Economic Geology

Vol. 72, 1977, pp. 769-795

Petrogenesis
of theCopper-BearingSkarnat theMasonValley
Mine, YeringtonDistrict,Nevada
MARCO T. EINAUDI

Abstract

Skarn formation at the Mason Valley mine occurred at a depth of 2,000 m on the
outer fringe of a contactmetasomaticaureole related to a Jurassic granodiorite to quartz
monzonitebatholith. The skarn is located in Upper Triassic limestoneat the contact
with a stratigraphicallylower tuff unit and is systematicallyzoned relative to this con-
tact. The general zonal sequencetoward marble is: garnet, garnet-pyroxene-sulfides,
pyroxene-sulfides, tremolite-magnetite-calcite,
talc-magnetite-calcite,and dolomite-calcite.
The zonesmigrated outward with time.
Electron microprobe data indicate that garnets and pyroxenes in the barren garnet
footwall zone have compositionssimilar to the districtwideearly metasomatichornfelses
and are representedby low-iron diopsidesand intermediate grandites. Pure andradite,
as overgrowthsand in cross-cuttingveins,becomesmore abundantas the hanging-wall
skarn is approached. Both garnets and pyroxenesshift abruptly to higher iron contents
in the hanging-wall skarn which formed at the contact between the early garnet zone
and dolomitized limestone. Garnets maintain a constant lower limit of 55 mole percent
andraditeand are zonedto pure andradite. Later garnets,contemporaneous with chal-
copyrite deposition, consist of pure andradite. The iron content of pyroxene increases
gradually and systematicallytoward the marble contact, from an average value of 36
mole percent hedenbergitein the inner garnet-pyroxenezone to 56 mole percent
hedenbergitein pyroxenevein centerson the marble contact,and then dropsabruptly to
15 mole percent hedenbergitein vein envelopes. Two generationsof amphibole are
representedby: (1) early tremolite (0 to 10 mole percent ferrotremolite) associated
with magnetite-calcitein outermostvein envelopesin marble; and (2) actinolite •vhich
contains the same Fe/Mg ratio as associatedpyroxene and is contemporaneous with
chalcopyritedepositionin the pyroxene and garnet-pyroxenezones.
The initial silication process,as representedby zoned veins at the marble contact, may
be attributedto isothermalmetasomatic
diffusionof Ca, Mg, and Si, with Xco2 decreasing
to•vard the vein centers. The abrupt appearanceof new minerals coincideswith the
attainment of appropriatechemicalpotential values through metasomatism,rather than
the crossingof isobaricunivariantT-Xco2 equilibria. Bulk composition
gradientsare
extreme and are reflectedin the rapid increasein iron contentof tremolite and diopside
over a few centimetersfrom vein envelopeto vein center.
Within the main skarn zone,which formedat higher temperatureand/or lower Xco.,,
bulk compositiongradients are less extreme, and phase-composition trends are opposite
to those that would be predicted by a simple isothermal diffusion model. The gradual
inward decreasein the iron content of salite within skarn zones of relatively constant
bulk compositionmay have been controlledin part by continuousFe-Mg reactions.
Comparison with phase-compositiondata from similar zoned skarns indicates that
variation of phase compositionswithin zones is a characteristicphenomenon,but that
zonal compositiontrends in somecasesare oppositeto those establishedhere.

Introduction its zonal and parageneticfeatures are relatively un-

THERE is a singular lack of investigationsaimed
ambiguousand simple. The skarn is well exposed
and formed within a small volume of chemically
specificallyat quantifyingthe zoning, paragenesis,
homogeneous host rock during a singlehydrothermal
and compositionsof silicatesassociatedwith copper-
bearingskarns. The presentpaper suppliesdata and episode, nmch as a zoned alteration envelopeon a
vein.
discussionbearingon this problelnwith emphasison
field relationsand chemicalcompositionof coexist- The MVM is located in the Yerington district,
ing garnet, pyroxene, and amphibole. Lyon County, Nevada, 2.5 km west of Mason. It
The MasonValley mine (MVM) is ideallysuited is a small copper-bearingskarn deposit formed by
for study of theseaspectsof skarn geologybecause metasolnatlcreplacementof Triassic limestoneon the
769
770 MARCO T. EIN•IUDI

outerfringeof a contactaureolerelatedto the Yering- major volumeof granodiorite,followedby moderate

ton batholithof Jurassicage. The MVM yieldedan amountsof quartzmonzonite, and terminatedt)3' the
estimated1.5 million tons of 2.5 to 3.0 percent copper formation of porphyry copper depositsassociated
ore in the years 1912 to 1935. It was developed with quartzmonzoniteporphyrydike swarmswithiu
principallyby two adits,the 300 and 400, to a depth its central portion. Pyritic quartz monzonitepor-
of 175 m below the outcrop. Numerous under- phyrydikesoccurthroughout the batholithin vary-
ground workingsexposethe skarn zone. ing density,
but only a few are foundsouthof the
The surface in the vicinity of the MVM was main contact within the septurnof Triassic sedi-
mappedon the scale1 in. = 400 ft. The 300 and mentary and volcanicrocks.
400 mine levels were mapped on the scale 1 in. =
40 ft. Normal mapping proceduresfor rock types, Contact aureole
faults, and mineralization were used, and detailed
A detailed descriptionand discussionof contact
visual estimateswere made of percent garnet, pyrox-
metamorphism and metasomatism of Triassicrocks
ene,calcite,chalcopyrite,and pyrite. Particular atten-
in the Yeringtondistrictwill be presentedelsewhere.
tion was paid to texturesand cross-cutting vein rela- Only a brief discussion
is given here to set the con-
tions. Channelsampleswere taken after mappingwas text for the MVM skarn. The distribution of meta-
completedand were used to determinethe bulk somaticrocksand the zoningof mineral assemblages
chenficaland modal compositionof the various min- indicatethat the Yeringtonbatholith,rather than the
eral zones. Mineral relations were studied in 50 thin
southernbatholith, is responsiblefor these effects.
sections,and numeroussampleswere studiedby X- Metasomatismoccurredin two episodes,as first docu-
ray diffraction. The compositionof garnets, pyrox- mentedby Knopf (1918). An early stageproduced
enes, and amphibolesfrom selectedassemblages in garnet-pyroxenehornfelsesnear the batholithcon-
nine polishedthin sectionswere determinedby elec- tact and recrystallizationto hornblendehornfels
tron microprobeanalysis. facies rocks farther out. Garnets in the metasomatic
District Setting hornfelsesbelongto the grossularite-andradite
series
and rangefrom 24 to 68 molepercentandradite.The
The Yerington district is located80 km east of pyroxenesbelongto the diopside-hedenbergiteseries
the Sierra Nevada batholith in the western Great
and range in compositionfrom 0 to 15 mole percent
Basin provincewithin a belt of Jurassicintrusives. hedenbergite.
One of theseintrusives,the Yerington batholith, oc- Brecciationof theseearly hornfelseswas followed
cupies much of the northern end of the Singatse by formationof more iron rich garnetswithoutpy-
Range. Strongly folded and faulted volcanic and roxene,locallyaccompanied by pink clinozoisite
near
sedimentaryrocks form an east-west-trendingsep- the intrusive, and 1)y the formation of andradite-
tran 8 km long and up to 3 km wide betweenthe saliteskarnson the fringeof the metasomaticaureole
Yerington batholithand a southernbatholith.These in dolomitizedmarbles.Six skarn depositsare located
rocks are metamorphosedand locally metasomatized in the Triassicsepturnwestof Mason. Two of these,
and are part of a thick sequenceof lower Mesozoic the DouglasHill and Bluestonedeposits,are located
eugeosynclinalrocks forming a broad belt through relativelycloseto the intrusivecontactwithin the
western Nevada. A total thickness of about 3,000 m zoneof early garnet-pyroxenehornfelses.Both are
is exposedin the SingatseRange. characterizedby: (1) relativelylow total sulfides,
Sedimentary and intrusive rocks generallylessthan 5 volumepercent;(2) relatively
high chalcopyrite/pyriteratios, generally greater
The lower one-half of the lower Mesozoic section than 10; (3) absenceof magnetiteor hematite;(4)
is composedof metamorphosed andesireand rhyolite a ganguedominatedby andradite,with minor epi-
flows, breccias, and sediments. A Rb-Sr isochron dote at the Bluestonemine; (5) strong brecciation.
age of about 215 m.y., probablyMiddle Triassic, has In a fringe positionrelativeto the andradite-chal-
beenobtainedfrom theserocks(Proffett, Livingston, copyriteskarnsare the remainingfour producers:
and Einaudi, in prep.). The upper portion of the Mason Valley, 5YesternNevada, Casting Copper,
section is Late Triassic and Early to Middle(?) and McConnell mines, listed in order of decreasing
Jurassic. Mappableunits 50 to 250 m thick consist production. All four formedin dolomitizedmarble
of massive limestones, thin-bedded black calcareous on the fringe of the early hornfelses,1,000 to 2,000
shales,silicic volcanicsedimentsand flows, gypsum, m from the batholith contact. These fringe skarns
and quartzite. Limestone beds constitute the host are characterizedby: (1) relatively high total sul-
rock for numeroussmall copper-bearingskarns lo- fides, in the range 10 to 25 volume percent; (2)
cated on the outer fringe of a contact metasomatic very low chalcopyrite/pyriteratios, generallylower
aureoleextending600 to 1,800 m from the Yerington than 1; (3) presenceof tracequantitiesof magnetite
batholith. on the marblecontact; (4) a ganguedominatedby
The Yerington batholith is formed from an in- coarse,bladedsalite and andradite; (5) little or no
trusive sequenceinitiated by the eraplacementof a evidence of brecciation.
 MASON VALLEY :•[INE SKARN, NEVADA 771

LEVEL
Jgd_•

MASON VALLEY MINE

SKARN

400 0 400 800 FEET

I M • I-., • ,...• , I , ,I

I00 0 I00 200 300 METERS

•. • • I I I

TERTIARY Rhyolite todacite volcanics

Quartz
monzon,te
porphyry
JURASSIC
Granodior,te
• Skarn• Hornfels
Limestone
Andesite
todocite
tuffbreccia

TRIASSIC

Ryolite
tuff,
slitstone
and
limestone
Ryolite
tuff
IN
EVA
CarbonaceousDA
calcareous
argill•te
.

I=•'
YERINGTON

DiST
RiCT

..'•"•
Limestone
•
Rhyolite
flows,
breccias,
sediments

Fro. 1. Surface geologicmap of the vicinity of the Mason Valley mine. Irregularity of flat
fault traces is due to topography. Insert shows location of Yerington district in western
Nevada.
772 MARCO T. EINAUDI

ELEV.

5500

-5OOO

s Line of E-W Seclmn

ELEV. ( •KARN LE •,
- 5500

400 0 400 800 FEET

I• • L' •,--I , I , I

I00 0 I00 200 300 METERS

I• • • I I

Fro. 2. a. East-west crosssection,looking north, dra•vn at right angle to the strike of bedding
and skarn. East-dippingfaults are shownas cut by the flat Malachite fault, a relation sug-
gestedby the lack of offsetsof the surfacetrace of the latter.
b. North-south cross section, looking west, drawn parallel to the strike of bedding and
skarn. The Basalt and Malachite faults may join at depth to form a single spoon-shaped fault.
Locations of cross sectionsare shown in Figure 1.

Cenozoicstructure and depth of formation The present surface, therefore, consistsof re-
Subsequentto the emplacement of the Jurassic peated, fault-controlledpartial crosssections.The
batholiths and the formation of the contact aureole fault block containingthe MVM does not include
and its associatedore-bearingskarns,there ensueda the lower Tertiary erosion surface. Although a
direct measurementof depth below this surface is
long periodof erosionduring at leastpart of the
Cretaceousand the early Tertiary. The resulting not possible,a structural reconstruction of the
erosionsurfacewas coveredduring late Oligoceneto Jurassic configuration
of the contactaureole
indicates
that the MVM was located 1,700 m below the lower
early Miocenetimeby a thicksequence of rhyoliticto
daciticignimbritesand andesiticflows and breccias
Tertiary surface. This figurerepresentsa minimum
depth of formation.
(Proffett and Proffett, 1976). Basinand rangenor-
mal faulting commencedduring the final phasesof The depthof erosionover the top of the MVM
this volcanic activity in Miocene time. Faulting, during Cretaceousand early Tertiary time is esti-
accompanied by west•vardtilting, occurredon east- mated at 500 m or greater.This figurerepresents
the
removal of a minirotan of 500 m of volcanic rocks,
ward-dipping,concaveupward, normal faults. An
averagetilt of at least70ø westhas beendocumented whichmay be extrusiveequivalentsof the Yerington
for the Tertiary ignimbrites. All Mesozoic rocks batholith and which are preservedbelow the lower
are likewisetilted at least 70ø to the west (Proffett, Tertiary surfacein the Buckskinrange,10 km north-
1969, 1972). westof the MVM (Proffett, 1969). Recentmapping
 MASON VALLEY MINE SKARN, NEVADA 773

TABLE 1. Chemical and Modal Composition of Fresh and Altered Rocks, Mason Valley Mine

MVM-4
Sampleno. F-12 F-11 MVM-3 MVM-2 Gar-pyx MVM-1 MVM-5 F-10
Rock type Marble Dolomite Pyx Pyx-gar Ore Garnet Gar-epid Tuff

SiO• 0.87 1.84 37.90 31.35 29.61 35.83 39.06 48.10

TiO• 0.00 0.00 0.05 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.61 1.24
Al•O3 1.91 3.41 2.38 2.97 2.80 4.50 14.16 29.08
Fe•O3 (tot Fe) 0.00 0.00 24.12 27.07 26.88 21.76 12.22 11.75
MgO 0.70 11.64 7.16 4.53 2.57 1.95 3.32 0.24
MnO 0.01 0.02 0.15 0.10 0.18 0.08 0.17 0.01
CaO 52.54 41.02 20.58 23.22 23.60 30.91 28.06 1.05
Na•O 0.18 0.41 0.38 0.45 0.35 0.33 0.49 1.32
K•O 0.07 0.11 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.11 1.98
Cu NA NA 0.05 0.15 2.25 0.24 0.02 NA
S 0.006 0.006 10.08 13.28 10.31 1.41 0.053 0.043
Dr 2.13 2.76 3.15 3.10 3.06 3.03 2.67 2.96
Dm 2.69 2.76 3.54 3.72 3.87 3.46 3.34 2.95
Calcite 94 44 3 6 5 8 5 2
Quartz Tr -- 4 -- 6 6 3 20
Dolomite -- 54 ......
Pyroxene -- -- 55 50 10 5 15 Tr
Amphibole Tr -- 7 8 5 6 8 --
Garnet -- • 5 10 52 68 40 --
Plagioclase ..... 3 -- Tr
Epidote ...... 10 --
Andalusite ....... 34
Chlorite Tr .... 4 10 10
Muscovite -- Tr .... 5 --
Biotite ....... 25
Montmorillonite -- -- 6 2 2 -- 4 --
Magnetite -- -- Tr .... 8
Pyrite -- -- 20 25 15 2.5 Tr --
Chalcopyrite -- -- Tr 0.3 5 0.5 -- --

Oxidesin weight percent,mineralsin volume percent. Tr = trace. Dr = measuredrock density; Dm= measuredmineral
density; NA = not analyzed. Major elements,exceptNa and Mg, were determinedby X-ray fluorescence;Na, Mg, and Cu
by atomic absorption; S by a LECO induction furnace technique. Mineral percentagesbasedon combinedestimatesfrom
thin sections,bulk X-ray diffraction, and computation from chemicalanalyses.

by D. A. Heatwole showsthat these volcanic rocks of the Malachite fault, where the rocks have suffered
rest upon early Mesozoic sedimentaryrocks equiva- little or no metasomatism,these are medium-bedded,
/ent to those immediatelybelow the lower Tertiary dark-greenishto black, fine-grainedhornfelsescon-
surfacenear the MVM. The depth of formation of taining lithic fragmentsup to severalcentimetersin
the MVM is therefore on the order of 2,200 m, size. The fragmentsare flattenedparallel to bedding
equivalentto 600 bars lithostaticpressure. and the tuffaceousgroundmassconsistsof a meta-
Skarn Geology and Petrology morphicaggregateof quartz, muscovite,chlorite,and
magnetite. Andalusite may also be present associ-
Sedimentaryrocks
ated with quartz, biotite,and magnetite. A chemical
Rocks exposedin the vicinity of the MVM consist and mineral analysisof the tuff brecciais presented
largely of Upper Triassic limestonesand volcani- in Table 1 (No. F-10).
clasticrocks,which are correlativewith part of the Limestone unit: The massive limestone unit is
Oreana Peak Formation of the southern Pine Nut
240 to 270 in thick. The top of the unit is markedby
Range (Noble, 1962). These sedimentaryrocks a gradation to thin-bedded shaly limestone. The
have a northerly strike and dip steeplywest. Basin bulk of the limestone unit consists of massive,
and range normal faulting has resultedin a complex
medium- to coarse-grained,gray to white calcite
outcroppattern (Fig. 1).
marble with little evidenceof bedding. The marble
Two sedimentaryunits are important at the MVM:
a daciticto andesitictuff unit and a stratigraphically is composedof a mosaicof interlockingcalcitegrains;
higher, thick-heddedlimestoneunit. quartz is absentor is presentonly in trace quantities,
Tuff unit: The tuff tinit is 60 to 150 in thick. Its and white tremolite or small flakes of pale chlorite
base consistsof interbedded arkosic sandstone,and are locallypresent. The chemicalanalysispresented
tuffaceousargillite, 0 to 15 m thick. Andesitic to in Table 1 (No. F-12) confirmsthe low quartz con-
dacitictuffs overliethe quartz-bearingelastics.South tent and the absence of dolomite.
774 MARCO T. EINAUDI

PLAN MAP - 400 LEVEL

• BASALT • GAR/GAR+
PYX
=0.5-1.0
[• LIMESTONE ':':':'"'"•
GARNET
i:i• DOLOMITE-
CALCITE t>•'• TUFF UNIT
• TREMOLITE-TALC S• MPI ES

• PYROXENE
½/•CHANNEL USED
CHEMICAL
FOR BULl(
•NAL YSES

HAND SAMPLES USED

ß FOR ELECTRON MICRO-
• GAR/GAR+PYX
=0,1-04 PROBE ANAL

B7 ø

÷66

$'TOP
E
\

ß o •7
,,,

90 ø

0 5O I00 FEET

I0 0 I0 20 30 40 METERS

Fro. 3. Plan map of a portion of the 400 level, Mason Valley mine. Contactsbetweengarnet-
pyroxene zones are gradational, wherea.s contacts between pyroxene, tremolite, and marble
are sharp.
 MASON V.4LLEI: MINE SK.4RN, NEF,41L4 775

1)iotitesetin a flueal)liticor aphaniticgroundmass

irregular 1)arches,several meters across, of 1)uff- oœ
weathering (hfiomitic marlfie occur within the mas- quartz and alkali feldst)ar. They are similar in gen-
sive limestoneunit and exhibit somedegreeof struc- eral apl)earance an(l mineralogy to the porphyry
tural control. They often cross-cutbeddingand are dikes which cut the granodiorite batholith and are
probablyof metasomatic ratherthan aliagenetic
origin. undoubtedlyof the same age. The porphyry dikes
The dolomite content is extremely variable and have negligiblecontacteffectsand appear to postdate
rarely exceeds60 percent. Sparseamountsof talc, skarn formation.
chlorite,white mica, and pyrite may be present,and
quartz is absent. A chemicaland mineral analysis Zoning, morphology,and structure
of a bulk samplecollected60 m north of the MVM
The 3,IVM skarn formed largely in limestoneat
outcropis presentedin Table 1 (sampleF-11). the tuff contact(Figs. 1 and 2). The outcropex-
Igneous rocks tends along this contactfor 600 m, with an average
width of 45 m in the northern one-half and 0 to 1.5 m
Intrusive igneousrocks exposednear the MVM in the south. It dips70ø west,parallelto bedding.
belongto the Yerington batholithof Jurassicage. The skarn consistsof two distinct elementsof ap-
The intrusive contact of the batholith with the Trias- proximatelyequalwidths (Figs. 3 to 5). The foot-
sic rocksis hiddenunder the Singatsefault north of wall, or easternone-half,consistslargely of garnet
the MVM. This contactis exposedin other fault andcontains1 to 5 percentsulfides(Table 1, MVM-
blocksto the west, however,and a structuralrecon- 1). It is in contacton the eastwith epidote-grossu-
structionsuggeststhat the MVM was situated about larite skarnwhichformedin the tuff unit (Table 1,
900 m south of the main contact. MVM-5). The hangingwall, or westernone-half,
The east-west strike of the intrusive contact within consistsdominantlyof garnetand pyroxeneand con-
thetiltedfaultblocks,andits generaleast-west align- tains an averageof 20 percentsulfides. The min-
meritbetweenfault blocksacrossthe range,indicate eralogy and mineral compositionsof the footwall
that its pretiltattitudewasnearlyvertical,and east- skarn indicatethat it belongsto the early stageof
west striking. The contactzoneis highly irregular contactmetasomatism. It is relatively uniform in
in detailand consists of abundantgranodioriteapo- compositionthroughout,and is referred to below as
physeswithin a zoneaveraging300 m in width. the garnet zone. The hanging-wallskarn is late
Granodiorite:Granodioriteis exposednorth of relativeto the footwallskarn. It formedin previ-
the MVM, in the area of the 300 and 400 level adits ouslydolomitizedlimestonealongthe outer edgeof
(Fig. 1). It is separatedfrom the Triassic rocks the garnet zone.
bytheSingatse fault,whichis aneast-dipping,spoon- Mineral zoning in the hanging-wall skarn is, as
shaped,normalfault with 4,000 m of displacementmight be expected,very pronouncedand systematic.
in an easterlydirection(Proffett, 1972). The The skarn may be treated as a large, zoned,altera-
granodioritepresentlyexposed in its hangingwall at tion envelopewith the center line located0 to 15 m
theMVM wasjustnortheast of theMVM andvery westof thewesternedgeof thegarnetzone(Fig. 5).
closeto the lowerTertiary surfacebeforefaulting Proceeding out from the center line to the dolomitic
and tilting. The granodioritewedgeis boundedon marblewall rock,the generalzonalsequence is: (1)
the northby the southern portionof anotherspoon- garnet-pyroxene,(2) pyroxene, and (3) marble
shaped fault,the MVM fault (Figs.1 and2). contactzones.The marblecontactzonecontainspy-
The granodiorite is fineto mediumgrained,equi- roxene veins with zoned tremolite-talc-calcite enve-
granular,with 40 to 50 percentplagioclase, 20 per- lopes. The centralgarnet-bearing zonepinchesout
centalkalifeldspar,10 to 15 percentquartz,and 10 along the center line to the south. The locationof
to 20 percentmaficminerals,largelyhornblende with the footwallgarnetzonerelativeto the hanging-wall
lesserpyroxeneand biotite. Accessories include2 to skarn center line resultedin an asymmetriczonal
4 percentmagnetite, 1 to 1.5 percentsphene,anda development. The pyroxene and marble contact
trace of apatite and zircon. Local chlorite and zonesare best developedon the west.
epidotereplaceplagioclase
and maficminerals,and The silicatezonal pattern and skarn morphology
thistypeof alteration
is generally
accompanied
by reveal that the dominant direction of flow- of the
minor pyrite. metasomaticfluid was southward,away from the
Quartz monzonile porphyry: Dikes of quartz northernbatholithcontact,along a faulted and brec-
monzoniteporphyry cut the Triassic rocks in the ciated tuff-limestonecontactduring the early stage,
vicinityof the MVM (Figs.1 and2). Theystrike and along beddingplanesin marble during the for-
N 50ø-80ø XV anddip moderately to the northeast. marionof the hanging-wallskarn. The skarnfingers
The porphyrycontains phenocrysts
of plagioclase,out alongbeddingto the southand consists of steeply
alkalifeldspar,quartz,hornblende,
and subordinatewest-dipping calc-silicate
bands2 to 10 m wide sepa-
776 2L•tRCO T. EIN/IUDI

HANGINGWALL FOOTWALL
SKARN SKARN

m GARNET

STOPE ZONE

DOLOMITIC

MARBLE

't• Chalcopyrite
Concentrahons

• TREMOLITE
-TALC
I• PYROXENE
• GAR/GAR
*PYX
=0.1
- 0.4
• GAR/GAR+PYX=05-O
I Hangingwal•
Center
Skarn
- line

Fro. 5. Schematicmap of mineral zoning and morphology.

Length of skarn shownis approximately 150 m.

rated by marble. Movementof fluid at right angles

to beddingwas largelyfracturecontrolled. Evidence
of preskarn fractures exists only on the outer con-
tact where silicadonis not pervasiveand where calc-
silicate veins up to several centimeterswide criss-
cross the dolomitic marble. Continued fracturing
during skarn formation is indicatedby late silicate-
i/ // sulfide assemblagescementing early assemblages
t•'S•OP
E within the hanging-wallskarn zone, and by veins of
garnet cutting the footwall skarn.
Postskarn faulting had only a minor disruptive
effect on the skarn zone. The oldest faults in the
mine,whichmay be pre-Tertiary in age,strikenorth-
southparallelto bedding,and dip 55ø to 70ø east.
,:.:.:. Thesefaultshavenormaldip-slipdisplacements of 5
to 25 in, and offset ore zonesand silicate zonal pat-
ß ,
terns. The youngestpostskarnstructure,which oc-
curs near the north end of the skarn exposure,con-
-69 1 l•3-]8 (20Oft.
south) sistsof a 50ø south-dippingfault which offsetsthe
skarn 75 m in a left-lateral sense. This fault zone
PLAN MAP
was intruded by a swarm of basaltdikes,0.5 to 1.5
.'300 LEVEL m thick, which may have been feedersfor the Plio-
o 50 IO0 FEET
cenebasaltflowsthat capthe hills southof the MVM.
Postdikemovementis indicatedby fault gougesalong
I0 0 I0 20 :50 40 METERS
the dike contactswhich contain southeast-plunging
mullions. Thesemullionssuggestthat the last move-
Fro. 4. Plan map of a portion of the 300 level, Mason
ment was in a directioncompatiblewith an origin for
Valley mine. Symbolsare the sameas in Figure 3. the Basalt fault as the northern segmentof an east-
 MASON VALLEY MINE SKARN, NEVADA 777

TABLE2. Sequenceof Formationof Mineral Assemblages.Time increases

downwardin eachcolumn. Time comparisons
between columns are tentative. Phasesare listed in order of decreasingabundance and i)arenthesesindicate nilnor or trace
constitutents.

Hanging-wall
skarn Garnet-pyroxene Footwall
skarn
Marble zone Pyroxenezone zone Garnet zone

Cc(Ch)
DoCc
CcTr (ChTa)
DiCc
GrDiCc
GrQzCc(Py)
CcQzChEpPy
CcTa (Ch)
TaCcMt (Ch)
Ta(Mt)
Tr(CcMt) TrCcDo
DiTrCc(MtHm) DiCcPy (MtHm) SaPy (Cc)
DiCcPy(MtHm) SaPyCc (MtHm) GrSaPy (Cc)
SaCcPy (MtHm) AdPyCpCc GrCcQzPy
AcSaPyCpCc AdCcPy (Cp)

Abbreviations as in Table 3, with addition of Ch = chlorite, Ep = epidote, Gr = grandite.

dipping,spoon-shaped, norlnalfault (Figs. 1 and 2). data. Drift correctionswere obviatedby the use of
Locally, basaltdikesdisplaysharp intrusivecontacts fixed beam current rather than fixed time to integrate
against the skarn, but no influenceon the skarn as- intensitiesover an averagetime of 10 sec. No other
semblagecan be detected. North of the Basalt fault, correctionswere applied to the data. Microprobe
the skarn disappearsunder the north-dippingSinga- wavelengthscansindicatethat garnet, pyroxene,and
tse fault. amphiboleare membersof the grossularite-andradite,
diopside-hedenbergite,and tremolite-ferrotremolite
Para#enesisand mineral compositions solid solution series,respectively. The composition
Though someveining of skarn by later silicatesis of thesephaseswill be referred to below in terms of
visible undergroundand in hand specimen,the per- mole percent of the iron end members: andradite
vasiveand repetitivenature of fracturing and reheal- (Ad), hedenbergite(Hd), and ferrotremolite(Ft).
ing becomesapparentonly in thin section. Through- Garnet zone: Overall, the zone contains70 per-
out the skarn, the overgrowths,cementingmaterials, cent garnet, 10 percent pyroxene, and minor quartz,
or veins have (1) higher garnet/pyroxene ratios, calcite, amphibole, plagioclase,chlorite, and pyrite
(2) higher iron contentin garnet, (3) higher chal- (Table 1, MVM-1). Total sulfide abundanceis in
copyrite/pyrite ratios, and (4) larger grain sizes the range 2 to 4 percent,and the chalcopyrite/pyrite
than the early assemblages,fragments,or wall rock. ratio averages0.2. Faint relic beddingin the garnet
In both early and late assemblages in the hanging- zone is expressedby varying proportions of garnet
wall skarn, the garnet/pyroxeneand chalcopyrite/ and pyroxene and varying grain sizes. This zone
pyrite ratios decreaseto the southand toward marble. consistspredominantlyof pale gray-green and buff,
The presentskarnpattern,therefore,is the resultof
zonal growth outwards, with continuedfracturing TABLE 3. Some Common Skarn Minerals in the System
having enabledsolutionflow. Ca-Mg-Fe-Si-Cu~S2-O•-CO2-H20. Minerals in parentheses
do
Textures and mineral relations within the four not occur at the MVM.

skarn zones (garnet, garnet/pyroxene, pyroxene,

hematite Hm Fe=Oa
marble contact) are illustratedin Figures 6, 8, and magnetite Mt FeaO•
9. The sequence of formationof mineralassemblages pynte Py FeS=
is summarizedin Table 2, and the compositions of chalcopyrite Cp CuFeS=
calcite Cc CaCOa
garnet, pyroxene, and amphiboleare summarizedin dolomite Do CaMg(COa)=
Tables3, 4, 5, and6 and Figure 7. Garnet,pyroxene, quartz Qz SiO•
(wollastonite) Wo CaSiO.•
and amphibolewere analyzedfor AI, Fe, and Mg (forsterire) Fo Mg=SiO•
by electronmicroprobe(Applied ResearchLabora- talc Ta MgaSi•O•0(OH)=
tories, EMX) using standard techniques. Three tremolite Tr Ca=Mg,Si,O=g(OH)=
actinolite Ac Ca=(Mg, Fe)•SisO==(OH)=
chemicallyhomogeneous clinopyroxeneswere used (ferrotremolite) Ft Ca•FeaSiaO==(OH)=
as standards. These rangein total Fe as FeO from diopside Di CaMgSi=Oo
salite Sa Ca (Mg, Fe)Si=Oo
5.4 to 24.0 weight percent,A12Oafrom 0.6 to 9.4 (hedenbergite) Hd CaFeSi=Oo
weightpercent,and MgO from 0.7 to 19.9 weight andradite Ad CaaFe•SiaO•
percent. Backgroundcorrectionswere appliedto all
778 M.4RCO T. EIN,4UDI

C D

! 0.5 cm I
Fro. 6. Sketches of mineral relations in thin section.
A. Specimen3-12A, footwall skarn. Early grandite-diopsideassemblage(1) with grandite
crystalszonefrom anisotropiccores (Ad•_•) to isotropic,stronglybandedrims (Ad:0) (2),
overgrownby isotropicandradite(Ad•©) (3) pluscalciteand cut by late grandite(Ad•-,0)
vein (4) with final andradite-quartz-calcite
filling.
B. Specimen4-3A, hanging-wallskarn, garnet-pyroxene zone. Early fragments(1) of
grandite (Ad•o_•o)-salite
(Hd:•_•) cementedby isotropicandraditeplus chalcopyrite(3).
Fragmentboundaries (2) are linedwith coarse-grained
salitecrystalswhosegrowthterminated
 NUMBER OF ANALYSES
8 0 8 0 8 0 8 0 8 0 8 0 8 0 8 0 8
I00 --

[] ANISOTROPIC GARNET
@0
[] ISOTROPIC GARNET

6o

4o

2o

SAMPLE
NUMBER 5-18 5-55 5-55 5-50 5-12A 5-6 4-4
ZONE PYi!0X EN E PYX - GR[! GRi!N FT

HANGINGWALL SKARN FOOTWALL SKARN

Fro. 7. Summaryof electronmicroprobeanalysesof garnet, pyroxene,and amphibole.

Analysesare recalculated
in terms of the iron end membersandradite,hedenbergite,
and fer-
rotremolite.

cloudy,largelyanisotropicgarnet crystals0.2 to 1.0 sion. Theseinclusionsare concentrated

in the cores
mm in diameterwhichcontainsmallraggedinclu- of the garnetcrystals,suggestingthat pyroxenewas
sionsof pyroxene0.02to 0.5 mm in longestdimen- no longerformingduringthe final stagesof garnet
at time of final Ad-Cp filling. Fragmentsand matrix are cut by andradite-chalcopyrite
vein
(4).
C. Specimen3-50, hanging-wall skarn, outer portion of garnet-pyroxenezone. Grandite
(Ad•)-salite (Hch,-4•)veins (1) with andradite(Ads•) centers(2) cut fine-grained,
clay-
altered pyroxene skarn (3). Later andradite (AdsD veinlets with local chalcopyriteand
calcitecontainandraditeenvelopesin grandite (4) and actinoliteenvelopesin salite (5). At
the point where the veinlets enter the pyroxene skarn (6) the vein filling changesto actinolite
(Ft.•4-a•)and large patchesof actinolite (Fta4_a•)-chalcopyrite
appear.
D. Specimen3-15, hanging-wall skarn, pyroxene zone. Salite (1)-calcite (2)-magnetite (3)-
pyrite (4) assemblage. Magnetite growth appears to have been controlled by calcite cleavage
or pseudomorphsspecular hematite. Actinolite (5) is intergrown with chalcopyrite and
partially replacessalite.
780 M.4RCO T. EIN.4UDI

TABLE4. Partial MicroprobeAnalysesof Garnet (expressedas wt %)

tot Fe as
Zone Sampleno. Grain no. No. anal. A12Oa Fe2Oa MgO XAd Rangein Xad
G 4-4 2A 9 13.5 12.0 0.01 0.36 0.33-0.41
G 4-4 2B 9 13.9 11.2 0.01 0.34 0.29-0.37
G 4-4 2C 5 14.1 11.2 0.01 0.34 0.29-0.37
G 3-6 1A 15 11.0 15.0 0.02 0.46 0.34-0.73
G 3~6 1A core 9 12.9 12.4 0.01 0.38 0.34-0.45
G 3~6 1A rim 6 8.0 18.9 0.04 0.60 0.49-0.73
G 3-6 lB 7 0.8 29.6 0.00 0.96 0.84-1.0
G 3-12A 2A 6 0.02 30.5 0.05 0.96 0.99-1.0
G 3-12A 2B 5 0.00 30.9 0.00 1.0 none
G 3-12A 2C 17 7.9 19.5 0.00 0.61 0.48-0.70
G 3-12A 2D 5 0.43 30.4 0.00 0.98 0.94-1.0
G 3-12A 3B 6 0.00 31.0 0.01 1.0 none
G-P 4-3A 1A 6 9.0 17.6 0.00 0.55 0.54-0.57
G-P 4-3A lB 6 0.16 30.4 0.01 0.99 none
G-P 4-3A 1C 5 0.23 30.3 0.00 0.99 0.98-1.0
G-P 4-3A 1D 4 1.0 29.4 0.01 0.95 0.91-0.98
G-P 3-50 1A 5 8.9 17.8 0.01 0.56 0.55-0.57
G-P 3-50 lB 5 3.3 26.2 0.02 0.83 0.83-0.84
G-P 3-53 2A 15 5.4 23.1 0.00 0.73 0.53-0.99
G-P 3-53 2A core 10 7.3 20.2 0.00 0.64 0.53-0.77
G-P 3-53 2A rim 5 1.5 28.9 0.00 0.92 0.83-0.99

Zone abbreviations:G = garnet, G-P = garnet-pyroxene,

XAd •---molefraction andraditein andradite-grossularite
solid
solution.

growth. The pyroxene is commonly altered to browngarnet. The final vein fillingsconsistof iso-
a fine-grained mixture of amphibole,calcite, and tropic browngarnet,calcite,and rare quartz with a
quartz. Small, infrequent vugs, lined with coarser few grainsof chalcopyrite and pyrite. Thesegarnet
euhedral garnet crystals, are filled with calcite and agerelationsare unambiguous
mappablefeaturesand
quartz and may contain minor amountsof chlorite, are illustratedcompositionally by samples3-6 (Fig.
epidote,and pyrite. Overgrowthsand large patches 7) and 3-12A (Figs. 6A and 7).
of glassyyellow-browngarnet are locallyabundant. Microprobeanalysesof selectedassemblages from
This garnet containslittle or no pyroxeneand is as- three samplesof the garnetzoneare summarized in
sociatedwith calcite and quartz rug fillings with Figure 7. The averagecomposition of four pyroxene
sparsepyrite and chalcopyriteand without epidote grainsis Hd•2. Wide compositional variationwithin
or chlorite. As the hanging-wallskarnis approached, single crystals is unsystematicand may in large
rare veinletsof pink anisotropicgarnet,up to 5 mm part be due to partial equilibrationwith later fluids
wide, cross-cutboththe early buff and later yellow- which depositedgarnet alone. For example,sample
TABLE5. Partial MicroprobeAnalysesof Pyroxene (expressedas wt %)

No. tot Fe as
Zone Sampleno. Grain no. anal. AlcOa FeO MgO X•a Rangein X•a
G 4-4 3-B 6 0.15 5.6 12.8 0.20 0.16-0.25
G 3-6 1-C 2 0.11 3.3 16.1 0.10 0.09-0.12
G 3-6 1-D 4 0.65 0.32 19.7 0.01 0.004-0.02
G 3-6 1-E 4 0.07 2.8 16.1 0.09 0.07-0.11
G 3-12A 3-A 9 0.03 4.2 15.5 0.13 0.04-0.23
G~P 4-3A 1-E 6 0.02 10.1 11.2 0.34 0.32-0.41
G-P 4-3A 1-F 6 0.06 10.8 10.4 0.37 0.35-0.40
G~P 3-50 1-D 4 0.04 11.1 9.9 0.39 0.35-0.42
G-P 3-50 1-G 5 0.03 11.2 9.5 0.40 0.37-0.45
G-P 3-53 1-A 7 0.30 0.17 19.2 0.005 0.002-0.006
G-P 3-53 1-B 6 0.11 13.3 8.2 0.48 0.41-0.54
G-P 3-53 2-B 6 0.08 12.1 9.1 0.43 0.37-0.51
P 3-55 I~A 7 0.21 13.4 8.2 0.48 0.39-0.57
P 3-55 1-B 5 0.12 14.5 7.5 0.52 0.43-0.60
P 3-18 1-A 6 0.19 12.9 8.9 0.45 0.44-0.50
P 3-18 2-A 7 0.18 13.3 8.7 0.46 0.44-0.50
M 3-72A 1-A 8 0.16 15.2 6.7 0.56 0.51-0.61
M 3-72A 1-B 6 0.27 6.8 13.1 0.23 0.14-0.37

Zoneabbreviations:
G = garnet,G-P = garnet-pyroxene,
P = pyroxene,
M = marble. Xaa = molefractionhedenbergite
in diopside-hedenbergite
solid solution.
 M.4SON ?.4LLEY MINE SK.4RN, NE?.4D.4 781

3-6 containsearly anistropicgarnet cores (Adas) garnet, amphibole,and calcite in the outer transition
which containpyroxene inclusionsranging in com- zone. Chalcopyriterarely occurs in direct contact
position from I-Id0.4 to Hd2. Where the pyroxene with pyroxene.
grains extend beyondthe early garnet crystalsand Although the relative proportion of garnet and
are overgrownby isotropicyellow-brownandradite pyroxene is extremely variable in hand specimen,
(Ad•00), their compositionchangesto Hd7_•x in there is an overall decreasein the garnet/garnet q-
patchy areas concentratedalong grain boundaries. pyroxenefractionfrom 0.75 in the centralportionoœ
Other pyroxenegrainswhichare wholly surrounded the zone to 0.25 in the outer portion. Anhedral
and largely replacedby pure andradite (sample3- pyroxeneinclusions,0.1 to 1.0 mm in size, are con-
12A) may showan unsystematic rangein composi- centrated in the cores of anistropic brown garnet
tion from Hd4 to Hd23. crystalswhich average 1 to 2 mm in diameter.This
Early buff garnets are either relatively homoge- early assemblage,which constitutessome 60 to 80
neousin composition(sample 4-4, with a range of percent of the total rock, often occursas fragments a
Ad3a_•u)or are zoned from aluminum-richcoresto few centimetersin size cementedby a coarsematrix
iron-rich rims (sample 3-6, zoned from Ads4 to of pyroxeneand garnet (Fig. 6B). The pyroxene
Ad7a). The more iron rich bands are isotropic, crystalsgrew outward from the fragmentsand char-
whereas the more alunfinum rich bands tend to be acteristicallyattained lengthsof 1 to 3 ram. Zonal
anistropic. Yellow-brown andradite (Ad100) over- anisotropicbandingin the garnet associatedwith the
growths (Figs. 8D, 8E, and 8F) may containthin euhedral pyroxene also indicatesgrowth outwards
anisotropicbandsof Ads4-00. The thin garnet vein- from the walls of the fragments. The final matrix
lets which cut the buff and yellow-browngarnet near filling generallyconsistsof unzonedisotropicgarnet
the contactwith the hanging-wallskarn containpink withoutpyroxeneand associated with calcite,quartz,
anisotropic garnet with an average compositionof and sulfides. This final garnet-sulfidegeneration
Ad6• and a final vein filling with the composition also occursas cross-cuttingveins up to 5 cm wide,
Ad9s (sample3-12A, Figs. 6A and 7). and late isotropicgarnetpreferentiallyreplaceslarge
Two distinctcyclesof garnetgrowthare indicated pyroxene crystals enclosedin anisotropicgarnet
by the abovedata. The first cycle,representedby (Figs. 8G, 8H, and 81).
the buff and yellow-browngarnets,startedat about The boundarybetweenthe garnet-pyroxene zone
Ads0 and evolved to pure andradite. During this andthepyroxenezoneis gradational andmarkedby
first cycle, pyroxene growth terminated as garnets the gradualdisappearance of the late garnet-chalco-
reacheda compositionof about Ads0. The second pyrite association and by a gradualdecreasein gar-
garnet cycle,representedby the veinlets,started at a net/pyroxene ratios in both wall rock and veins.
higher iron content of about Ads0 and evolved to Amphiboleappearsin association with isotropicgar-
pure andradite. Pyroxene did not form during the net envelopeson chalcopyritegrains. Anisotropic
secondcycle. garnet is largely restrictedto garnet-pyroxeneveins
Garnet-pyroxene zone: The central zone of the which cross-cutpyroxene-calciteskarn. Rare, thin
hanging-wallskarn,whichat the northernend of the veinletsof isotropicgarnetwith chalcopyrite and py-
MVM is in contacton the eastwith the garnetzone, rite cross-cutthe garnet-pyroxeneveins; abundant
consistspredominantlyof garnet, pyroxene,and sul- chalcopyriteis generally concentratedat the point
fides (Table 1, MVM-4, MVM-2). It has a very where theseveinletsenter the pyroxenewall rock,
differentaspectwhencomparedwith the garnetfoot- and the associated silicatechangesfrom garnet to
wall zone: relic beddingis absent,grain sizesand amphibole(Fig. 6C). Theseveinletsreflectthe over-
sulfideabundance increaseabruptly,and dark-green, all MVM pattern in which maximumchalcopyrite
coarselybladedpyroxeneappearswith browngarnet. depositionoccurredbetweenthe garnet zone and the
Maximum chalcopyritedepositionoccurred in this pyroxenezone. They also conclusivelydemonstrate
mixed garnet-pyroxenezone.Total sulfideabundance the direct geneticassociation of chalcopyritewith:
is around 15 to 20 percentand the chalcopyrite/py- (1) garnet,(2) garnet+ amphibole, and (3) amphi-
rite ratio approximates0.3 in the centralportion of bole, on proceedingout toward marble. All three oœ
the zone and decreases to 0.1 in the outer transition theseore-bearingassemblages resultedfrom the re-
to the pyroxenezone.Pyrite is disseminated through- placementof earlier pyroxeneor pyroxeneq- garnet
out and showsno preferencefor a particular silicate assemblages.
assemblage, althoughit is locally more abundantin Coarse-grained pyroxenesin the garnet-pyroxene
pyroxenethan in cross-cutting garnet. Chalcopyrite, zoneare considerably moreiron rich than pyroxenes
invariably accompaniedby pyrite, occursin direct in the garnetzone.The averagecomposition of six
associationwith late isotropicgarnet and calcite in pyroxenegrains from three samples(4-3A, 3-50,
the central portion of the zone, and with isotropic and3-53) is H&t0 (Fig. 7). The averageiron con-
?82 '- - M,4RCO T. •EIN,4UDI

0.5 mm •
 MASON VALLEY MINE ..,CKARN,NEVADA 783

TABLE6. Partial MicroprobeAnalysesof Amphibole (expressedas wt %)

No. tot Fe as
Zone Sample no. Grain no. anal. A1203 FeO MgO Xw Range in Xv•

G-P 3-50 1-C 5 0.52 14.0 13.8 0.36 0.34-0.39

G-P 3-50 1-E 8 1.1 14.0 13.1 0.38 0.34-0.39
G-P 3-50 1-F 5 0.54 13.8 13.4 0.37 0.36-0.37
P 3-55 1-C 8 0.29 15.7 11.5 0.43 0.39-0.46
M 3-72A 1-D 6 0.25 4.8 20.4 0.12 0.11-0.12

Zone abbreviations: G-P = garnet-pyroxene, P = pyroxene, M = marble. XF• = mole fraction ferrotremolite in tremolite-
ferrotremolite solid solution.

tent increasessystematicallywith distancefroin the Rare pyroxene crystals in the transition to the
skarn centerline or with decreasinggarnet/pyroxene pyroxene zone and in the pyroxene zone itself con-
ratios, from Hda0 in the central portion of the zone tain corezoneswith a differentextinctionanglethan
to Hd4• in the outer transitionto the pyroxenezone. the rims. One suchgrain (sample3-53) containsa
Early anisotropic garnet associatedwith coarse core of compositionHd0.• irregularly rimmed by
pyroxeneis generallyzonedfrom Ads2to about ttdi8 (Figs. 8A, 8B, and 8C). Such low-iron cores
This compositionrange is similar to that of the pink are prestonedto representan early stageof pyroxene
garnet in veins which cut the garnet footwall, and it growth which was largely obliteratedwithin the
is probablethat these veins representan overlap of central skarn zones,but which is preservedin the
the hanging-wallskarnmineralizationontothe early marble contact zone.
footwall skarn. If the compositionsof the coarse Actinoliteassociatedwith Adsaand chalcopyrite
pyroxene crystals are taken to represent chemical alongveinletsin pyroxene(sample3-50, Figs. 6C
equilibriumwith contemporaneous anistropicgarnet, and 7) has approximately the sameFefMg ratios
and if the garnet-pyroxenecompositionsfrom the (Fta•_ao)as the associated pyroxene.
footwall skarn are also considered,then it becomes Pyro.rene zone: The outermostsilicatezone at the
evidentthat anisotropicgarnetand contemporaneousMVM consistslargelyof coarse,dark-greenpy-
pyroxene display a mutual increasein iron content roxene(ttdio) andpyrite (Table1, MVM-3). Large
toward marble. patchesof calciteare of commonoccurrence,
and
Late isotropicgarnet associated
with chalcopyrite thesemay containminor amountsof quartz and
and replacingpyroxenevaries in compositionfrom magnetitepseudomorphous
after specularhematite.
Adsa to Ad•00.Pyroxenewhich is largely replaced Local spotsand disseminations
of chalcopyrite
are
by this garnet showsno significantincreasein iron present,and theseinvariablycontaincoarseneedles
content. For example,sample4-3A containsa coarse of actinolite(Fta•-•6),someof whichhavereplaced
pyroxene crystal of compositionHda4 which is sur- early pyroxene, especiallywhere the latter abuts
roundedby garnetof composition
Ad•. Nearby, a againstchalcopyrite(Fig. 6D). The associated
pyroxene grain of composition Hda, which was pyroxene,whichrarely is in directcontactwith chal-
originally enclosedin Ad• is largely replacedby copyrite,displaysa wide rangein composition,
from
Ad•. Hdaoto Hd00 (sample3-55). Pyroxeneassociated

Fro. 8. Microphotographs
and electronbeamscalmingpicturesof garnetand pyroxeneas-
sociations.
A. Microphotoof pyroxenegrain from specimen3-53, hanging-wallskarn,garnet-pyroxene
zone. Crossed
nicolsrevealscorezone(gray) with differentextinction
anglethanrim (black).
B. X-ray scandisplaysintensityof Mg Kq radiationfrom area of Figure 8A. Core zone
averagesHdo.,, whereasrim averagesHd•s.
C. X-ray intensitydisplayof Fe Ka radiationfrom area of Figure 8A. Pyrite grains in
lower right are recognizedby their high Fe content.
D. Microphoto of garnets from specimen3-6, footwall skarn.
E. X-ray intensitydisplayof A1 Ka radiationfrom the area of Figure 8B revealsrelatively
A1 rich zoned garnet (Ad.•_,•) in lower half of picture.
F. Fe Ka radiation from area of Figure 8B reveals Fe-rich garnet (Ad•) which has over-
grown and veined (arrows) earlier zonedgarnet. Pyroxenegrain in upper left (black) is
recognizedby its low Fe content.
G. Microphotoof pyroxenecrystal (white) enclosedin anisotropicgarnet (banded,gray)
and partially replacedalong rim by isotropicgarnet (black). Specimen4-3A, hanging-wall
skarn, garnet-pyroxene zone. Crossednicols.
H. A1 Kq radiation froin area of Figure 8C reveals that the enclosinggarnet is relatively
A1 rich and homogeneous(Ad ..... ).
I. Fe Ka radiation from area of Figure 8C reveals that the isotropic garnet (arrow) is
characterizedby relatively high Fe content
784 M.4RCO T. EIN.4UDI

from talc-calcite,or it may constitutea zone up to 1

mm wide in which magnetitegrains are disseminated
in a microcrystallineaggregateof calcite and talc.
Minor, coarsetremoliteneedlesare alsopresent,and
flaky aggregatesof chloriteare alignedparallel to the
vein boundary. The outermost calcite zone consists
predominantlyof 0.1- to 0.2-ramdomainsof finelyre-
crystallized 0.01-ram turbid calcite grains which
contain minor talc and chlorite. The contact with
dolomitic marble, which contains dolomite, calcite,
and sparsechlorite,is sharp.
Some inner zone minerals transgressouter zones
along fractures. In a few cases,talc veinletsextend
through magnetiteinto the calcitezone. More com-
lnonly, tremolite cuts acrossboth the talc and the
magnetite zones and extends out into dolomitic
marble where it generatescalcite-tremoliteenvelopes.
Locally,tremoliteis in directcontactwith both calcite
Fro. 9. Schematic summary of paragenesisand zoning,
hanging-wall skarn. Mineral abbreviations are listed in
and dolomite. These relationsindicatethat: (1) the
Table 3. Scale is variable. Pyrite occurs throughout. magnetitezone is an early feature that was locally
overgrown during continuedtalc formation and did
with calciteor calcitepluspyrite is significantlymore not continueto form as talc movedout; and (2) talc,
homogeneous and lessiron rich (Hd44-•o, sample3- though it continued to form after magnetite had
18). stoppeddepositing,is also early relative to some of
Marble contactzone: Beyondthe edgeof the mas- the tremolite. The talc and magnetitezones did not
sive pyroxene skarn, pyroxene veins extend into the constitutepart of the mineral zoning sequenceduring
dolomite-calcitemarble. These veins, which may be the later stages of developmentof the pyroxene-
a few centimetersto a meter wide, consistlargely of tremolite veins.
irregular, alternating bands of coarse-graineddark- The critical assemblages which formed in the py-
green pyroxene (Hda6) and fine-grainedpale-green roxene vein envelopes are: (1) diopside-tremolite-
pyroxene (Hd2a). The latter bandsdo not contain calcite; (2) tremolite-talc-calcite; and (3) tremolite-
calcite. A layer of coarsepyroxene generally occu- dolomite-calcite. The dominant mode of occurrence
pies the vein center and is associatedwith calcite of thesephaseson the scaleof severalmillimeters,
patchesup to 1 cm in size. Anisotropicgarnet crys- however,is as one- or two-phaseassemblages in the
tals are alsorarely presentin the vein centers,especi- pyroxene, tremolite, and talc zones, and the three-
ally near the pyroxene zone contact. Pyrite is ran- phase assemblagetremolite-talc-calcite(plus mag-
domly disseminatedthroughout the pyroxene in netite and/or chlorite) in the magnetiteand calcite
amountsrangingfrom 1 to 5 percent,and magnetite, zones. Diopsideis nowherein contactwith talc or
generallyassociatedwith calcite-pyroxene,is present dolomite,and talc does not occur with diopsideor
in trace amounts. dolomite. Calciteis presentthroughout.
Pale-greento black envelopes,I to 10 mm wide, On the far edgeof the dolomiticmarblezone,where
separatethe pyroxene from the dolomitic marble it is particularlywell exposedin crosscuts on the 400
(Fig. 9). Theseenvelopes consist of sequential layers, level, silicate vein centers are composedentirely of
with knife-edgeboundaries,of (1) tremolite, (2) coarse-grained, pale-greento white tremolite. Enve-
talc, (3) magnetite,and (4) calcite,out toxvardmar- lopes are similar to thosepreviouslydescribed. No
ble. The talc and magnetitezonesare absentin some examplesof pyroxeneveins cutting tremolite veins
vein halos. The tremolite zone consists of radial were noted. And, though no veins were noted in
aggregates and interlockingneedlesof tremolite,0.05 whichthe pyroxeneprogressively givesway to tremo-
to 0.5 mm in length (FtT). It contains sparse lite in the vein centers,such a relation would seemto
amountsof pyrite and calciteand rare concentrations be probabIe.
of magnetitegrains at the inner contactwith py- 3'ummary: The early hornfels stage of contact
roxene. The talc zone is monomineralic, and con- metasomatismis representedat the MVM by the
sistsof felted aggregatesup to 0.4 mm long arranged footwall skarn. In this zone, low-iron pyroxene
at right anglesto the zone boundaries. The mag- (Hd•2) and relativelyaluminumrich garnet (Ad:•o_
netite zone may be rei)resentedby a singlelayer of •) formed together and were later overgrown hy
magnetitegrains0.05 mm in diameterseparating talc more iron rich garnet without pyroxene. Dnring
 M.4SON V.4LLEY MINE SKZIRN,NEP•.4D.4 785

hanging-wallskarn formation,the footwall skarn Petrogenesis

was veinedby a secondcycle of garnet deposition Contemporandtyof zone development
which evolved from Ads0 to Ad•00 and was locally
accompanied by pyrite and chalcopyrite. The identificationof relative-agecriteria applicable
On the marblesideof the hanging-wallskarn, cal- to zonally arranged alteration has been elegantly
cite-talc-magnetite formedearlyduringthe silication- treated by Meyer and Hemley (1967)' "... the
mineralizationcycleand was replacedon the vein- simplegeometryof the bandedzonal pattern is
ward side by relatively low iron tremolite (Ft7). obliginglyambiguons"(p. 181). Two specificfield
Talc-calcite or tremolite-dolomite-calcite continued relationsat the MVM shedlight on the problem'
to form from dolomitic marble as the tremolite veins (1) Garnet-pyroxeneveins cut pyroxene rock.
extendedbeyondthe magnetitezone. Pyroxenefor- This fact impliesthat the garnet-pyroxenezone en-
mationwasinitiallycharacterized by abruptrhythlnic croachedon the pyroxenezone, but it doesnot re-
fluctuationsin grain sizeand composition, but as the quire the entire garnet-pyroxenezone to be later
silicationprocesscontinuedpyroxenecompositionsthan the entire pyroxenezone. The two zonescould
becamerelativelyhomogeneous in the rangeHd50-60. have developedcontemporaneously, a choicesup-
Early, low-ironcoreswere rarely preserved. The ported by the fact that nowhere does the garnet-
tremolite-dolomite-calcite assemblage presumably pyroxenezone cnt acrossthe pyroxenezone and en-
continued to form on the marble contact as it was croach directly onto unsilicatedmarble--the two
replacedon the skarn side by pyroxene-calcite.zones are ubiquitouslyconcentric(cf. Meyer and
Sparse amounts of magnetiteand local specular Hemley, 1967).
hematitecontinuedto form during this stage,but the (2) TrCc veins cut the outer Ta and TaMtCc
evidenceon pyrite is inconclusive. zonesand encroachdirectly onto unsilicatedmarble,
As earlygarnet(Ad,.•) beganto form on the vein- implying that they formed after TaCc formation had
ward side,the iron contentof the associated pyroxene terminated,although elsewherein the system,pre-
progressively droppedfromHd•5 to Hdga,magnetite- sumablyat lower T or higher X½o•o,TaCc may still
hematitedisappeared, and pyrite appearedin abun- have beenforming.
dance. Continuedanisotropicgarnet growth (Ad•0- Main skarn stage: Notwithstanding the above
so) wasaccompanied by fracturingand localbreccia- ambiguities,it is reasonableto concludethat the
tion of both pyroxene-pyriteand garnet-pyroxene- alteration pattern of the MVM hanging-wallskarn
pyrite and an increasein garnet/pyroxene ratios. resulted from essentiallycontemporaneous develop-
Calciteand local calcite-quartzwere depositedinter- ment of zoneswhich migrated outwards,with only
stiffally to final brecciafillings of coarseeuhedral locallyover-riddenor absentintermediatezones.Such
garnet without pyroxene. Early anisotropicgarnet a modelis maintainedby many studentsof skarn de-
doesnot extendbeyondthe outer edgeof the pyrox- posits (e.g., Titley, 1961) and has been applied to
erie zone, but it is locally presentin pyroxenevein the formation of calc-silicate bands in middle- to
centers in the marble zone. This relation suggests upper-amphibolite faciesmetamorphism (Vidale and
that early garnet was part of the processof zoned Hewitt, 1973).
skarnformationand that its growthon the veinward A secondinterpretationfor zonal patterns of this
side was coincident in time with the continued out- type is that the innermostzone formedfirst and that
ward growth of the pyroxene, tremolite, and talc- solutionsflowing throughit superimposed later outer
calcite or tremolite-dolomite-calcite zones. zones. In this interpretation, each zone forms di-
Chalcopyrite deposition,accompaniedby addi- rectly by replacementof marble and once formed
tional pyrite, commencedwith the final stages of doesnot migrate. Bartholomdand Evrard (1970)
silication in the hanging-wall skarn. The vast apply this mechanismto the zoned sequenceMt-
majority of the chalcopyriteis directly associated ilvaite-Hd-marble at Temperino, Italy, althoughthe
with andradite-calcite overgrowthsand veins in the lack of field and petrographic data weakens their
central portion of the garnet-pyroxenezone. Py- conclusion. Cermignaniand Anderson (1973), in a
foxerie growth in this portion of the skarn had very well documentedstudy, conclude that zoned
terminated,and pyroxenecrystalswere partially re- Di-Tr-Cc veins in Grenville dolomites near Tweed,
placedby andradite. In the pyroxenezone, minor Ontario, resultedfrom early formation of diopside
chalcopyritedepositionwas accompaniedby actino- followedby fracturingand a changein T-Xco2 allow-
lite rather than andradite. This processalsoresulted ing TrCc to form at the contactbetween diopside
in the partial destructionof pyroxene. Andradite- and dolonfite. These examplesunderlinethe need
actinolite-chalcopyrite-calcite assemblagesare rare for detailed field and petrographicobservationson
and spatiallyrestrictedto the outer garnet-t)yroxene which to establish models of skarn formation.
zone.
Inferring conteml)oraneity of zone development
786 MARCO T. EINAUDI

ene is altered to actinolite. The apparentcompati-

bility of Ad with Hd40 and its incompatibilitywith
•1 $o
Hd,0 couldreflecta T-Xco2 control.
p•
•'•'"•IEARLy
T A cogeneticassociationof garnet and sulfidesis
generally not indicated by skarn studies,although
local occurrencesof sulfide-magnetiteveinlets with
• 4o
garnetenvelopes in marbleat Ely, Nevada,havebeen
Ad55'PYx described by James(1976). Disseminations of chal-
copyrite-pyritein garnet-pyroxeneare notedin num-
• 20 erous deposits,but such textures could result from
late sulfidedepositionfrom pore fluids which did not
alter the garnet-pyroxene. The present study sup-
plies evidencethat in the central skarn zone chal-
MRRBLE
I PYROXENE
] GRRNET-PYROXENE copyrite depositionoccurred during late andradite
veining and replacement of salite by andradite,
FIG. 10. Plot of mean compositions (dots) and range whereasin the outer zonechalcopyritedepositionwas
(vertical bars) of hedenbergite content in pyroxenes from accolnpaniedby alterationof salite to actinolite.The
the MVM. Samples are from the northern end of the mine
and are arranged to illustrate composition trends over a contemporaneity of these two environmentsis sug-
distanceof 100 m along a line subparallelto the hanging-wall gestedby the veinletsillustratedin Figure 6C.
skarn center line. Dash-dot line connects pyroxenes which
predate garnet deposition. Dashed line connects later Phase equilibria
pyroxeneswhich are contemporaneouswith grandite deposi-
tion. The progressivechangesin mineral assemblages
which characterizeskarnsmay resultfrom gradients
implies nothing about the relative ages of phases in T-Xc0_oand/or gradientsin the chemicalpotentials
within the individual zones. For example, as new, (v) of nonvolatilecomponents.Although it is virtu-
relativelyiron rich pyroxeneformed in the marble, ally impossibleto uniquelyspecifysuchvariablesfor
wasthe pyroxenein the skarn (1) adjustingits com- polycomponent rocksof very few phases,certain de-
position to the existing fluid compositiongradients, pendencies amongvariablesmay be determined. For
or (2) was it effectivelynonreactive ? The former im- example, an isothermal gradient in Xco2has been
plies that all pyroxenesin the pyroxene zone are suggestedas the zoning control in micaceouslime-
contemporaneous and that their presentcompositional stones in south-centralConnecticut (Vidale and
variations across the zone reflect the thermal and Hewitt, 1973). In this example, the systemwas
chemicalgradientsin the final incrementof solution. considered isochemical exceptfor CO2 and H20, and
The latter caseimpliesthat pyroxenesin the marble the boundariesbetweenzonesrepresentisobarically
are the youngest,and that the presentcoinpositional univariant T-X½o2 reaction curves. Mineral zoning
variationsreflect the changeswith time of the ther- sequencesin iron-rich calcium exoskarns have been
mal and chemical characteristics of the fluid. The discussed by Burt (1974) in termsof diffusion-con-
pattern within the pyroxenezone is ambiguousand trolled gradientsin vs•o,,v•,•o, and vc,o at externally
cannotbe resolvedon the basisof its geometryalone. controlledT, P, vo, andv½o_o (the lattervariablesde-
The garnet-pyroxenezone is less alnbiguousbe- fine the skarn facies). Burt concludesthat several
causeof the sequentialappearance of pyroxene,then differentzoning sequences may be possiblewithin a
garnet-pyroxene, and finally garnet alone. The dis- given faciesand, conversely,that the same zoning
tinct compositionalchangesexhibitedby garnet aid sequencecouldform within two different facies.
in establishingthe sequenceof mineral formation The MVM skarn is more complexthan the above
within the zone. The lack of equilibrationof early examples,and the analysis of phase equilibria is
pyroxene with later solutionsdepositinggarnet-py- hamperedby the lack of experimentaland thermo-
roxeneis illustratedby samples3-53 and 3-50 (Fig. chemicaldata for phasesof variablecomposition.The
10) and may be due largely to the restrictionof zoned veins of the marble contact are interpreted
fluids to open fractures. below, as a first approximation,on the basisof equi-
Ore stage: Concentriczonesare not alwaysdevel- libria in the system CaO-IV[gO-SiO2-H20-C02.
opedin thegarnet-pyroxene zone. LatestAd•00CpCc However, the addition of iron to the system,as in
asselnblages are not restrictedto Ad,•Hd4o envelopes the pyroxeneand garnet-pyroxenezones,causesthe
or patches,but rathercut acrosstheseand encroach appearanceof new phasesand introducescomposi-
directly onto Hd•0 rock. Ad•00 tends to replace tional variation in pyroxeneand amphibole. Isobaric
pyroxenein the Ad•aH(l]0 assemblage(Figs. 8G, univariant equilibria will shift from their Mg end
8H, and 81), but where it impingeson Hd•0, pyrox- memberpositionsand becomefunctionsnot only of T
 il[.4SONV.4LLEY.,?IIL.VE
SKztRN,NEV.4DA 787

stanttemperature.For theseconditions,thesequence
of phaseassemblages may be interpretedin termsof
,i ,
6õ0 Qz
Yl..• o
isothermalgradientsin Xco_o,
/•s•,and/•g (Fig. 12)
inducedby reactionof dolomiticwall rockswith a
metasomaticfluid characterizedby relativelylow
600 and closeto saturationwith quartz. The sequence of
two-phaseassemblages representsthe successiveat-
tainmentof appropriate/•-values and not the crossing
of isobaricallyunivariantT-Xco: curves. The phase
550
path for calcite saturationwithin a given divariant
T-Xco,,,field is unique. The lack of correspondence
Tøc
of any such paths in Figure 12 with the complete
MVM early vein sequencerequires that Xco2 de-
creased with time or toward the vein center. Portions
of the early vein zoningappearin successive diagrams
/ of Figure 12 from right to left with decreasingXco2.
The lack of isobaricallyunivariant assemblages makes
it impossibleto assigna value to the Xco_ogradient,
even if the temperaturewere known. For example,
the initial increasein/•s• which led to the replacement
of DoCc by TaCc could have occurred in either di-
variant region II or III (Figs. 11 and 12). How-
ever, general limits to the Xcos gradient can be in-
ferred from the location of divariant fields shown in

Xco• Figure 11. For maximum temperature conditions

(limited by invariant point TrTaDoCcQz at 410øC,
Fro. 11. T-Xco,• diagram at 1,000 bars Pa,_,o+Pco• for 1,000 bars) a minimumXco: gradientwould be ap-
calcite-bearing equilibria in the system CaO-MgO-SiO•-H,,O-
CO2, from Slaughter and others (1975) and Greenwood proximatelyfrom 0.1 to 0.5 (gradient B, Fig. 12).
(1967). The approximate position of the andradite-terminal At lower temperatures the minimum gradient in
reaction is from Taylor and Liou (1975). Abbreviations in Xco,ois significantlydiminished and could be less
Table 3.
thanXco.o= 0.1 (gradientA, Fig. 12).
Other MVM assemblages that belongto this sys-
and X½o2but also of fo._,. The interpretationin this tem are less instructive than TaCc. These include
caseis basedon writing appropriatechemicalreac- the assemblagesTrCc and TrCcDo which belong
tions whichillustratethe interdependence of intensive to the later vein stage and represent higher tem-
variables. peratures and/or lower X½o2 conditions than the
/•s•-/•tg -Xco2 gradients,marble contact:The de- early vein assemblage TaCc (Fig. 11).
finitive experimental studies in the system CaO- Graphical presentation of Fe-Mg assemblacdes:
MgO-SiO2-H20-CO2 are those of Skippen (1967, The variations in phase compositionsand assem-
1971, 1974), Gordon and Greenwood(1970), and blagesacrossthe skarn zone in terms of the eight-
Slaughter et al (1975). Recent compilationsand component syste•n Ca-Mg-Fe-Si-O:-H20-CO2-S:
comparisonsare suppliedby Kerrick (1974) and
Slaughter et al. (1975). Figure 11 summarizes
T-Xco_oequilibria for the calcite-bearingportion of
the systemat 1,000 bars total pressureand includes
the CcQz -- Wo curvefrom Greenwood(1967) and
the andradite-terminalreaction from Taylor and
Liou (1975). No isobaricallyunivariant or invari-
ant assemblages (Xco,obuffers) appearin this system
at the MVM. All assemblageshave an isobaric ß
•Si •

varianceof two or greater, suggestingthat the sys- Xco•

tem was open to both CO2 and H20.
The presenceof calcite throughout the zonal se- FIG. 12. Isobaric chemical potential diagrams for diffusing
quencein early vein envelopesimpliesthat/•mo was components Mg and Si drawn for the five divariant T-Xco_,
facies illustrated in Figure 11. Black arrows denote •-
a function of /•co.,,and the narrow width of these gradients frown the center of skarn veins toward the marble
veins suggeststhat metasomatismoccurredat con- contact.
788 MARCO T. EIN/IUDI

Oz 0.2 0.4 Di 0.6 Tr 0.8

0.8
PYROXENE ZONE

B FIG. 14. Chemical potential diagram for diffusing com-

Hm, Mr, Py
0.6 ponents Fe, Mg, and Si at constant P, T, fo.., and Xco_,,and
with ucao controlled by the presence of excess calcite. Con-
tours for mole fraction iron end member in salite and actino-
lite are schematic. The diffusion paths are discussedin text.

MVM-3 ii Cp,
Py
can be summarizedby plotting the phaseswhich co-
exist with excesscalcite and fluid onto a Fe-Mg-Si
triangle or onto an orthogonalplot of Fe/Si versus
Mg/Si. The latter plot has numerousadvantages
0.2 over the former in that it (1) expandsthe scaleof
the area of interest (the pyroxeneand amphibole
series), and (2) is readily transformedinto the
/•a•gdiagram (see Korzhinskii, 1959, p. 90-96).
Oz
I

0.2
I

0.4 0.6 0.8

A set of three Fe/Si-Mg/Si plots is presentedin
Figure 13. Figure 13A indicatesthat salite coexist-
Mg/$i ing with AdCcPy shouldhave a higher iron content
than salitecoexistingwith AcCcPy. The lack of any
0.8
PYROXENE ZONE
systematicvariation of this kind in salite composi-
and tions betweenthese assemblages at the MVM indi-
MARBLE ZONE catesthat variations in parameterssuchas T, X½o2,
/o.o,or/s2 were important controlsof phasecomposi-
0.6 c tion. _At constant pressure the above parameters
Mt, Py controlthe extent of solid solutionand the arrange-
• MVM-3 ment and slope of tie lines which define the as-
0.4 cpx veto
semblages.The plots in Figure 13 shouldtherefore
envelope be regardedas schematicsummariesof the general
features of compositionand assemblage.
Mt
Fro. 13. Fe/Si versus Mg/Si diagrams for calcite-bearing
0.2 trem vein parageneses illustrating phase composition-assemblagedata
envelope from various zones at the MVM. Solid tie lines represent
assemblagesrecorded at the MVM, whereas dashed tie lines
represent other possible,but not recorded, assemblages.The
--
slope of the tie lines, which is reflected in the slope of phase
!
•--__•; !
Do boundariesin the corresponding/•-/• diagrams,is determined
Oz 0,2 0.4 0.6 0.8 by the microprobeanalyses. The solid black bars represent
the range in composition of solid solutions. Solid circles
Mg/$i represent bulk composition of skarn zones from Table 1.
 MASON VALLEY MINE SKARN, NEVADA 789

Severalmineralincompatibilities are suggested by PYX VEIN

CENTERS
PYX

xMt-Hm ZONEXMt-H.m
Figure 13. For instance,andraditeis not compatible
with dolonfite becauseof the persistenceof the
SaMtCcandAcMtCc tie planes.For the conditions of 0• Do

MVM skarn formation,AdSaCe and SaMtCc were

favored over AcQzCc; also, SaMtCc was favored
•/
WALL.JEF
F
over AdAcCc exceptlocally during ore deposition. ROCK e
Tr
Certainaspectsof the T-Xco2-fosconditionsimplied
by thesemineral compatibilities are discussed in the
followingsection. J7Mg •
Fe-M# reactions:In a simplifiedsense,the MVM
zonal pattern might be explained by a model similar Py-Cp%O,E STAGE
to thoseusedby Burr (1974) in the Fe end member
system,in whichall zonescanberegardedas develop- ß ø1•o Do

ing simultaneouslyas the resultof diffusion-controlled

chemicalpotential gradients. Graphical modeling
may be basedon isobaricchemicalpotentialdiagrams
representingsaturationsurfacesfor three diffusing
components, at constanttemperature,Xco2, and los, D
Oz/ Di
I
and at a gc,o consistent•vith the presenceof excess ffMg• ff•Mg•
calcite(Fig. 14). Suchdiagramsmaybe constructed
using analyzedmineral compositions(Korzhinskii, Fro. 15. Schematic chemical potential diagrams projected
along the /•s• axis onto the /•s•-•g plane, at constant P, T,
1959). Chemicalpotential gradientsresultedfrom [oo., and Xco_o.Calcite is presentthroughout. Contours repre-
reaction between dolomite wall rocks and skarn- sent mole fraction of iron end member in pyroxene and
formingsolutionssaturatedwith respectto andradite amphibole. Arrows on circled numbers indicate direction
of shift of invariant points 1 and 2 relative to salite composi-
and possiblyquartz. The chemicalpotentialof Mg tion contourswith increasingT and/or decreasingXco_•.
decreased toward the skarn center,and the chemical
potentialsof Si and Fe decreasedtoward the marble. /•c,, couldyield the phasezoningand compositional
Sucha gradientis illustratedby the heavy dashed variationin pyroxeneand amphiboledocumentedfor
line in Figure 14. The resultingbimineraliczones the marble contactveins which cut the early TaCc-
would consistof the sequence:DoCc-AcCc-SaCc- bearing veins (Fig. 15A). Variations in T-X½m
AdCc. A path whichapproximates the MVM pat- conditionsmay have occurred,but suchchangesmay
tern more closelyinvolveslocal or internal control of be specifiedonly in the caseof appropriatelybuffered
chemicalpotentialsfor someportionsof the skarn, assemblages.
such that phaseboundariesare followed for short One suchassemblage is SaMtHmQzCc (invariant
distances (heavyblackline, Fig. 14). point 1, Fig. 15A), whichis locallypresentnear the
Yet, Figure 14 approximatesonly the general vein centers. The dependenceof salite composition
zonal mineralogyand not the variationsin composi- on T, Xcos,and fos can be determinedqualitatively
tion of individualphases. The abovemodelrequires by writing the continuousFe-Mg reaction
that actinoliteand salite both undergoprogressive
iron enrichment toward the skarn center at constant Sa q- Mt + Qz + Cc-• Sa' + Os + COs (1)
T and Xcoauntil saturationwith andraditeis reached.
Such an iron-enrichment trend is presentonly in where Sa' is more iron rich than Sa. The limiting
the outer pyroxenevein envelopes, wherepyroxene casefor this continuousreactionis the equivalentFe
shiftsabruptlyfrom Hdls to Hd.•6. From the marble end member reaction
contactinward,however,the pyroxenebecomes pro-
gressivelylessiron rich. This fact suggests
that the FeaO4 q- 6 SiO= q- 3 CaCOa • 3 CaFeSisO0
composition of pyroxenemay havebeencontrolledin Mt Oz Cc Hd
part by T-Xcos-fo.ogradients. This possibilitymay + 3 CO• q- •Os (1')
1

be discussed in termsof Figure 15 whichpresents

/•-/•tg diagramsprojectedalongthe/•s•axis. These Assunfingthat the activitiesof solidsother than clino-
diagramsare constructed from the paragenesis dia- pyroxene are equal to unity, the equilibrium con-
grams of Figure 13 and representfour different stant is
conditionsof T-Xcos. The followingconclusions
may be drawn: K 1 •--- LLHdJ
• 3 •c3 •e}
CO2J02
(1) A decreasein /• and increasein /•g from
veincentertowardmarble,at constant
T, Xco2,and where an,, is the activity of CaFeSiuO•in clinopy-
790 MARCO T. E[N,,IUDI

roxene.If the latter phaseis an ideal solution(Muel- the reactionTrQzCc: Di + CO2 + H20 on addition
ler, 1961), then of iron. Taylor and Liou (1975) have demonstrated
by experiment that andradite is not stable in the
XHd-- ½K1/(f•2f•02) TrQzCc stability field (Fig. 11). A shift of the
diopside-terminalreaction toward higher tempera-
where Xm, is the mole fraction of CaFeSi2Ooin tureson additionof iron is thereforerequiredfor the
clinopyroxene.This relationindicates that,with stableexistenceof the assemblage AdAcCc. Such a
bufferedby MtHm, Xm, is an isobarically univariant shift is suggestedby Thompson (1975b) on the
functionof T and ;fco2(or Xco2); increasingtem- basis of Fe/Mg distribution between naturally oc-
peratureand/or decreasing Xco2wouldcausea pro- curringclinopyroxenes and low-A1calcicamphiboles.
gressiveincreasein the iron contentof salitein the In summary, increasingtemperatureand/or de-
assemblage SaMtHmQzCc. This result is compat- creasing Xco2 toward the skarn center may have
ible with a modelof decreasingX½o2toward pyroxene been recorded by the compositionof salite. The
vein centers of the marble contact zone, but cannot exact path, and the changesin salite composition
be appliedto the pyroxenezone as a whole due to or appearanceof new phases,would ultimately de-
the generalabsenceof quartz and the near-constant pend on the extent of equilibriumbetweenwall rock
composition of salite (Fig. 15B). and fluid. Equilibrium may have been maintained
(2) The decreasein Xrrd in the garnet-pyroxene for a period of time at invariant point 2, Figure 15C,
zone may have resultedfrom a continuousFe-Mg due to abundanceof saliteand relativelyhigh density
reaction of the type of fractures. Garnet and salite formed contempo-
raneouslyand the trend toward iron enrichmentin
Sa'+ hit+ Cc+02•Sa+Ad+ COs (2) salite was reversed. Evidence cited earlier for re-
strictionof fluids to open fracturesand lack of com-
where Sa' is more iron rich than Sa. This reaction
plete reconstitutionof early phasesindicatesthat
is represented by invariantpoint (2) in Figure 15C, the fluid eventuallybecamechemicallyinsulatedfrom
which representshigher T and/or lower Xco2 than the wall rocksby newly formed garnet. The effec-
Figures 15A and 15B. The Fe end memberreaction tiveness of salite as a buffer was reduced, and the
equivalentto reaction (2) is compositionof the fluid shifted abruptly into the
garnet field. At this stage,or slightly later and at
18 CaFeSi206 q- 2 Fe30• q- 18 CaCOa lower temperatures,the assemblage AdAcCc became
Hd Mt Cc
stable relative to SaMtHin (reaction 3). The ap-
q- 5 O..,.• 12 CaaFe2SiaOp•q- 18 COs (2') pearanceof andradite and the shift in compatibilities
Ad marked the beginningof major ore deposition. This
relationship suggeststhat crystallization of large
and
amounts of iron-rich garnet caused the decreasein
Fe/Cu ratio in the ore fluid which led to saturation
K2 : dOs /- •s ,es
C02/iZkHdJ 02
with chalcopyrite.
Assumingthat clinopyroxene
is an idealsolution Bulk composition
gradients
The bulk coinpositionsof the various skarn zones
presentedin Table 1 were determinedby chemical
Hence, a gradient toward higher T and/or lower analysisof channelsamplesfroin the 300 level (Fig.
Xeo_•would cause a decreasein the iron content of 4). The abundanceof brecciationand fracturing
salitein the assemblage
AdSaMtHmCc. followedby depositionof later silicates,oftenas ap-
(3) The local appearance of the assemblage parent open-space fillings,suggegts that if volume
lossoccurredduring initial stagesof silicationit was
AdAcPyCc suggeststhe following isobaricallyuni-
variant discontinuous reaction: expressedby an increasein porosityat constantbulk
volume. Uncertainties with regard to such volume
Sa q- MtHm q- O2 q- CO2 q- H20 •-- changes make calculationsof chemical gains and
Ad+Ac+Cc (3) losses of questionablevalue. The grossvariation in
chemicalcompositionof the skarn is therefore pre-
representedby the changein topologybetweenthe sented in Figure 16A in terms of g/cc of oxides
•-diagrams of Figures 15C and 15D. A decreasein present. •¾ith the assumptionof constantvolume,
T and/or increasein Xeo_•at low values of Xoo= gains and lossesmay be readily determinedfrom
favors the AdAcCc assemblage.The stableexistence this figure. The compositionof the nonsulfidepor-
of this reaction dependson the direction of shift of tion of the skarnwas calculatedby subtractingS and
 ß ,,

gm./cm.
3 gm./cmfi

- J ß I CaO I

gm./cm?
1.20-
CøOI U
"••
'"::'
""'"'
''
h• J
O0 0I• :::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::: ' ' : O.0
• 0.40- oa040- ß ß

0.0 : :

008 30 Iiii..,.,.:.
,..:•.•
,.:•.::.•:•
1.8
• 0.04
0.0
c,, •o•
' ' •"' ' 0 0
iil
..........
::':::::::':':':::'. Si02
I
J

::: 0 80 0 " ß '

o.o 00

o.8o
•
• I

o• 0.40
B
•- .

i = O0 . i : •i'i:!:i:: I
ø'øl I o8o- I
I o
o o.4o- J c• o4o-

•: MgO
] ....
0.0 ' ,.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:4

•- • '• •z •-

ttan•in•wall
Limestone
$karn•oot-J
jSkarnJ
wall
J Tuff ,tia•in•wall
Limestone •oot-J
Skarn
Skarn
wall Tuff

Fro. 16. Variation in bulk compositionof skarn zonesas determinedby chemical analysesof
underground channel samples and surface samples. The composition of vein halos is calculated
from microprobe analysesof tremolite, and assumedend-membercompositionfor talc, and point
counts for dolomite, calcite, and magnetite. Steplike versus smooth gradients are on interpreta-
tion basedon mappedrelations betweenzones. (A) Compositionof whole rock. (B) Composi-
tion of nonsulfideportion.

Fe in sulfideson the basisof Cu and S analysesand garnet and marble. A12a and Fe.oOaare the only
recalculatingto 100 percent using a specificgravity oxides which sho•v a continuous,steppedgradient
of 3.1. Thus, Figure 16B illustrates the approxi- without reversals,decreasingoutwardfrom the hang-
mate compositionalgradients prior to main sulfide ing-wall centerline. The compositionpath for these
deposition. two oxides approximatesthe gradation in composi-
The most interestingaspectof the bulk chemistry tion between garnet and marble. All other oxides
is the significantdivergenceof the compositionpath displayeither cuhninations(SiO2, MgO) or depres-
from a simple gradation in compositionbetween sions(CaO), and CaO and SiO2 both exhibitgradi-
 792 M.4RCO T. EIN./tUD[

ents xvhichare oppositeto a gradation in coinposi- Textures and mineral compositionsclearly indi-
tion betweengarnet and lnarble. Such culminations cate that the processof skarn formation involved
or depressions with respectto certain components only local equilibriumbetweenfluid and wall rocks.
are a coralnon feature of metasomatic rocks and have Large variations in compositionof phaseswithin
beendiscussed in theoreticaltermsby J. B. Thomp- grains and between adjacent assemblagespreserve
son (1959), Korzhinskii (1970), and A. B. Thomp- the record of skarn growth. Reconstitutionof early
son (1975a). In multicomponent systemsthe bulk assemblagesby later fluids in the garnet-pyroxene
compositionof any point in a metasomaticcolumn zone was restricted to the immediate vein walls, and
will in generalnot lie on a simplecompositional axis the majority of late silicatesappear to have been
definedby the end 1nerohers of the column. This is depositedin open spaces. The apparent gradual
a consequence of the fact that an arbitrary chemical decreasein garnet/garnet+ pyroxenefrom 0.75 to
potential gradient may lead to saturation with a 0.00 toward marblefor the depositas a wholereflects
phasewhich containsa greater amountof a certain the varying degreeof replacementand vein filling by
componentthan phaseson either side. Such a pro- a seriesof assemblages which actuallydisplayfairly
cessmay be visualizedwith the help of Figure 12, abrupt changesin proportionsof phases.
where an increasein /•s• and a decreasedin The MVM zonal pattern may be interpreted in
toward the vein centerswas proposedin a previous terms of a contemporaneous zonal growth model in
sectionto accountfor the zonalsequenceDoCc-TaCc- which the zone mineralogyand phasecomposition
Ta-Tr(Cc)-DiCc on the lnarble contact. In this were controlledbothby gradientsin the chemicalpo-
exalnple, the compositiongradients for SiO2 and tentialsof nonvolatilecomponents and by changesin
MgO show a depressionin the Ta zone, whereas T-Xco2. In general,however,the skarnassemblages
CaO shows a cuhnination in the Ta zone. This are of too high a varianceto allow the conclusive
suggeststhat transportof a given componentcan separationof chemicaland physicalvariables.Petro-
occurup its own concentrationor chelnicalpotential geneticinterpretationsare further hamperedby the
gradient ("uphill diffusion,"Cooper,1974). lack of experimentaldataon the effectof iron on the
Mg end member reactions.
Summary and Conclusions Comparisonof the MVM skarnwith publishedac-
counts of other skarns yields the following points
Skarn formation at the MVM resulted in the
whichmay serveto outlineareasfor further study:
developmentof an early garnet zone consistingpre- (1) The zonalpatternat the MVM resembles in
dominantlyof grandite(Ada0-70)and lesserpyroxene a generalway sequences describedfrom Hanover,
(Hd0-25). Garnet/garnet+ pyroxenefractionsshow Central mining district, N.M. (Schmitt, 1935),
no systematicvariation from an averagevalue of 0.8. Linchburgmine, Magdalenadistrict, N.M. (Titley,
Dolomitizationof marble may have occurredduring 1961), San Antonio mine, Santa Eulalia district,
this stage,but the contactbetweenmarble and garnet Mexico (Hewitt, 1943), Prescott mine, Texada
is obscuredby the later developmentof the main sul- Island, B. C. (Swanson,1925), Yaguki mine, Japan
fide-bearingportion of the skarn. (Shilnazaki,1969), Shinyareamine,Japan(Tsusue,
The later, sulfide-bearingportion is characterized 1961), and Kurusay, U.S.S.R. (Tarasov, 1966).
by the zonal pattern: Do, TaMt, Tr, SaMtHmPy, These sequenceshave been generalizedby Burt
GrSaPy. Calcite is presentthroughoutand is inter- (1974) into four zones: (1) vein, intrusive,or
pretedas beingcontemporaneous with silicates. The magnetitezone, (2) andraditicgarnet zone, (3)
sequenceof mineral formation in individual samples hedenbergite zone,and (4) marblezone. This pat-
is in generalthe stoneas their zonal sequencetoward tern is distinct from other calcium skarns which
the skarn center. The iron content of pyroxene developa wollastonitezone betweenpyroxeneand
passesthrougha lnaximumin pyroxenevein centers nondolomitic marble and from magnesium skarns
on the marblecontactand then graduallydiminishes whichare characterized by forsterite,serpentine,
and
toward the skarn center. Pyroxene contempo- magnetite. The presenceof TaMtCc assemblages,
raneouswith grandite is less iron rich than earlier suchas thoseat the MVM, is not documentedin the
pyroxeneformed at the stonepoint in the pattern. above occurrences,although an equivalent assem-
As the iron content of grandite exceededAds0, py- blagewith chloriteinsteadof talc occurswith hema-
roxenedepositionceased,and chalcopyritedeposition rite on the marble contact at Linchburg (Titley,
commencedwith the replacementof pyroxene by 1961).
Ad•00. As these late ore fluids encroached on suc- (2) The majority of the abovereferencesdo not
cessivelymore iron rich pyroxenesbeyondthe py- contain information on the compositiontrends of
roxene-garnetzone,pyroxenewas replacedby actino- phaseswithin the zonal sequence.One exceptionis
lite. the study of the SecondCopper orebodyat the
 MASON VALLEY MINE SKARN, NEVADA 793

Shinyareamine, •vhere Tsusue (1961) has docu- TABLE 7. CoexistingGarnet-Pyroxene Pairs, from the
Footwall (FW) and Hanging-Wall (HW) Skarns
menteda sequencevery similarto that at the MVM:
a dark-green pyroxene (Hd80) zone separatesmar- Garnet Pyroxene

ble from a garnet-pyroxenezone which contains Grain Grain Xltd

Ad40Hd5o-0•. Late Ad05 veins cut the garnet-pyrox- Sample no. XAd no. Xlld q- XAd R
enezone. The paragenetic trendsin garnetcomposi-
FVq 4-4 2A 0.36 3B 0.20 0.56 0.44
tion at the Razdan magnetite-bearingskarn, Soviet FW 3-6 IA (core) 0.38 IC 0.10 0.48 0.19
Armenia (Bojadzan,1969), are alsosimilarto those
at the MVM; early fragmentsof Ada0-74+ pyroxene H•V 4-3A IA 0.55 1E 0.34 0.89 0.41
HW 3-50 IA 0.56 1D 0.39 0.95 0.50
are cementedby Adw-8, + magnetite,and both early HW 3-53 2A (core) I).64 2B 0.43 1.07 0.42
garnetgenerationsare cut by localveinletsof Ad88-97.
The majority of studiesof zonal compositiontrends R = (Xlld/1 = XHd)/(XAd/1 = XAd).

deal with tungsten-bearingskarns: Fujigatani mine,

Japan (Ito, 1962), Strawberry mine, California early magnesian pyroxeneis followedby granditeco-
(Nokleberg, 1970), and Pine Creek, California existingwith a more iron rich pyroxene.
(Wright, 1973). In contrastwith copper-bearing (3) Figure 17 summarizesthe available data,
skarns,suchas the MVM and Shinyama,thesetung- largelyfrom Zharikov (1970), on the compositions
stenskarnscontainrelativelyiron poorgranditesand of coexisting garnetsand pyroxenesin skarns.The
relatively iron rich pyroxenes,and the iron content followingare someof the moreimportantfeaturesof
in both of these phases decreasestoward marble. the diagram:
Similar tungsten-bearingskarnsof the Mount Morri- a) The valueof XAa+ XH,• for coexistinggarnet-
son pendant, Sierra Nevada, have been studied by pyroxenepairs is generallylessthan 1.1 for most
Morgan (1975) with the general conclusionthat skarns(Table 7). Thus, coexisting garnetsand
pyroxenestend to exhibit a mutual increaseor mu-
tual decreasein iron content,but relativelyhigh iron
contentin both phasesis generallyexcludeddue to
the different oxidation states of iron in the two
phasek. The coexistence of relativelyiron rich gar-
nets and pyroxenesmay be possibleat high tem-
perature(Burt, 1971), but thereare no documented
occurrencesof coexistingandraditeand hedenbergite
in skarns.
b) Continuous, systematic
variationin garnetand
pyroxene compositions
is characteristic
of thegarnet-
pyroxenezonesof individualskarns. Numerous
depositsshowthreeor moredatapointsdefininga
significantspreadin mineral compositions.More
data are clearly required on mineral composition
variationswithinzoningsequences, because suchdata
have direct bearingon the applicationof Korzhin-
skii's (1970) diffusionversusinfiltrationmodelsfor
metasolnaticprocesses.
c) Skarnstendto exhibitconstantvaluesof
XA,•for coexistinggarnet-pyroxene
pairs. Samples
with valuesof Xna/XAa which differ significantly
fromthe majorityof othersamplesin a givenskarn
mayrepresenta separate
silication
episode.
Evidence
supporting
thisinterpretation
is supplied
by sample
3-6, MVM, whichrepresents
the early hornfelsstage
Fro. 17. The compositionsof coexisting garnets and
pyroxenes in skarns expressed as Xaa/1-XHd versus rather than the main hanging-wall skarn stage
1-XAa. Open circles are from Zharikov (1970, fig. 122). (Table 7).
Thin dashed lines join data points from individual deposits. (1) Copper-lead-zinc
skarnshavelower XHa/XAa
Black symbols indicate additional data from North American
and Japaneseskarns referred to in text. The zonal position valuesthan tungsten-molybdenite
skarns,as first
of each black datum point within a given skarn is indicated documented by Zharikov(1970). Sucha systematic
by the solid lines with arrows pointing toward marble. The
curved, dashedline representsX.•a + X•a: 1.1. R: (X•a/ relationshipelnphasizes
the genetic tie between
1-xH•) / (XAd/1-X•d). silicate.
and ore mineralogyand couldproveto be an
794 MARCO T. EINAUDI

importantexplorationtool. The ratio Xm•/Xxd nlay near Salmo, British Columbia, Canada: Am. Mineralogist,
v. 52, p. 1669-1680.
be useful for classifyingskarn depositsbecauseit Hewitt, \¾. P., 1943, Geology and mineralization of the
provides an oxidation scale for garnet-pyroxene as- San Antonio mine, Santa Eulalia district, Chihuahua,
semblages. This relationshipcould also form the Mexico: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 54, p. 173-204.
Ito, K., 1962, Zoned skarn of the Fujigatani mine, Yama-
basisfor definingthe chemicaland physicalenviron- guchi prefecture: JapaneseJour. Geology Geography, v.
lnents of transport and depositionof copper versus 33, p. 169-190.
James, L. P., 1976, Zoned alteration in limestone at por-
tungsten. phyry copper deposits, Ely, Nevada: EcoN. G•ou., v. 71,
p. 488-512.
Acknowledgments Kerrick, D. M., 1974, Review of metamorphic mixed vola-
tile (H,,O-CO.,) equilibria: Am. Mineralogist, v. 59, p.
729-762.
The present paper is a portion of a continuing Knopf, A., 1918, Geology and ore depositsof the Yerington
geoiogical study of the Yerington district by the district, Nevada: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 114,
68 I).
geologystaff of the The AnacondaCompany. The Korzhinskii,D. S., 1959,Physicochemical basisof the analy-
writer is particularly indebtedto John M. Proffett, sisof the paragenesisof minerals:New York, Consultants
Jr., for his help during the initial phases of the Bur., lnc., 142 p.
investigation. His definition of the district strati- • 1970,Theoryof metasomatic
zoning: Oxford, Claren-
don Press, 162 p.
graphicand structuralsettingwasinvaluable.Grateful Meyer, C., and Hemley,J. J., 1967,Wall rock alteration,in
acknowledgment is alsomadeto JohnP. Hunt, Lewis Barnes. H. L., ed., Geochemistry of hydrothermal ore
deposits:New York, Holt, Rinehart and \Vinston, p.
B. Gustarson,and Richard C. Baker for their sup- 166-235.
port and encouragement. The rock analyseswere Morgan. B. A., 1975. Mineralogyand origin of skarnsin
made in the analytical laboratory of The Anaconda the Mount Morrison pendant,Sierra Nevada, California:
Am. Jour. Sci., v. 275, p. 119-142.
Conapany in Salt Lake City, underthe supervisionof Mueller, R. F., 1961,Analysisof relationsamongMg, Fe,
Harold Vincent. D. Seversonkindly preparedthe and Mn in certain metamorphic minerals: Geochim. et
illustrations. \Villiam P. Nash of the University of Cosmochim.Acta, v. 25, p. 267-296.
Utah aided in the microprobeanalyses. An early Noble, D.C., 1962,Mesozoicgeologyof the southernPine
Nut Range, Douglas County, Nevada: Unpub. Ph.D.
versionof this paperbenefittedgreatlyfrom the per- thesis, Stanford University, 200 p.
ceptivereviewsof D. M. Burt, J. G. Liou, and T. Nokleberg,\V. J., 1970,Geologyof the Strawberrymine
Gerlach. roof i)endant,centralSierra Nevada,California:Unpub.
Ph.D. thesis, University of California, Santa Barbara,
157 p.
DEPARTMENTS OF .3tPPLIED I•ARTH SCIENCES AND Proffett, J. M., Jr., 1969, Report on the geology of the
OEOLOOY Yeringtondistrict: Unpub.company
rept.,The Anaconda
Co., 404 p.
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
1972,Nature, age, and origin of Cenozoicfaultingand
STANFORD, CA•FORNI,,X 94305 volcanismin the Basin and Range Province (with special
Jlarch 5, •Voz,embcr.gO,1976 referenceto the Yerington district, Nevada): Unpub.
Ph.D. thesis,Universityof California,Berkeley,77 p.
Proffett,J. M., Jr., andProffett,Beth,1976,Stratigraphy
of
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 MASON ?ALLEY MINE SK.4RN, NE?ADA 795

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