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Stable isotope and fluid inclusion evidence for the origin of the Brandberg West area Sn–W vein deposits, NW Namibia

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Abstract

The Brandberg West region of NW Namibia is dominated by poly-deformed turbidites and carbonate rocks of the Neoproterozoic Damara Supergoup, which have been regionally metamorphosed to greenschist facies and thermally metamorphosed up to mid-amphibolite facies by Neoproterozoic granite plutons. The meta-sedimentary rocks host Damaran-age hydrothermal quartz vein-hosted Sn–W mineralization at Brandberg West and numerous nearby smaller deposits. Fluid inclusion microthermometric studies of the vein quartz suggests that the ore-forming fluids at the Brandberg West mine were CO2-bearing aqueous fluids represented by the NaCl–CaCl2–H2O–CO2 system with moderate salinity (mean=8.6 wt% NaClequivalent).Temperatures determined using oxygen isotope thermometry are 415–521°C (quartz–muscovite), 392–447°C (quartz–cassiterite), and 444–490°C (quartz–hematite). At Brandberg West, the oxygen isotope ratios of quartz veins and siliciclastic host rocks in the mineralized area are lower than those in the rocks and veins of the surrounding areas suggesting that pervasive fluid–rock interaction occurred during mineralization. The O- and H-isotope data of quartz–muscovite veins and fluid inclusions indicate that the ore fluids were dominantly of magmatic origin, implying that mineralization occurred above a shallow granite pluton. Simple mass balance calculations suggest water/rock ratios of 1.88 (closed system) and 1.01 (open system). The CO2 component of the fluid inclusions had similar δ 13C to the carbonate rocks intercalated with the turbidites. It is most likely that mineralization at Brandberg West was caused by a combination of an impermeable marble barrier and interaction of the fluids with the marble. The minor deposits in the area have quartz veins with higher δ 18O values, which is consistent with these deposits being similar geological environments exposed at higher erosion levels.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the National Research Foundation for financial support via a grant to CH and a post-graduate bursary to PM. Andrew Menzies is thanked for assistance in the field. Help with the analytical work was provided by Fayrooza Rawoot and John Lanham. Eric Bryce, Bruce Cairns, and Charlie Ledger provided invaluable assistance in setting up the laser fluorination system. We also thank Franco Pirajno, an anonymous reviewer, and associate editor Christian Marignac for providing detailed and helpful reviews.

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  1. Paul Macey

    Present address: Council for Geoscience, P.O. Box 572, Bellville, 7535, South Africa

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    Paul Macey & Chris Harris

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Macey, P., Harris, C. Stable isotope and fluid inclusion evidence for the origin of the Brandberg West area Sn–W vein deposits, NW Namibia. Miner Deposita 41, 671–690 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-006-0079-1

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