Hydrothermal leaching in the Virginia mining district, New Mexico

Economic Geology
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Abstract

The tourmaline-copper deposits of the Virginia mining district, New Mexico, lie along veins that were plugged and reopened repeatedly during the process of mineral deposition. At some time between the second and third stages of deposition the solutions removed calcite, sericite, and chlorite from interstitial and included fragments of altered wall-rock in the veins and thereby produced honeycombed box-works of first- and second-stage minerals, chiefly specularite, quartz, and chalcopyrite, on the walls of which minerals of later stages were deposited. It is suggested that the leaching solutions may have been acid and that the leaching was done by the fresh solutions of the third stage before their acidity was neutralized through reactions along their channelways. A mechanism is suggested to account for their presence at places previously traversed by alkaline or neutral solutions.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Hydrothermal leaching in the Virginia mining district, New Mexico
Series title Economic Geology
DOI 10.2113/gsecongeo.31.2.156
Volume 31
Issue 2
Year Published 1936
Language English
Publisher Society of Economic Geologist
Description 14 p.
First page 156
Last page 169
Country United States
State New Mexico
Other Geospatial Virginia Mining District
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