Transport and fixation of arsenic in geothermal eviroments - a case study of the fossil geothermal system at Sailauf
Final Report Abstract
Quantitative understanding of element mobility in hydrothermal systems and the underlying ore forming processes requires in-depth knowledge about mineralogy, mineral chemistry and fluid geochemistry. We report results of an integrated mineralogical and geochemical study of the unconformity-related hydrothermal Mn-Fe-As mineralization at Sailauf (Spessart, Germany). Combining detailed mineralogical and mineral chemical studies with in situ LA-ICPMS fluid inclusion spot analysis enabled reconstruction of a protracted post-Variscan fluid flow system encompassing mixing processes between red bed- and basement-interacted fluids with formation fluids derived from the overlying sedimentary sequence. Such mixing processes are commonly invoked to have facilitated formation of many different ore deposit types, yet their physical feasibility on the scale of individual ore veins is still disputed. Recent analytical advances in LA- ICPMS analysis of halogens (Cl/Br) in fluid inclusions provided the opportunity to study these processes in texturally well-constrainable fluid inclusion assemblages in a post-Variscan Pb-Znquartz vein deposit in the Schwarzwald district (Germany). For the first time, it was possible to clearly identify mixing processes on the mm-scale on growth zones of individual quartz crystals.
Publications
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(2011) Arsenic distribution in an unconformity related hydrothermal vein system. Mineral. Mag., 75, 877
Fusswinkel, T., Wenzel, T., Wagner, T., Wälle, M., Lorenz, J.
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(2012) Fluid mixing and metal sources in unconformity related ore deposits: A LA-ICPMS fluid inclusion study. European Mineralogical Conference, Frankfurt, #EMC2012-122
Fusswinkel, T., Wagner, T., Wälle, M., Wenzel, T., Markl, G.
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(2013) Evolution of unconformityrelated Mn-Fe-As vein mineralization, Sailauf (Germany): Insight from major and trace elements in oxide and carbonate minerals. Ore Geol. Rev., 50, 28-51
Fusswinkel, T., Wagner, T., Wenzel, T., Wälle, M., Lorenz, J.
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(2013) Fluid mixing forms basement-hosted Pb-Zn deposits: insight from metal and halogen chemistry in individual fluid inclusions. Geology, 41, 679-682
Fusswinkel, T., Wagner, T., Wälle, M., Wenzel, T., Heinrich, C.A., Markl, G.
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(2014) Red bed and basement sourced fluids recorded in hydrothermal Mn-Fe-As veins, Sailauf (Germany): a LA-ICPMS fluid inclusion study. Chem. Geol., 363, 22-39
Fusswinkel, T., Wagner, T., Wenzel, T., Wälle, M., Lorenz, J.
