Abstract
In Mid Proterozoic crystalline rocks of the Mount Isa Inlier, around Cloncurry, Australia, 2000 km2 of alteration and brecciation are the product of high-temperature (> 450 °C) concentrated saline solution activity. During retrogression, this fluid was locally responsible for mobility of V, Y, Nb and light rare-earth elements (15 × enrichment). Copper and S were leached during alteration and this may have been a significant source of components in nearby Cu-Au deposits. Similar rare-earth-element behaviour has been observed in the hematite breccias which host Cu-sulfides at the giant Olympic Dam Cu-Au deposit.
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de Jong, G., Rotherham, J., Phillips, G.N. et al. Mobility of rare-earth elements and copper during shear-zone-related retrograde metamorphism. Geologie en Mijnbouw 76, 311–319 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003232119010
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003232119010