Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T21:50:16.203Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cinnabar, livingstonite, stibnite and pyrite in Pliocene silica sinter from Northland, New Zealand

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

W. A. Hampton ,
G. P. White ,
P. W. O. Hoskin ,
P. R. L. Browne  and
K. A. Rodgers
W. A. Hampton*
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Auckland, Private Bag Auckland, New Zealand
G. P. White
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Auckland, Private Bag Auckland, New Zealand
P. W. O. Hoskin
Affiliation:
Institut für Mineralogie, Petrologie und Geochemie, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
P. R. L. Browne
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Auckland, Private Bag Auckland, New Zealand Geothermal Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
K. A. Rodgers
Affiliation:
Research Associate, Australian Museum, Sydney, Australia
*
*E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Silica sinter masses in the southern portion of the Pliocene Puhipuhi geothermal field of Northland, New Zealand, have recrystallized to microcrystalline quartz and moganite but many primary depositional fabrics of the sinters can still be recognized. Finely disseminated cinnabar, acicular stibnite, pyrite framboids and minor livingstonite are distributed through both massive sinter and stromatolitic fabrics with sulphide mineralization extending from fractured rocks about former spring vents into less disturbed sinter layers. The deposition of sulphides in the sinters is part of a continuum of mineralization resulting from the former hydrothermal regime and which extends to depth in the extinct geothermal system. Periodic changes in the hydrology, such as repeated fracturing following fracture sealing facilitated episodic sulphide deposition. Mercury is considered to have travelled in the liquid phase with antimony and precipitated directly as cinnabar. Remobilization of the sulphides, along with the recrystallization of the sinter masses, have produced complex textural relations. The multifaceted paragenesis of the sulphides is reflected in the range of their minor and trace element compositions revealed by electron microprobe analyses.

Keywords

cinnabarlivingstonitestibnitepyritesilica sinterNew Zealandgeothermal fieldsulphide mineralization
Type
Research Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 68 , Issue 1 , February 2004 , pp. 191 - 198
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barnes, H.L. and Seward, T.M. (1997) Geothermal systems and mercury deposits. Pp. 699–736 in: Geochemistry of Hydrothermal Ore Deposits (Barnes, H.L., editor). John Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
Brathwaite, J.C. and Ball, J.H.T. (1969) Report on Mt Mitchell mercury drilling programme, Puhipuhi. Ministry of Economic Development, Wellington, New Zealand, 12 pp., 2 enclosures.Google Scholar
Cady, S.L. and Farmer, J.D. (1996) Fossilization processes in siliceous thermal springs: trends in preservation along thermal gradients. Pp. 150–173 in: Evolution of Hydrothermal Ecosystems on Earth (and Mars?) (Brock, G. and Goode, J., editors). John Wiley & Sons, New York.Google Scholar
Campbell, K.A., Sannazzaro, K., Rodgers, K.A., Herdianita, N.R. and Browne, P.R.L. (2001) Sedimentary facies and mineralogy of the Late Pleistocene Umukuri silica sinter, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand. Journal of Sedimentar y Research, 71, 728–747.Google Scholar
Christenson, B.W and Mroczek, E.K. (2003) Potential reaction pathways of Hg in some New Zealand geothe rmal environments. Pp. 111–132 in: Volcanic, Hydrothermal and Ore-forming Fluids: Rulers and Witnesses of Processes within the Earth (Simmons, S.F. and Graham, I., editors). Society of Economic Geologists, Special Publication 10.Google Scholar
Craw, D., Chappell, D. and Reay, A. (2000) Environmental mercury and arsenic sources in fossil hydrothermal systems, Northland, New Zealand. Environmental Geology, 39, 875–887.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cropp, W.H. (1922) The genesis of the Puhipuhi cinnabar deposits: a working hypothesis. New Zealand Journal of Science and Technology, 3, 173–183.Google Scholar
Davey, H.A. and van Moort, J.C. (1986) Current mercury deposition at Ngawha Springs, New Zealand. Applied Geochemistry, 1, 75–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dickson, F.W. and Tunell, G. (1968) Mercury and antimony deposits associated with active hot springs in the western United States. Pp. 1673–1701 in: Ore Deposits in the United States, 1933–1967, 2. American Institute of Mechanical Engineers, New York.Google Scholar
Ferrar, H.T. (1925) The geology of the Whangarei-Bay of Islands subdivision, Kaipara Division. New Zealand Geological Survey Bulletin, 27.Google Scholar
Gregory, P.W., Kerber, S.P. and Irvine, R.J. (1987) Prospecting licences 31 –1237 and 31–1316 Puhipuhi, Northland–progress report to 31 October 1987. Ministry of Economic Development, Wellington, New Zealand, 114 pp.Google Scholar
Grieve, P.L., Corbett, G.J. and Leach, T.M. (1997) Geology and exploration at Puhipuhi, Northland, New Zealand. Proceedings, New Zealand Minerals and Mining Confere nce, Wellington, 1997, 133–139.Google Scholar
Hedenquist, J.W. and Henley, R.W. (1985) Hydrothermal eruptions in the Waiotapu geothermal system, New Zealand: their origin, associated breccias, and relation to precious metal mineralization. Economic Geology, 80, 1640–1668.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henderson, J. (1944) Cinnabar at Puhipuhi and Ngawha, North Auckland. New Zealand Journal of Science and Technology, 26, 47–60.Google Scholar
Krupp, R.E. and Seward, T.M. (1987) Transport and deposition of metals in the Rotokawa geothermal system, New Zealand. Mineralium Deposita, 25, 73–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laznicka, P. (1988) Breccias and Coarse Fragmentites: Petrology, Environments, Associat ions, Ores. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 832 pp.Google Scholar
Lindgren, W. (1933) Mineral Deposits. McGraw-Hill, New York, 930 pp.Google Scholar
Luther, G.W., Giblin, A., Howarth, R.W. and Ryans, R.A. (1982) Pyrite and oxidised iron mineral phases formed from pyrite oxidation in salt marsh and estuarine sediments. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 46, 2665–2669.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Picot, P. and Johan, Z. (1982) Atlas of Ore Minerals. B.R.G.M., Elsevier, Amsterdam, 458 pp.Google Scholar
Ramdohr, P. (1969) The Ore Minerals and their Intergrowths. Pergamon, London.Google Scholar
Ravichandran, M., Aiken, G.R., Reddy, M.M. and Ryan, J.N. (1998) Enhanced dissolution of cinnabar (mercuric sulphide) by dissolved organic matter from the Florida Everglade s. Environmental Science and Technology, 32, 3305–3311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schouten, C. (1962) Determination Tables for Ore Microscopy. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 242 pp.Google Scholar
Seward, T.M. (1982) The transport and deposition of gold in hydrothermal systems. Pp. 165–181 in: Gold ‘82: The Geology, Geochemistry and Genesis of Gold Deposits (Foster, R.P., editor). Balkema, A.A., Rotterdam, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Walter, M.R., Farmer, J.D. and Hinman, N.W. (1996) Lithofacies and biofacies of Mid-Paleozoic thermal spr ings deposi ts in the Drummond Basin, Queensland, Australia. Palaios, 11, 497–518.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weissberg, B.G. (1969) Gold-silver ore grade precipitates from New Zealand thermal waters. Economic Geology, 64, 95–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weissberg, B.G., Browne, P.R.L. and Seward, T.M. (1979) Ore metals in active geothermal systems. Pp. 738–780 in: Geochemistry of Hydrothermal Ore Deposits (Barnes, H.L., editor). John Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
White, D.E. (1955) Thermal springs and epithermal ore deposits. Economic Geology, 50th Anniversary Volume, pp. 49–154.Google Scholar
White, D.E., Thompson, G.A. and Sandberg, C.H. (1964) Rocks, structure and geologic history of Steamboat Springs Thermal Area, Washoe County, Nevada. Uni ted Sates Geological Survey Professional Paper, 458B, B1–B62.Google Scholar
White, D.E., Muffler, L.J.P. and Truesdell, A.H. (1971) Vapor-dominated hydrothermal systems compared with hot-water systems. Economic Geology, 66, 75–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, G.P. (1986) Puhipuhi mercury deposit. Pp. 193–198 in: Guide to the Active Epithermal (Geothermal) Systems and Precious Metal Deposits of New Zealand (Henley, R.W., Hedenquist, J.W. and Roberts, P.J., editors). Monograph Series on Mineral Deposits, 26. Gebrüder Borntraeger, Berlin-Stuttgart.Google Scholar
White, N.C. and Hedenquist, J.W. (1990) Epithermal environments and styles of mineralization: variations and their causes, and guidelines for exploration. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 36, 445–474.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, N.C., Wood, D.G. and Lee, M.C. (1989) Epithermal sinters of Paleozoicage in north Queensland, Australia. Geology, 17, 718–722.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar