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Science 27 March 1998:
Vol. 279. no. 5359, pp. 2091 - 2094
DOI: 10.1126/science.279.5359.2091
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Reports

Formation of a Magmatic-Hydrothermal Ore Deposit: Insights with LA-ICP-MS Analysis of Fluid Inclusions

Andreas Audétat, * Detlef Günther, Christoph A. Heinrich

The physical and chemical mechanism of ore precipitation in the Yankee Lode tin deposit (Mole Granite, Australia) was quantified by direct trace-element microanalysis of fluid inclusions. Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was used to measure element concentrations in a series of fluid inclusions representing the fluid before, during, and after the deposition of cassiterite (SnO2). Tin precipitation was driven by mixing of hot magmatic brine with cooler meteoric water. At the same time, a separate magmatic vapor phase selectively transported copper and boron into the liquid mixture.

Institute for Isotope Geology and Mineral Resources, ETH Zentrum NO, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: audetat{at}erdw.ethz.ch

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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100th Anniversary Special Paper: Vapor Transport of Metals and the Formation of Magmatic-Hydrothermal Ore Deposits.
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Causes for Large-Scale Metal Zonation around Mineralized Plutons: Fluid Inclusion LA-ICP-MS Evidence from the Mole Granite, Australia.
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R. R. Loucks and J. A. Mavrogenes (1999)
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