion-free
fluorite,galena,anddolo-
Hach-All,1987) and are presentin all three types. mite are all free of mineral inclusions. Contacts be-
However,althoughthe bandingis generallyparallel tweendolomiteand inclusion-free fluoriteare typi-
to beddingin the stratiformdeposits,it is generally callysharpandplanar(Fig. lB), whereascontacts be-
discordant in thekarst-andvein-fillingdeposits. Sam-tween galenaanddolomite,and galenaandfluorite,
ples describedin this contributionare from strati- are typicallysharpbut irregular.The inclusion-rich
formmineralization at SierradeLfijar,but similarma- fluoritebandsare typicallyaround1 to 5 mm thick
terial was also collected from Sierra de Baza and andhavemarginswhichare irregularon a fine scale
Turon.The Sierrade Lfijar depositis hostedby car- (Fig. 1A andB). Sedimentaryfabricsare alsoclearly
bonatesdepositedin anouterlagoon-barrier environ- visible in the inclusion-rich fluorite. These include
ment (Martin et al., 1987). sedimentarylaminationand sedimentaryparticles
Samplesof bandedfluoriteconsistof inclusion-rich (peloidsand micrite). In many samples,a distinct
fluoritebandsconcentrically coatedby an approxi- asymmetryispresent,with a brecciaof inclusion-rich
mately isopachous layer of inclusion-free,coarsely fluoriteandcoarselycrystallinedolomiteclastsoccur-
crystalline(0.5-2 mm) fluoritewith planarcrystal ring on only one side of the inclusion-richfluorite
boundaries(Fig. 1A). The inclusion-richfluorite is bands.Thisbrecciamaterialtypicallyfillssmallirre-
darkin handspecimen. In thin section,theinclusion- gularitiesin the marginabuttingthe inclusion-rich
rich fluoriteis relativelycoarselycrystalline(0.5-2 fluorite. These features are consistent with the brec-
mm),hasnonplanarcrystalboundaries, andcontains ciamaterialbeingan internalsediment(consisting of
many dolomiteinclusions.The contactbetween in- fragmentsof hostrock)whichoverliesthe inclusion-
 SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATIONS 1185

richfluoritebands.The smooth
marginofthebreccia presentin at leasttwo Pb-Zn occurrenceson the Len-
materialthereforerepresentsthe upper geopetal nardshelf,viz., NarlarlaandCadjebut.The Narlarla
surface of the internal sediment. The observed sedi- prospectis situatedin the northwesternportion of
mentaryfabricsand carbonateinclusions within the the exposedreefsand occurswithin the Famennian
inclusion-rich
fluoriteindicatethatit represents
a re- fore reef subfacies of the reef complexes (Ringrose,
placementof primarycarbonatesediments. 1989). The CadjebutmineispresentwithinGivetian
Many petrographicfeaturesof the inclusion-free shelf dolomitesin the southeastern portion of the
fluoriteare consistent with it beinga cavity-filling reef complexes. Pedone(1990) interpretedthe host
cement(fromBathurst,1975): (1) the inclusion-free unit (the "Lower Dolomite") to havebeen deposited
natureof the fluorite,(2) the sharpcontacts between in a peritidal environment.
inclusion-rich andinclusion-free fluorite,(3)thepres- Within the Cadjebut deposit,banded sphalerite
enceof sediments overlyingandwithintheinclusion- ore occursaslaterally extensivestrata-boundlenses
rich fluorite and within the inclusion-freefluorite, (bandedbariteandbandedmarcasiteare alsopresent
and,(4) the approximately isopachous textureof the but areeconomically lesssignificant).Bandingin the
fluorite. lenses(particularlyin the upperlens)is commonly at
Thedolomiteandgalenawithinthe coarsely crys- an obliqueangleto bedding,with the predominant
tallinefluoritearethereforeinterpreted aslatergen- dip directionbeingsouth.In the lowerlens,banding
erationsof cavity-fillingcement.This is consistent is more commonlysubparallelto bedding.At a few
with the crystalfabric andthe inclusion-freenature localitiesin the mine, invertedV, or teepee-shaped
of theseminerals. The commonly irregularnatureof structuresare also present within the banded ore
contactsbetweengalenaandothermineralsindicates (Fig. 2A and B). Teepeelike structuresoccurwhere
that it alsopartiallyreplacedbothdolomiteandfluo- the obliqueto beddingorientationof the banding
rite.
changesdip direction.The bandedsphaleriteore
The marginsof the replacementfluoriteare there- fromCadjebutdisplays a verysimilarstructureto the
fore the originalmargins of whatwereapparently fluoritesamples fromSierrade Lfjar. In the simplest
planar cavities.Examinationof the walls of thesece- examples,mediumto coarselycrystalline(40-250
ment-filledcavitiesrevealsthat, in manycases,op- t•m) inclusion-richsphaleritebandswith subhedral
posingcavity walls are approximatelynegative crystalboundaries aresurrounded by multiplegener-
imagesof eachother(Fig. 1A, arrows).Thus,if the ationsof radial fibrous,finely crystalline(<10-50
interveningcavity-fillingcementgenerations were t•m)andconcentrically bandedsphalerite(commonly
removed, thetwowallswouldfit togetherquitewell. intergrownwith galena).Thisfinelycrystallinesphal-
Furthermore, primarysedimentary fabricswithinthe eritemaybe surrounded by morecoarselycrystalline
opposingwallscansometimes be tracedfromonecav- sphalerite, galena, marcasite,pore space or by
ity marginto the other,andagain,whenfit together, varioustypesof coarselycrystallinecalcite(Figs.3
join remarkably well.Thesesedimentary featuresin- and4).
cludeindividual laminae of distinctive lithology and, The inclusion-richsphaleritebandscontainabun-
moresignificantly, stylolites(Fig. lB). Theseobser- dantinclusions of quartzanddolomiteandhavemar-
vationsindicatethat most,if not all, of theseplanar ginswhichare irregularon a fine scale.Thisis analo-
cavitiesare simplefractures.The observationof bro- gousto the inclusion-richfluorite describedabove
kenstylolites isparticularlysignificant because it indi- andis interpretedasa replacementof animpurecar-
catesthat the cavitiesprobablydevelopedafterthe bonatesediment.The concentrically banded,radial
onsetof stylolitization and henceafter significant fibrous sphalerite surroundingtbis replacement
burial(atleasta fewhundredmetersof burial). sphaleritehascrystalgrowthfabricsindicativeof ce-
In cathodoluminescence, the replacement fluorite ment growth(Figs.3 and4). In addition,finelycrys-
andfluoritecementhaveanidenticalbrightblueho- talline sphalerite-dolomiteinternal sedimentsare
mogeneous luminescence. The dolomiteoverlying commonlyinterlaminatedwith layersof sphalerite
the fluoritecementhasa dullredandweaklyzoned cementatthebaseofthe sphaleritecement-filledcav-
luminescence. The paragenetic sequence, fromold- ities(Figs.3 and4). Theseinternalsedimentsappear
estto youngest is fluorite---*dolomite-• galena. to have been depositedas dolomite and were later
partiallyreplacedby varioustypesof sphalerite.The
Bandedfabrics,Cadjebutand Narlarla, Lennard replacement sphalerite andsphalerite cementgenera-
shelf,Canningbasin,WesternAustralia tionsarethenanalogous to the fluoritecementin the
NumerousPb-Znprospects are presentwithinthe Sierrade L6jar example.
Upper Devonianreef complexesof the Lennardshelf In Figure 3B, the opposingwallsof the cavitiesdo
and have many characteristics in commonwith resemblenegativeimagesof eachother,althoughin
MississippiValley-typedeposits(Ringrose,1989; detail,the host-rockstripsdo not fit backtogether
McManusandWallace,1992). Bandedtexturesare particularlywell.Also,thefine-scale morphologies of
1186 SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATIONS

FIG.2. )k.Crossbedded-shaped
structure
in bandedsphalerite,
Cadjebutmine,Lennardshelf.Pri-
marybeddingishorizontallyoriented.B. Teepee-shaped
structurein bandedsphalerite,Cadjebutmine,
Lennard shelf. Hammer = scale.C. Zebra dolomite with crossbeddedlikestructure,Zebra Klint, Green-
land.Primarybeddingis horizontallyoriented.Note that the zebratexturecrosscuts primarybedding
structures(arrows).D. Negativeprint of bandedsmithsonite, Narlarla,Lennardshelf.The samplecon-
sistsof inclusion-rich
smithsonite
(light gray) with cavities(black)linedby inclusion-free
smithsonite
(darkgray).

the cavitymarginsdo notresemblefracturesurfaces. KarstryggenFormation(Harp•th et al., 1986). Vein-

It thereforeappearsthat the sphalerite-filledsheet type mineralizationhostedin faultsis spatiallyasso-
cavitieswere producedby fracturingbut that the ciated with the strata-bound mineralization. At Zebra
fracturesurfaceshavebeen modifiedby dissolution. Klint, a 1O-m-thick barite horizon occurswithin the
A sampleof bandedsmithsonite from the Narlarla lowerKarstryggen Formation.The baritehorizonap-
prospecthassimilartexturesto that of the Cadjebut pearsto be laterallyequivalentto a porous,gypsifer-
bandedsphalerite.Bandsof inclusion-richsmithson- ous laminated limestone. The barite horizon is char-
ite are surroundedby inclusion-free,more coarsely acterizedby rhythmicallybanded(millimeter-centi-
crystallinesmithsonite.Both the inclusion-richand meter) material consistingof alternatingwhite and
the indusion-freesmithsonitemaybe oxidizedequiv- gray barite (Harp•th et al., 1986). Rhythmically
alentsof theCadjebutreplacementandcementsphal- bandeddolomiteis alsopresent.Bandingis charac-
erite generations,respectively.Oxidationpresum- teristicallyat an angleto the hostcarbonatebedding
ably occurredin the near-surfacemeteoricenviron- (0ø-45ø), giving a crossbeddedappearance(Fig.
ment and is a secondary process unrelated to 2C). Most importantly,the bandeddolomitestruc-
mineralization.Opposingcavitymarginsin the Nar- ture crosscuts primary beddingin the carbonates
larla smithsoniteapproximatenegative images of (Fig. 2C). Relict primarybeddingcan be seenas a
eachother(Fig. 2D), againsupportinga fractureori- seriesof beddingparallelthickenedzonesin the gray
ginfor the cavities.However,asin the caseof Cadje- dolomitebands(Fig. 2C).
but, opposing wallsdo not matchperfectlyandsolu- A sampleof zebra dolomitepetrographicallyana-
tion enlargementof the cavitiesmay alsohave OC- lyzedconsisted of darkinclusion-richdolomitebands
CUFFed. (0.5-1.5 mmthick)surrounded by inclusion-freedo-
lomite. The inclusion-rich dolomite is medium to
Zebra dolomite,Zebra Klint, Bredehorn,Greenland coarsely
crystalline
(0.05-0.5 mm) and has'non-
Strata-bound barite-lead-zinc mineralization is planarcrystalboundaries
with a polymodalcrystal-
presentin the Upper Permiancarbonatesof the basal sizedistribution
(SibleyandGregg,1987).Theinclu-
 SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATIONS 118 7

Discussion
2 cm
A Bandedfluoritefrom the Sierrade L6jar minedis-
playsthe best-preservedsedimentaryandaliagenetic
fabricsand is mosteasilyinterpreted.The mostim-
portant interpretationsand supportingpetrologic
datafrom thesesamplesare summarizedasfollows:
1. Inclusion-richdark fluoritebandswith irregu-
lar marginsrepresentfluorite-replaced sedimentary
carbonatematerial.Thisisindicatedby the presence
of numerous carbonate inclusionsandwell-preserved
sedimentaryfabrics(peloids,etc.).
œ. Coarsely crystalline fluorite and dolomite
bandssurrounding thesereplacedsedimentary bands
B represent cement generationswhich have filled
sheetlikecavities.Thisisindicatedby thepresenceof
geopetalinternalsediments consisting of fluorite-re-
placedcarbonatefragmentsandby the natureof the
crystalfabricswithinthe coarselycrystallinefluorite

Host
Rock •--• Pore
Space
F•c, 3. A. Polishedsurfaceof bandedsphaleritesamplefrom
the Cadjebutmine,Lennardshelf.Sphalerite-replaced host-rock
strips(darkgray)are surrounded by cavity-filling
sphaleritece-
ments(lightgray).Geopetalinternalsedimentsare alsointerlami-
natedwith sphaleritecementsat the baseof manycavities
(arrows).Porespaceisblack.B.Linedrawingof samesample with
replacedhostrock (black)distinguishedfrom filled and untilled
pore space(white).

sion-free
dolomiteismorecoarsely
crystalline
(0.1-1
mm) and hasnonplanarcrystalboundaries.This in-
clusion-free
dolomiteissurroundedby eitherfibrous
andequantbariteor porespace.By analogywith the
samplesfromSierrade Lfjar (andconsistentwith all
petrographicobservations
above),the inclusion-rich
dolomiteis interpretedas replacementdolomite,
whereas the inclusion-free dolomite and the barite
are interpretedascavity-fillingcementgenerations.
Under cathodoluminescence, the dark replacement •C. 4. Thin sectionpho•omicrograph (planelight) o• banded
dolomite is unzoned and nonluminescent and con- sph•erffesampleillustratedin Figure3. Sph•erffe-replaced hos•-
tains numerousbrightly luminescentcarbonatein- rocks•rips(H) •e sugoundedby finelycrys•line sph•erffece-
clusions.The dolomitecementis similarlynonlumin- ments (C). A layer o• gradedin•ern• sedimen•(IS) is presen•
within •he sph•eri•e cemen•a• •he b•e o• •he cavity.•ern•
escentandunzonedexceptfora late-stage thinbright sedimen•consists o• dolomitecrys•s (simil• •o •ha• o• •he hos•
luminescent zone.The crystalgrowthfabricswithin dolomite), p•i•ly replaced by sph•erffe. Shrinkagecracks
the dolomiteare consistentwith a cavity-filling
ori- (•rows) in •he sph•erffecemen•indicate•ha•i• w• probablypre-
gin. The barite cementis nonluminescent and post- cipRa•ed• a hydrousph•e (colloid• gelS)andla•erdehydra•ed.
dates the nonluminescent dolomite cement. The Co•sely crys•line sph•erffe cements(CC) fill •he shrinkage
cracks(•rows) and remainingpore space.M•c•i•e cemen•
brightluminescent
dolomitecementappears
to post- (black)whichh• only nucleateda• •he b•e o• •he cavffyis •so
date the barite cement. presenL
1188 SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATIONS

and dolomite.The cementoriginof thesebandsex- de Lfijar), sphalerite(Cadjebut),and dolomite(Ze-

plainstheir symmetryaroundthe centralreplaced bra Klint).The factthat the replacement phaseand
carbonatebands(i.e., the symmetryis causedby the the earliestcementgenerations are alwaysmineral-
concentricgrowthof cementsfrom the wallsof the izationassociatedsuggests thatsheetcavitydevelop-
fluorite-replacedcarbonate). mentoccurredimmediatelypriorto, or duringminer-
3. Many of the sheetlikecement-filledcavitiesare alization. However, the irregular marginsof the
simplefractures.This is demonstrated by the obser- sheetcavitiesindicatethat fracturingandcavityde-
vationthat opposingcavitywallsarecommonlynega- velopmentoccurredbeforereplacement.If fractur-
tive imagesof one anotherandwouldfit togetherif ing andcavitydevelopment had occurredafter re-
the interveningcementwere removed.In addition, placementby coarselycrystalline fluorite(Sierrade
primarysedimentaryfeaturescanbe matchedacross Lfijar) or dolomite(ZebraKlint), the cavitymargins
the cavities. wouldhavebeencontrolledby cleavagetracesin the
4. Fracturing and sheetlikecavity development individuallarge fluorite crystals,rather than being
occurredafter the onsetof stylolitizationandhence irregular.The sequence of sheetcavityformationis
after a periodof significant burial (probablyseveral therefore(1) fracturingof carbonate hostwith sheet
hundredmetersor more). This is indicatedby the cavity development,(2) solutionof cavity margins
fact that stylolitesare commonlybrokenat the mar- (not alwayspresent),(3) replacementof carbonate
ginsof the cavitiesandcanbe tracedto the opposing bandsby a mineralization-related phase,with pene-
wall of the cavity. contemporaneous cementationby the samephase,
Althoughsamplesfrom the other depositsdo not and(4) possibleprecipitationof later stagemineral-
show such petrographicdetail and have different ization-associated phasesor otherunrelatedyounger
mineralogies, the majortexturalfeaturesare identi- phases (Fig. 5). It is probablethatstages1, 2, and3
cal andno petrographicdatafromthe Narlarla,Cad- occuralmostsimultaneously.
jebut, or ZebraKlint samples werefoundto be incon-
Comparisonwith PreviouslyDocumentedBanded
sistentwith the aboveinterpretations.We therefore Structures
suggestthat in eachcase,the bandedfabricis pro-
duced by a seriesof carbonaterock strips (subse- Analysisof previouslydocumented bandedfabrics
quentlyreplacedby othermineralphases)separated associated with carbonate-hosted sulfides indicates
by sheetlikecavitiesproducedby parallelfracturing. that all fabricshave analogous petrographiccharac-
These sheet cavities have been filled or partially teristicsandthe above-suggested sheet-fracture ori-
filled by variouscement generationsand geopetal gin is compatiblewith all fabrics.After an extensive
sediments.A syn- or postburialorigin can only be review,Fontbot•(1981) observedthat,regardless of
definitivelyprovenin the Sierrade Lfijar example. mineralogy,the basiccomponents of all "diagenetic
However, an early burial origin for the Cadjebut crystallizationrhythmites"were:
mineralizationhas been deducedfrom a study of 1. GenerationI or startingsheet:fine-to medium-
regionalcathodoluminescence cementstratigraphy grainedmaterialwith abundantdisseminated inclu-
(McManusandWallace, 1992).
sions,givinga dark color. Primarydepositionaltex-
However,the sheetcavitywallsin bandedsphaler- turesare oftenrecognized.
itc samplesfrom Cadjebutdo not displaysuchwell- 2. Generation II: material with medium to coarse
developedfitted fabrics(where the opposingcavity or very coarsely crystalline subhedral mosaics,
wallscanbe fit backtogether).Solutionenlargement arrangedin a bipolarpatternaroundgenerationI. In-
of the sheetcavitysystems appearsto haveoccurred. clusionfree, or inclusionsare uncommon,giving a
Similarly,the zebra dolomitefrom Zebra Klint may light color.Geopetalfeaturesare frequent.
havealsobeen subjectto postfracturesolution.The 3. GenerationIII (often missing):pore spaceor
relict primarybeddingstructure(Fig. 2C) mayhave pore-fillingmineral.
been producedby preferentialdissolutionof more
soluble beds and laminae within the host sediment. Thesecharacteristics areconsistent with the petro-
Althoughthe mineralogyof the bandedsamples graphicinterpretationsmadein this paper, in that
differsfromlocalityto locality,at individuallocalities generationI hasthe characteristics of a replacement
the carbonatereplacementphaseandthe earliestce- phase,whereasgenerations II andIII havethe char-
mentationphasehavea similarmineralogyandchem- acteristics of cavity-fillingcements.The presenceof
istry. In addition,theseparagenetically early phases geopetalfeaturesin generationII alsogivesstrong
areinvariablythosewhicharecloselyrelatedto min- supportfor a cavity-fillingorigin. Both Dorward
eralization(excludingNarlarla,wherethe smithson- (1985) and Horton (1989) concludedthat the light
ite probablyrepresentsoxidizedsphalerite)and are bands in zebra dolomites of the Leadville Formation
not typical of regionalcarbonatediagenesis. These are dolomite cement-filled cavities. Beales and
mineralization-associated phasesare fluorite (Sierra Hardy(1980) notedthatthe whitesparrydolomiteof
 SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATIONS 1189

A. Unaltered carbonate B. Fracturingand C. Replacementof

sediments sheet cavity carbonate host and
development cementation by
same mineral.

Carbonate
....
•"==•(dolomite,
Replaced
carbonate
sphalerite
;9tc)

'½:'-".'•
Cavity-filling
cement
(dolomitesphaleriteetc)

• Pore
Space
D. Solution of host E. Replacementof
carbonate carbonate host and
cementation by
same mineral.

Fie;. 5. Model for the developmentof zebra textures.C and E = fracture-and solution-dominated
end-member textures,respectively.

their zebroiddolomiteappearedto havegrowninto explainedif sheetfracturedevelopmentand sulfide

voidspacebut thatthe thindolomitebandsappeared precipitation occurred during burial. These sheet
to lack support.They went on to suggestthat more fracturesystemsare commonlyassociated with col-
solublemateriallikeevaporitesmay have persisted lapsebreccias(at Cadjebut, Tompkinset al., 1994;
until the dolomitewasreplaced.A similarproblem seealsoBealesandHardy, 1980), indicatingperhaps
involvingsynsedimentary sheetcavitiesin carbonate that the sheet fracture networks are related to cavern-
rocks(zebralimestoneandstromatactis cavities)was ouscollapseandmaynot be subjectto the full litho-
discussed by Bathurst(1959) who usedconvincing staticload.Sheetfracturingmaythereforebe related
texturaldatato demonstrate thatlayersof sparrycal- to decompression, overpressuring,and/or collapse
cite were cement-filled cavities. associated with dissolutionand caverndevelopment
However, the high cavity to host ratio with the duringsulfideprecipitation.
consequent problemof hostsupportissignificant and A commonfeatureof the carbonateshostingthese
requiresfurther explanation.It hasbeen shownthat zebratexturesistheir evaporiticand/orperitidalori-
the porosityof unconsolidated sedimentaggregatesgin. (e.g., the Lower Dolomite at Cadjebut and the
increaseswith increasingclast angularity (Fraser, lower KarstryggenFormationat Zebra Klint). How-
1935). In the extremecaseof platyclasts,unconsoli- ever, zebra texturesare not alwayshostedby such
datedsedimentaggregates canhavearound80 to 90 evaporiticsediments,sincethe Narlarla sulfidesare
percentporosity(Fraser,1935). The replacedhost- hostedby Famennianfore reef carbonates.The one
rockstripswithinbandedorescanbe viewedaslarge featureof the fabricwhichisconsistent throughoutis
platy clasts.Therefore,high porositieswouldbe an the association with sulfides or sulfide-associated
expectedconsequence of suchclast shapes.How- phases(fluorite,sphalerite,galena,dolomite,etc.).
ever, such porosity measurementswould be ex-
pected only in unconsolidatedsedimentsand with
compaction,these high initial porositieswould be Crossbedded and teepee-shaped structures
substantially reducedby grainbreakageand other The commonlyinclinedto beddingorientationof
processes. There appearsto be very little evidence thesebandedfabrics(BealesandHardy, 1980;Font-
for suchgrainbreakagewithin bandedores,which bot(•, 1981; Sass-Gustkiewicz et al., 1982; Harpoth
suggests thatthe host-rockbandswere not subjectto et al., 1986; Arne et al., 1991; and at the Cadjebut
the full lithostatic load. mine) appearssignificant.It hasbeen suggested that
The truncatedstylolitesand the commonlyhigh thisobliqueto beddingstructureis a replacementof
fluid inclusiontemperaturesfor these carbonate- depositional crossbedding (Bogaczet al., 1973). Simi-
hosteddeposits(e.g.,Roedder,1984) are mosteasily larly, teepee-shapedstructureshave alsobeen de-
1190 SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATIONS

scribedfrom within bandedore fabrics(Bealesand Acknowledgments

Hardy, 1980; Fontbot6,1981) and have been sug- The authorswishto thankthe Cadjebutjoint ven-
gestedas being a replacementof primary deposi- ture (BHP-Shell)for mine visitsand permissionto
tionalteepees(BealesandHardy, 1980; Tompkinset publishthisreport.We greatlyappreciatethe helpof
al., 1994). minegeologists
Mike RaetzandCraigGwatkins,who
The teepee-shapedand crossbeddedstructures introducedM.W.W. to the geologyof the Cadjebut
withinbandedoresfromthe CadjebutmineandZe- deposit.We are gratefulto Peter Muhling, Donal
bra Klint have features which are not consistent with
Windrim, and Geoff Woad who reviewed the manu-
a depositionalorigin (Fig. 2A-C). For example,the script and made many helpful suggestions for im-
bandingwhichmakesup the teepeelikestructures at provements. R.A.B.acknowledges with gratitudethe
Cadjebut commonlydoes not become horizontal awardof a VisitingResearchFellowshipby the Dir-
awayfrom the structureand continuesto dip away ecci6nGeneralde Investigaci6nCientificay T6cnica
from the structure in either direction. Indeed at Cad-
(DGICYT) de Espafia.S.M.R. and P.F.H. have re-
jebut, the bandingcommonlycontinuesto dip in the ceivedsupportfromtheJuntade Andaluciaresearch
onedirectionfor manymeters(e.g.,Black,1991, doc- groupno.4028. We alsothankEconomic Geology re-
umentedan areain the minewherethe bandingdips viewersfor their helpfulandconstructive
reviews.
continously to the southfor a distanceof around60
m). Whereas bedding-parallelbanded evaporites June24, 1993;February9, 1994
have been documented from within the Lower Dolo- REFERENCES

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