Conference Publication Details
Mandatory Fields
Silva, AA;Cordeiro, PFO;Colaco, LS;Santos, AM;Lagoeiro, LE;Meere, P;Unitt, R;Johnson, SC
LIFE WITH ORE DEPOSITS ON EARTH, PROCEEDINGS OF THE 15TH SGA BIENNIAL MEETING, 2019, VOLS 1-4
Mineralization styles of the Tullacondra Cu-Ag deposit (Cork, Ireland)
2019
January
Validated
1
()
Optional Fields
FLUID-FLOW
291
294
The Tullacondra Cu-Ag deposit is located 10 km from Mallow, in Ireland, and contains an unexploited reserve of 3.6 Mt of 0.7% Cu and 27.7 g/t Ag. The deposit is hosted within Carboniferous marls of the Lower Limestone Shale (LLS) and consists of an EW-trending Cu-Ag rich orebody. Although Tullacondra is hosted within the same stratigraphic and structural context as Navan, its relationship with the metallogenic controls of the rest of the province remains poorly known. The purpose of this study is to obtain data from Tullacondra by means of petrographic and chemical analysis to understand its metallogenic controls and to further discussions on its relationship with other Zn-Pb deposits. For this purpose, six styles of mineralization were determined: disseminated chalcocite-bornite-chalcopyrite, chalcopyrite, tennantite-arsenopyrite and pyrite, vein-hosted chalcocite-bornite-chalcopyrite and vein-hosted tennantite-arsenopyrite. Disseminated and vein-hosted chalcocite-bornite-chalcopyrite is hosted through the whole LLS and in the beds with the highest Cu values, while disseminated and vein-hosted tennantite-arsenopyrite is hosted mainly in the base of the LLS, in samples with the highest Ag values. Textural and mineralogical data thus show that Cu-bearing sulfides precipitate before Sb-As-bearing sulfides and that they concentrate in two connected orebodies.
Grant Details