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W. E. Hall

Publications and source records attributed to W. E. Hall.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1985

Regional geochemical study of the felsic plutonic rocks in the Nuqrah Quadrangle, sheet 25E, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

A regional geochemical investigation of the felsic plutonic rocks of the Nuqrah quadrangle, sheet 25 E, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in which pan concentrates of 384 wadi samples, and 145 rock samples, were collected, defined two separate and distinct anomalous areas. One area contains Jabal Tuwalah and Jabal Awja, and the other is at the north end of Jabal Safad. Both pan concentrates and the rock samples in the Jabal Tuwalah and Jabal Awja areas contain high concentrations of Be, F, La, Mo, Nb, Pb, Th, U, Sn, Y, and Zr, and the plutons underlying those areas are characterized by high total-count radioactivity. These elements are sited in highly evolved alkalic granites and have not been concentrated into a potentially metalliferous deposit related to a hydrothermal ore system. They may be a potential metal source of the future. Pan-concentration samples collected from wadis draining the north end of Jabal Safad contain anomalous Sn, Mo, Pb, and La. Four samples contain 250 to 1,000 ppm of tin. The tin anomaly is associated with a small aplitic pluton intrusive into the Jabal Safad alkalic granite complex. A brief reconnaissance of the area did not reveal any greisen or cassiterite mineralization. However, further exploration work in the area is recommended.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1983

Preliminary mineralogic, fluid inclusion, and stable isotope study of the Mahd adh Dhahab gold mine, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Mahd adh Dhahab mine, located about 280 km northeast of Jiddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has yielded more than 2 million ounces of gold from periodic production during the past 3,000 years. A new orebody on the southern side of the ancient workings, known as the South orebody, is being developed by Gold Fields-Mahd adh Dhahab Limited. A suite of samples was collected from the newly exposed orebody for preliminary mineralogic, stable isotope, fluid inclusion, and geochemical studies. The Mahd adh Dhahab deposit is in the carapace of a Proterozoic epizonal rhyolite stock that domed pyroclastic and metasedimentary rocks of the Proterozoic Halaban group. Ore of gold, silver, copper, zinc, tellurium, and lead is associated with north-trending, steeply dipping quartz veins in a zone 1,000 m long and 400 m wide. The veins include an assemblage of quartz-chlorite-pyrite-hematite-chalcopyrite-sphalerite-precious metals, which is similar to the mineral assemblage at the epithermal deposit at Creede, Colorado. The primary ore contains abundant chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and pyrite in addition to a complex precious metal assemblage. Gold and silver occur principally as minute grains of telluride minerals disseminated in quartz-chlorite-hematite and as inclusions in chalcopyrite and sphalerite. Telluride minerals include petzite, hessite, and sylvanite. Free gold is present but not abundant. All of the vein-quartz samples contained abundant, minute inclusions of both low-density, vapor-rich fluids and liquid-rich fluids. Primary fluid inclusions yielded homogenization temperatures of from 110? to 238? C. Preliminary light-stable isotope studies of the sulfide minerals and quartz showed that all of the d34S values are between 1.2 and 6.3 per mil, which is a typical range for hydrothermal sulfide minerals that derive their sulfur from an igneous source. The data-suggest that the sulfide sulfur isotope geochemistry was controlled by exchange with la large sulfur isotope reservoir at depth. The d18O values of all stages of vein quartz in the South orebody range between 8.5 and 11.1 per mil. This range is similar to that for quartz from the North orebody and indicates that the hydrothermal system consisted of dominantly exchanged meteoric water, which was uniform in temperature and d18O content throughout the area during the entire period of mineralization. Lead isotope analyses of two galena samples indicate that the lead in the South orebody is less radiogenic than that from the North orebody and confirm that the lead was derived from oceanic crust approximately 700 Ma ago.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1974

Fluid inclusion and light stable isotope study of the climax molybdenum deposits, Colorado

The Climax mine contains three molybdenite ore bodies and widespread late quartz-pyrite-sericite barren mineralization, each related to separate intrusive phases of the Climax stock. Alteration zones spatially related to each molybdenite ore body include a silica zone below, a potassium-silicate zone that approximately coincides with ore, and overlying quartz-sericite-pyrite-topaz, argillic, and propylite zones . Delta 18 O values of quartz range from +8.4 to 10.9 per mil; delta 18 O values of muscovite and sericite range from --0.8 to +7.5 per mil. Eight of ten sericite values are between +5.8 and +7.5. All of the quartz and most of the sericite is in isotopic equilibrium with a calculated water at 350 degrees C with delta 18 O values of +3.0 to 5.5 per mil. Delta 18 O values of K-feldspars range from --4.5 to +7.5 per mil. This wide range indicates partial reequilibration of the feldspar with later, isotopically light, waters. Two muscovites have delta D values of --146 and --91 per mil; sericite ranges from --168 to --116 per mil. The calculated delta D values of water at 275 degrees C in equilibrium with sericite are --144 to --92. This range is the same as that of fluid inclusions in ore samples.Kaolinite in the argillic zone has delta 18 O values of --0.9 to --2.2 and delta D values of --162 per mil. Calculated water at 250 degrees C in equilibrium with kaolinite delta 18 O values of --4.7 to -6 and delta D of about -130 per mil. The isotopic and fluid inclusion data best fit a model whereby the Climax ore bodies were formed from a hydrothermal fluid that originated by mixing light and heavy waters. The light water is isotopically similar to present-day meteoric water; the heavy water has the isotopic composition postulated for magmatic water, although it could be meteoric water that was heavier than present-day meteoric water.

Colorado↗
USGS1963

Studies of fluid inclusions iii: Extraction and uantitative analysis of inclusions in the milligram range

A method has been developed for the extraction and chemical microanalysis of individual fluid inclusions , or groups of inclusions , in the milligram range . Usable quantitative analyses for Na, K, Ca, Mg, CI, B, and SO* have been obtained of mineral samples containing several milligrams of inclusion fluid , and with increased experimental errors, on fractional milligram samples. The steps involved are: 1) concentration of inclusions by sample selection and cutting; 2) electrolytic cleaning; 3) crushing in soft copper sample tube in vacuo; 4) conversion of emitted water to hydrogen and determination of its volume; 5) mass spectrometric determination of the D/H ratio if desired; 6) leaching of the crushed mineral to dissolve soluble salts remaining; 7) microanalysis of the filtrate by sensitive colorimetric and flame photometric methods. The method has been applied to determine the composition of fluid inclusions in mineral samples from several types of deposits, with special attention to a series of samples from Mississippi Valley-type ore deposits.

Economic Geology↗