Oxidized Brines Inferred in the Formation of c. 1.9 Ga Stratiform Zn-Pb-Ag and Dolomite-Hosted Cu Ores, Zinkgruvan, Bergslagen, Sweden

Zinkgruvan is an elusive Palaeoproterozoic stratiform Zn-Pb-Ag deposit which has been discussed in the context of sediment-hosted Zn-Pb (SEDEX), volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) and Broken Hill-type (BHT) deposits. In this contribution, we address the chemistry of the ore-forming fluid, the nature of the depositional environment and the controls on ore formation based on a review of previous work complemented with new geological data from a stratigraphically underlying dolomite-hosted, zinciferous, cobaltiferous and nickeliferous Cu ore. We conclude that both deposit types can be explained as the product of a saline, oxidizing metalliferous brine which formed Cu mineralization by interaction with reduced pore waters, prior to exhalation into an anoxic brine pool, forming the stratiform Zn-Pb-Ag deposit. Our inference of fluid composition differs from many inferences on the chemistry of hydrothermal fluids involved in the formation of typical VHMS and BHT deposits, but is similar to that inferred for Proterozoic sediment-hosted Zn-Pb deposits in the McArthur basin, Australia.