ECONOMIC GEOLOGY MONOGRAPH 5

The Kuroko and Related

Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposits

I-IIROSHI OHMOTO AN D BRIAN J. SKINNER, EDITOHS

TilE ECONOMIC GEOLOGY PUI3LISIIINC COMPANY

© 1983 by The Economic Geology Publishing Company Library of Congress

Catalog -Card No. 84-80046

Brian J. Skinner , EDITOR, Economic Geology, 91-A Yale Station, New Haven, CT 06520

' Graded bedding in ore from the Furutobe mine, Akita Prefecture, Japan. The llame·shapcd structure at the top of

the graded unit is the product of soft sediment deforma tion. Most of the clasts are individual crystals of pyrite, barite, and q uartz or are a ltered footwa ll fragments, but a few are crystal aggregates conta ining sphalerite or chalcopyrite. The specimen is about 6 em high; it was collected by the geological staff of the mine and given to P. Barton in 1970. Photograph by William Sacco, Peabody Museum .• Yale University.

Contents

Preface:

The Kuroko and Related Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposits: Introduction and Summary of New

Findings .... ...... ........ ........ .. ...... .. ................................ Hiroshi Ohmoto and Brian ]. Skinner 1

Geological, Paleontological, and Tectonic Studies:

Geologic Setting of the Kuroko Deposits, Japan:

Part I. Geologic History of the Green Tuff Region .. ....... .. ..... . .. . ........ ...... ..... Hiroshi Ohmoto 9

Part II. Stratigraphy and Structure of the Hokuroku District ...... .. .......................................... .

. . . . ... . . . . . ... . . . . . .. Shojiro Tariimura, ]iro Date, Toshio Takahashi, and Hiroshi Ohmoto 24

Part III. Submarine Calderas and Kuroko Genesis ........ Hiroshi Ohmoto and Toshio Takahashi 39

Paleobathymetric Significance of the Foraminifera from the Hokuroku District·· · ······ · ······ ·· ····· ··: ··· ....... ........ .. ...... .. .. .... ................ ............................... . Albert L. Guber and Samuel Merrill III 55

Aspects of the Sedimentologic and Structural Development of the Eastern Hokuroku District,

Japan ............................................................ . ........... Albert L . Guber and Geoffrey R. Green 71

Kuroko-Type Massive Sulfide Deposits of Japan: Products of an Aborted Island-Arc Rift ............... .

.. . ..... ... ..... ........ .. . ... . ... .. .. .. ... ... ... L. M. Cathles, A. L. Guber, T. C. Lenagh; and F. 6 . Dudas 96

Petrological Studies of Igneous Rocks:

Geochemistry of Igneous Rocks· in the Hokuroku District, Northern Japan ................. .. .............. .. .

. .. . ..... ... ..... ... ..... ... ..... .. . ..... ... ..... ... ... . . .. ... . . .. . F. 6. Dudas, I. H. Campbell, and M. P. Gorton 115

The Effect of Volatile Content on the Vesiculation of Submarine Basalts ......... : .......... F. 6. Dudas 134 Deep Submarine Pyroclastic Eruptions ..... .. ....................................... ....... ... C. Wayne Burnham 142

Structural Studies of Kuroko Deposits:

Geologic Characteristics and Formation Environments of the Furutobe and Matsuki Kuroko Deposits,

Akita Prefecture, Northeast Japan ................. ...... .. ..... ...... ....... ....... .................. Hideo Kuroda i49

Penecontemporaneous Deformation of Kuroko Ore at the Kosaka Mine, Akita, Japan ................... .

. . . . . . . ... . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . ... . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . Hironori Hashiguchi 167

Mineralogical Studies of Ores:

The Genesis of Hot Spring Deposits on the East Pacific Rise, 21 °N ... . .......... ........... ... .... . ........... .

... .. . . ..... .. . .... ... . ..... ........ .. M. S. Goldfarb, D. R. Converse, H. D. Holland, and ]. M. Edmond 184

Mineralogy, Geochemistry, and Ore Genesis of Hydrothermal Sediments from the Atlantis II Deep,

Red Sea ...................................................................... .... ...... R. ]. Pottorf and H. L. Barnes 198

Some Textures of the Ores from the Ezuri Kuroko Deposits, Akita Prefecture, Japan .. . .. ......... ...... .

········ ·.·· · ············· ·· ······· ·· ···································· · ····· · ······ · · Shunzo Yui and Kimihide Ishitoya 224 Textures of ~orne Japanese Besshi-Type Ores and Their Implications for Kuroko Deposits ............. .

.......... .. ...... . :: ..... .. ....... . ...... .. ...... .. ..... .. ...... ................... ... . .......... ....... . ..... .. ...... . . Shunzo Yui 231

Mineral Textures and Their Bearing on Formation of the Kuroko Orebodies .. ....... ........ ............... .

. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . C. Stewart Eldridge, Paul B. Barton, Jr., and Hiroshi Ohmoto 241

Isotopic and Trace Element Studies of Sulfates:

Stable Isotope Geochemistry of Sulfates from the Neogene Ore Deposits in the Green Tuff Region,

Japan ........ ................................. .......... ............... . ........ Makoto Watanabe and Hitoshi Sakai 282

Oxygen and Sulfur Isotope Composition of Barite and Anhydrite from the Fukazawa Deposit,

Japan ........................................................................... Minoru Kusakabe and Hitoshi Chiba 292

Strontium Isotope Geochemistry of the Kuroko Deposits ............................................................ ..

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. Clifton W. Farrell and Heinrich D . Holland 302

The Partitioning of Strontium between Anhydrite and Aqueous Solutions from 150° to 250°C .......

...................................................................... Naotatsu Shikazono and Heinrich D. Holland 320

Anhydrite in Kuroko Deposits: Mode of Occurrence and Deposit ional Mechanisms ....................... .

· ............................................ Naotatsu Shikazono, Heinrich D. Holland, and Robert F. Quirk 329

Studies on Alteration Halos and Hydrology:

A Comparison of Footwall-Rock Alteration and Geothermal Systems beneath Some Japanese and

Canadian Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposits .. .............. .. ................................................. ..

.. . .. . .. . .. . . . .. .. . .. .. . .. ... . . . . . . .. .. . .. ... . . . .. . .. . . . . . ... . . . . . .. . . Tetsuro Urabe, S. D. Scott, and Keiko Hattori 345

Zonal Alterat ion around the Fukazawa Kuroko Deposits, Akita Prefecture, Northern Japan ........... .

.................................................... .. .............. ]iro Date, Yoshihiro Watanabe, and Yuji Saeki 365

Practical Application of Low Na20 Anomalies in Footwall Acid Lava for Delimiting Promising Areas

around the Kosaka and Fukazawa Kuroko Deposits, Akita Prefecture, Japan ............................. .

........... ....................................... Hironori Hashiguchi , Ryoichi Yamada, and Tsuneshi Inoue 387

Whole-Rock Oxygen Isotope Distribution in the Fukazawa-Kosaka Area, Hokuroku District, Japan,

and Its Potential Application to Mineral Exploration ........................ ... . .. ..................... .. ......... ..

.. . . . . .. .. . . . .. .. . . . . ... . . .. . .. .. . . Geoffrey R. Green, Hiroshi Ohmoto, ] iro Date, and Toshio Takahashi 395 .

Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Tuffaceous Exhalites (Tetsusekiei) of the F ukazawa Mine, Hokuroku

District, Japan ....... ... . ...................................... Stavros I. Kalogeropoulos and Steven D. Scott 412

A Preliminary Oxygen Isotope Study of Tetsusekiei Ores Associated with the Kuroko Deposits in the

Hokuroku District, Japan ............................................ Makoto Tsutsumi and Hiroshi Ohmoto 433

An Analysis of the Hydrothermal System Responsible for Massive Sulfide Deposition in the Hokuroku

Basin of Japan ............................... ... ...... .. .... .......... .......... ............ ................. . L. M. Cathles · 439

Studies on Compositions and Sources of Ore-Forming Fluids:

The Distribution of Lead Isotopes and the Origin of Kuroko Ore Deposits in the Hokuroku District,

Japan ........... ....................................................... Udo Fehn, B. R. Doe, and M. H. Delevaux 488

Mineralogy, Geoche mistry, and Mineral Chemistry of Siliceous Ore and Altered Footwall Rocks in

the Uwamuki 2 and 4 Deposits, Kosaka Mine, Hokuroku District, Japan ............. ..................... .

.... ................ ........... ..................... L. Taras Bryndzia, Steven D. Scott, and ]. Elizabeth Farr 507

Thermal History, and C hemical and Isotopic Compositions of the Ore-Forming Fluids Responsible

for the Kuroko Massive Sulfide Deposits in the Hokuroku District of Japan .... ....... .................. ..

.. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. . . . . .. .. . .. . .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. . .. Visut Pisutha-Arnond and Hiroshi Ohmoto 523

Controlling Mechanisms for ' the Major Element Chemistry of Aqueous Solutions in Tuff-Rich En-

vironments .......................................................... Masakatsu Mizukami and Hiroshi Ohmoto 559

Chemical ·Processes of Kuroko Formation .......................................... H. Ohmoto, M. Mizukami,

................ : .............. S. E. Drummond, C. S. Eldridge, V. Pisutha-Arnond, .and T . C. Lenagh 570