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Isotopic tracers of gold deposition in Paleozoic limestones, Southern Nevada

Conference ·
OSTI ID:204699
Strontium isotopic analyses of barren and mineralized Paleozoic carbonate rocks show that hydrothermal fluids added radiogenic strontium ({sup 87}Sr) to the mineralized zones. At Bare Mountain, samples collected from mineralized areas have {delta}{sup 87}Sr{sub t} values ranging from +3.0 to +23.0, whereas unmineralized carbonate rocks have {delta}{sup 87}Sr, values of {minus}0.6 to +2.9. In other ranges, {delta}{sup 87}Sr, values of the unmineralized carbonate rocks are even lower and virtually indistinguishable from primary marine values. This correlation of elevated {delta}{sup 87}Sr{sub t} values with mineralized zones provides a useful technique for assessing the mineral potential of the Paleozoic basement beneath Yucca Mountain, and may find broader use in mineral exploration in the Basin and Range province as a whole.
Research Organization:
Geological Survey, Denver, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States); Geological Survey, Reston, VA (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AI08-92NV10874
OSTI ID:
204699
Report Number(s):
CONF-940553--103; ON: DE96006645
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English