ADDIS ABABA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF APPLIED SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY

ASSIGMNENT OF INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMIC GEOLOGY

Name Tolosa Degu

Id.No. 1340/11
 VOLCANOGENIC MASSIVE SULFIDE(VMS) DEPOSITS
Volcanogenic Massive Sulfides. Accumulations of dominantly sulfide
minerals that form at sites of focused hydrothermal discharge on the
seafloor. Also refers to a class of ore deposit mined from ancient oceanic
crust that is now exposed on land.
Volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits are mineral accumulations that
form on or near the seafloor at sites of high-temperature hydrothermal vent
fluid  discharge. The deposits are formed by the precipitation of dominantly
sulfide minerals around hydrothermal vents . where high-temperature, metal-
and sulfur-rich fluids mix with cold seawater. VMS deposits commonly form
along submarine tectonic plate boundaries such as mid-ocean ridges and
subduction-relating settings such as volcanic arc and back arc
basins.volcanogenic massive sulfide are type of metal sulfides ore deposits
mainly Cu-Zn-Pb which are associated with volcanic activity and hydrothermal
solutions in submarine environments.these deposits are also sometimes called
volcano-hosted massive sulfide (VHMS) deposits.the density generally is
4500kgm-3.Volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits, also known as volcanic-
hosted massive sulfide, volcanic-associated massive sulfide, or seafloor massive
sulfide deposits, are important sources of copper, zinc, lead, gold, and silver (Cu,
Zn, Pb, Au, and Ag). These deposits form at or near the seafloor where circulating
hydrothermal fluids driven by magmatic heat are quenched through mixing with
bottom waters or pore waters in near-seafloor lithologies. Massive sulfide lenses
vary widely in shape and size and may be podlike or sheetlike. They are
generally stratiform and may occur as multiple lenses. Volcanogenic massive
sulfide deposits range in size from small pods of less than a ton (which are
commonly scattered through prospective terrains) to supergiant accumulations
like Rio Tinto (Spain), 1.5 Bt (billion metric tons)
Host Rock of volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits
Volcanic rocks (pillow lavas, tuff,breccias,etc)fine grained and clay rich

sediments. The hosting rocks are predominantly black shales, although minor
rhyolitic rocks are also present in the footwall to the southern ore-body. Shales,
rhyolitic volcanic rocks, and massive sulfides are all included into the Sarhlef
Series, which is recognized as one of the main stratigraphic units of the
Moroccan Variscan Meseta
Depositional Environment of volcanogenic massive
sulfide deposits
All volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits (VMSDs) appear to have formed in
extensional tectonic settings, such as at mid ocean spreading centers, back arc
spreading centers, and intercontinental rifts (and failed rifts). All valcanogenic
massive sulfide deposits appear to have formed in submarine depressions by
seawater that became ore-forming fluids through interactions with the heated
upper crustal rocks. Submarine depressions, especially those created by
submarine caldera formation and/or by large-scale tectonic activities (e.g.,
rifting), become most favorable sites for the formation of large volcanogenic
massive sulfide deposits because of hydrological, physical and chemical
reasons.In the geological past, the majority of VMS deposits were formed
in rift environments associated with volcanic rocks. In particular, they formed
throughout geological time associated with mid-ocean ridge spreading centers,
back-arc spreading centers, and fore arc spreading centers. A common theme to
all environments of VMS deposits through time is the association with spreading
(i.e., an extensional geodynamic regime). The deposits are typically associated
with bimodal sequences (sequences with sub equal percentages of mafic and
felsic rocks.submarine hot spring along axial grabens in oceanic and back arc
spreading ridges.
Age of volcanogenic massive sulfide
Volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits range in age from 3.55 Ga (billion years)
to zero-age deposits that are actively forming in extensional settings on the
seafloor, especially mid-ocean ridges, island arcs, and back-arc spreading basins
(Shanks, 2001; Hannington and others, 2005). The widespread recognition of
modern seafloor VMS deposits and associated hydrothermal vent fluids and vent
fauna has been one of the most astonishing discoveries in the last 50 years, and
seafloor exploration and scientific studies have contributed much to our
understanding of ore-forming processes and the tectonic framework for VMS
deposits in the marine environment. Deposits range in age from Early Archean
(3.55 Ga) to Holocene; deposits are currently forming at numerous localities in
modern oceanic settings. Generally Archean to Cenozoic
Tectonic Setting of volcanogenic massive sulfide
The principal tectonic settings for VMS deposits include mid-oceanic ridges,
volcanic arcs (intraoceanic and continental margin), backarc basins, rifted
continental margins, and pull-apart basins. The composition of volcanic rocks
hosting individual sulfide deposits range from felsic to mafic, but bimodal
mixtures are not uncommon. The volcanic strata consist of massive and pillow
lavas, sheet flows, hyaloclastites, lava breccias, pyroclastic deposits, and
volcaniclastic.