Document type
Journal articles
Document subtype
Full paper
Title
Resource estimation of the sulfide-rich deposits of the Yuhuang-1 hydrothermal field on the ultraslow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge
Participants in the publication
Junyu Yu (Author)
Chunhui Tao (Author)
Shili Liao (Author)
Ágata Alveirinho Dias (Author)
Dep. Geologia
IDL
Jin Liang (Author)
Weifang Yang (Author)
Chuanwei Zhu (Author)
Summary
Seafloor massive sulfide (SMS) deposits are important deep-sea mineral resources expected to occur predominantly on slow- and ultraslow-spreading mid-ocean ridges. Resource estimates are already available for some of the largest SMS deposits on slow-spreading ridges but not on ultraslow-spreading ridges. Based on geological mapping and sampling, this study investigates the distribution and content of sulfide-rich deposits in the Yuhuang-1 hydrothermal field (YHF), located on the ultraslow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge. The sulfide-rich deposits in the YHF are composed of two areas ∼500 m apart: the southwest sulfide area (SWS) and the northeast sulfide area (NES). We calculated the volume of sulfide-rich mounds in the YHF and arrived at a total accumulation of ∼10.6 × 106 tons, including at least ∼7.5 × 105 tons of copper and zinc and ∼18 tons of gold. Furthermore, considering the coverage of layered hydrothermal sediment mixed with sulfide-rich breccias, which may have underlying massive sulfide deposits, the maximum total mass was estimated at ∼45.1 × 106 tons. This suggests that the YHF is one of the largest SMS deposits worldwide and confirm that ultraslow-spreading ridges have the greatest potential to form large-scale SMS deposits.
Date of Submisson/Request
2020-07-22
Date of Acceptance
2021-04-14
Date of Publication
2021-04
Institution
FACULDADE DE CIÊNCIAS DA UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA
Where published
Ore Geology Reviews
Publication Identifiers
ISSN - 0169-1368
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Document Identifiers
DOI -
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2021.104169
URL -
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2021.104169
Rankings
SCIMAGO Q1 (2021) - 1045 - Economic Geology
SCIMAGO Q1 (2021) - 1045 - Geochemistry and Petrology
SCIMAGO Q1 (2021) - 1045 - Geology
Web Of Science Q1 (2021) - 3.714 - GEOLOGY - SCIE
SCOPUS Q1 (2021) - 5.6 - Economic Geology
SCOPUS Q1 (2021) - 5.6 - Geochemistry and Petrology
Keywords
ore deposits
Yuhuang-1 hydrothermal field
SWIR
Ultraslow-spreading ridges
Tags
Marine geology
hydrothermal processes
Deep-sea processes