Mineral composition of quartz-polymetallic veins in Sally Rocks, Livingston Island, Antarctica

Abstract

The quartz-polymetallic veins from Sally Rocks, Livingston Island, Antarctica are hosted in the Miers Bluff Formation, particularly in the sedimentary sequences of the Sally Rocks member, consisting of thin bedded alternation of mudstone and sandstone. The veins consist of chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, pyrite, and arsenopyrite. Chalcopyrite and sphalerite predominate, galena is second in distribution, and pyrite and arsenopyrite are in a subordinate amount. According to the geological setting, textures, and mineral assemblages, the ore mineralization in Sally Rocks can be determined as hydrothermal which corresponds to the genesis of the other ore occurrences in the Hurd Peninsula.