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Updated: Sep 4, 2025

Preparation of Authigenic Pyrite from Methane-bearing Sediments for In Situ Sulfur Isotope Analysis Using SIMS
Published on: August 31, 2017
Sulfur and chlorine budgets control the ore fertility of arc magmas
Carter Grondahl1, Zoltán Zajacz2,3
1Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Abstract:
Continental arc magmas supply the ore-forming element budget of most globally important porphyry-type ore deposits. However, the processes enabling certain arc segments to preferentially generate giant porphyry deposits remain highly debated. Here we evaluate the large-scale covariation of key ore-forming constituents in this setting by studying silicate melt inclusions in volcanic rocks from a fertile-to-barren segment of the Andean Southern Volcanic Zone (33-40 °S). We show that the north-to-south, fertile-to-barren gradient is characterized by a northward increase in S and Cl concentrations and a simultaneous decrease in Cu. Consequently, we suggest that the concentration of S and Cl rather than the concentration of ore metals regulates magmatic-hydrothermal ore fertility, and that the loss of volatiles prior to arrival in the upper crust impacts ore-forming potential more than magmatic sulfide saturation-related ore metal scavenging.
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The equation that describes the equilibrium between solid calcium carbonate and its solvated ions is: