1 / 15

Hydrothermal mineral deposits

Hydrothermal mineral deposits. Hydrothermal Activity. The circulation of water through hot volcanic rocks and magma Forms fumaroles – volcanic vents emitting gases, some charged with dissolved minerals

hyatt-suarez
Download Presentation

Hydrothermal mineral deposits

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Hydrothermal mineral deposits

  2. Hydrothermal Activity • The circulation of water through hot volcanic rocks and magma • Forms fumaroles – volcanic vents emitting gases, some charged with dissolved minerals • Forms geysers – heated hydrothermal waters under pressure, that intermittently erupts at the surface • Provides the source forGeothermal Energy.

  3. Hydrothermal Mineral Deposits

  4. Most of the metallic minerals mined in the world, such as copper, gold, silver, lead, and zinc, are associated with volcanism Magmas may get the metallic components from: • Partial melting of the mantle at mid-ocean ridges and subduction zones • From the subducted slab • Melting of the crust as magma rises through it

  5. Image from the article: The role of Magmas in the formation of Hydrothermal Ore Deposits, by Hendenquist and Lowenstern, Nature, Vol. 370, 1994

  6. Rising magma does not always reach the surface to erupt; instead it may slowly solidify beneath the volcano As the magma body cools, the metallic elements become concentrated in the residual fluids called HYDROTHERMAL SOLUTIONS Groundwater or seawater can also come in contact with the magma body and form hydrothermal solutions

  7. Water enters the ground by infiltration Hydrothermal Systems

  8. Water enters the ground by infiltration Hydrothermal Systems Heated water begins to rise

  9. Water enters the ground by infiltration Hydrothermal Systems Hot Springs: form when heated groundwater reaches the surface Heated water begins to rise

  10. Water enters the ground by infiltration Hydrothermal Systems Hot Springs: form when heated groundwater reaches the surface Geysers: form where a complicated plumbing system allows steam pressure to be built up, causing intermittent eruptions Heated water begins to rise

  11. The magma body heats and circulates the hydrothermal solutions carrying the metallic compounds The metals become concentrated by circulating hot fluids When the fluids become cooler (near surface or away from the magma body), the metallic minerals are deposited to form rich mineral veins

  12. Oatman, AZ Gold bearing hydrothermal vein deposit

  13. Large quantities of sulfide deposits form at mid-ocean ridges and other undersea volcanoes in this manner * Sulfides are the most common of the metallic ores

  14. Some Copper Ores

  15. Kennecott Open Pit Copper Mine, Utah

More Related