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Ore textures within the U lens of the Navan Zn-Pb deposit, Ireland

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Abstract

Recent exploration in the vicinity of the giant (>90 Mt) Navan orebody has resulted in the discovery of ore-grade mineralisation to the southwest of the deposit, much of which occurs within the Upper Pale Beds, a horizon that is only weakly mineralised above the main orebody. Within this new U lens, mineralisation preferentially occurs within bioclastic carbonate grainstones and calcareous quartz sandstones, and is dominated by sulphide replacement of the carbonate component of the host sequence. Much of the replacive mineralisation is spatially associated with hydrothermal cavities, which are filled by a variable mixture of brecciated replacement sulphide minerals, space-filling sulphide and gangue cements, and internal sediments. Mineralisation also occurs within veins and dissolution seams, and as disseminated sulphide minerals. Massive mineralisation is typically a complex, chaotic, combination of replacement, cavity, and fracture-filling sulphides. Fluid inclusion analyses of ore-stage saddle dolomite indicate temperatures at the time of sulphide precipitation of ~90–150 °C, with a maximum of 175 °C. These temperatures are lower than those typically proposed for Irish-type deposits.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the permission of Outokumpu-Tara Mines Ltd. to carry out and publish this work. Thanks are also extended to the Tara mine and exploration geologists, especially J. Geraghty, B. O'Keefe and E. Hyland. We are also grateful to D. Sangster and J. Gregg for their helpful comments in reviewing this manuscript. This research was carried out as part of a Ph.D. project by W.M.P. whilst in receipt of an Australian Postgraduate Award. M.W.W. was funded by an Australian Research Council Large Grant.

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  1. Wendy M. Peace

    Present address: Woodside Energy, 1 Adelaide Terrace, Perth, WA, 6000, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia

    Wendy M. Peace & Malcom W. Wallace

  2. Outukumpu—Tara Mines Ltd., Knockumber, Navan, Co Meath, Ireland

    Mark P. Holdstock & John H. Ashton

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  1. Wendy M. Peace
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  2. Malcom W. Wallace
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  3. Mark P. Holdstock
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  4. John H. Ashton
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Correspondence to Wendy M. Peace.

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Editorial handling: A.C. Brown

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Peace, W.M., Wallace, M.W., Holdstock, M.P. et al. Ore textures within the U lens of the Navan Zn-Pb deposit, Ireland. Miner Deposita 38, 568–584 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-002-0340-1

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