Appendix A: Sandstone Lead Deposits metal content or, in more humid climates, a high rate of
Sandstone lead deposits (Sst-Pb, Table A4) were proposed
as a distinct deposit type by Bjørlykke and Sangster (1981).
The deposits comprise disseminated galena in basal,
quartzitic sandstones, typically in transgressive sequences
onto sialic basement. Major sandstone lead deposits occur in
lower Paleozoic, Carboniferous, and Triassic strata in deposi-
tional environments ranging from fluvial to shallow marine.
Chemically reducing conditions were maintained in post-
Cambrian host strata by abundant terrestrial organic debris.
With the exception of the George Lake deposit, Pb/(Pb + Zn)
ratios in sandstone lead deposits all exceed 0.85. Galena,
pyrite, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite are the most common sul-
fide minerals in these deposits and typically occur as cement-
ing material between the detrital quartz grains. Silica, com-
monly chalcedonic in the younger deposits, and minor
carbonate are additional cementing minerals.
Although data are not available in all deposit areas, base-
ment beneath several deposits has been shown to be enriched
in lead relative to averages cited for sialic rocks. Detailed lead
isotope studies of ore-stage galena and basement rocks have
been conducted on the Osen deposit in Norway (Bjørlykke
and Thorpe, 1982) and the Yava deposit in Canada (Sangster
and Vaillancourt, 1990). In both cases, lead in the deposits
was shown to have been derived directly from underlying
basement and redeposited penecontemporaneously with the
sandstone hosts. The low lead content of the Neoproterozoic
George Lake deposit has been attributed to the characteristi-
cally low lead content of the Archean sialic basement on
which the deposit rests (Bjørlykke and Sangster, 1981).
The genetic model preferred by Bjørlykke and Sangster
(1981) involved ground-water transport of metals from un-
derlying basement, through porous channels in sandstone, to
an environment having a sufficiently high H2S content to pre-
cipitate sulfides. The same authors concluded that the follow-
ing conditions should be present to form a sandstone lead de-
posit: (1) a sialic basement with average Pb content exceeding
30 ppm; (2) stable tectonic conditions resulting in deep base-
ment weathering; (3) a large drainage area with suitable
topography to channel ground-water flow; (4) evaporation to
increase ground-water salinity and thereby increase base
bedrock weathering; (5) a permeable host rock containing
sulfate (as a sulfur source) and carbon (to permit sulfate re-
duction); and (6) stability of these conditions for a prolonged
period of time.
In contrast, sandstone-hosted lead-zinc deposits, of which
Jinding is the best documented example (Kyle and Li, 2002),
share few of the above features and, in fact, these authors pre-
sented clear evidence that Jinding represents a new type of
sediment-hosted Zn-Pb deposit. Host rocks to the deposit
consist of a continental alluvial fan and fan-delta complex
formed along the faulted margin of a lacustrine basin during
a compressional stage of collision between the Indian plate
and Yangtze platform. This indicates a substantially more ac-
tive tectonic setting than the sedimentary transgression onto
a stable cratonic basement typical of sandstone lead deposits.
Jinding mineralization is closely associated with the basin-
margin fault and ore grade decreases away from the fault.
Mineralization comprises two types: disseminated (as cement
in fine-grained sandstones) and massive (replacement bodies
in allochthonous carbonate blocks buried in the fluvial sand-
stones). Unlike sandstone lead deposits, Pb/(Pb + Zn) ratios
in Jinding average 0.2, indicating a Zn-dominated deposit in
contrast to the Pb-dominated sandstone lead deposits. Kyle
and Li (2002) proposed a genetic model for Jinding involving
migration of metal-bearing basinal brines upward through a
major basin-margin fault, mixing with shallow dilute pore wa-
ters, and sulfide deposition in alluvial sediments.
REFERENCES
Bjørlykke, A., and Sangster, D.F., 1981, An overview of sandstone lead de-
posits and their relation to red-bed copper and carbonate-hosted lead-zinc
deposits: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY 75TH ANNIVERSARY VOLUME, p. 179–213.
Bjørlykke, A., and Thorpe, R.I., 1982, The source of lead in the Osen sand-
stone lead deposit on the Baltic Shield, Norway: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, v.
77, p. 430–440.
Kyle, J.R, and Li, N., 2002, Jinding: A giant tertiary sandstone-hosted Zn-Pb
deposit, Yunnan, China: Society of Economic Geologists Newsletter 50, p.
1, 9–16.
Sangster, D.F., and Vaillancourt, P.D., 1990, Geology of the Yava sandstone-
lead deposit, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia Geological Survey of
Canada, Paper 90-8, v. 1, p. 203–244.