Deposit types/Zinc, Lead

Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) lead-zinc

Sphalerite and galena in limestone and dolostone, with no link to igneous rock.

What it is

Sphalerite and galena in limestone and dolostone, with no link to igneous rock.1

How it forms

Salty basin brines, evaporated seawater driven by large-scale tectonic events, moved through platform carbonates and deposited metal sulphides.1

Host rocks

Dolostone and limestone, rarely sandstone.1

Where it forms

Platform carbonate settings at margins of basins.1

Typical grade

About 7.9% combined Pb+Zn metal (median)1

Typical size

Median size 7 Mt1

Mines of this type

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Story cards

Where next

Mines

An example ofPicher (Tri-State district)See Picher (Tri-State district), an example of this deposit type.1An example ofTarnowskie Gory lead-silver-zinc mineSee Tarnowskie Gory lead-silver-zinc mine, an example of this deposit type.1An example ofZawar zinc minesSee Zawar zinc mines, an example of this deposit type.1

Sources

  1. Mineral Deposit Models for Resource Assessment, Chapter A: A Deposit Model for Mississippi Valley-Type Lead-Zinc Ores (SIR 2010-5070-A) US Geological Survey

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: Froth flotation and tailings by Nina111955, CC BY-SA 4.0; Ball mills and SAG mills by photosmith2011, Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0; Super Pit, Kalgoorlie by Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0.