Sulfur and chlorine budgets control the ore fertility of arc magmas.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35864119.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-31894-0 and PMC identifier 9304346.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Continental arc magmas supply the ore-forming element budget of most globally important porphyry-type ore deposits. However, the processes enabling certain arc segments to preferentially generate giant porphyry deposits remain highly debated. Here we evaluate the large-scale covariation of key ore-forming constituents in this setting by studying silicate melt inclusions in volcanic rocks from a fertile-to-barren segment of the Andean Southern Volcanic Zone (33-40 °S). We show that the north-to-south, fertile-to-barren gradient is characterized by a northward increase in S and Cl concentrations and a simultaneous decrease in Cu. Consequently, we suggest that the concentration of S and Cl rather than the concentration of ore metals regulates magmatic-hydrothermal ore fertility, and that the loss of volatiles prior to arrival in the upper crust impacts ore-forming potential more than magmatic sulfide saturation-related ore metal scavenging.
Medical subject headings
- Chlorine
- Sulfur