Cripple Creek and other alkaline-related gold deposits in the southern Rocky Mountains, USA: influence of regional tectonics

Kelley, Karen D.; Ludington, Steve

doi:10.1007/s00126-001-0229-4

Cited by 70 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The Laughlin Peak-Chico Hills complex was emplaced just before or at the beginning of Rio Grande rift extension (22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)). The Laughlin Peak-Chico Hills igneous complex consists of a variety of alkaline extrusive (trachyandesite, 32.3 ± 1.5, K/Ar; basalt, trachybasalt, rhyodacite) and intrusive lithologies (Figure 4a) [79]), and carbonatite dikes [44].…”

Section: Laughlin Peak Districtmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fluorine and gold are common in both areas. Tellurium is found in most of the Colorado districts, but most GPM districts in New Mexico have tungsten and iron skarns, with only trace amounts to no tellurium [4,26,31,32]. Carbonatites are only found in New Mexico and Mexico.…”

Section: Geology Geochemistry and Style Of Mineralization Of Gpm Dismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Supporting evidence for a magmatic-hydrothermal origin of GPM mineral deposits include the following: (1) fluid inclusion data, age determinations, and stable isotopic evidence from the Capitan quartz veins [122,[126][127][128] and Nogal-Bonito deposits [136][137][138]140], (2) nature of stockwork molybdenum deposits at Sierra Blanca [131], (3) close spatial association of the nine types of deposits with igneous rocks [44,108,125], (4) presence of skarn deposits along the contacts of the igneous rocks [44,108], (5) similar age determinations between igneous intrusions and associated mineralization and alteration [23,24], (6) geochemistry, fluid inclusion and geochemical modeling studies in the Gallinas Mountains district [106][107][108][109][110] and (7) similarity of New Mexico deposits to other deposits at Cripple Creek, Colorado and elsewhere where a magmatic origin is favored [26,35,89,90,201]. GPM are found along a long, linear, cratonic boundary (Great Plains and Rocky Mountains) that has a geologic history spanning hundreds of million years [24,27].…”

Section: Origin Of Gpm Depositsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have attributed changes in the chemistry and source of the magmas to the tectonic transition between Eocene-early Oligocene subduction (Laramide, 36-75 Ma) and mid-Tertiary extension (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36) [124,199,200] that was triggered by changes in the subducting Farallon plate. As the Farallon slab fragmented [166,207], the asthenosphere filled gaps between the sinking slab and overlying lithosphere, producing magmas and thereby accounting for slight differences between chemical compositions of the exposed igneous rocks within the GPM belt.…”

Section: Origin Of Gpm Depositsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rare Earth Elements (REE) Deposits Associated with Great Plain Margin Deposits (Alkaline-Related), Southwestern United States and Eastern Mexico

McLemore

2018

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W.G. Lindgren in 1933 first noted that a belt of alkaline-igneous rocks extends along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains and Basin and Range provinces from Alaska and British Columbia southward into New Mexico, Trans-Pecos Texas, and eastern Mexico and that these rocks contain relatively large quantities of important commodities such as, gold, fluorine, zirconium, rare earth elements (REE), tellurium, gallium, and other critical elements. In New Mexico, these deposits were called Great Plain Margin (GPM) deposits, because this north-south belt of alkaline-igneous rocks roughly coincides with crustal thickening along the margin between the Great Plains physiographic province with the Basin and Range (including the Rio Grande rift) and Rocky Mountains physiographic provinces, which extends into Trans-Pecos Texas and eastern Mexico. Since 1996, only minor exploration and development of these deposits in New Mexico, Texas, and eastern Mexico has occurred because of low commodity prices, permitting issues, and environmental concerns. However, as the current demand for gold and critical elements, such as REE and tellurium has increased, new exploration programs have encouraged additional research on the geology of these deposits. The lack of abundant quartz in these systems results in these deposits being less resistant to erosion, being covered, and not as well exposed as other types of quartz-rich deposits, therefore additional undiscovered alkaline-related gold and REE deposits are likely in these areas. Deposits of Th-REE-fluorite (±U, Nb) epithermal veins and breccias are found in the several GPM districts, but typically do not contain significant gold, although trace amounts of gold are found in most GPM districts. Gold-rich deposits in these districts tend to have moderate to low REE and anomalously high tungsten and sporadic amounts of tellurium. Carbonatites are only found in New Mexico and Mexico. The diversity of igneous rocks, including alkaline-igneous rocks, and associated mineral deposits along this boundary suggests that this region is characterized by highly fractionated and differentiated, multiple pulses of mantle-derived magmas evolving to lower crustal magmas related to the subduction of the Farallon plate. The differences in incompatible trace elements, including REE and beryllium, between the different granitic to rhyolite rocks are likely related to either differences in the crustal rocks that were assimilated during magmatic differentiation or by potential minor contamination from crustal sources and/or magma mixing. Deep-seated fracture systems or crustal lineaments apparently channeled the magmas and hydrothermal fluids. Once magmas and metal-rich fluids reached shallow levels, the distribution and style of these intrusions, as well as the resulting associated mineral deposits were controlled by local structures and associated igneous rock compositions.

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Section: Laughlin Peak Districtmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geology Geochemistry and Style Of Mineralization Of Gpm Dismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Origin Of Gpm Depositsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Origin Of Gpm Depositsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rare Earth Elements (REE) Deposits Associated with Great Plain Margin Deposits (Alkaline-Related), Southwestern United States and Eastern Mexico

McLemore

2018

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“…The alkalic magmatism was focused in a belt along the eastern Front Range, the western Wet Mountains, and the eastern side of the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The magmas were moderately to strongly alkalic and produced the shallow intrusive and eruptive centers at Cripple Creek, Rosita, Silver Cliff, and the Spanish Peaks (Sharp, 1978;McLemore, 1995;Kelley and Ludington, 2002). These magmas were generated when postsubduction upper mantle materials, which may have been relatively enriched in fluorine relative to chlorine during earlier slab devolatilization (Straub and Layne, 2003), ascended into and partially melted the lower crust, producing oxidized, alkaline magmas (Kelley and others, 1998;Kelley and Ludington, 2002;Richards, 2009).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%