The Pb-Zn (Ba) Nonsulfide Mineralizations at Bou Caid (Ouarsenis, Algeria): Mineralogy, Isotope Geochemistry, and Genetic Inferences

The ore deposits of Bou Caid (Ouarsenis, Algeria) occur in Jurassic and Cretaceous sedimentary rocks. The barite and Pb-Zn (Fe, Cu, and F) ore deposits of Bou Caid belong to vein- and karst-type. The mineralization is represented in the whole area by a mixture of barite (currently still exploited) and nonsulfides consisting of hemimorphite, smithsonite, cerussite, hydrozincite, and Fe-oxy-hydroxides, with remnants of galena and sphalerite in variable proportions. Mineralogical and geochemical analyses were carried out on the Bou Caid nonsulfides. Several samples representing nonsulfide mineralization (Grand Pic and at Sraa Abdelkader) were subjected to a multidisciplinary analytical approach, using optical microscopy (OM), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (SEM-EDS). Nonsulfide mineralization consists of a mixture of hemimorphite, hydrozincite, smithsonite, cerussite, and Fe-oxy-hydroxides, often with zebra-like textures. In the proposed paragenetic scheme, covellite and chalcocite are followed by cerussite, jarosite, smithsonite, and hydrozincite. Then, hemimorphite crystallizes, accompanied by mimetite, traces of malachite and clay minerals (also Zn-bearing), precipitate. Fe-(Mn)-oxy-hydroxides can form during various phases of the supergene stage. Small amounts of late barite can be related to partial remobilization and occur as reprecipitation products. Stable isotope analyses were performed on the calcites and metal carbonates of the supergene ores. Carbon and oxygen isotope values of smithsonite and hydrozincite were comparable to published supergene Zn carbonate data. The isotope values of the Bou Caid calcites fell both into the hydrothermal carbonate and in the supergene fields.

Automated summary

The ore deposits of Bou Caid in Algeria are found in Jurassic and Cretaceous sedimentary rocks, mainly consisting of barite and nonsulfides. Mineralogical and geochemical analyses revealed the presence of hemimorphite, smithsonite, cerussite, hydrozincite, and Fe-oxy-hydroxides in the area.