Mafic-dominated volcanogenic sulphide deposits in the Troodos ophiolite,Cyprus Part 1

Abstract

The Solea graben in the Troodos ophiolite of Cyprus is host to some of the largest and richest cupriferous sulphide deposits on the island. The graben is oriented in a northwesterly direction and defined by similarly oriented dykes and faults. The deposits within the graben display a variety of characteristics which reflect their mode of genesis. They include deposits displaying classic exhalative genesis, as well as others which formed at some depth below the seafloor, or by fluids which travelled away from their source to deposit sulphide on the surface of the ocean floor. A special case is the Phoenix deposit which is the result of supergene enrichment from the weathering of massive sulphide. A strong control of ore deposition is evident for some of the deposits by a major structure interpreted as an oceanic detachment fault. Other deposits are localised at the intersection between axial structures and transfer faults. However, in all cases, an underlying heat source appears to have played a major role in ore deposition. The location of the deposits at the top of the volcanic sequence is consistent with an off-axis setting.

A number of errors in the print version of this paper were corrected before publication of the online version, which should be viewed as definitive. An erratum detailing the changes will appear in the next printed issue of the journal (Vol. 119, No. 3).

Keywords

TROODOS OPHIOLITE SOLEA GRABEN CYPRUS VMS DEPOSITS MINERALISATION COPPER

References

Anonymous, 1999, Dighem helicopter-borne magnetic and electro-magnetic survey, Cyprus: Internal report, Eastern Mediterranean Minerals (Cyprus) Ltd.

Sage UK: London, England

Adamides

N. G

. 1975. Geological history of the Limni concession, Cyprus, in the light of the plate tectonics hypothesis, Appl. Earth Set (Trans. Inst. Min. Metall B), 84B, B17—B24.

Adamides

N. G

. 1982. Geological report on Apliki, Internal report, Hellenic Mining Company Ltd, Nicosia, Cyprus.

Adamides

N. G

. 1984. Cyprus volcanogenic sulphide deposits in relation to their environment of formation, Unpub. PhD thesis, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.

Adamides

N. G

. 1987. Diverse modes of occurrence of Cyprus sulphide deposits and comparison with recent analogues, in Cyprus crustal study project: initial report, Holes CY-2 and 2a, (ed. P. T. Robinson eta!), Paper 85–29, 153–168,; Ottawa, Ont., Geological Survey of Canada.

Adamides

N. G

. 2001a. The geology of Phoenix, with an estimate of available resource, Internal report, Hellenic Copper Mines Ltd, Nicosia, Cyprus.

Adamides

N. G

. 2001b. Geology of the Katydata prospects, Internal report, Hellenic Copper Mines Ltd, Nicosia, Cyprus.

Adamides

N. G

. 2001c. The geology of the West Apliki deposit, with an estimate of the available resource, Internal report, Hellenic Copper Mines Ltd, Nicosia, Cyprus.

Adamides

N. G

. 2002. The geology of the Three Hills copper deposit, Internal report, Hellenic Copper Mines Ltd, Nicosia, Cyprus.

10.

Adamides

N. G

. 2003a. Geology of Apliki mine with an updated resource estimate, Internal report, Hellenic Copper Mines Ltd, Nicosia, Cyprus.

11.

Adamides

N. G

. 2003b. The West Apliki deposit: a re-evaluation of evidence, Internal report, Hellenic Copper Mines Ltd, Nicosia, Cyprus.

12.

Adamides

N. G

. 2004. Notes on the geology of the Mavrovouni deposits, Internal report, Hellenic Copper Mines Ltd, Nicosia, Cyprus.

13.

Adamides

N. G

. 2010. A report on the mineralogical sampling of Phoenix mine, Internal report, Hellenic Copper Mines Ltd, Nicosia, Cyprus.

14.

Allerton

and Vine

F. J

. 1987. Spreading structure of the Troodos ophiolite, Cyprus: some paleomagnetic constraints, Geology, 15, 593–597.

15.

Allerton

and Vine

F. J

. 1991. Spreading evolution of the Troodos ophiolite, Cyprus. Geology, 19, 637–640.

16.

Alt

J. C

. 1999. Hydrothermal alteration and mineralisation of oceanic crust, in Volcanic-associated massive sulfide deposits: processes and examples in modern and ancient settings, Reviews in Economic Geology 8, (ed. Barrie

C. T.

and Hannington

M. D.

), 133–155; Littleton, CO, Society of Economic Geology.

17.

Arnason

J. G.

and Bird

D. L

. 1992. Formation of zoned epidote in hydrothermal systems, in Water-rock interaction, (ed. Karaka

and Maest

), 1473–1476; Balkema, Rotterdam.

18.

Barrie

C. T.

and Hannington

M. D

. 1999. Classification of volcanic-associated massive sulfide deposits based on host-rock composi-tion, in Volcanic-associated massive sulfide deposits: processes and examples in modern and ancient settings, Reviews in Economic Geology 8, (ed. Barrie

C. T.

and Hannington

M. D.

), 1–11; Littleton, CO, Society of Economic Geology.

19.

Bear

L. M

. 1963. The mineral resources and mining industry of Cyprus, Cyprus Geol. Surv. Bull., (1), 1–208.

20.

Bettison-Varga

and Varga

R. J

. 1989. Timing of extension: late-stage intrusive activity, hydrothermal upwelling and ore forma-tion in the Solea axial valley, Troodos ophiolite, Cyprus, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 70, 1499.

21.

Bettison-Varga

, Schiffman

and Janecky

D. R

. 1995. Fluid-rock interaction in the hydrothermal upflow zone of the Solea graben, Troodos ophiolite, Cyprus, Spec. Pap. Geol. Soc. Am., 296, 81–100.

22.

Bruce

J. L

. 1947. Cyprus mines copper again, 205–232; Littleton, CO, AIME.

23.

Cameron

W. E

. 1985. Petrology and origin of primitive lavas from the Troodos ophiolite, Cyprus, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 89, 239–255.

24.

Constantinou

. 1972. The geology and genesis of the sulphide ores of Cyprus, Unpub. PhD thesis, University of London, London, UK.

25.

Constantinou

and Govett

G. J. S

. 1973. Geology, geochemistry and genesis of Cyprus sulfide deposits, Econ. Geol., 68, 843–858.

26.

Cooper

N. J

. 1993. Integrated geophysical exploration of the Northeast Troodos ophiolite, Cyprus, Unpub. PhD thesis, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.

27.

Cullis

C. G.

and Edge

A. B

. 1927. Cupriferous deposits of Cyprus; London, Crown Agents for the Colonies.

28.

Duhig

N. C.

, Stolz

, Davidson

G. J.

and Large

R. R

. 1992a. Cambrian microbial and silica gel textures in silica iron exhalites from the Mount Windsor volcanic belt, Australia: their petro-graphy, chemistry and origin, Econ. Geol., 87, 764–784.

29.

Duhig

N. C.

, Davidson

G. J.

and Stolz

. 1992b. Microbial involvement in the formation of Cambrian sea-floor silica-iron oxide deposits, Australia, Geology, 20, 511–514.

30.

Emerson

and Moyer

C. L

. 2002. Neutrophilic Fe-oxidising bacteria are abundant at the Loihi seamount hydrothermal vents and play a major role in Fe oxide deposition, AppL Environ. Microbiol, 68, 3085–3093.

31.

Franklin

J. M.

, Lydon

J. W.

and Sangster

D. F

. 1981. Volcanic-associated massive sulfide deposits, Econ. Geol., 75th Anniv. Vol.,485–627.

32.

Galley

and Koski

R. A

. 1999. Setting and characteristics of ophiolite-hosted volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits, in Volcanic-associated massive sulfide deposits: processes and examples in modern and ancient settings, Reviews in Economic Geology 8, (ed. Barrie

C. T.

and Hannington

M. D.

), 221–246; Littleton, Society of Economic Geology.

33.

Gass

and Masson-Smith

. 1963. The geology and gravity anomalies of the Troodos Massif, Philos. Trans. R Soc. Lond A, 255A, 417–467.

34.

Harder

. 1978. Synthesis of iron layer silicate minerals under natural conditions, Clays Clay Miner., 26, 65–72.

35.

Haymon

R. M

. 1982. Hydrothermal deposition on the East Pacific Rise at 210 N, Unpub. PhD thesis, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.

36.

Heaton

T. H. E.

and Sheppard

S. M. F.

1977. Hydrogen and oxygen isotope evidence for sea-water-hydrothermal alteration and ore deposition, Troodos Complex, Cyprus, in Volcanic processes in ore genesis, 58–71; London, Geological Society of London.

37.

Hurst

S. D.

, Moores

E. M.

and Varga

R. J

. 1994. Structural and geophysical expression of the Solea graben, Troodos ophiolite, Cyprus, Tectonics, 13, 139–156.

38.

Hutchinson

R. W.

and Searle

D. L

. 1971. Stratabound pyrite deposits in Cyprus and relations to other sulphide ores, Special issue no. 3, 198–205; Tokyo, Society of Mining Geologists of Japan.

39.

Jowitt

S. M

. 2008. Field, petrological and geochemical constraints on the release of base metals into hydrothermal fluids in Cyprus-type Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) systems: an investigation of the Spilia-Kannavia epidosite zone, Troodos ophiolite, Cyprus, Unpub. PhD thesis, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.

40.

Juniper

S. K.

and Fouquet

. 1988. Filamentous iron-silica deposits from modern and ancient hydrothermal sites, Can. Mineral., 26, 859–869.

41.

Large

R. R

. 1977. Chemical evolution and zonation of massive sulfide deposits in volcanic terrains, Econ. Geol., 72, 549–572.

42.

Lavender

. 1962. The story of Cyprus Mines Corporation; San Marino, CA, Huntington Library, San Marino.

43.

Little

C. T. S.

, Glynn

S. E. J.

and Mills

R. A.

2004. Four-hundred-and-ninety-million-year record of bacteriogenic iron oxide pre-cipitation at sea-floor hydrothermal vents, Geomicrobiol. 1, 21, 415–429.

44.

Lydon

J. W.

and Galley

. 1986. The chemical and mineralogical zonation of the Mathiati alteration pipe, Cyprus, and its genetic significance, in Metallogeny of basic and ultrabasic rocks, (ed. Gallagher

M. J.

et al), 1–20; London, IMM.

45.

Lydon

J. W.

and Jamieson

H. E

. 1984. The generation of ore-forming hydrothermal solutions in the Troodos Ophiolite Complex: some hydrodynamic and mineralogical considerations, Curr. Res. Part A: Geol. Surv. Can., 84-1A, 617–625.

46.

McCaig

, Cliff

R. A.

, Fallick

A. E.

and McLeod

C. J

. 2007. Oceanic detachment faults focus very large volumes of black smoker fluids, Geology, 35, 935–938.

47.

McAllister

and Cann

J. R

. 1996. Initiation and evolution of boundary-wall faults along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 25-29° N, in Tectonic, magmatic, hydrothermal and biological segmentation of mid-ocean ridges (ed. McLeod

C. J.

.), Geol. Soc. spec. publ. no. 118, 29–48; London, Geological Society of London.

48.

Moores

E. M.

and Vine

F. J

. 1971. The Troodos massif, Cyprus, and other ophiolites as oceanic crust: evaluation and implications, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A, 268A, 443–466.

49.

Mottl

M. J

. 1978. Chemical exchange during hydrothermal alteration of basalt by seawater. I. Experimental; results for major and minor components of seawater, Geoch. Cosmoch. Acta, 42, 1103–1115.

50.

Mottl

M. J.

and Holland

H. D

. 1979. Chemical exchange during hydrothermal alteration of basalt by seawater II. Experimental results for Fe, Mn and sulphur species, Geoch. Cosmoch. Acta, 43, 869–884.

51.

Mukasa

S. B.

and Ludden

J. N

. 1987. Uranium-lead isotopic ages of plagiogranites from the Troodos ophiolite, Cyprus, and their tectonic significance, Geology, 15, 825–828.

52.

Nicolaides

. 1999. Petrological and mineralogical report: Host rock alteration and copper mineralogy of the Phoenix mine, Unpublished internal report, HCM Ltd, Nicosia, Cyprus.

53.

Pearce

J. A.

and Robinson

P. T

. 2010. The Troodos ophiolite complex probably formed in a subduction initiation, slab edge setting, Gondwana Res., 18, 60–81.

54.

Richards

H. G.

, Cann

J. R.

and Jensenius

. 1989. Mineralogical and metasomatic zonation of the alteration pipes of Cyprus sulphide deposits, Econ. GeoL, 84, 91–115

55.

Richardson

, Cann

J. R.

, Richards

H. G.

and Cowan

J. G

. 1987. Metal-depleted root zones of the Troodos ore-forming hydrothermal systems, Cyprus, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 84, 243–253.

56.

Robinson

P. T.

and Malpas

. 1990. The Troodos ophiolite of Cyprus: new perspectives on its origin and emplacement, in Ophiolites and oceanic lithosphere, (ed. Malpas

.), 13–26; Nicosia, Geological Survey of Cyprus.

57.

Robinson

P. T.

, Melson

W. G

., O'Hearn

and Schmincke

H.-U

. 1983. Volcanic glass compositions of the Troodos ophiolite, Cyprus, Geology, 11, 400–404.

58.

Rona

P. A

. 2005. TAG hydrothermal field: a key to modern and ancient seafloor hydrothermal VMS ore-forming systems, Proc. 8th Biennial SGA Meet., Beijing, China, August, SGA, 687–690.

59.

Sato

. 1972. Behaviours of ore-forming solutions in seawater, Min. Geol., 22, 31–42.

60.

Schiffman

, Smith

B. M.

, Varga

R. J.

and Moores

E. M

. 1987. Geometry, conditions and timing of off-axis hydrothermal metamorphism and ore-deposition in the Solea graben, Nature, 325, 423–425.

61.

Seward

G. G. E

. 1999. The Phoenix mine, Cyprus: origin of alteration and secondary copper enrichment, Unpub MSc thesis, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.

62.

Seyfried

W. E.

and Bischoff

J. L

. 1977. Hydrothermal transport of heavy metals by seawater: the role of the seawater/basalt ratio, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 34, 71–77.

63.

Seyfried

W. E.

and Bischoff

J. L

. 1979. Low temperature alteration by seawater: an experimental study at 70°C and 150°C, Geoch. Cosmoch. Acta, 43, 1937–1947.

64.

Seyfried

W. E

and Bischoff

J. L

. 1981. Experimental seawater interaction at 300°C, 500 bars, chemical exchange, secondary mineral formation and implications for the transport of heavy metals, Geoch. Cosmoch. Acta, 45, 135–147.

65.

Simonian

K. O.

and Gass

I. G

. 1978. Arakapas fault belt, Cyprus: a fossil transform fault, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 89, 1220–1230.

66.

Spiess

F. N.

, Macdonald

K. C

, Atwater

, Ballard

, Carranza

, Cordoba

, Cox

, Diaz-Garcia

V. M.

, Francheteau

, Guerrero

, Hawkins

, Haymon

, Hessler

, Juteau

, Kastner

, Larson

, Luyendyk

, Macdougall

J. D.

, Miller

, Normark

, Orcutt

and Rangin

1980. East Pacific Rise: hot springs and geophysical experiments, Science, 207, 1421–1433.

67.

Spooner

T. C

. 1977. Hydrodynamic model for the origin of the ophiolitic cupriferous deposits of Cyprus, in Volcanic processes in ore genesis, 58–71; London, IMM.

68.

Spooner

T. C.

and Fyfe

W. S

. 1973. Sub-sea-floor metamorphism. heat and mass transfer, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol:, 42, 287–304.

69.

Varga

R. J.

and Moores

E. M.

1985. Spreading structure of the Troodos ophiolite, Cyprus, Geology, 13, 846–850.

70.

Wilson

R. A. M

. 1959. The geology of the Xeros-Troodos area, Memoir no. 1, Geological Survey Department, Nicosia, Cyprus.

71.

Yang

and Scott

S. D

. 2002. Magmatic degassing of volatiles and ore metals into a hydrothermal system on the modern sea floor of the Eastern Manus back-arc basin, Western Pacific, Econ. Geol., 97, 1079–1100.

Mafic-dominated volcanogenic sulphide deposits in the Troodos ophiolite,Cyprus Part 1 – The deposits of the Solea graben

Abstract

Keywords

References