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Pb and Sr isotope and geochemical data from the Pb–Zn deposit Bleiberg (Austria): constraints on the age of mineralization

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Summary

The timing of Zn–Pb mineralization hosted by early dolomitized lagoonal limestones (Crest facies) at Bleiberg (Carinthia, Austria) has been constrained using Sr-isotopes. This late stage Zn–Pb mineralization is a special feature of the Bleiberg deposit. Samples of the mineralized Crest facies are characterized by higher concentrations of minor and trace elements (except Ba and Sr) compared to samples from the weakly mineralized Wetterstein limestone of the lagoonal facies. The samples from the Crest facies indicate that a fluid with a minimum 87Sr/86Sr ratio of 0.7083 reacted at 210±30 Ma with carbonate rocks having 87Sr/86Sr ratios of approximately 0.7077 during a late stage of ore formation. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios correlate with the Mn and Cl concentrations. Lead isotope data of whole rock samples of Bleiberg yielded an isochron age of 180±40 Ma. They furthermore confirm the presence of two types of common lead; an isotopically distinct ore lead component is present within and close to the ore bodies. The other common Pb component is present in host rocks and in gangue minerals and is distinguished from the ore lead by lower 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb ratios. The Sr and the Pb ages are consistent with geological evidence indicating a Triassic age of Pb–Zn mineralization and support genetic models emphasizing the role of bacteriogenic sulfate reduction at low temperatures prior to subsidence and burial. Elevated 87Sr/86Sr values (>0.7080) of gangue minerals indicate an epigenetic origin of strontium. Our results are consistent with a genetic model postulating formation of the ore-bearing hydrothermal fluids “at depth” where they leached lead from pre-Upper Carboniferous basement rocks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Mineralogy and Crystallography, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    E. Schroll

  2. Institute of Isotope Geology and Mineral Resources, Earth Science Department Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH-Zentrum, Zürich, Switzerland

    V. Köppel

  3. Bleiberg, Austria

    I. Cerny

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  1. E. Schroll
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Schroll, E., Köppel, V. & Cerny, I. Pb and Sr isotope and geochemical data from the Pb–Zn deposit Bleiberg (Austria): constraints on the age of mineralization. Mineralogy and Petrology 86, 129–156 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00710-005-0107-3

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