Volume 43 (2012): Issue 3-4 (December 2012)

The Miedzianka mining district has been known for ages as a site of polymetallic ore deposits with copper and, later, uranium as the main commodities. Although recently uneconomic and hardly accessible, the Miedzianka ores attract Earth scientists due to the interesting and still controversial details of their ore structure, mineralogy and origin. Our examination of the ore mineralization from the Miedzianka district was based exclusively on samples collected from old mining dumps located in the vicinity of Miedzianka and Ciechanowice, and on samples from the only available outcrop in Przybkowice. In samples from the Miedzianka field, chalcopyrite, pyrite, galena, bornite, chalcocite, digenite, arsenopyrite, magnetite, sphalerite, tetrahedrite-tennantite, bornite, hematite, martite, pyrrhotite, ilmenite, cassiterite and covellite are hosted in quartz-mica schists and in coarse-grained quartz with chlorite. In the Ciechanowice field, the ore mineralization occurs mainly in strongly chloritized amphibolites occasionally intergrown with quartz and, rarely, with carbonates. Other host-rocks are quartz-chlorite schist and quartzites. Microscopic examination revealed the presence of chalcopyrite, pyrite, sphalerite, galena, tetrahedrite-tennantite, bismuthinite, native Bi, arsenopyrite, löllingite, cassiterite, cobaltite, gersdorffite, chalcocite, cassiterite, bornite, covellite, marcasite and pyrrhotite. Moreover, mawsonite and wittichenite were identified for the first time in the district. In barite veins cross-cutting the greenstones and greenschists in Przybkowice, we found previously-known chalcopyrite, chalcocite and galena. The composition of the hydrothermal fluids is suggested to evolved through a series of consecutive systems characterized, in turn, by Ti-Fe-Sn, Fe- As-S, Fe-Co-As-S, Cu-Zn-S and, finally, Cu-Pb-Sb-As-Bi compositions.

The purpose of this study is to determine the role of metamorphism and thereby identify the preserved magmatic signature in metavolcanics from Wedel Jarlsberg Land in southwestern Svalbard. Samples have been collected from late Precambrian metavolcanics occurring within metasedimentary rocks of the Sofiebogen Group, as well as dikes cutting older metasedimentary rocks of the Deilegga Group. The volcanic rocks were metamorphosed under greenschist facies conditions during the Caledonian Orogeny. To investigate the role of metamorphism, we present petrography, major and trace element geochemistry, and use factor analysis as a tool to identify correlations that correspond to primary magmatic signals.

The metavolcanics are classified as subalkaline basalt to basaltic andesite and they contain relicts of primary clinopyroxene and plagioclase. The metamorphic minerals are actinolite, secondary plagioclase, chlorite and minerals belonging to the epidote group. Major element variations are highly scattered with no obvious trends observed. The HFSE and REE show strong trends attributed to fractional crystallization. The LILE, Th and La show elevated contents in some samples.

Factor analysis shows that the HFSE and REE are well correlated. The LILE form a separate well correlated group, while the major elements are not correlated, except for Na₂O, Fe₂O₃ and CaO. The lack of correlation for major elements, as well as the lack of observed fractional crystallization trends between these elements suggests that they were modified by metamorphism. The strong correlation of HFSE and REE reflects the original geochemical signal generated by magmatic processes. The correlation of the LILE is consistent with their elevated composition implying the influence of crustal contamination processes, and though some variability is likely superimposed due to metamorphism, the primary magmatic record is not completely destroyed. We conclude that the HFSE and REE are not influenced by metamorphic processes and therefore provide robust records of magmatic processes.

In one small mineral vein in core from borehole 144-Ż in the Żarki-Kotowice area, almost all of the ore minerals known from related deposits in the vicinity occur. Some of the minerals in the vein described in this paper, namely, nickeline, hessite, native silver and minerals of the cobaltite-gersdorffite group, have not previously been reported from elsewhere in the Kraków-Lubliniec tectonic zone. The identified minerals are chalcopyrite, pyrite, marcasite, sphalerite, Co-rich pyrite, tennantite, tetrahedrite, bornite, galena, magnetite, hematite, cassiterite, pyrrhotite, wolframite (ferberite), scheelite, molybdenite, nickeline, minerals of the cobaltitegersdorffite group, carrollite, hessite and native silver. Moreover, native bismuth, bismuthinite, a Cu- and Ag-rich sulfosalt of Bi (cuprobismutite) and Ni-rich pyrite also occur in the vein. We suggest that, the ore mineralization from the borehole probably reflects post-magmatic hydrothermal activity related to an unseen granitic intrusion located under the Mesozoic sediments in the Żarki-Pilica area.

Preliminary sulphur isotope data are presented for selected ore deposits and occurrences in the Karkonosze-Izera Massif, namely, polymetallic mineralization sites at Budniki, Ciechanowice, Izerskie Garby and Sowia Dolina, and the pyrite deposit at Wieściszowice. The data reveal two populations of δ34S values: from 2.74 to 3.95‰ (pyrrhotites and pyrites in Sowia Dolina, and some pyrites in Wieściszowice) and from 0.79 to 1.8‰ (pyrites in Budniki, Ciechanowice and Izerskie Garby, and some pyrites from Wieściszowice). All of the data are indicative of endogenic sulphur typical of hydrothermal mineralization despite the genetic differences between the sites.