Extreme S-34 depletions in ZnS at the Mike gold deposit, Carlin Trend, Nevada: Evidence for bacteriogenic supergene sphalerite
We identified submicrometer-sized framboidal sphalerite (ZnS) below the base of supergene oxidation in a Carlin-type gold deposit of Eocene age in Nevada, United States, where the framboidal sphalerite forms a blanket-like body containing >400,000 metric tons of zinc. Framboidal sphalerite <0.1 mum in diameter, formed in the early Miocene, ranges from <0.1 to 0.35 mol% FeS; the delta(34)S values range from -25% to w-70%, the lowest values measured in a marine or terrestrial environment. These S isotope data demonstrate the involvement of sulfate-reducing bacteria and provide the first documentation that sphalerite can form significant supergene sulfide-enrichment blankets.
Cite this item
Einaudi, M. T., Bostick, B. C., Meibom, A., Wooden, J., Norby, J. W., Orobona, M. J. T., Chamberlain, C. P., & Bawden, T. M. (2003). Extreme S-34 depletions in ZnS at the Mike gold deposit, Carlin Trend, Nevada: Evidence for bacteriogenic supergene sphalerite. Geology, 31, 913–916. https://doi.org/10.1130/G19831.1
Click Copy to copy the citation, or select the text manually.
WOS:000185692200021
2003
31
913
916
REVIEWED
OTHER