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Mineral-scale variation in the trace metal and sulfur isotope composition of pyrite: implications for metal and sulfur sources in mafic VMS deposits

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Abstract

The link between metal enrichment and the addition of a magmatic volatile phase in volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits and actively forming seafloor massive sulfide deposits remains poorly characterized. This is especially true when considering how metal, sulfur and fluid flux change with time. In this study, we combine in situ sulfur isotope (δ34S; n = 31) measurements with trace metal chemistry of pyrite (n = 143) from the Mala VMS deposit, Troodos, Cyprus. The aim of our study is to assess the links between volatile influx and metal enrichment and establish how, or indeed if, this is preserved at the scale of individual mineral grains. We classify pyrite based on texture into colloform, granular, disseminated and massive varieties. The trace metal content of different pyrite textures is highly variable and relates to fluid temperature and secondary reworking that are influenced by the location of the sample within the mound. The sulfur isotope composition of pyrite at Mala ranges from − 17.1 to 7.5‰ (n = 31), with a range of − 10.9 to 2.5‰ within a single pyrite crystal. This variation is attributed to changes in the relative proportion of sulfur sourced from (i) SO2 disproportionation, (ii) thermochemical sulfate reduction, (iii) the leaching of igneous sulfur/sulfide and (iv) bacterial sulfate reduction. Our data shows that there is no correlation between δ34S values and the concentration of volatile elements (Te, Se) and Au in pyrite at Mala indicating that remobilization of trace metals occurred within the mound.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support of the Geological Survey Department of Cyprus, especially Costas Costantinou and Andreas Zissimos. We thank Michael Green and Ifigenia Gavriel for the discussion and assistance in the field. We thank Stefanie Brueckner and associate editor Mostafa Fayek for their constructive reviews and editor-in-chief Georges Beaudoin for the editorial handling of this manuscript.

Funding

This research was partly funded by the NERC SoS consortium grant NE/M010848/1 “TeaSe: tellurium and selenium cycling and supply” awarded to Cardiff University and by the Canadian Research Chair program awarded to John W. Jamieson.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Canada

    Andrew J. Martin, John W. Jamieson, Katie A. McFall, Christopher J. MacLeod & Graham D. Layne

  2. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

    Iain McDonald

  3. School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

    Gawen R. T. Jenkin

  4. MAF-IIC SIMS Facility, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Canada

    Glenn Piercey

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Martin, A.J., McDonald, I., Jamieson, J.W. et al. Mineral-scale variation in the trace metal and sulfur isotope composition of pyrite: implications for metal and sulfur sources in mafic VMS deposits. Miner Deposita 57, 911–933 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-021-01080-1

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