TY - JOUR TI - Resource estimation of the sulfide-rich deposits of the Yuhuang-1 hydrothermal field on the ultraslow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge AU - Yu, Junyu AU - Tao, Chunhui AU - Liao, Shili AU - Dias, Ágata AU - Liang, Jin AU - Yang, Weifang AU - Zhu, Chuanwei T2 - Ore Geology Reviews AB - Seafloor massive sulfide (SMS) deposits are important deep-sea mineral resources expected to occur predominantly on slow- and ultraslow-spreading mid-ocean ridges. Resource estimates are already available for some of the largest SMS deposits on slow-spreading ridges but not on ultraslow-spreading ridges. Based on geological mapping and sampling, this study investigates the distribution and content of sulfide-rich deposits in the Yuhuang-1 hydrothermal field (YHF), located on the ultraslow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge. The sulfide-rich deposits in the YHF are composed of two areas ∼500 m apart: the southwest sulfide area (SWS) and the northeast sulfide area (NES). We calculated the volume of sulfide-rich mounds in the YHF and arrived at a total accumulation of ∼10.6 × 106 tons, including at least ∼7.5 × 105 tons of copper and zinc and ∼18 tons of gold. Furthermore, considering the coverage of layered hydrothermal sediment mixed with sulfide-rich breccias, which may have underlying massive sulfide deposits, the maximum total mass was estimated at ∼45.1 × 106 tons. This suggests that the YHF is one of the largest SMS deposits worldwide and confirm that ultraslow-spreading ridges have the greatest potential to form large-scale SMS deposits. DA - 2021/04/17/ PY - 2021 DO - 10.1016/j.oregeorev.2021.104169 SP - 104169 J2 - Ore Geology Reviews LA - en SN - 0169-1368 UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169136821001943 Y2 - 2021/04/21/03:36:30 KW - Resource estimate KW - Seafloor massive sulfide deposits KW - Southwest Indian Ridge KW - Yuhuang-1 hydrothermal field ER -