Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Metasomatized Lithospheric Mantle Control On The Metallogenic Signature Of Post-Subduction Magmatism, David A. Holwell, Marco Fiorentini, Iain Mcdonald, Yongjun Lu, Andrea Giuliani, Daniel J. Smith, Manuel Keith, Marek Locmelis

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Ore deposits are loci on Earth where energy and mass flux are greatly enhanced and focussed, acting as magnifying lenses into metal transport, fractionation and concentration mechanisms through the lithosphere. Here we show that the metallogenic architecture of the lithosphere is illuminated by the geochemical signatures of metasomatised mantle rocks and post-subduction magmatic-hydrothermal mineral systems. Our data reveal that anomalously gold and tellurium rich magmatic sulfides in mantle-derived magmas emplaced in the lower crust share a common metallogenic signature with upper crustal porphyry-epithermal ore systems. We propose that a trans-lithospheric continuum exists whereby post-subduction magmas transporting metal-rich sulfide cargoes play …