Paragenesis and origin of sediment-hosted mercury ore at the McDermitt Mine, McDermitt, Nevada

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Authors

McCormack, John K.

Issue Date

1986

Type

Thesis

Language

en_US

Keywords

Sediment-hosted Mercury , Paragenesis Of Sediment-hosted Mercury , Mcdermitt Deposit , Orebody , Alkaline Solutions , Tuffaceous Sediments , Intermediate Argillic Hydrothermal Alteration Mineral Assemblage Grades , Corderoite , Cinnabar , Iodine-rich Mercury , Basal Opalite Breccia , Mackay Theses and Dissertations Grant Collection

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Abstract

Study of the paragenesis of sediment-hosted mercury at the McDermitt Deposit shows that the orebody formed by deposition from alkaline solutions advancing laterally through porous tuffaceous sediments. The intermediate argillic hydrothermal alteration mineral assemblage grades from high K /H ratio, high aSiO, to low K /H, low asio2-stable mineralogies from the southeast to the northwest, and indicates that precipitation of ore minerals was caused by cooling, oxidation, and drop in pH of the ore transporting solutions. Polished section study shows that pyrite and stibnite, then cinnabar, and finally silica were deposited from the solutions, and that the ore mineral corderoite was formed by secondary replacement of cinnabar. A previously unreported iodine-rich mercury phase occurs in the basal "opalite breccia", and native mercury occurring at the deposit formed by disintegration of cinnabar.

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University of Nevada, Reno

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In Copyright(All Rights Reserved)

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