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HYDROTHERMAL PROCESS-THE TERM HYDROTHERMAL MEANS HOT WATER, AND

HOT WATERS MAY ORIGINATE BY OTHER THAN MAGMATIC PROCESSES

LINDGREN HAS DESIGNATED THESE THREE GROUPS AS:


-HYPOTHERMAL
-MESOTHERMAL
-EPITHERMAL

HYPOTHERMAL-IN FAVORABLE HOST ROCKS, REPLACEMENT DOMINATES UNDER THE


CONDITIONS OF HIGH TEMOERATURES AND PREASSURES NEARER THE INTRUSIVE
WHERE HYPOTHERMAL DEPOSITS ARE FORMED
EPITHERMAL- CAVITY FILLING DOMINATES UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF LOW
TEMPERATURES AND PRESSURES WHERE EPITHERMAL DEPOSITS ARE FORMED.
MESOTHERMAL-BOTH THE HYPOTHERMAL AND EPITHERMAL ARE THE
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MESOTHERMAL ZONE.
TELETHERMAL DEPOSITS-DEPOSITS FORMED BY SOLUTIONS THAT MIGRATE FAR
FROM THE INTRUSIVE, OR POSSIBLY ARE NOT DERIVED FROM THE INTRUSION AT
ALL, MAY APPROACH THE TEMPERATURE OF THE HOST ROCK.THEY GENERALLY
PRODUCED ONLY WEAK REACTIONS AND ARE REFERRED TO AS TELETHERMAL
DEPOSITS
XENOTHERMAL DEPOSITS- MAY EXHIBIT HYPOTHERMAL TO EPITHERMAL
MINERALOGY BUT IN OVERLAPPING OR TELESCOPIC CONFIGURATION.
HYDROTHERMAL PROCESSES-IN THEIR JOURNEY THROUGH THE ROCKS, THE
HYDROTHERMAL SOLUTIONS MAY LOSE THEIR MINERAL CONTENT BY DEPOSITION IN
THE VARIOUS KINDS OF OPENINGS IN THE ROCKS, TO FORM CAVITY FILLING
DEPOSITS, OR BY METASOMATIC REPLACEMENT OF THE ROCKS TO FORM
REPLACEMENT DEPOSITS.
Hydrothermal Deposits-Hydrothermal mineral deposits are those in which hot,
mineral laden water (hydrothermal solution) serves as a concentrating,
transporting, and depositing agent.
Conditions necessary for the formation of hydrothermal ore deposits include:
a)

Presence of hot water to dissolve and transport minerals

b)
Presence of interconnected openings in the rock to allow the solutions to
move
c)

Availability of sites for the deposits, and

d)

Chemical reaction that will result in deposition

Hydrothermal mineral deposit,-any concentration of metallic minerals formed by


the precipitation of solids from hot mineral-laden water (hydrothermal solution).

Hydrothermal Deposits Forming Today


Imperial Valley, southern California -In 1962, oil/gas drilling struck a 350C
brine at 1.5 km depth. As the brine flowed upwards and cooled, it deposited a
siliceous scale.
Red Sea -In 1964, oceanographers discovered a sries of hot, dense brines at the
bottom of the Red Sea. The higher density of the brines (i.e. increased sanility)
means that they remain at the bottom of the sea, despite being hot.
East Pacific Rise -In 1978, deep-sea submarines on the East Pacific Rise, at 21N,
found 300C hot springs emerging in plumes along the oceanic ridge, 2500 m below
sea level.
Skarns Deposits-Skarns are generally thought of as being the result of contact
metamorphism of impure limestone.
Exoskarns are skarns developed in the sedimentary rocks surrounding the themal
source (pluton).
Endoskarns are those developed within the igneous intrusion.
For hydrothermal deposits to form a number of criteria needed to be satisfied like :
Highly active fluids containing ions such as O2_,F_,OH_ etc. to form complexes
with metal ions and dissove metals in it
Suitable pathways( cracks,fissures,pores and other open spaces) for the fluid
solutions to pass through surrounding rocks
Physico-chemical factors responsible for deposition
ESSENTIALS FOR THE FORMATION OF HYDROTHERMAL DEPOSITS ARE:
1. AVAILABLE MINERALIZING SOLUTIONS CAPABLE OF DISSOLVING AND
TRANSPORTING MINERAL MATTER
2. AVAILABLE OPENINGS IN ROCKS THROUGH WHICH THE SOLUTIONS MAY BE
CHANNELED
3.AVAILABLE SITES FOR THE DEPOSITION OF MINERAL CONTENT
4. CHEMICAL REACTIONS THAT RESULT IN DEPOSITION
5. SUFFICIENT CONCENTRATIONS OF DEPOSITED MINERAL MATTER TO
CONSTITUTE WORKABLE DEPOSITS.
CAVITY FILLING-THE FILLING OF OPENINGS OR CAVITIES IN THE ROCKS WAS EARLY
THOUGHT TO BE THE ONLY MODE OF FORMATION OF MINERAL DEPOSITS AND FOR
LONG WAS CONSIDERED THE MOST IMPORTANT.
SUCCESIVE CRUSTS OFUNLIKE MINERALS DEPOSITED UPON THE WALLS OF OPEN
SPACES GIVE RISE TO CRUSTIFICATION AND WHERE SUCH CRUSTS SURROUND
BRECCIA FRAGMENTS, COCKADE ORE MAY RESULT.

THE CRUSTIFICATION MAY BE SYMMETRICAL WITH SIMILAR CRUSTS ON EITHER SIDE


OR ASYMMETRICAL, WITH UNLIKE BANDS ON EITHER SIDE.
CRUSTIFICATION IS QUITE DIAGNOTIC OF CAVITY FILLING. IF THE FILLING CONSISTS
OF ONLY ONE MINERAL SUCH AS QUARTZ, COMB STRUCTURE OR CRUSTIFICATION
MAY NOT BE PRESENT AND THE FILLING IS SAID TO BE MASSIVE.
ORIGINAL CAVITIES
1. PORE SPACES- ROCK PORES ARE INTRSTITIAL OPENINGS BETWEEN GRAINS,
CAPABLE OF ABSORBING FLUIDS.
- THEY MAKE ROCKS PERMEABLE AND SERVE AS CONTAINERS FOR ORES,
PETROLEUM, GAS AND WATER.
2. VESICLES OR BLOW HOLES -ARE OPENINGS PRODUCED BY EXPANDING
VAPORS TYPICAL OF THE UPPER PART OF MANY BASALTIC LAVA FLOWS.
3. BRECCIA AGGLOMERATE SPACES - VOLCANIC BRECCIAS (AGGLOMERATES)
COMPRISE BLOCKS OF LAVA IN AN ASH MATRIX AND ARE THE PRODUCT OF
AN EXPLOSIVE ERUPTION.
-HYDROTHERMAL BRECCIAS ARE FORMED WHEN HYDROTHERMAL FLUID
FRACTURES A ROCK MASS.
4. COOLING CRACKS - FORMED AT HIGH TEMPERATURES WHEN A BASIC MAGMA
IS EITHER VISCOUS OR CRYSTALLINE AND HOT.

INDUCED OR SUBSEQUENT CAVITIES


1. FISSURES, WITH OR WITHOUT FAULTING- CONTINOUS TABULAR OPENINGS IN
ROCKS, GENERALLY OF CONSIDERABLE LENGTH AND DEPTH.
2. SHEARING CAVITIES- SHEAR ZONE RESULTS EHERE FRACTURES, INSTEAD OF
BEING CONCENTRATED IN ONE OR TWO SINGLE BREAKS, ARE EXPRESSED IN
INNUMERABLE CLOSELY SPACED AND MORE OR LESS PARALLEL,
DISCONTINOUS SURFACES OF DEEP-SEATED RUPTURE AND CRUSHING.

3. CAVITIES DUE TO FOLDING AND WARPING- FLEXING AND FOLDING OF


SEDIMENTARY STRATA GIVES RISE TO :
1. SADDLE REEF OPENINGS
2. PITCHES
3. LONGITUDINAL CRACKS

4. SOLUTION CAVES- A CAVITY FORMED IN CERTAIN ROCKS IN WHICH


PERCOLATING SOLLUTIONS HAVE FILLED WITH VALUABLE MINERALS.
5. TECTONIC BRECCIAS- IT IS A FAULT BRECCIA FORMED BY TECTONIC FORCES,
AND A ROCK TYPE CONSISTING OF ANGULAR CLASTS.
6. IGNEOUS BRECCIAS- IGNEOUS BRECCIAS ARE OF TWO TYPES: VOLCANIC
BRECCIA FORMING AGGLOMERATES, AND INTRUSIVE BRECCIAS. BOTH
CONSISTS OF COARSELY AND ANGULARLY FRAGMENTED IGNEOUS ROCKS
WITH FINER INTERSTITIAL MATERIAL.
7. VOLCANIC PIPES- WHEN EXPLOSIVE VOLCANIC ACTIVITY BORES PIPELIKE
OPENINGS, THE MATERIAL BLOWN OUT MAY FALL BACK OR BE ASTED BACK
INTO THE OPENING, FORMING AN ANGULAR BRECCIA WITH SPACES BETWEEN
FRAGMENTS.
8. ROCK ALTERATION OPENINGS WALL ROCKS THAT HAVE BEEN ALTERED BY
SOLUTIONS ARE FOUND BY TESTS TO BE GENERALLY MORE POROUS THAN
UNALTERED ROCKS AND PERMIT THE INGRESS OF MINERALIZING SOLUTIONS

DEPOSITS RESULTING FROM CAVITY FILLING

FISSURE VEINS-A FISSURE VEIN IS A TABULAR ORE BODY THAT OCCUPIES ONE
OR MORE FISSURES; TWO OF ITS DIMENSIONS ARE MUCH GREATER THAN
THE THIRD. FISSURE VEINS ARE THE MOST WIDESPREAD AND MOST
IMPORTANT CAVITY FILLINGS AND YIELD A GREAT VARIETY OF MINERALS AND
METALS.

VARIETIES: THE VARIETIES OF FISSURE VEINS ARE:


1. SIMPLE
2. COMPOSITE
3. LINKED
4. SHEETED
5. DILATED
6. CHAMBERED

SHEAR ZONE DEPOSITS-MOST FISSURES VEINS ARE NARROW AND RANGE IN


LENGTH FROM A FEW TENS OF FEET TO A FEW MILES.

STOCKWORKS--A STOCKWORK IS A MASS OF ROCK TRAVERSED BY AN


INTERLACING NETWORK OF SMALL RE-BEARING VEINLETS. THE INDIVIDUAL
VEINLETS RARELY EXCEED AN INCH OR SO IN WIDTH, A FEW FEET IN LENGTH,
AND THEY ARE SPACED A FEW INCHES TO A FEW FEET APART.

STOCKWORK VEINLETS ARE FORMED BY:


1. CONTRACTION UPON COOLING OF THE UPPER AND MARGINAL PARTS
OF INTRUSIVE IGNEOUS ROCKS.
2. IRREGULAR FISSURES PRODUCED BY TENSIONAL OR TORSIONAL
FORCES.

SADDLE WORKS- IF A THICK STACK OF WRITING PAPER IS SHARPLY AREHED,


OPENINGS FORM BETWEEN THE SHEETS AT THE CREST OF THE ARCH.

LADDER VEINS-LADDER VEINS IS THE NAME APPLIED TO MORE OR LESS


REGULARLY SPACED, SHORT, TRANSVERSE FRACTURES IN DIKES.

TENSION CRACK FILLINGS, PITCHES AND FLATS-UNDER LIGHT LOAD,


SLUMPING OR GENTLE SYNCLINICAL FOLDING OF BRITTLE SEDIMENTARY
BEDS GIVES RISE TO A SERIES OF CONCERNED TENSION CRACKS OR
OPENINGS COLLECTIVELY KNOWN AS PITCHES AND FLATS.

SOLUTION CAVITY FILLINGS-VARIOUS TYPES OF SOLUTION OPENINGS IN


SOLUBLE ROCKS HAVE AFFORDED RECEPTACLES FOR PRIMARY AND
SECONDARY MINERALS DEPOSITS

BRECCIA FILLING DEPOSITS- THE HAPHAZARD ARRANGEMENT OF THE


ANGULAR ROCK FRAGMENTS IN BRECCIAS GIVES RISE TO NUMEROUS
OPENINGS THAT PERMIT THE ENTRY OF SOLUTIONS AND MINERAL
DEPOSITION, FORMING BRECCIA FILLING DEPOSIT.

VOLCANIC BRECCIA DEPOSITS-EXPLOSIVE VOLCANIC ACTIVITY GIVES RISE TO


BEDDED BRECCIA DEPOSITS AND BRECCIA PIPES OR CRATERS.

COLLAPSE BRECCIA DEPOSITS-IN THE CAVING METHODS OF MINING, AN


EXCAVATION IS STARTED BELOW; THE ROOF ROCK THEN CAVES AND
GRADUALLY EXTENDS ITSELF UPWARD UNTIL THE WHOLE CAVED BLOCK IS A
MASS OF JUMBLED, ANGULAR FRAGMENTS OF ORE WITH CONSIDERABLE
PORE SPACE.

TECTONIC BRECCIA DEPOSITS-BRCCIAS PRODUCED BY FOLDING, FAULTING,


INTRUSION, OR OTHER TECTONIC FORCES HAVE BEEN REFERRED TO
VARIOUSLY AS CRUSH, CRACKLE, AND SHATTER BRECCIAS.

PORE SPACES FILLINGS-PORE SPACES MAKE ROCKS PERMEABLE AND SERVE


AS CONTAINERS FOR ORES, PETRLEUM GAS, AND WATER.

VESICULAR FILLINGS - VESICULAR LAVAS, PRODUCED BY EXPANDING VAPORS,


ARE TYPICAL OF THE UPPER PART OF MANY BASALTIC FLOWS.

FACTORS THAT DETERMINE THE TYPES AND INTENSITIES OF HYDROTHERMAL


ALTERATIONS ARE:

CHARACTERISTICS AND COMPOSITION OF THE HOST ROCK

COMPOSITION OF THE HYDROTHERMAL FLUID

TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE CONDITIONS AND CHANGES IN PHASE OF THE


HYDROTHERMAL FLUID

CHANGES IN CERTAIN CONSTITUENTS SUCH AS EARLY RELEASED H2S THAT


MAY BECOME A STRONG ACID

HYDROTHERMAL ALTERATION-THE RECOGNITION AND APPLICATION OF THE


VARIOUS TYPES OF HYDROTHERMAL ALTERATION OR WALL ROCK ALTRATION HAS
PROVIDED A VALUABLE PRIME EXPLORATION TOOL THAT MUST BE USED BY THE
EXPLORATION GEOLOGIST BECAUSE THE ALTERATION HALO IS MUCH MORE
WIDESPREAD THAN THE SMALLER TARGET OF A HIDDEN ORE DEPOSIT.
TYPES OF HYDROTHERMAL ALTERATIONS

DOLOMIZATION-VARIABLE AMOUNTS OF MAGNESIUM SUBSTITUTING FOR


CALCIUM IN CARBONATE ROCKS COMMONLY OCCURS IN SEDIMENTARY
PROCESSES.

SILICIFICATION- THE ADDITION OF QUARTZ OR OPALINE SILICA TO THE OTHER


ROCKS IN DEPOSITS IS WELL DISPLAYED.

ARGILLIC ALTERATION- THIS TERM WAS SUGGESTD BY LOVERING IN 1940 TO


EMPHASIZE THE PREVELANCE OF CLAY MINERALS FORMED BY HYPOGENE
SOLUTIONS REACTING WITH WALL ROCKS CONCORDANT WITH THE LEACHING
OF LIME.

SERICITIZATION-SERICITIC OR POTASSIC ALTERATION IS PROBABLY THE MOST


ABUNDANT, MORE READILY RECOGNIZED, AND WIDESPREAD VARIETY OF
ALTERATION NOTED.

PROPYLITIC ALTERATION

-THIS TYPE OF HYDROTHERMAL ALTERATION HAS BEEN LESS COMMONLY


RECOGNIZED IN THE PAST, ESPECIALLY IN PORPHYRY COPPER DEPOSITS, BUT
THE LARGE ASSEMBLAGE OF MINERALS INCLUDED IN THIS TYPE OF ALTERATION
MAKES IT RECOGNITION OF SIGNIFICANT IMPORTANCE

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