Sulphur isotope geochemistry of the ores and country rocks at the Almadén mercury deposit, Ciudad Real, Spain

Saupé, Francis; Arnold, M.

doi:10.1016/0016-7037(92)90169-j

Cited by 25 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The δ 34 S median value of all the samples analysed by Spangenberg et al . (2000) is 5.4‰, similar to the unweighted mean value of 5.6‰ of the 30 cinnabar samples analysed by Saupé and Arnold (1992). Idrija (145 000 t of Hg), mined between 1590 and 1988, is surpassed only by Almadén in the total quantity of metal (Mlakar and Drovenik 1972).…”

Section: Results and Interpretation Of Pigment Investigationssupporting

confidence: 65%

“…The isotopic compositions of three samples of the Minium Cinnabaris (11.6–12.1‰) were compared with the δ 34 S of cinnabar ore from the main European mercury deposits (Almadén in Spain, Idrija in Slovenia, Monte Amiata in Italy, Genepy in France, and Moschellandsberg in Germany; Table 2). Saupé and Arnold (1992) reported δ 34 S values of cinnabar between −1.6‰ and 9.0‰ for three different Almadén ore deposits, but they observed a narrow δ 34 S range within each orebody (0.2 ± 1.1‰, 8.1 ± 0.7‰ and 5.9 ± 1.0‰), which suggests different sulphur sources, materialization episodes and processes. The δ 34 S median value of all the samples analysed by Spangenberg et al .…”

Section: Results and Interpretation Of Pigment Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Pigments and Plasters Discovered in the House of Diana (Cosa, Grosseto, Italy): An Integrated Study Between Art History, Archaeology and Scientific Analyses*

et al. 2003

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The pigments and the plasters of the Roman frescoes discovered at the House of Diana (Cosa, Grosseto, Italy) were analysed using non-destructive and destructive mineralogical and chemical techniques. The characterization of both pigments and plasters was performed through optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and electron microprobe analysis. The pigments were identified by Raman spectroscopy and submitted to stable isotope analysis. The results were integrated with the archaeological data in order to determine and reconstruct the provenance, trade patterns and the employment of the raw materials used for the elaboration of the frescoes.The Roman colony of Cosa (Grosseto, Italy) was founded in 273 BC, in order to control the newly acquired Etruscan territories of Vulci. Located over a headland (114 m above sea level) along the southern coast of Tuscany ( Fig. 1), the town was serviced by one of the main harbours facing the Thyrrenian sea, Portus Cosanus. From the first century BC to the first century AD, huge villas flourished in the countryside of the colony, causing the progressive disappearance of small properties. This process transferred a great part of the economic interests to the countryside and resulted in the decline of the town in the second century AD.The archaeological site has been the object of several archaeological investigations, mainly conducted by the American Academy in Rome (Brown et al. 1951Brown 1960Brown , 1980Bruno and Scott 1993). From 1990 to 1997, research concentrated on the 'atrium building V' discovered by F. E. Brown, which is now the focus of a systematic excavation and studies directed by E. Fentress.Situated along the southern side of the forum plaza, the 'atrium building V' was built during the first three decades of the second century BC, but for inexplicable reasons was temporarily abandoned after 71 BC. The causes of this event, which struck the entire colony during the final decades of the first century BC, have been researched by Brown et al. (1951), who attributes it to pirate raids, while Fentress (2003) has argued that another possible explanation could be the *

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Section: Results and Interpretation Of Pigment Investigationssupporting

confidence: 65%

Section: Results and Interpretation Of Pigment Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Pigments and Plasters Discovered in the House of Diana (Cosa, Grosseto, Italy): An Integrated Study Between Art History, Archaeology and Scientific Analyses*

et al. 2003

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“…This latter range of d 34 S values likely reflects the bioavailable sulfur isotopic composition of the environment on Ibiza and Formentera. The Iberian mainland is one possible place of origin and would result in values below 14%, as shown by Utrilla et al (1992), Birnbaum and Coleman (1979), Canals and Cardellach (1993), and Saupé and Arnold (1992) for rocks of different age and material. On Formentera and Ibiza, animals with d 34 S values below 14% could have been imported because such low d 34 S values suggest little or no influence of sea spray (Leach et al, 1996;Richards et al, 2001), which would be not possible on the islands of Ibiza and Formentera, because sea water sulfates are detectable up to 20 km inland (Coulson et al, 2005).…”

Section: Discussion Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On Formentera and Ibiza, animals with d 34 S values below 14% could have been imported because such low d 34 S values suggest little or no influence of sea spray (Leach et al, 1996;Richards et al, 2001), which would be not possible on the islands of Ibiza and Formentera, because sea water sulfates are detectable up to 20 km inland (Coulson et al, 2005). The Iberian mainland is one possible place of origin and would result in values below 14%, as shown by Utrilla et al (1992), Birnbaum and Coleman (1979), Canals and Cardellach (1993), and Saupé and Arnold (1992) for rocks of different age and material. Thus, d 34 S values below 10% are of inland origin from the mainland and must be imported to the islands.…”

Section: Discussion Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of diachronic dietary patterns on the islands of Ibiza and Formentera, Spain: Evidence from sulfur stable isotope ratio analysis

Nehlich

Fuller

Márquez‐Grant

et al. 2012

American J Phys Anthropol

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We present sulfur isotope ratio measurements of bone collagen from animals (n = 75) and humans (n = 120) from five sites dating to four chronological periods (Chalcolithic, Punic, Late Antiquity-Early Byzantine, and Islamic) from the Balearic Islands of Ibiza and Formentera, Spain. This study is a follow up to previously published δ(13)C and δ(15)N values by [Fuller et al.: Am J Phys Anthropol 143 (2010) 512-522] and focuses on using δ(34)S values to better understand the dietary patterns of these populations through time and to possibly identify immigrants to these islands. The range of δ(34)S values (10.5-17.8‰) observed for the animals was relatively broad, which suggests that a significant sea spray effect has added marine sulfates to the soils of Formentera and Ibiza. The mean δ(34)S values of the different human populations were found to be: Chalcolithic (16.5 ± 1.4‰), Punic rural (13.6 ± 1.7‰), Punic urban (12.9 ± 1.8‰), Late Antiquity-Early Byzantine (12.3 ± 2.1‰), and Islamic (9.1 ± 2.7‰). These human δ(34)S results are similar to the animal data, a finding that supports the notion that there was little marine protein consumption by these societies and that the diet was mainly based on terrestrial resources. During the Punic and Late Antiquity-Early Byzantine periods the δ(34)S values were used to identify individuals in the population who likely were not born or raised on the islands. In addition, 18 of the 20 individuals analyzed from the Islamic period have δ(34)S values that indicate that they were immigrants to Ibiza who died before acquiring the new local sulfur isotopic signature.

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“…Mercury transport by a low-density vapor phase is envisaged for the formation of the Culver-Baer deposit (Peabody and Einaudi, 1992) and other deposits in California (White et al, 1971). The metal sources of the world's largest mercury deposits, Almadén (Spain: Saupé and Arnold, 1992) and Idrija (Slovenia: Palinkas et al, 2004), are inferred to be in black shales that also host the deposits. Fluid inclusions in cinnabar and associated gangue minerals indicate that Hg was mobilized by a variably saline aqueous liquid rather than a low-density vapor.…”

Section: Fumarole-related Ore Depositsmentioning

confidence: 99%

100th Anniversary Special Paper: Vapor Transport of Metals and the Formation of Magmatic-Hydrothermal Ore Deposits

Williams‐Jones¹,

Heinrich²

2005

Economic Geology

560

193

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In most published hydrothermal ore deposit models, the main agent of metal transport is an aqueous liquid. However, there is increasing evidence from volcanic vapors, geothermal systems (continental and submarine), vapor-rich fluid inclusions, and experimental studies that the vapor phase may be an important and even dominant ore fluid in some hydrothermal systems. This paper reviews the evidence for the transport of metals by vapor (which we define as an aqueous fluid of any composition with a density lower than its critical density), clarifies some of the thermodynamic controls that may make such transport possible, and suggests a model for the formation of porphyry and epithermal deposits that involves precipitation of the ores from vapor or a vaporderived fluid.Analyses of vapor (generally >90% water) released from volcanic fumaroles at temperatures from 500°to over 900°C and near-atmospheric pressure typically yield concentrations of ore metals in the parts per billion to parts per million range. These vapors also commonly deposit appreciable quantities of ore minerals as sublimates. Much higher metal concentrations (from ppm to wt %) are observed in vapor inclusions trapped at pressures of 200 to 1,000 bars in deeper veins at lower temperatures (400°-650°C). Moreover, concentrations of some metals, notably Cu and Au, are commonly higher in vapor inclusions than they are in inclusions of coexisting hypersaline liquid (brine). Experiments designed to determine the concentration of Cu, Sn, Ag, and Au in HCl-bearing water vapor at variable although relatively low pressures (up to 180 bars) partly explain this difference. These experiments show that metal solubility is orders of magnitude higher than predicted by volatility data for water-free systems, and furthermore that it increases sharply with increasing water fugacity and correlates positively with the fugacity of HCl. Thermodynamic analysis shows that metal solubility is greatly enhanced by reaction of the metal with HCl and by hydration, which results in the formation of species such as MeClm.nH2O. Nonetheless, the concentrations measured by these experiments are considerably lower than those measured in experiments involving aqueous liquids or determined for vapor fluid inclusions. A possible explanation for this and for the apparent preference of metals such as Cu and Au for the vapor over the coexisting brine in some natural settings is suggested by limited experimental studies of metal partitioning between vapor and brine. These studies show that, whereas Cu, Fe, and Zn all partition strongly into the liquid in chloride-bearing sulfur-free systems, Cu partitions preferentially into the vapor in the presence of significant concentrations of sulfur. We therefore infer that high concentrations of Cu and Au in vapor inclusions reflect the strong preference of sulfur for the vapor phase and the formation of sulfur-bearing metallic gas species.Phase stability relationships in the system NaCl-H2O indicate how vapor transport of metals may occur in nature, b...

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Sulphur isotope geochemistry of the ores and country rocks at the Almadén mercury deposit, Ciudad Real, Spain

Cited by 25 publications

References 39 publications

Pigments and Plasters Discovered in the House of Diana (Cosa, Grosseto, Italy): An Integrated Study Between Art History, Archaeology and Scientific Analyses*

Pigments and Plasters Discovered in the House of Diana (Cosa, Grosseto, Italy): An Integrated Study Between Art History, Archaeology and Scientific Analyses*

Investigation of diachronic dietary patterns on the islands of Ibiza and Formentera, Spain: Evidence from sulfur stable isotope ratio analysis

100th Anniversary Special Paper: Vapor Transport of Metals and the Formation of Magmatic-Hydrothermal Ore Deposits

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