Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Facultad de Ingeniera, Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico, Del. Coyoacn, 04510 Mxico, D.F., Mexico
Instituto de Geofsica, Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico, Del. Coyoacn, 04510 Mxico, D.F., Mexico
Instituto de Geologa, Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico, Del. Coyoacn, 04510 Mxico, D.F., Mexico
d
Centro de Geociencias, Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico, Campus Juriquilla, 76230 Santiago de Quertaro, Mexico
e
Department of Geology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran
b
c
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 24 February 2015
Received in revised form 13 August 2015
Accepted 19 August 2015
Available online 28 August 2015
Keywords:
Epithermal deposits
Hydrothermal
Fluid inclusions
Microthermometry
Paleo-depth estimation
Geothermal exploration
a b s t r a c t
A boiling model that considers the increase of salinity due to the steam loss and uses a combined density of the
coexisting vapor and liquid phases was applied to uid inclusion data from Los Azufres geothermal zone and
from an Eocene epithermal vein of Taxco. These case studies are taken as examples of active and fossil hydrothermal systems, respectively. In Los Azufres high temperatures of homogenization (N 300 C) are commonly attained
at depths between 1500 and 2000 m whereas salinity values above 2.0 wt.% NaCl eq. occur within the upper
~500 m of the system, suggesting that the geothermal zone is largely affected by boiling. The depths calculated
with the boiling model are close to real depths, with accuracy greater than 99% for one case; however, considerably large error (30%) was obtained to the top of the geothermal system due to enhanced CO2 concentrations.
Contrastingly, the depths estimated by plotting microthermometric data on boiling point curves (of constant salinity and discarding the effect of vapor on hydrostatic pressure) were systematically shallower than real ones,
implying an underestimation of depth of up to ~50%. For the application case of the Taxco epithermal deposit,
microthermometric data describe a boiling evolution path in the temperaturesalinity space although some
values deviate from it, thus likely reecting local mixing with uids of contrasting salinity. According to our
model, boiling occurred from a paleo-depth of 360 m, which corresponds to a current (sampling) depth of
about 200 m; this level in the hydrothermal system coincides with the boundary between a lower base metal
zone and an upper silver-rich zone. These results suggest that the descriptive models for epithermal deposits
could be incorrectly calibrated in terms of depth; therefore, they could be revised and corrected by applying
the boiling model used in this paper.
2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
The upper zone (12 km) of active hydrothermal systems is affected
by the boiling of hot upwelling uids due to decompression, which results in rapid separation of steam from brines and in the partitioning
of volatiles (typically CO2 and H2S) into the vapor phase. This phase separation controls the key chemical parameters for mineral supersaturation and precipitation, such as pH and uid composition (cf. Roedder,
1984; Henley et al., 1984; Canet et al., 2011). In geothermal systems,
boiling determines, inter alia, vapor-to-liquid ratios and discharge enthalpies (Scott et al., 2014, and references therein), whereas for
epithermal deposits boiling is the most important mechanism of precipitation, with special regard to precious metals (e.g., Hedenquist and
Henley, 1985a; Cole and Drummond, 1986; Skinner, 1997; Camprub
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: ccanet@geosica.unam.mx (C. Canet).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2015.08.016
0169-1368/ 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
et al., 2001; Andr-Mayer et al., 2002; Simmons et al., 2005 and references therein). Furthermore, the precipitation of these metals has
been conrmed in geothermal wells undergoing intense boiling
(Brown, 1986; Simmons and Browne, 2000a).
In order to study the role of boiling in the epithermal environment,
however, the complex zoning that generally affects the deposits at all
scales as a result of successive mineralizing events and changes in the
state of suldation needs to be considered (e.g., Einaudi et al., 2003;
Dreier, 2005; Camprub and Albinson, 2007). Vertical ore zoning at the
deposit scale is a feature of many epithermal deposits (Andr-Mayer
et al., 2002 and references therein) and also has been described in geothermal systems (Simmons and Browne, 2000b). In many cases of
southwest North America (Mexico and western United States) two
zones are distinguishable, (a) a deeper zone enriched in base metals
(Pb, Zn, Cu) and (b) a shallower zone with precious metals (Ag, Au),
usually coinciding the boundary between the two zones with the boiling level (e.g., Buchanan, 1981). However, the vertical distribution of
604
results. Additionally, having assessed the performance of the paleodepth estimation based on the variable salinity model, a review of four
representative epithermal deposits of Mexico is presented, which calls
into question the depths of mineralization that so far have been assumed for this type of deposit.
2. Geological setting
2.1. Los Azufres geothermal eld
Los Azufres, in the state of Michoacn, is a geothermal eld hosted by
a silicic volcanic complex lying on the EW Cuitzeo Graben, at the central part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB) (Fig. 1A). It is, along
with Los Humeros in the state of Puebla, one of only two geothermal
sites in the TMBV under commercial exploitation. The total installed
generating capacity of Los Azufres is about 188 MWe, which makes of
it the second most important eld in Mexico, having started electricity
production in 1982 (Gutirrez-Negrn, 2007).
The volcanic complex of Los Azufres consists of four ignimbrite units
and many dome complexes that, according to Ferrari et al. (1991) and
Pradal and Robin (1994) are controlled by a poorly-dened, subcircular volcanic collapse feature; this caldera-like structure, of about
20 km in diameter and a Middle Pleistocene age, contains the geothermal system. The local pre-caldera basement consists of Oligocene to
Miocene andesitic lavas that crop out south of the Cuitzeo Graben
(Dobson and Mahood, 1985).
The Los Azufres caldera formed in response to two main periods of
volcanic activity (Pradal and Robin, 1994). During the oldest one
(~1.50.8 Ma), two magmatic cycles consisting in the extrusion of acidic
magmas followed by andesites and basalts took place. This episode produced large volumes of ignimbrites and rhyolitic domes and ows. The
later episode (~0.6 Ma to Late Pleistocene) is responsible for the resurgent doming affecting the southern part of the volcanic complex, having
produced rhyolites and dacites, and an up to 40 m-thick ignimbrite unit
that yielded a 14C age at ~26,000 (Pradal et al., 1988; Pradal and Robin,
1994).
Graben-related, EW striking, pervasive normal faulting is developed across the Los Azufres area, affecting most of the volcanic sequence, except for domes younger than 0.3 Ma (Ferrari et al., 1991). In
addition, NESW and NS striking normal fault arrays can be distinguished (Campos-Enriquez and Garduo-Monroy, 1995). The EW system controls a great deal of geothermal uid circulation, as it confers
secondary permeability to the andesitic units (Gonzlez-Partida et al.,
2000).
The hydrothermal system of Los Azufres attains up to 320 C in the
liquid-dominated geothermal reservoir, at a depth of ~3500 m (Birkle
et al., 2001; Pinti et al., 2013). The hydrothermal liquid phase is of the
NaCl type (e.g., Pandarinath et al., 2008), with Cl ranging between 0.26
and 0.34% (Kruger et al., 1985). CO2 represents up to 90% of the noncondensable gases, followed by N2, H2S and H2 (Santoyo et al., 1991),
and it increases to the top of the geothermal system due to volatile exsolution; however, this gas is not observed in uid inclusions
(Gonzlez-Partida et al., 2000). Geothermal wells in Los Azufres are
grouped into two distinct productive zones, northern and southern,
the latter being the more productive as it records higher temperatures
at shallower depths than the northern zone (Torres-Rodrguez et al.,
2005).
2.2. Taxco mining district
The AgZnPb(CuAu) Taxco mining district, in the state of Guerrero (Fig. 1B), is one of the oldest in the Americas, with an almost continuous mining activity from colonial times to the present. It contains
more than 50 epithermal veins, mostly of intermediate suldation,
with associated large replacement mantos, stockworks and breccias
(Camprub et al., 2006a). These deposits formed in the Late Eocene
605
Fig. 1. Location of the study areas and schematic geologic maps. (A) Los Azufres geothermal eld, state of Michoacn, showing the distribution of selected production wells for modeling
(after Gonzlez-Partida et al., 2000); (B) Taxco mining district, Guerrero state, showing the tract of the El CobreBabilonia vein system (after Osterman, 1984; Camprub et al., 2006a). Key:
TMVB = Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt; SMS = Sierra Madre del Sur.
606
Deptha
Az-27A
2000
1700
1600
1500
1100
800
400
4200
3300
3200
3100
2880
2400
1400
900
2450
2300
2127
1900
1700
1300
1000
800
1700
1275
1100
1000
900
800
600
500
400
2450
2100
1550
1250
550
400
58
20
16
24
15
44
10
35
23
14
19
6
17
46
49
23
28
26
25
11
22
11
10
11
8
14
32
10
31
9
5
9
8
42
11
80
5
10
Az-44
Az-9
Az-23
Fig. 2. Salinitytemperature diagram proposed by Canet et al. (2011), showing the feasible
boiling paths (arrows), modeled with the mass and enthalpy balance equations of Henley
et al. (1984). Microthermometric data from quartz (Gonzlez-Partida et al., 2000) for the
Los Azufres geothermal eld were plotted by their ice-melting TMi and homogenization
temperatures to conrm or discard boiling. Blue numbers indicate depth of sampling
below present surface and help to identify a boiling process, taking into account that the
uid is ascending vertically (i.e., simulated by the well itself). Red numbers indicate the
initial temperature (Ti) value. (For interpretation of the references to color in this gure
legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
Az-16
TH (C)
TM (C)
Min.
Aver.
Max.
Min.
Aver.
Max.
283
291
339
311
274
228
196
250
302
300
297
293
301
231
204
317
312
324
307
282
320
234
223
285
251
210
229
220
202
237
221
209
328
284
268
241
220
204
309
321
320
320
278
275
212
260
313
302
288
303
320
278
250
334
335
329
310
296
322
285
243
310
276
264
250
254
253
257
221
220
335
305
286
256
223
208
327
328
394
341
281
295
215
276
327
310
303
321
335
284
270
347
351
340
311
305
327
295
273
315
292
282
261
265
264
261
224
233
346
330
288
265
225
210
0.5
0.8
0.8
0.9
0.1
0.1
1.2
0.1
0.4
0.9
0.9
1.1
0.6
1.4
1.2
0.1
0.1
0.3
0.1
0.8
0.9
0.4
1.5
0.1
0.1
0.5
0.2
0.6
0.3
0.3
0.3
1.2
0.3
1
0.6
0.6
1.2
1.1
0.8
0.8
0.8
1.0
0.7
0.7
1.3
0.7
0.6
1.0
1.2
1.1
0.8
1.4
1.2
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.2
0.7
0.9
0.5
1.5
0.2
0.3
1.1
0.6
0.9
0.8
0.5
1.1
1.5
0.4
1.3
1
0.6
1.2
1.1
0.9
0.8
0.8
1.1
0.9
1.7
1.4
1.5
1.2
2.1
1.6
1.1
1.3
1.4
1.2
0.3
0.6
0.5
0.3
0.7
0.8
0.8
1.5
0.2
0.6
1.6
1.1
1.3
1.2
0.7
1.6
1.6
0.7
1.8
2.2
0.6
1.2
1.1
Salinity
(wt.% NaCl eq.)
1.4
1.4
1.4
1.7
1.2
1.2
2.2
1.2
1.0
1.7
2.0
1.9
1.4
2.4
2.0
0.3
0.5
0.7
0.3
1.2
1.4
0.8
2.4
0.3
0.5
1.9
1.0
1.5
1.4
0.8
1.9
2.5
0.7
2.2
1.7
1.0
2.0
1.9
Location: wells Az-9, Az-27A and Az-44, northern productive zone; wells Az-16 and Az-23,
southern productive zone.
Key: TH = temperature of homogenization, TM = temperature of ice melting (freezing
point depression), n = number of analyzed inclusions, Min. = minimum value; Aver. =
arithmetic mean; Max. = maximum value.
a
Approximate; in m below ground surface.
Fig. 3. Salinitytemperature diagram proposed by Canet et al. (2011), showing the feasible
boiling paths (arrows), modeled for the epithermal environment using the mass and enthalpy balance equations of Henley et al. (1984). Microthermometric data from quartz
(Camprub et al., 2006a) for the El CobreBabilonia epithermal vein system were plotted
by their ice-melting TMi and homogenization temperatures to conrm or discard boiling.
Blue numbers indicate the mine level (depth) of sampling below present surface and
help to identify a boiling process, taking into account that the uid is ascending vertically.
(For interpretation of the references to color in this gure legend, the reader is referred to
the web version of this article.)
TH (C)
S-04
N1-04
N2-10
N3-01
N5-30
N7-10
N9-15
155
182
180
208
231
235
271
TM (ice) (C)
28
30
40
30
25
48
45
162
189
194
221
247
244
289
170
199
201
230
258
260
301
Aver.
Salinity
(wt.% NaCl eq.)
Max.
3.4
4.4
5.9
7.0
8.8
9.6
6.6
8.4
9.9
7.0
7.9
9.1
8.0 10.4 12.2
4.0
5.9
7.1
4.2
5.4
7.5
7.0
12.6
12.1
11.5
14.3
9.0
8.4
607
4. Results
4.1. Los Azufres
A statistics summary of uid inclusion microthermometric data of
the Los Azufres geothermal eld is provided in Table 1.
In the case of well Az-27A (northern productive zone), TH ranges between 212 and 321 C, TMi between 1.3 and 0.7 C, and salinity between 1.2 and 2.2 wt.% NaCl eq. Temperatures above 300 C are found at
depths greater than 1500 m (below ground surface), with maximum
TH values at 16001700 m. On the other hand, the highest salinity
(2.2 wt.% NaCl eq.) corresponds to the shallowest sample (400 m); at
greater depths salinity is rather constant, between 1.2 and 1.4 wt.%
NaCl eq., except for a value of 1.7% NaCl eq. found at 1500 m. In the salinitytemperature plot, the distribution of data does not show neither a
regular trend of cooling with decreasing depthas the temperature at
2000 m is lower than at 1500 mor a general tendency of boiling
(Fig. 2). However, the increase of salinity at 1500 m suggests that uid
evolution from 1700 m (TH = 321 C; salinity = 1.4 wt.% NaCl eq.)
could be affected by boiling; in contrast, above 800 m, uid variations
cannot be explained in terms of boiling.
For well Az-44 (northern productive zone) microthermometric data
are available down to an ultimate depth of 4200 m. In this case, TH
ranges between 250 and 320 C, TMi between 1.4 and 0.6 C,
and salinity between 1.0 and 2.4 wt.% NaCl eq. Temperatures above
300 C are found at depths from 2400 to 4200 m, with the maximum
(320 C) at 2400 m. The highest value of salinity (2.4 wt.% NaCl eq.)
was found at 1400 m; at depths greater than 2100 m salinity remains
below 2.0% NaCl eq. The salinitytemperature plot shows a highly irregular distribution of data, away from a consistent trend of salinity and TH
variation with depth (Fig. 2), which reects abrupt changes and reversal
of the slope of the temperature gradient curve.
In well Az-9 (northern productive zone) TH ranges between 243
and 335 C, TMi between 1.5 and 0.2 C, and salinity between 0.3
and 2.4 wt.% NaCl eq. Temperatures higher than 300 C occur at
1900 m and increase gradually with depth up to a maximum of
~ 335 C (at 23002450 m). In addition, there is a TH peak (322 C) at
1300 m. The highest salinity value is found toward the top of the system,
at a depth of 800 m. As in the preceding case, the salinitytemperature
plot does not allow to point out a depth interval for which boiling controls uid evolution (Fig. 2).
Based on the distribution of microthermometric data in the salinity
temperature plot, Az-27A was selected among the three studied wells of
the northern productive zone to construct the thermal proles; subsequently, the depth for the level at which boiling begins was calculated
(Fig. 4). The starting data for obtaining the temperaturedepth proles
are TH = 321 C and salinity = 1.4 wt.% NaCl eq. Two curves were constructed, one considering a liquid column without suspended vapor
bubbles, and the other calculating the effect of steam bubbles on the hydrostatic pressure. The calculated depth is 1460 m considering a liquid
Table 3
Paleo-depth estimation of the boiling level for three epithermal deposits of Central Mexico, with the approximate sampling depths for comparison. In column (A) depths were inferred
using the boiling-point curves for brines of constant salinity constructed by Haas (1971). On the other hand, depths in columns (B) and (C) were calculated taking into consideration a
progressive increase of salinity due to the steam loss during boiling (Canet et al., 2011), but, in (B) a liquid column without suspended vapor bubbles is considered, whereas in (C) the
effect of vapor bubbles on uid density and therefore on the hydrostatic pressure were taken into account.
Epithermal deposit
Agea
(Ma)
27.5
27.430.7
33.332.9
35.7?
Microthermometry
(uid inclusion data)
TH
(C)
Salinityb
(wt.% NaCl eq.)
210
276
200
275
1.5
12.4
4.0
2.6
Sampling depth
(m below present surface)
~200
~500
~125
~250300
Paleo-depth calculation
(boiling level depth, m)
References
(A)
Haas (1971)
(B)
(C)
Canet et al. (2011)
200
641
175
700
200
640
160
690
310
820
260
870
608
only 1700 m, where the only TH value above 300 C is found; the maximum and minimum salinity values are reached at the shallowest
(400 m) and deepest (1700 m) sampling levels, respectively. The salinitytemperature plot shows a general cooling trend regular in relation
to depth, although there is a strong grouping (and inversion) of TH
values for the depth interval of 6001000 m. On the other hand, the interval of 17001275 m ts to a boiling path, suggesting that uid evolution from 1700 m upwards (TH = 310 C; salinity = 0.3 wt.% NaCl eq.)
could be affected by boiling (Fig. 2).
For well Az-16 (southern productive zone), TH ranges between 208
and 335 C, TMi between 1.2 and 0.4 C, and salinity between 0.7
and 2.2 wt.% NaCl eq. In this case, temperature varies with depth according to a constant geothermal gradient of ~6 C per 100 m of depth. In
contrast, salinity has an irregular variation with depth, so that maximum values (2.0 wt.% NaCl eq.) occur at 550 and 2100 m, and minimum values ( 1.0 wt.% NaCl eq.) at 1250 and 2450 m. Due to this
complex pattern of salinity variation, a trend of boiling can only be
pointed out with condence enough at the shallowest part of the system (from 550 m; TH = 223 C; salinity = 2.0 wt.% NaCl eq.).
Thermal proles and depth calculations in the southern productive
zone were done for both wells Az-23 and Az-16 (Fig. 4). In the case of
well Az-23, the starting data for the boiling model are TH = 310 C
and salinity = 0.3 wt.% NaCl eq. The calculated depth considering a liquid column is 1250 m, and considering the effect of suspended bubbles
is 1470 m. For the well Az-16 the data used are TH = 223 C and
salinity = 2.0 wt.% NaCl eq.; the calculated depths considering a column
of only liquid and of liquid with suspended bubbles are 260 and 390 m,
respectively (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4. Boiling point curves corresponding to a rising hydrothermal uid whose temperature and salinity conditions evolve from values given in red. Both curves (1) and (2) were
constructed taking into consideration a progressive increase of salinity due to the steam
loss during boiling, but in curve (1) depth was calculated considering a liquid column,
without suspended vapor bubbles, whereas in curve (2) the effect of vapor bubbles on uid density and on hydrostatic pressure were considered. In contrast, the black curves represent the ones proposed by Haas (1971) with constant salinity (0 wt.% NaCl) and
discarding the effect of vapor bubbles. Bold dotted red lines represent the real depth of
sampling (under present surface) for each well, according to the initial values (Ti and salinity). (For interpretation of the references to color in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
5. Discussion
An overall analysis of uid inclusion data of Los Azufres allows two
generalizations to be made, although large differences between the
two productive zones and between contiguous wells can be observed:
(a) high temperatures (N 300 C) are commonly attained at depths between 1500 and 2000 m, and (b) salinity above 2.0 wt.% NaCl eq.
occur within the upper ~ 500 m of the system. Taken together, these
points suggest that the geothermal zone is largely affected by boiling,
which is in good agreement with previous studies (e.g., Iglesias et al.,
1985; Gonzlez-Partida et al., 2000). However, the variation patterns
of both parameters with depth are complex; sharp uctuations in salinity are not uncommon, nor are local temperature maxima at relatively
shallow levels (e.g., 322 C at 1300 m in well Az-9). These are signs of
the hydrological complexity of a geothermal system that may be associated with lateral outow. Under this scenario, selection of the starting
data for the variable salinity model should be made with special care;
it is therefore important to be cautious about interpreting the boiling
point curves.
In the case study of Los Azufres, thermal proles were constructed
for three wells and the depths thus obtained are evaluated by comparing them by the sampling depth, which in this case can be taken as
the actual depth (Fig. 2). In all cases, calculated depths are closer to actual depths if the model considers the effect of suspended bubbles, as already stated by Canet et al. (2011); therefore, depths modeled ignoring
this effect will not be discussed further.
For one of the three wells (Az-27A) there is a very good agreement
between the calculated and the actual depth1690 and 1700 m, respectively, with closeness greater than 99%. For well Az-23, calculated and
actual depths are 1470 and 1700 m, respectively, which implies a difference of ~14%, whereas for well Az-16 the underestimation of the model
depth (390 m) with respect to the actual depth (550 m) is much greater
(~30%). The large error obtained in the latter calculation might be due to
Fig. 5. Boiling point curves corresponding to a rising hydrothermal uid whose temperature and salinity conditions evolve from values given in red. Both curves (1) and (2) were
constructed taking into consideration a progressive increase of salinity due to the steam
loss during boiling, but in curve (1) depth was calculated considering a liquid column,
without suspended vapor bubbles, whereas in curve (2) the effect of vapor bubbles on
uid density and on the hydrostatic pressure were considered. In contrast, the black
curve represents the one proposed by Haas (1971) with constant salinity (10 wt.% NaCl)
and discarding the effect of vapor bubbles. Bold dotted red line represents the sampling
depth under present surface. (For interpretation of the references to color in this gure
legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
609
the effect of CO2, whose concentration increases toward the top of the
geothermal system in Los Azufres (e.g., Santoyo et al., 1991). The occurrence of CO2 in hydrothermal uids increases the vapor pressure along
the liquidgas curve, thus lowering the boiling point temperature
(Hedenquist and Henley, 1985b); therefore, at a given salinity and
temperature the boiling point is reached at greater depths than in
the absence of this gas (e.g., Simmons, 1991). CO2 can also affect
microthermometry measurements, since the presence of this gas may
lead to signicant overestimation of apparent salinities (Hedenquist
and Henley, 1985b); this can contribute to some extent to the underestimation of depth (see Table S1 in supplementary les).
The values obtained using the boiling point curves of Haas (1971)
were systematically lower than real ones, implying an underestimation
of depth of ~ 15 to 50%. In all three cases examined at Los Azufres, the
error in depth calculations is higher with the curves of Haas (1971)
than using the variable salinity model; it is worth mentioning that
only by means of the latter the closest match between the calculated
and the actual depth was achieved (well Az-27A).
In the case of El CobreBabilonia epithermal vein, microthermometric
data describe a general linear trend of negative slope in the THsalinity
space, but there are two values (N5-30 and S-04) that deviate signicantly from this tendency (Fig. 3). This linear distribution of data is nearly consistent with a boiling path, and the values that deviate from it likely reect
local mixing with uids of contrasting salinity. Therefore, the salinity variation from the deepest samples (N9-15 and N7-10) to N5-30 cannot be
explained in terms of boiling, but it probably accounts for the episodic injection of magmatic (?) brines. The inuence of such uids has already
been noted in epithermal deposits in Mexico (e.g., Albinson et al., 2001;
Camprub et al., 2001, 2006b; Wilkinson et al., 2013). Also, the dramatic
drop of salinity indicated by the surface sample (S-04) reects a dilution
process due to the inuence of colder and low-salinity uids, probably
meteoric, at the top of the hydrothermal system (cf. Hedenquist, 1991;
Canet et al., 2011).
The paleo-depth of sample N3-01, which represents a level in the
epithermal vein in which boiling started, is ~ 225 m using the boiling
point curves of Haas (1971), whereas applying the variable salinity
model a value ~ 60% greater, of 360 m, is obtained. The depth of this
level (measured from the highest point of the current surface) is
about 200 m; so, given that the age of the epithermal deposit is Late Eocene (3639 Ma; Camprub and Albinson, 2007), the depth estimation
with Haas (1971) curves would imply only ~25 m of erosion for a period
of almost 40 Myr. This does not seem reasonable since the Taxco region
and the Sierra Madre del Sur have been deeply dissected by erosion,
being more plausible an erosion of ~160 m that arises from the paleodepth of 360 m obtained by the variable salinity model.
The El CobreBabilonia epithermal vein exhibits a vertical ore zoning
in which Ag grades are higher between a depth of 200 m (mine level of
sample N3-01) and the present surface (Osterman, 1984; Hynes, 1999;
Camprub et al., 2006a). The bottom of the Ag-rich zone coincides with
the depth at which the THsalinity boiling paths suggest that boiling
started (Fig. 3). Similarly, in the Apacheta epithermal deposit (Miocene), Peru, there is a vertical zoning inuenced by boiling, which
marks the boundary between the base metal- and precious metal-rich
zones in a brecciated, boiling level (Andr-Mayer et al., 2002). The
paleo-depth of this level was estimated of 580 m by Andr-Mayer
et al. (2002) considering the hydrostatic pressure exerted by a liquid
column, and the sampling depth (below present surface) is about
200 m. Given that this calculation was done without taking into account
the effect of suspended bubbles on hydrostatic pressure, the paleodepth could be actually signicantly greater, so considerably more
than 400 m of the deposit could have been eroded.
According to the foregoing discussions, many paleo-depths assessed
from uid inclusion data could have been underestimated, so the
descriptive models for epithermal deposits could be incorrectly calibrated in terms of depth. To assess the extent of this inaccuracy, we
reviewed paleo-depth estimations for four Mexican epithermal deposits
610
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