• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • Theses & Dissertations
    • 2013 - Mines Theses & Dissertations
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • Theses & Dissertations
    • 2013 - Mines Theses & Dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of Mines RepositoryCommunitiesPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    Login

    Mines Links

    Arthur Lakes LibraryColorado School of Mines

    Statistics

    Display Statistics

    Geology of the Enterprise hydrothermal nickel deposit, eastern Kabompo Dome, North-Western Province, Zambia

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    Capistrant_mines_0052N_10314.pdf
    Size:
    17.22Mb
    Format:
    PDF
    Description:
    Geology of the Enterprise ...
    Download
    Author
    Capistrant, Patricia L.
    Advisor
    Hitzman, Murray Walter
    Date issued
    2013
    Keywords
    kyanite
    Domes Region
    Central African Copperbelt
    Katangan Supergroup
    hydrothermal nickel
    nickel
    Hydrothermal deposits -- Zambia -- North-Western Province
    Nickel sulfide -- Zambia -- North-Western Province
    Geology -- Zambia -- North-Western Province
    Mineralogy -- Zambia -- North-Western Province
    Central African Copperbelt (Congo and Zambia)
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/11124/80056
    Abstract
    The Enterprise nickel deposit (41 Mt at 1.07% Ni) is located within the western Domes region in the North-Western Province of Zambia. The deposit represents an apparently new style of hydrothermal nickel mineralization. The deposit area contains basement schists overlain by metasedimentary rocks of the Lower Roan Subgroup of the Katangan Supergroup. Nickel sulfide mineralization is hosted in a sequence of quartz-, carbonate-, and carbonaceous-rich metasedimentary rocks deposited within a northeast-trending graben that interfinger with and overlie the Lower Roan Subgroup basal siliciclastic metasedimentary rocks. A low angle structural zone occupied by polylithic breccia that is interpreted to have formed by halokinesis separates these rocks from overlying siltstones and dolomitic siltstones of the overlying Mwashya Subgroup and diamictites of the Nguba Group. Mafic igneous rocks occur throughout the sequence but are most abundant within and adjacent to the sequence hosting the ore. Lufilian deformation between 590 and 500 Ma produced low angle structures along the edges of Upper Roan Subgroup and locally along the basement-Katangan contact. Lufilian age metamorphism affected the entire sequence of rocks at Enterprise but well developed schistose fabrics and kyanite-bearing assemblages are restricted to the basement and the Lower Roan Subgroup rocks. Intense silicification and magnesian metasomatism apparently occurred nearly concurrently with a regional metamorphic event and resulted in talc, chlorite, and kyanite alteration of the host rocks. Mineralization resulted in the precipitation of nickel and iron-nickel sulfide minerals in veins and as semi-massive replacements of the host rocks. Nickel sulfide minerals precipitated in two main stages: 1) a millerite-vaesite-pyrite assemblage in vuggy textured rocks that forms disseminations and semi-massive replacements, and 2) a later millerite-bravoite-molybdenite assemblage that forms semi-massive replacements and occurs in quartz-kyanite veins. A discrete zone of copper sulfides underlies the nickel sulfide zones. Sulfur isotopic studies indicate Neoproterozoic marine sulfate was the primary source of sulfur at Enterprise. Carbon and oxygen isotope values at Enterprise suggest that organic carbon was not highly oxidized during the mineralization event though mineralized zones occur adjacent to highly carbonaceous sediments with total organic contents up to 17%. Re-Os geochronology yielded a 540.6 [plus-minus sign] 1.8 Ma age for mineralization at Enterprise.
    Rights
    Copyright of the original work is retained by the author.
    Collections
    2013 - Mines Theses & Dissertations

    entitlement

     
    DSpace software (copyright © 2002 - 2023)  DuraSpace
    Quick Guide | Contact Us
    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.