Authigenic, well-crystallized kaolinite and dickite occur within sulfide mineral deposits (mine-size to hand-specimen size occurrences) of the Mississippi Valley type in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. Fluid inclusions in these rocks indicate temperatures of formation as high as 140°C. These authigenic kaolin-group minerals are probable geologic indicators of a regional thermal event. Such elevated temperatures are probably the result of heated waters derived from deeply buried sedimentary or tectonic basins, of passage of the region over a hot spot, or of an episode of thinning of the crustal plate in the mid-continent region.
