The Geology and Genesis of Jasperoid in the Northern Swisshelm Mountains, Cochise County, Arizona

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The Geology and Genesis of Jasperoid in the Northern Swisshelm Mountains, Cochise County, Arizona The geology and genesis of jasperoid in the northern Swisshelm Mountains, Cochise County, Arizona Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic); Maps Authors McAlaster, Penelope Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 27/09/2021 13:51:00 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/557559 THE GEOLOGY AND GENESIS OF JASPEROID IN THE NORTHERN SWISSHELM MOUNTAINS, COCHISE COUNTY, ARIZONA by Penelope McAlaster A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF GEOSCIENCES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1 9 8 0- STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of re­ quirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his judg­ ment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholar­ ship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. V SIGNED; ( ") <? s t> ■ / " APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: ^^0 $> I9<P0 J. MZ (tUILBERT Date Professor ofi Geosciences ACKNOWLEDGMENTS For its financial funding and access to its Swisshelm data and drill core, I thank the Inspiration Development Company. Drill core and drill logs were also made available to me by D. Huckins of Tucson. X-ray, fluid inclusion, and electron microprobe studies were done on equipment provided by the Departments of Geosciences and Space Sciences at The University of Arizona. My thanks to Dr. Guilbert for suggesting this interesting area for my study. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS............................................ vi ABSTRACT ........................................................ viii INTRODUCTION .................................................... 1 Problem . fH rH CM CO Jasperoid Method of Treatment Previous Work . Location ........ GENERAL GEOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN SWISSHELM MOUNTAINS ............ 7 Stratigraphy and Lithology ................................. 7 Precambrian Rocks .... ............................... 7 Cambrian-Ordovician Rocks .... ....................... 7 Devonian Rocks .......................................... 9 Mississippian Rocks ..................................... 10 P ennsyIvanian-P eraian Rocks .............................. 11 Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary Rocks ................... 13 Tertiary Rocks .......................................... 14 Structure.................................................... 15 F o l d s .................................................... 15 F a u l t s .................................................. 16 Fractures................................................ 16 RELATIONSHIP OF JASPEROID TO MINERAL DEPOSITS ................... 19 DISTRIBUTION AND CONTROLS OF JASPEROID ......................... 22 Stratigraphic Occurrences ................................... 22 Structural Occurrences ..................................... 24 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF NORTHERN SWISSHEIM MOUNTAINS JASPEROID . 28 Megascopic Properties ..................... 28 C o l o r .................................................... 28 T e x t u r e s ................................................ 29 M i n e r a l o g y .............................................. 31 Petrographic Features .... ............................... 33 Microcrystalline Quartz Textures ....................... 33 iv V TABLE OF CONTENTS— Continued Page Coarse Quartz Textures ................................. 42 Associated Minerals ..................................... 42 Jasperoid-limestone Contact ................................. 42 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE JASPEROID ................... .... 52 FLUID INCLUSION D A T A ............................................ 53 ALUMINUM IN QUARTZ AS A GEOTH E R M O M E T E R ................... 56 GENESIS OF JASPEROID IN THE NORTHERN SWISSHELM MOUNTAINS .... 60 Solubility of S i l i c a ...................... 60 Deposition of Silica ........................................ 63 Chemical Mechanisms of Limestone Replacement ............... 63 Origin of Jasperoid Textures ............................... 64 Origin of S i l i c a ............................................ 67 CONCLUSIONS...................................................... 71 LIST OF R E F E R E N C E S .............................................. 73 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Cochise County M a p ....................................... 5 2. Location Map of Northern Swisshelm Mountains ............ 6 3. Geology of the Northern Swisshelm Mountains .......... in pocket 4. Stereonet Projection of Poles to Fracture Planes in the Northern Swisshelm Mountains ......................... 18 5. Prominent Outcrops of Jasperoid .......... 23 6. Silicified Tuff . ....................... 25 7. Jasperoid Cropping Out along a Fault ..................... 26 8. Non-ideal Ribbon Rock in the Northern Swisshelm Jasperoid ............................................ 30 9. Jasperoid Breccia Cemented by Second Generation Microcrystalline Quartz ............................. 32 10. ’Jigsaw-puzzle' and Xenomorphic Textures ................. 34 11. Xenomorphic Granular Quartz-filling Vug ................. 36 12. Reticulated Texture ..................................... 37 13. Photomicrograph of Jasperoid Breccia Cemented by Second Generation of Microcrystalline Quartz .............. 39 14. Fusilinid in Plane-polarized Light . ................ 40 15. F u s i l i n i d ................................................ 41 16. Jasperoid-limestone Contact in Outcrop ................... 43 17. Typical Sharp Contact of Reddish-brown Jasperoid and . Bluish-grey Limestone ............................... 44 18. Typical Jasperoid-limestone Contact on Slabbed Surface . 45 19. Acid Leach S t u d y .......................................... 47 vi vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS— Continued Figure Page 20. Gradational Limestone-silica Contact in Thin Section . 49 21. Limestone-silica Contact Associated with Fractures in Thin S e c t i o n ..................................... 50 22. Homogenization Temperatures of Primary Inclusions in Coarse-grained Quartz from Vugs and Ribbon Rock from Sections 26, 35, 1 and 12 .... ............... 55 23. Step Scan for "Aluminum across Fine- and Coarse-grained Q u a r t z ................................................ 57 24. Measured Relation of Temperature and Aluminum Solubility for Natural and Synthetic Quartz ...................... 59 25. Solubilities of CaCOg and Si02 in Pure Water at One Atmosphere CO2 and Vapor Pressure of Solution, Respectively . ........................... 61 ABSTRACT The Swisshelm mining district is situated in the northern Swiss- helm Mountains, Cochise County, Arizona. The range is an eastward-tilted fault block complex consisting of a Precambrian basement overlain by Pa­ leozoic sedimentary rocks. Laramide(?) and Tertiary intrusive and extru­ sive rocks are also present. The range is cut by both eastward-dipping thrust faults and high- and low-angle normal faults. Silicic replacement bodies, or jasperoids, related to Tertiary volcanism rather than the mineralized dikes, crop out conspicuously north of the mining activity. The distribution of jasperoid is controlled both by faults and by favorable limestone beds. Studies of the jasperoid suggest that it is limestone replaced by silica gel which then crystallized to microcrystalline quartz. Coarse­ grained quartz precipitated directly from solutions in open spaces. Flu­ id inclusion study suggests homogenization temperatures of coarse-grained quartz from 145 to 216°C. Microprobe analyses of aluminum in varieties of quartz suggest that microcrystalline quartz formed at temperatures higher than 216°C. Geochemical analyses show that the jasperoid is near­ ly pure Si02« Decreasing temperature and increasing P^Q^ solutions carrying silica encouraged replacement of limestone by flow through per­ meable fault zones and by diffusion. viii INTRODUCTION The northern Swisshelm mining district consists of several small mines including the Chance, Mountain Queen, March, Great American, and Mammoth which have produced a total of approximately 61,000 tons of pre­ dominantly lead-zinc-silver ore (Keith, 1973). The mineralization is thought to be associated with a local Laramide(?) andesitic intrusion. Jasperoid of previously unknown origin and age is abundant in the lime­ stones of Paleozoic age near and in a projactable band for several kilom­ eters north of the lead-zinc-silver mineralization. Problem This study investigates the stratigraphic and structural rela­ tionships of jasperoid in the area. The jasperoid had not been mapped in detail in published works, but it was noted on several maps of the northern Swisshelm Mountains prepared by Beaver Exploration and by Inspi­ ration Development
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