Geobiology of northern Australian mid-Proterozoic sedex

Zn-Pb-Ag deposits
Peter McGoldrick
Earth Sciences/CODES/IMAS – University of Tasmania

Abstract. The northern Australian mid-Proterozoic 2 Characteristics of the ‘sedex’ Zn systems

McArthur and Mount Isa Basins host four supergiant
sediment-hosted Zn±Pb±Ag deposits, several smaller The northern Australian Proterozoic Zn Belt contains (or
deposits and a number of sub-economic prospects. contained) more than a quarter of the world’s known Zn
These formed at, or very close to, the sea floor when cool- resource (Large et al., 2005). In the low metamorphic
warm, saline, oxidized brines ‘exhaled’ into anoxic grade areas of the northern Mount Isa Basin, and in the
(ferruginous) bottom water. McArthur Basin (Fig.1) the ores comprise stratiform,
Host sediments are variably dolomitic, sideritic, pyritic stacked, tabular lenses of laminated fine-grained base-
and carbonaceous shales and siltstones, mostly metal sulfides. Metamorphism and deformation results in
deposited sub-storm wave base. Ores are present at ores with coarser (‘recrystallised’) base metal sulfides
several stratigraphic levels and ages range from ~1.65 and a more complex paragenesis. Host sequences are
Ga (Mount Isa) to ~1.59 Ga (Century). siltstones and carbonaceous shales with a ‘clastic’
The hosts and ores contain an array textures dolomitic carbonate component. Mineralized intervals are
interpreted to have formed directly, or indirectly, by often thicker than their lateral equivalents, indicating
microbial activity. Chemical, isotopic and mass balance structurally controlled depocenters (‘sub-basins’) were
arguments suggest the (former) presence of vast favorable sites for ore formation (McGoldrick et al. 2010).
quantities of microbial biomass. This prokaryote- All deposits and prospects show Fe enrichment
dominated vent biota likely played a key role in the (‘halos’) in their host rocks. This is manifested as
formation of the deposits by facilitating the production of abundant fine-grained bedded and laminated pyrite,
reduced sulfur needed to fix base metals as metal and/or Fe-carbonates (Large and McGoldrick, 1998;
sulfides. McGoldrick & Large, 1998).
Early eukaryotes living in these microbial communities
may have experienced unique selection pressures in
response to the deep, dark anoxic conditions in which
they lived.

1 Introduction

Communities of diverse chemosynthetic micro-

organisms and macroscopic invertebrates associated
with, and dependent on, deep sea hydrothermal vents
and cold (hydrocarbon) seeps are among the most
remarkable and unexpected biological discoveries of the
last half century (Corliss and Ballard 1977, Paull et al.
1984). Fossil ‘vent biotas’ have been recognised in
several locations. The oldest macroscopic examples are
from Ordovician-Silurian massive sulfides in the Urals
(Little et al. 1999; Georgeiva et al. 2018) and fossil
microbial communities have been found in 1.43 Ga black
smoker chimneys from north China (Li and Kusky 2007).
Purported micro-organisms have been reported from the
oldest known (3.24 Ga) massive sulfides from the Pilbara
of Western Australia (Rasmussen 2000).
Despite some historic arguments to the contrary,
Australian mid-Proterozoic ‘sedex’ deposits formed at, or
very close to, the sediment-water interface when
warm(ish), dense, brines vented at the sea floor. In this
review I will present textural and geochemical features
from several Zn deposits and exploration prospects that
indicate the former presence of microbial vent
Figure 1. Location map showing the mid-Proterozoic McArthur and
communities and argue some microbes played an
Mount Isa Basins and contained Zn±Pb±Ag mines and former mines
integral role in ore formation. (red dots) and sedex Zn prospects (blue dots).
3 Microbially mediated textures of these would have stood proud of the sea floor (Fig. 3
a-d). These textures are preserved by a number of
3.1 Pyrite minerals, and mineral intergrowths (pyrite, carbonates,
base metal sulfides). Small domal stromatolites with
Macroscopically, the bedded pyrite in all the northern micro-unconformities are present in the sideritic inter-ore
Australian systems is very similar (Fig. 2a&b). Schieber beds at Century (Fig. 3e)
(1990) compared Mount Isa bedded pyrite to pyritised Nodular or ‘crusty’ carbonate (±sphalerite) is a texture
microbial mat from the 1.4 Ga Newland Formation of well developed peripheral to the HYC deposit (Ireland et
Montana and suggested pyrite in northern Australian al. 2004). In low grade Zn prospects (e.g., Myrtle,
systems had a similar origin. Grevillea) mineralisation is mainly this texture.
Microscopically much of the earliest generation Unmineralised examples from Bluebush prospect
bedded pyrite at Mount Isa comprises layers rich in small comprise sparry calcite aggregates separated by curve-
(5-10 micron) pyritohedra associated with carbonaceous planar pyrite and organic matter (Fig. 3f).
matter (Painter et al. 1999) and ‘classic’ framboids have
not been reported. By contrast, at HYC, Croxford and
Jephcott (1972) described a variety of framboidal types
(Fig. 2c&d). Carbonaceous spheres (interpreted as
microbial fossil remains) have been extracted from Mount
Isa pyrite (Love and Zimmerman 1961) and HYC ores
(Hamilton and Muir 1974), and later work at HYC (Oehler
and Logan 1977) revealed a diverse array of pyritised
microbial forms preserved in black cherts.

Figure 3. All photos oriented with stratigraphic younging direction to

the top. All samples are of cut and polished hand specimens, except
d & e, which are photomicrographs of thin sections. a&b. Crinkly-
laminated pyrite beds with ‘spiky’ tops from Lady Loretta. c. Zinc
mineralised crinkly-laminated pyrite-carbonate from Grevillea
prospect. d. Reflected light photomontage of Grevillea
mineralisation showing ‘mini-stromatolite’. e. Microbially-laminated
sideritic siltstone from inter-ore beds at Century (arrow indicates
micro-unconformty associated with small stromatolites or
thrombolites). f. Transmitted light photomicrograph of ‘crusty’ pyrite-
calcite bed from Bluebush prospect.

4 Microbially mediated ore formation

Figure 2. a. Bedded, crinkly- laminated pyrite from Mount Isa. b.
Crinkly-laminated pyrite from Lady Loretta. c. ‘Classic’ framboids High temperature ‘smoker-type’ sulfide deposits
from HYC. d. Irregular (‘amoeboid’) -shaped macroframboids from precipitate base metal sulfides (inorganically) in response
HYC. to cooling and mixing on encountering cold seawater. In
contrast, cool, oxidised sedex fluids require mixing with
3.2 Other microbialites an exogenous source of reduced sulfur, or a mechanism
to reduce sulfate already in the fluid, to form base metal
There are several distinctive upwards-facing, curvy- sulfides. Thermochemical sulfate reduction has been
planar, wavy and wrinkly structures present in a number proposed for deep subsurface mineralisation models
of deposits reasonably interpreted as microbialites. Some (Broadbent et al. 1998), but is kinetically ineffective at
temperatures below ~140o (Machel 2001). Biogenic Proterozoic oceans may have been important sites for
(microbial) sulfate reduction is an appealing alternative eukaryogenesis (see also Porter, 2018).
process for producing the required sulfide and the rate of
BSR may be the fundamental control on the formation of Acknowledgements
high-grade mineralisation in these systems (Druschel et
al. 2002, Maier and McGoldrick 2009). Recently, Johnson My journey into the world of the mid-Proterozoic started
et al. (2018) argued that BSR facilitated by anaerobic at Mount Isa in 1978. Over the years numerous people
oxidation of methane (AOM) generated the sulfide contributed to the story presented here, and would like to
needed to form Paleaozoic sedex deposits in Canada. particularly thank Reid Keays, Bill Croxford, John
The crusty carbonate textures and concretions (Fig. 2j&k) Lovering, Peter Stoker, Rennie Blair, Steve De Cruif,
associated with the northern Australian systems may Colin Robinson, Martin Neudert, Ross Logan, Brian
indicate AOM operated in the Australian systems as well. Gulson, Neil Williams, Bill Perkins, Cees Swager, Greg
Under optimal (‘goldilocks’) conditions Australian Anderson, Wayne Nesbitt, Ross Large, Stuart Bull, David
Proterozoic seafloor vents would be self-sustaining Cooke, Richard Keele, John Dunster, Mark Aheimer,
producers of base metal sulfides (‘bioreactors’ - Fig.4). Jamie Rogers, Tim Ireland, Alan Goode, Graham Carr,
However, in the Fe-rich world of the Proterozoic deep Andrew Allen, Peter Winefield, Rob Scott, David Selley,
oceans, many sedex systems produced low-grade or Josh Guilliamse, Ron Berry, Veryan Hann, Graeme
barren systems dominated by base metal anomalous Broadbent, Dugi Wilson, Poul Emsbo, Tim Lyons, Noah
pyrite (too much BSR) or ferroan-carbonates (too little Planavsky, Clint Scott, John Slack, Cam Allan, Donna
BSR). Satterthwait, Rod Maier, and Sean Johnson.
Funding to support much of this research came from the
University of Melbourne, the University of Tasmania, the
Australian Research Council and AMIRA.

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