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Syngenetic Massive Sulfide Deposits in Alaska

Project Objectives

Syngenetic massive sulfide deposits in Alaska, including sedimentary exhalative (SEDEX) and volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits, are an important source of Au, Ag, Cu, Pb, and Zn. Three of Alaska's metallogenic provinces for these ores are (1) Miss-Penn strata of the Brooks Range, including the world's largest zinc deposit at Red Dog, (2) Late Triassic rocks of southeast Alaska and Canada that include the giant Greens Creek deposit, and (3) middle and lower(?) Paleozoic rocks of east-central Alaska that are currently important targets for both VMS and SEDEX deposits.

Although the study of massive sulfide deposits is a mature field, there have been new breakthroughs in their understanding from advances in analytical techniques and from the recognition of recent seafloor analogues. Concurrent with this has come the realization that these deposits can be tremendous natural generators of metal-rich acid drainage. This has underscored the necessity of understanding the geology, geochemistry, and mineralogy of these deposits and their application to the development of geoenvironmental models. This project seeks to link detailed ore genesis and geoenvironmental models development studies with regional-scale stratigraphic, tectonic, and petrogenetic studies within each metallogenic belt.

Products

Products are listed according to task:

Task 1 - Ore Genesis and Metallogeny of the Red Dog Deposit

• Kelley, K.D., Moore, T.E., and Leach, D. , 1997, Geologic setting of the Red Dog Zn-Pb-Ag massive sulfide deposit, northern Alaska, USA , International Association of Sedimentologists, Oct., 1997, Germany, v. 3, p. 191.
• Kelley, K.D., Taylor, C.D., and Cieutat, B.A , 1997, Ag-Pb-Zn occurrences in the Howard Pass quadrangle, Alaska, in Dumoulin, J.A., and Gray, J.E., eds.: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1574, p. 101-110.
• Kelley, K.D., Leach, D.L., and Johnson, C.A., 1999, Sulfur, oxygen, and carbon isotope studies of Ag-Pb-Zn vein-breccia occurrences, sulfide-bearing concretions, and barite deposits in the north-central Brooks Range with comparisons to shale- hosted stratiform massive sulfide deposits, in Kelley, K.D., and Gough, L., eds., Geologic Studies in Alaska, 1998: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1615, p. 31-52.
• Lewchuk, Michael T., Leach, David L., Kelley, K.D., and Symons, D.T.A., 1999, Paleomagnetism of the Red Dog zinc-lead ore deposit in northern Alaska [abs]: AGU meeting, San Francisco, Dec., 1999.
• O'Sullivan, P.B., Kelley, K.D., and Jennings, Scott, 2000, Post-mineralization thermotectonic evolution of the region of the Red Dog Pb-Zn-Ag mine, northwestern Alaska [abs]: 5th International Symposium on Fission Track Geochronology, Melbourne, Australia, January, 2000.
• Ayuso, R.A., Kelley, K.D., Leach, D.L., Slack, J.F., and Young, L.E., 2000, Pb and Sr isotopic evolution of the Red Dog Pb-Zn-Ag deposit, Brooks Range, Alaska [abs]: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 32, no. 7., p. A84.
• Kelley, K.D., Leach, D.L., Anderson, V.M., Slack, J., and Ridley, W.I., 2000, Textural and compositional variations of sphalerite from the Red Dog shale-hosted Zn-Pb-Ag massive sulfide deposits, western Brooks Range, Alaska [abs]: National Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 32, no. 7., p. A85.
• Slack, J.F., Dumoulin, J.A, Schmidt, J.S., Kelley, K.D., and Ayuso, R.A., 2000, Geochemistry of Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks of the western Brooks Range, Alaska: Provenance, diagenetic history, and metallogenic significance [abs]: National Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 32, no. 7, p. A281.

Task 2 - Tectonic Setting and Metallogeny of Syngenetic Deposits, East-Central Alaska

• Dusel-Bacon, C., Wooden,J.L., Mortensen, J.K., Bressler, J.R., Takaoka, H., Oliver, D.H., Newberry, R., andBundtzen, T.K, 1997, Metamorphic-hosted mineralization in the Yukon-Tanana Upland, Alaska: Extended abstracts of the 16th Biennial Conference, March 2-7, 1998, Fairbanks, AK Miners Assoc., p. 16-18.
• Dusel-Bacon, C., Bressler, J.R., Takaoka, H., Mortensen, J.K., Oliver, D.H., Leventhal, J.S., Newberry, R.J., and Bundtzen,T.K., 1997, Stratiform massive sulfides, Yukon-Tanana Upland of Alaska: Are they there? [abs.]: Abstracts for the Alaska Miners Association 1997 Meeting, Anchorage, AK, p. 24-26.
• Dusel-Bacon, C., Bressler, J.R., Takaoka, H., Mortensen, J.K., Oliver, D.H., Leventhal, J.S. Newberry, R.J., and Bundtzen, T.K, 1997, Stratiform Zn-Pb mineralization in Nasina assemblage rocks, east-central AK: Stratiform Zn-Pb Pathways '98, Extended Abstracts Volume: British Columbia & Yukon Chamber of Mines, p. 170-173.
• Hansen, V.L., and Dusel-Bacon, C., 1998, Structural and kinematic evolution of the Yukon-Tanana upland tectonites, east-central AK: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 110, no. 2, p. 211-230.
• Dusel-Bacon, C., Bressler, J.R., Takaoka, H., Mortensen, J.K.,Oliver, D.H., Leventhal, J.S. Newberry, R.J., and Bundtzen, T.K, 1998, Stratiform Zn-Pb mineralization in Nasina assemblage rocks, east-central AK: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-340 (Available on-line at: http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/open-file/of98-340/.
• Dusel-Bacon, C., 1999, Effective strategies used by a disabled geologist in a research career [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 31, no. 7, p. A273.
• Dusel-Bacon, Cynthia, and Cooper, K.M., 1999, Trace-element geochemistry of metabasaltic rocks from the Yukon-Tanana Upland and implications for the origin of tectonic assemblages in east-central Alaska: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 36, no. 10, p. 1671-1695.
• Dusel-Bacon, C., Wooden, J.L., and Hoffmann, B.L., 2000, U-Pb dating and trace-element geochemistry track Late Devonian intra-arc extension and formation of Bonnifield VMS deposits and SEDEX occurrences in the Yukon-Tanana terrane, Interior Alaska [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 32, no. 6, p. A-12.
• Dusel-Bacon, C., and Murphy, J. M., 2001, Apatite fission-track evidence of widespread Eocene heating and uplift in the Yukon-Tanana Upland, Interior Alaska: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, in press.

Task 3 - Alaskan Component of National Mapping Project of Canada (NATMAP)

• No products listed for this task.

Task 4 - Ore Genesis and Metallogeny of the Greens Creek Deposit

• Goldfarb, R.J., and Taylor, C.D., 1998, Mesozoic-Cenozoic ore deposits of Southern Alaska: The 16th Biennial Conference on Alaskan Mining, Alaska Miners Association, Abstracts of Papers, p. 31.
• Taylor, C.D., Newkirk, S.R., Hall, T.E., Lear, K.G., Premo, W.R., Leventhal, J.S., Meier, A.L., Johnson, C.A., and Harris, A.G., 1999, The Greens Creek deposit, southeastern Alaska: A VMS-SEDEX hybrid , in Stanley, C. J., et al., eds., Mineral Deposits: Processes to Processing, Balkema, Rotterdam, v. 1, pp. 597-600.
• Taylor, C.D., Newkirk, S.R., Hall, T.E., Lear, K.G., Premo, W.R., Leventhal, J.S., Meier, A.L., Johnson, C.A., and Harris, A.G., 1999, The Greens Creek deposit, southeastern Alaska: A VMS-SEDEX hybrid: 5th International Conference for the Society of Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits, London, England.
• Anderson, V.M., and Taylor, C.D., 2000, Alteration mineralogy and zonation in host rocks to the Greens Creek deposit, southeastern Alaska [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 32, no. 6, p. A-2.
• Taylor, C.D., Premo, W.R., and Lear, K.G, 2000, The Greens Creek massive sulfide deposit: Premier example of the late Triassic metallogeny of the Alexander terrane, southeastern Alaska and British Columbia [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 32, no. 6, p. A-71.
• Taylor, C.D., Leventhal, J.S., Johnson, C.A., and Lear, K.G., 2000, The Greens Creek massive sulfide deposit, southeastern Alaska: Stable isotopic evidence for the involvement of biogenic sulfate reduction in the formation of ores and carbonates: Volcanic Environments and Massive Sulfide Deposits, International conference and field meeting, Hobart, Tasmania, Nov. 16-19, 2000.