Article,

Rare earth elements and hydrothermal ore formation processes

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Ore Geology Reviews, 7 (1): 25 - 41 (1992)
DOI: 10.1016/0169-1368(92)90017-F

Abstract

The geochemical behaviour of \REE\ is influenced by nearly all important hydrothermal ore formation processes including fluid-rock interactions, fluid precipitations, adsorption and scavenging onto particles, and changes in fluid temperature, pressure, pH, Eh, alkalinity and ligand concentration. Destabilization of \REE\ complexes in response to these physicochemical changes and possible chemical-crystallographic controls determine the concentration and distribution of \REE\ within hydrothermal minerals, mineraloids and amorphous phases. Alteration assemblages of intrusive related mineralisations may exhibit a wide range of \REE\ distributions and \REE\ fractionation trends. The \REE\ distribution within these hydrothermally altered lithologies will depend on the \REE\ concentration in the rock and the fluid, the partitioning behaviour of the \REE\ between the rock phases and the fluid, and the types of alteration reactions which take place. Reactive rocks such as carbonate-rich lithologies of skarn deposits may gain or loose significant amounts of \REE\ during fluid-rock interactions. \REE\ geochemical investigations combined with fluid inclusion and stable isotope studies may point to the origin of alteration products and the source (s) of ore fluids. Ancient massive sulphide ores commonly exhibit anomalous Eu concentrations similar to many recent submarine hydrothermal precipitates. The recognition of hydrothermal fluid, seawater, sedimentary or volcanically derived \REE\ distributions within ores, chemical sediments and hydrothermally altered lithologies may help to constrain genetic modelling of massive sulphide deposits. Care should be taken with the interpretation of \REE\ distributions from metamorphosed hydrothermal ore deposits becase metamorphic and diagenetic alteration reactions may change the \REE\ distributions. Mobility of \REE\ may occur during diagenesis of carbonate-rich rocks and during the development of shear zones and migmatites. In contrast, very large fluid-rock ratios are necessary to cause significant changes in \REE\ patterns of silicate-rich rocks during diagenesis and regional metamorphism.

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