Radiogenic Pb Enrichment of Mississippi Valley-Type Metallic Ore Deposits, Southern Ozarks: Constraints Based on Geochemical Studies of Source Rocks and Their Diagenetic History

Southern Ozark Mississippi Valley-type ores are enriched in radiogenic Pb, with isotopic signatures suggesting that metals were supplied by two end-member components. While the less radiogenic component appears to be derived from various shale and sandstone units, the source of the more radiogenic component has not yet been identified. Analyses of cherts from the Early Ordovician Cotter Dolomite and tripolitic chert from the Early Mississippian Boone Formation contain highly radiogenic Pb, with isotopic ratios comparable to those of ores. However, most samples have lower Pb-208/Pb-204 and Pb-207/Pb-204 for a given Pb-206/Pb-204 compared to ores. These relationships demonstrate that the enriched Pb isotopic values of the ore array cannot be related to the host and regional lithologies sampled, suggesting that the source of high ratios may lay further afield. The slope of the linear trend defined by the Pb isotope ratios of ores corresponds to an age of about 1.19 Ga. Therefore, an alternative for the linear array is the involvement of Precambrian basement in supplying ore Pb. Rare earth element patterns show that diagenetic processes involving the action of groundwater and hydrothermal fluids affected the sampled lithologies to various degrees, with Cotter Dolomite having experienced the highest degree of alteration.

Automated summary

Research on Southern Ozark Mississippi Valley-type ores reveals enrichment in radiogenic lead sourced from two distinct components. Analysis indicates that diagenetic processes have influenced the sampled lithologies, but the exact source of the more radiogenic component remains unidentified.