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Cinnabar, livingstonite, stibnite and pyrite in Pliocene silica sinter from Northland, New Zealand

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

W. A. Hampton ,
G. P. White ,
P. W. O. Hoskin ,
P. R. L. Browne  and
K. A. Rodgers
W. A. Hampton*
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Auckland, Private Bag Auckland, New Zealand
G. P. White
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Auckland, Private Bag Auckland, New Zealand
P. W. O. Hoskin
Affiliation:
Institut für Mineralogie, Petrologie und Geochemie, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
P. R. L. Browne
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Auckland, Private Bag Auckland, New Zealand Geothermal Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
K. A. Rodgers
Affiliation:
Research Associate, Australian Museum, Sydney, Australia
*
*E-mail: wendy12@clear.net.nz
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Abstract

Silica sinter masses in the southern portion of the Pliocene Puhipuhi geothermal field of Northland, New Zealand, have recrystallized to microcrystalline quartz and moganite but many primary depositional fabrics of the sinters can still be recognized. Finely disseminated cinnabar, acicular stibnite, pyrite framboids and minor livingstonite are distributed through both massive sinter and stromatolitic fabrics with sulphide mineralization extending from fractured rocks about former spring vents into less disturbed sinter layers. The deposition of sulphides in the sinters is part of a continuum of mineralization resulting from the former hydrothermal regime and which extends to depth in the extinct geothermal system. Periodic changes in the hydrology, such as repeated fracturing following fracture sealing facilitated episodic sulphide deposition. Mercury is considered to have travelled in the liquid phase with antimony and precipitated directly as cinnabar. Remobilization of the sulphides, along with the recrystallization of the sinter masses, have produced complex textural relations. The multifaceted paragenesis of the sulphides is reflected in the range of their minor and trace element compositions revealed by electron microprobe analyses.

Keywords

cinnabarlivingstonitestibnitepyritesilica sinterNew Zealandgeothermal fieldsulphide mineralization
Type
Research Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 68 , Issue 1 , February 2004 , pp. 191 - 198
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2004

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