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Precambrian oil inclusions in late veins of the White Pine copper deposit, Michigan

Conference · · Geol. Soc. Am., Abstr. Programs; (United States)
OSTI ID:6192951
;
Excellent primary inclusions of petroleum were trapped in calcite crystals filling late veins which crosscut and offset the main copper ore zone at White Pine. The inclusions are now solid, but their spherical to hemispherical shapes indicate an original liquid state. Some inclusions were completely solidified by water-washing and/or bacterial degradation prior to enclosure by the calcite, whereas others (with one or more vapor bubbles) were still liquid at the moment of entrapment. P-T conditions of maturation and entrapment of this oil are defined by Nishioka and others (see abstract, this volume). Some of the Cu-Fe sulfides in the veins are closely associated with these hydrocarbons, forming crusts on the oil droplets and, in some cases, appearing to have veined and replaced oil solidified prior to its enclosure by younger calcite. In some veins, clots and spheres of dead oil are embedded in native copper in a manner indicating that the oil is at least as old as the metal. The age of the inclusion-bearing vein calcite (1047 +/- 35 Ma; Ruiz et al., 1984) provides a minimum age for the oil, and confirms the long-standing assumption (based on more debatable evidence) that the White Pine petroleum is truly Precambrian in age.
Research Organization:
Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor (USA)
OSTI ID:
6192951
Report Number(s):
CONF-8510489-
Conference Information:
Journal Name: Geol. Soc. Am., Abstr. Programs; (United States) Journal Volume: 17
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020200* -- Petroleum-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
58 GEOSCIENCES
580100 -- Geology & Hydrology-- (-1989)
AGE ESTIMATION
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
CALCITE
CALCIUM CARBONATES
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBONATE MINERALS
CARBONATES
COPPER ORES
ENERGY SOURCES
FEDERAL REGION V
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGY
INCLUSIONS
MATURATION
MICHIGAN
MINERAL RESOURCES
MINERALIZATION
MINERALS
NORTH AMERICA
ORES
ORIGIN
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
PETROLOGY
PRECAMBRIAN ERA
RESOURCES
USA