Norbert NÉMETH¹, János FÖLDESSY¹, László KUPI¹ & Jesús García IGLESIAS^2
1Institute of Mineralogy and Geology, University of Miskolc, 3515 Miskolc-Egyetemváros, Hungary,
e-mail: foldnn@uni-miskolc.hu
²Escuela de Minas, Universidad de Oviedo, Independencia num. 13, 33004 Oviedo, Spain

Zn-Pb MINERALIZATION TYPES IN THE RUDABÁNYA ORE BEARING COMPLEX

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The Rudabánya Ore Bearing Complex (NE Hungary) is composed of siderite and base metalsulfide mineralizations, hosted by Lower Triassic carbonate and siliciclastic succession of the Silicikum stratigraphic superunit in the Western Carpathians. The deposit lies inside a Neogene sinistral strike-slip fault zone (Darnó Zone), bordered by master faults. The ore bodies are dissected blocks in a stack of horses structure. Iron, copper and lead ore resources were previously explored and mined in the area. During a recent exploration program additional zones of zinc and lead ores have been discovered representing two genetic types. The first one is stratiform, bound to reductive facies pelitic siliciclastic rocks. The second one is a hydrothermal mineralization, controlled by faults and siderite block boundaries. Both types have similar mineral paragenesis: sphalerite, galena, pyrite, and barite. The two parageneses are distinguishable through their textural and geochemical fingerprints. Hydrothermal sphalerites show consistently higher Fe and Cd content than that of the stratiform ores, while in the hydrothermal galena higher Ag content was recognized. Both phases are affected by supergene alteration and late stage hydrothermal overprint, by which these distinguishing features were largely obstructed in the secondary products. The recognition of the different genetic types of Zn-Pb mineralization has economic consequences regarding both the continuity of ore mineralization and the ore potential of the broader surroundings.