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Tectonic controls of Mississippi Valley-type lead–zinc mineralization in orogenic forelands

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Abstract

Most of the world's Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) zinc–lead deposits occur in orogenic forelands. We examine tectonic aspects of foreland evolution as part of a broader study of why some forelands are rich in MVT deposits, whereas others are barren. The type of orogenic foreland (collisional versus Andean-type versus inversion-type) is not a first-order control, because each has MVT deposits (e.g., Northern Arkansas, Pine Point, and Cevennes, respectively). In some MVT districts (e.g., Tri-State and Central Tennessee), mineralization took place atop an orogenic forebulge, a low-amplitude (a few hundred meters), long-wavelength (100–200 km) swell formed by vertical loading of the foreland plate. In the foreland of the active Banda Arc collision zone, a discontinuous forebulge reveals some of the physiographic and geologic complexities of the forebulge environment, and the importance of sea level in determining whether or not a forebulge will emerge and thus be subject to erosion. In addition to those on extant forebulges, some MVT deposits occur immediately below unconformities that originated at a forebulge, only to be subsequently carried toward the orogen by the plate-tectonic conveyor (e.g., Daniel's Harbour and East Tennessee). Likewise, some deposits are located along syn-collisional, flexure-induced normal and strike-slip faults in collisional forelands (e.g., Northern Arkansas, Daniel's Harbour, and Tri-State districts). These findings reveal the importance of lithospheric flexure, and suggest a conceptual tectonic model that accounts for an important subset of MVT deposits—those in the forelands of collisional orogens. The MVT deposits occur both in flat-lying and in thrust-faulted strata; in the latter group, mineralization postdated thrusting in some instances (e.g., Picos de Europa) but may have predated thrusting in other cases (e.g., East Tennessee).

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Notes

  1. Carboniferous time scale based on Europe–North America correlations summarized in Harland et al. (1990), calibrated to the numerical time scale of Menning et al. (2000).

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Acknowledgments

We thank Grant Garven, Gerry Stanley, Alex Brown, Rich Goldfarb, and Tim White for reviewing the manuscript. Collaborations with Don Sangster, Mike Lewchuk, David Symons, Henri Rouvier, and Jean-Claude Macquar have greatly influenced us over the years. Rod Randell, Tom Lane, and Antonio Alonso kindly led us through the Polaris, Daniel's Harbour, and Reocin deposits, respectively.

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  1. US Geological Survey, 4200 University Drive, Anchorage, AK, 99508, USA

    Dwight C. Bradley

  2. US Geological Survey, MS 973, Denver Federal Center, Lakewood, CO, 80225, USA

    David L. Leach

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Bradley, D.C., Leach, D.L. Tectonic controls of Mississippi Valley-type lead–zinc mineralization in orogenic forelands. Miner Deposita 38, 652–667 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-003-0355-2

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