Mineralogy of sulfide ores from the Měděná Adit in the Zlaté Hory Ore District

Until 1993, sulfide ores of copper, lead and zinc, as well as native gold were mined in the Zlaté Hory ore district in the Jeseníky Mountains. These deposits occur in the Devonian volcano-sedimentary complex of the Vrbno Group, which consists of quartzites, phyllites, limestones and metamorphic igneous rocks of intrusive and extrusive nature. The main ore bodies are located in a quartzite horizon containing lenses of felsic metavolcanic rocks or in the underlying and overlying rocks (mainly phyllites). Sulfide mineralization of the Měděná Adit in the Zlaté Hory ore district concentrated in greenschists containing three mineral assembblages: i) chlorite + quartz + albite + barian feldspar + siderite + dolomite (ankerite) ± ilmenite, ii) chlorite + phlogopite + quartz + albite + siderite + dolomite (ankerite) ± magnetite ± ilmenite, iii) chlorite + muscovite + quartz + albite + ilmenite ± siderite ± magnetite. Micas have elevated barium contents (2.2 to 5.5 wt. % BaO in phlogopite, 2.6 to 4.6 wt. % BaO in muscovite) and represent the dominant carrier of this element in the rock. In the case that mica is absent in the rock, barium is bound in barian feldspar. When content of quartz in these greenschists is high, they pass into quartzite. Three types of sulfide ore were found in the Měděná Adit: A) banded copper ore in biotite-chlorite greenschist, which is formed dominantly by disseminated pyrite and pyrrhotite, accompanied by a small amount of chalcopyrite (the ore contains approx. 0.7 wt.% Cu), B) disseminated copper mineralization in quartz-rich bands or quartzite intercalations in chlorite greenschist, consisting mainly of pyrrhotite, less voluminous pyrite, and small amounts of chalcopyrite and galena (the ore contains approx. 0.3 wt.% Cu, the lead content is highly variable, up to 0.15 wt.% Pb), C) vein-like copper ore in greenschist with chalcopyrite dominating over pyrrhotite and pyrite (the ore has a very high copper content, 13.6 and 24.7 wt.% Cu in two analyzed samples). With its mineral composition, structural features and the character of the ore-bearing rocks, disseminated copper mineralization is similar to the Cyprus-type ores (so-called Cu-pyrite ores). The vein copper mineralization is probably a result of copper remobilization during regional metamorphism.