Hanging wall alteration above the Paleoproterozoic, Callinan and triple 7 volcanic massive sulfide deposits, Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada

Interflow and interpillow volcanic sedimentary rocks (VSR) in the hanging wall to the Paleoproterozoic Callinan and 777 volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits are altered for 910 m above the deposits. Elevated concentrations of Hg, Ni, Tl, Cr, Sb, U, Mo and Zn extend up to 15 m into the hanging wall (Zone A), immediately above the massive sulfide deposits, and are the best indicators of hydrothermal alteration related to the formation of Callinan and 777 mineralization. Less-elevated and zoned Ni, Cr, Zn, Cl, Hg, K 2O/K2O+Na2O and Al2O3/Na 2O (Zones B, C, D and E) anomalies occur up to 910 m above the massive sulfide deposits. Similarities in anomalous elements observed in Zone A suggest that anomalies produced in Zones B, C, D and E may reflect a weaker part of the same through-going, waning hydrothermal system responsible for the anomalies in Zone A. Localized and intense epidote-quartz alteration and silicification overprint the VSR throughout the study area and are interpreted to be a product of younger superimposed, stacked hydrothermal systems that diluted the geochemical signature produced by the earlier through-going, waning hydrothermal event.; Variations in the immobile trace elements: Zr, Sc, Co, V, rare-earth elements, and the trace element ratios: La/Sc, Zr/Sc, Co/Zr, Sc/La, Sc/Zr, indicate that the VSR are heterogeneous in composition and are derived from both felsic and mafic volcanic components. A decrease in the felsic component within the VSR up section (indicated by increasing La, Zr, Zr/Co, La/Sc and Zr/Sc) shows proximity to the rhyolite-hosted Callinan and 777 VMS deposits.*; *This dissertation is a compound document (contains both a paper copy and a CD as part of the dissertation). The CD requires the following system requirements: Adobe Acrobat.