Research work · 1983

Anhydrite in Kuroko Deposits

Naotatsu Shikazono, Heinrich Dieter Holland, Robert F. Quirk

Abstract

Abstract In the Kuroko deposits of Japan anhydrite is very abundant in sekko ore, which underlies the strata-bound sulfide ores. Anhydrite in sekko ore is usually nodular. The diameters of the anhydrite nodules vary with stratigraphic position and range from a few millimeters to several meters. The pyroclastic rocks in sekko ore horizons have undergone intense hydrothermal alteration. Pyroclastic rocks containing large amounts of anhydrite are altered to Mg chlorite. Pyroclastic rocks containing sericite and sericite-montmorillonite mixed layer clay minerals generally contain small amounts of anhydrite. The strontium content of the sekko anhydrite ranges from about 200 to 2,000 ppm and tends to increase both stratigraphically upward and according to nodule size. The filling temperature of fluid inclusions in the anhydrites ranges from ca. 240° to 340°C. The mode of occurrence, texture, Sr content, nature of the contained fluid inclusions, and isotopic composition of Sr, S, and O in anhydrite together with the mineralogy of the sekko ore suggest that anhydrite deposition was probably related to subsurface mixing of fluids.

DOI: 10.5382/mono.05.20