Economic Geology

Vol. 74, 1979, pp. 1395-1407

IsotopicComposition
of Lead in MexicanMineral Deposits
GEORGF.L. CU•{•ING, STEVI-I•N E. K•sr.•R, ANt) D. Ki•sTtc

Abstract

We have measured the isotopic compositionof lead in 34 Mesozoic and Cenozoic

mineral depositsfrom northern Mexico. These deposits can be divided into massive
sulfide, sedimentary,limestone replacement,and vein types and appear to have formed
in four phasesranging from Upper Jurassic-LowerCretaceousto Oligocene. The iso-
topic compositionof lead from these depositsfalls within a restricted range (•ø6Pb/
2•Pb-- 18.4-19.0), but individual depositsand districts show even smaller compositional
ranges, which are approximately equivalent to the analytical uncertainty in this study.
Groups of depositsfrom the same area and/or depositsof similar type exhibit isotopic
compositionalsimilarities. The Mexican lead isotopedata conform most closely to the
growth curve of Staceyand Kramers (1975) in terms of their •ø•Pb/2ø•Pbratios. The
30 Cenozoic depositsdefine a linear array with a slope of 0.092 +--0.017, which differs
distinctly from mixing lines recently delineatedfor the Cascadesand Aleutian volcanic
rocks. The line coincidesin part with the field delineatedby Doe and Zartman (1979)
for mature arcs but extends to more radiogenic compositionscharacterizedby pelagic
sedimentsand/or noncratonized continents and derived sediments. The Cenozoic linear
array intersectsthe Stacey and Kramers growth curve at about 33 m.y., which is equiv-
alent to the averagetime of mineralization,and at 1,438 m.y., which is the sameas the
averageage of Precambrianbasementrocks in northern Mexico. We interpret these
observationsto suggestthat Precambrianbasementrock extendsbeneathmost of northern
Mexico and contributed significant amounts of lead to magmas that formed the lead
deposits.

Introduction Classification and Geologic Setting of Mesozoic

and Cenozoic Mineralizati0n in Northern Mexico
SIGNIFICANTprogresshas beenmadein the last few
years toward a better understandingof the tectonic The Mesozoicand Cenozoicmineral depositsthat
evolutionof Mexico (McDowell and Keizer, 1977; have beenincludedin this study can be dividedinto
Barker, 1977; Gastil et al., 1975; Cserna,1976a) and approximatecategoriesof massivesulfide deposits,
its abundantMesozoicand Cenozoicmineral deposits sedimentarydeposits,vein deposits,and limestone
(Salas, 1975; Cserna,1976a;Damonand Montesinos, replacement deposits. Several deposits, such as
1975). Becausemany of thesemineraldepositsare Cosala, Charcas,and Zimapan, contain both lime-
rich in lead we have attemptedto contributefurther stone replacementand vein ore and possesstransi-
informationon this topicby determiningthe lead iso- tional characteristics in this classification. In all
tope compositionof 34 representativedeposits. In deposits,except Avino, Campo Morado, and Dos
order to avoid tectoniccomplexitiespossiblyassoci- Marias, lead is a major constituentof the base metal
ated with the Isthmusof Tehuantepec,we have con- portion of the mineralization. Deposits such as
fined our attention to the area north of the Isthmus, Santa Eulalia (Hewitt, 1968) and the Parral dis-
hereafterreferred to as northern Mexico (Fig. 1). trict (Schmitt, 1928; Koch, 1956; Scott, 1958) have
This area containsalmostall of the importantlead each produced4 to 8 mil.lion tons of lead metal, and
mineralizationin the country. numerousothers, including Naica (Erwood et al.,
Field work on whichthis studyis basedwascarried 1979; Stone, 1959), Ojuela (Hoffman, 1968),
out intermittently from 1974 to 1977 and involved Zacatecas (Stone, 1956), Fresnillo (Kreczmer,
visits to 23 of the districts discussed here. The re- 1977; Macdonald, 1978; Cserna, 1976b), and
Taxco (Fowler et al., 1948), have productionand
maining districts,includingTigre, Plomosas(Sina- reserves of about one million tons of lead metal or
loa), CampoMorado,CerroDolores,E1Pavo,Tayol- more. It is likely that cumulativeproductionplus
tita, Puerto Rico, Tascatito, and Dos Marias, were near-term reservesin the depositsincluded in this
not visited,but well-locatedsampleswere contributed study total more than 20 million tons of lead metal.
generouslyby other geologistswho are recognized Pachuca(Geyne et al., 1963) and Tayoltita (Smith
in the acknowledgments. and Hall, 1974), thoughnot importantas lead pro-
1395
1396 CUMMING, KESLER, AND KRSTIC

108 ø 96 ø
Cuale and Campo Morado (which representphaseI
alongwith the sedimentarydepositsat Plomosasand
......
J't--
.....
so
\"•
ø4
• •
"\
',•. Dos
Marlas:-1:. 30 Tascatito) are part of a group of similar deposits
(Salas,1975; Cserna,1976a) foundwithin the Meso-
zoic submarinevolcaniccomplexof western Mexico.
/ Plom•• .•Puerto
'- ,
R,co-
20
"• Remnants of this complex are abundant along the
-•k-•/Sta.
Eula
'o-3 •' 'r'• 3 west coast of northern Mexico and in Baja Cali-
cncanmae-
•
fornia, which separatedfrom the northern Mexico
1-26
Reforma-32
•,, mainlandin late Cenozoictime (Gastil and Krum-
menacher, 1975). Similar rocks, possibly moved
eastwardby tectonicactivity (Cserna, 1970, 1976a),

D•ente-
Paz- 34
31 ,Llera - 19
have been recognizedin isolated outcropsbetween
Taxco and Fresnillo (Campa et al., 1975). These
Mesozoic submarinevolcanic complexesrange in
age from Triassic to at least Late Cretaceousand it

as
-27n-2•9
Angeles-25
is possiblethat severaldistinctcomplexesare repre-
T•gre-
11 imapo
sented. The volcaniclastic sediments in the immediate
vicinity of the Campo Morado and Cuale districts
20 o-- • Etzatlan
-24 are probablyUpper Jurassicto Lower Cretaceousin
MESOZOLC DEPOSITS - !
i- ß Massive sulfide
age (Macomber, 1962: Lorinczi and Miranda, 1978)
/k Sedlmenlary
CENOZOIC DEPOSITS - lI, Ill, IV
-17 and the depositsthemselvesare similarto the Kuroko
Cerro Oalores- 2
II- X Limestone Replacement
+ Vein
COyL
Marada - 9
depositsof Japan (Ishihara, 1974).
ß
Ill- 0
TranslhanOI
Limesfane Replacement
During submarine volcanic activity in western
ß Veto
Mexico. sedimentationtook placein centraland east-

108ø
•Trans,honal
iV' []
.(•
LlmestaneReplocement
Cluslers
of IsalOplcally
SimilarDeposlls
96ø
ern Mexico. It began with clastic depositsand
evolvedupward to extensivethickly beddedcarbonate
sediments(Imlay, 1944; Smith, 1970). The Plo-
FIG. 1. Locationsof mineral depositsincludedin this study.
The symbolsrepresent
thetypeandprobable ageof eachde- mosas-Tascatitodeposits,which occupy an isolated
posit. The numbered depositsare: 1, Dos Marias; 2, outcrop of Mesozoicsedimentsin northern Mexico,
CerroDolores;3, SantaEulalia;4, Plomosas
(Chihuahua); probablyformed at approximatelythe sametime as
5, Coyuca;6, Cosala;7, Cuale;8, E1 Pavo; 9, Campo
Morado; 10, Tascatito; 11, Tigre; 12, Tayoltita; 13, their enclosingrocks.althoughopinionon their exact
Pachuca;14,Ojuela;15,Naica; 16,Copala;17,Taxco; 18, origin is divided (Escandon, 1974; Reid, 1972).
Plomosas(Sinaloa); 19, Llera; 20, Puerto Rico; 21, During latest Cretaceoustime, uplift in the western
Charcas;22, Angangueo;23, Encantada;24, Etzatlan;25,
Real de Angeles;26, Parral; 27, Zacatecas;
28, Velardefia; Mexican volcanicbelt accompanied by intrusive ac-
29, Zimapan;30, Fresnillo;31, E1 Diente; 32, Reforma; tivity (Cserna 1956, 1960, 1970; Henry, 1975) shed
33, Avino; 34, SantaMaria de la Paz. Exact locations
and clastic sediments westward over central Mexico and
sampledata are givenin Table 1.
the carbonatedepositingseasretreatedeastward. By
ducers,are amongthe largestpreciousmetalvein the close of Mesozoic time, Mexico was almost en-
districts in the world. None of the massivesulfide tirely emergent and about to undergo deformation
or sedimentary depositscomparein presentlyknown and the Cenozoicvolcanic-intrusivecyclethat formed
size to the vein and limestonereplacementdeposits. mostof its presentlyknown mineral wealth.
Porphyrycopperdeposits, whichare abundant in The earliest mineralizing event in the Cenozoic
northernMexico(Sillitoe,1976),havebeenomitted evolution of Mexico (phaseII, Fig. 1, Table 1) was
fromthis studybecause theylackabundant lead. the emplacement of a chain of late Eoceneintrusions
into the thick Mesozoic sediments of eastern Mexico.
As can be seenin Figure 1, the depositsstudied
here exhibit a systematicdistributionin northern Mineralizing centerswith someK-Ar age data in-
Mexico. Massive sulfide depositsare confinedto clude Concepciondel Oro-Providencia (Buseck,
the west coast. Vein depositsextendfrom the west 1966; Ohmotoet al., 1966), Charcas(Butler, 1972),
coast to central Mexico and limestone replacement and Zimapan-La Xegra (Gaytan, 1973). The un-
depositsextendfrom centralMexico to the east.The dated mineralized centers at Santa Maria de La Paz,
distributionof thesedeposittypesreflectsthe Meso- E1 Diente,and Reformaprobablyalso belongto this
zoic and Cenozoic geologic evolution of northern group. Vein mineralizationat Tayoltita formed at
Mexico and their formation can be divided, for the almostexactlythis time (Smith and Hall, 1974) in
purposesof this discussion, into four phases(see the older volcanic rocks in western Mexico. It is
Fig. 1 and Table 1). The massivesulfidedepositsat likely that the nearby and generallysimilar Cosala,
 LEAD IN MEXICAN MINERAL DEPOSITS 1397

Copala, Plomosas (Sinaloa), and Tigre deposits possiblyeasternMexico (Cserna,1971). Larger ex-
formed at that time as well. posuresof the Precambrianrocksin northern Mexico
By about 35 m.y., or Oligocenetime, the western are limitedto the northwest(just beyondthe western
part of northern Mexico underwentterrestrial rhyo- edgeof Fig. 1) and the area southof Cerro Dolores,
litic volcanism(phase III, Fig. 1, Table 1). Mc- and isolatedexposuresare found in easternMexico
Dowell and Keizer (1977) have dated this phase extending southwardfrom the vicinity of E1 Dierite
between32 and 23 m.y. in the area betweenOjuela to Taxco. The larger exposuresin northwestern
and Tayoltita, and Gross (1975) reportsan age of Mexico have been shown by Anderson and Silver
37 ---+
3 m.y. for the lowermostvolcanicunit at Guana- (1975) to be 1,600 to 1,800m.y. in ageand thosein
j uato, just south of Zacatecas. With the exception easternand southernMexicorangefrom 800 to 1,300
of the previouslymentionedlate Eocenedeposits,all m.y. (Cserna, 1971).
of the Cenozoicdepositsin Figure 1 probablyformed Lead Isotopic Compositionof Mexican
at this time, althoughradiometricdocumentationfor Mineral Deposits
this generalizationis almost entirely lacking. In
western Mexico, the vein depositsat Parral, Fres- ,4nalyticalproceduresand measurement
precision
nillo, Zacatecas,and Real de Angelesare largely in Lead isotopemeasurements were carried out on a
Mesozoic volcaniclastic rocks. To the east where
Micromass-30mass spectrometerwith on-line data
Cretaceous limestone is abundant, similar mineraliz- reductionutilizing a Hewlett-Packard9825A calcu-
ing processesapparentlygeneratedlimestone-replace- lator. Two-secondintegration of ion currents for
ment depositsat Santa Eulalia, Naica, and Ojuela. each of the Pb isotopesand a baselinewere read in
Somedeposits,suchas Pachuca,occupythe remnants sequence, with 10 to 15 sweepsconstitutinga data
of apparentlygeneticallyrelated volcanicpiles that set. Data were correctedfor amplifiertime constant
developedon limestonebasement. In general,these effects,and cubic spline interpolationwas used to
phase III vein and limestonereplacementdeposits determineratios. The averageratios (with respect
formed in a zone parallel to and betweenthe late to gø4Pb)were obtainedfor eachset, and a pooled
Eocene (phase II) Concepciondel Oro-Zimapan weightedmean of 5 to 10 data sets constitutedthe
limestonereplacement andTayoltitavein zones(Fig. final ratios for the sample. The standarderrors on
1). the final meanvalueswere typicallyabout0.03 per-
Concomitant with the start of rhyoliticvolcanism cent. The errors are clearly correlateddue to the
in westernMexico at about 35 m.y., alkalinemag- methodof data acquisition,the correlationcoefficient
maticactivitytookplacein easternMexicoalongthe beingat least0.5. Sampleswere about2 #g in size
extensionof the Rio Grande rift zone from E1 Paso, and wererun at a temperature
of 1,400øCusingthe
Texas, to near Llera (Barker, 1977). Although silicagel-phosphoric acidtechnique.Replicateanaly-
this zone producedlargely fluorite mineralization sesof National Bureauof StandardssampleSRM
(Kesler,1977), basemetaldeposits includingPuerto 981 indicatea massdiscrimination of very closeto
Rico, Encantada,and Llera fall alongthe trend and 0.1 percentper massunit differenceand this correc-
could have formed at this time. These are here
tion hasbeenappliedto all datapresentedhere. Re-
designatedphaseIV deposits. Note that they are producibilityof the massdiscriminationmeasurement
thoughtto be the sameage as phaseIII depositsbut is 0.03 percent (2v) per mass unit differenceas
to be relatedto a differentsuiteof igneousrocks. determined fromthe standardanalyses.
In summary,we identifyfour phasesof mineraliza- Several samplesof the current study were run in
tion for the depositsstudiedhere, the first duringa duplicateand thesedatamay be analyzedfor internal
rather poorlydefinedtime interval,possiblyUpper reproducibility. The averagestandarddeviationfor
Jurassicto Lower Cretaceous(135-100 m.y. ago), the 9 samplesfor which duplicatesetswere measured
while the last three stagesoccurredin the interval in Table 1 is 0.07 percentand is independentof mass
from late Eoceneto early Oligoceneor somewhat difference. The latter feature of the data is difficult
later (50-25 m.y.ago). Althoughpart of the range to understand, since variable mass discrimination
of agesfor the Cenozoic deposits representsuncer- would be expectedto be a major contributorto the
tainty in the interpretationof the geologicevidence, ultimateprecisionas indicatedby the replicatemeas-
theredo appearto be as yet unquantified
differences urementson the standard. The constancyof the
in theagesof someof theCenozoic oredeposits. standarddeviationmay be at leastin part due to the
The pre-Mesozoicbasementon which this mineral- relatively small number of duplicatesavailablefor
ization took place rangedfrom probableMesozoic comparison.
seafloorbeneaththe westernvolcaniccomplexto a A furthercheckon the measurement precisionand
fragmented Precambrian continent in central and accuracyis providedby the group of data from the
1398 CUMMING, KESLER, AND KRSTIC

TABI•g 1. Isotopic Compositionof Lead in Mexican Mineral Deposits

The sampleslisted here are divided into four large groupswhichrepresentphasesin the Mesozoicand Cenozoicmetallogenie
evolution of Mexico. As noted in the text, most of the depositsincluded in this study have not been dated isotopically.

Deposit Samplenumber• •Pb/•ø•Pb •ø•Pbflø•Pb •øsPbflø•Pb

Mesozoic Deposits, Phase I

Sedimentary deposits
Plomosas DIC-41 18.544 15.631 38.626
(Chihu•hua) DIC42SP 18.564 15.627 38.583
Tascatito M-TAS 18.677 15.630 38.551

Massive sulfide deposits

Cuale CL-CA 18.653 15.665 38.621
CL-CS 18.648 15.631 38.594
CampoMorado CM 18.644 15.667 38.682
18.668 15.677 38.698

CenozoicDeposits,PhasesII, III, IV
Eocene (?) deposits,Phase II
Vein deposits
Tayoltita 21-760 18.690 15.612 38.569
CV-10 18.672 15.603 38.600
CopMa CSL-G 18.750 15.653 38.644
18.684 15.603 38.596
Tigre TiG 18.676 15.626 38.597
Plomosas
(Sinaloa) PL-SN 18.737 15.637 38.594

Limestonereplacementdeposits
Reforma REF 18.891 15.656 38.845
E1 Diente ED 18.865 15.657 38.847

Transitional vein-limestonereplacementdeposits
Zim•pan DIC-77 18.834 15.661 38.780
Charcas CHR-7 18.750 15.625 38.679
La Paz LP-EP-512 18.926 15.658 38.876
18.936 15.678 38.937
Cosala CSL-LA 18.641 15.603 38.530
18.655 15.616 38.581
CL•VH 18.629 15.603 38.537

Oligocene(?) deposits,PhaseIII
Vein deposits
Parral DIC-23 18.805 15.637 38.695
DIC-25 18.817 15.637 38.692
DIC-12 18.821 15.642 38.693
Avino AV 18.928 15.639 38.703
18.909 15.628 38.747
ZacAtecas ZAC-SB 18.823 15.629 38.706
Fresnillo FRR 18.826 15.632 38.714
V-2-1 18.846 15.656 38.813
18.851 15.661 38.825
F-V-2-1 18.829 15.624 38.684
FG-9-2 18.825 15.645 38.721
F-ES-5 18.847 15.637 38.766
18.848 15.643 38.791
F-45-2 18.838 15.660 38.818
F-2031-8 18.833 15.659 38.781
Real de Angeles DH-E-9-218 18.809 15.626 38.707
Etzatlan 76-ETZ-CAL 18.770 15.634 38.653
18.775 15.640 38.680
Pachuca PCH-PR-400 18.712 15.629 38.654
Angangueo ANG 18.751 15.630 38.640
Taxco TAX-5 18.748 15.658 38.747
786(J) 18.739 15.643 38.691
787(SA-I) 18.731 15.625 38.642
792(SA-EC) 18.723 15.623 38.626
788(H) 18.730 15.638 38.695
Coyucade C. CM-X 18.577 15.603 38.467
 LEAD IN MEXICAN MINERAL DEPOSITS 1399

TAnI,•: 1.--(Continued)

Deposit Samplenumber
Limestonereplacementdeposits
Dos M arias DM 18.452 15.604 38.300
18.451 15.601 38.289
18.470 15.626 38.366
Santa Eulalia DIC-35G 18.542 15.629 38.477
DIC-36 18.521 15.611 38.426
DIC-37SE 18.532 15.623 38.435
Naica DIC-1 18.715 15.648 38.579
Ojuela OA-2 18.715 15.647 38.651
E1 Pavo M-EP-LY 18.657 15.632 38.567
Cerro Dolores CDL-SJ 18.517 15.630 38.526
Transitional vein-limestonereplacementdeposits
Velardefia V-SN 18.836 15.627 38.665
18.811 15.612 38.635

Oligocene(?), alkaline-related
deposits,PhaseIV
Puerto Rico 29-1 18.748 15.642 38.765
Eneantm:la 5-EN 18.768 15.625 38.729
Llera LLR 18.736 15.654 38.713

SeeAppendixI for samplelocations.

Fresnillodeposit. Figure2 showsa comparison

be- The above discussion indicates that individual de-
tween our results from Fresnillo and two analyses positsfrom a given area are the sameisotopically
by Csernaet al. (1977). within our experimentalerror. Other depositsin-
for thesamedistrictreported
Their results were measuredby the triple filament cludingTayoltita,Cosala,Cuale,Plomosas,and Santa
methodwhich yieldsvery small absoluteerrors. The Eulalia show the same agreementin isotoperatios
mean of our 9 analysesis almost identicalto their and accordinglywe have averagedall analysesfor
data,indicatinga smallbias. In Figure2 the ellipse individual depositsand plotted these averagesin
shown is drawn about the mean of our results and Figure 3.
corresponds to errors of 0.013 (0.067%), 0.016
(0.1%), and 0.505 (0.13%) for the 6/4, 7/4, and Geographical clusteringand zonationof the leadiso-
8/4 ratios,respectively,
with a correlationcoefficient topic compositions
of 0.5 betweenratios. The fit is satisfactoryat the The depositscan be divided into 9 geographically
l•r level in view of the rather smallpopulationsize. distinct clusters on the basis of their lead isotopic
The sametest appliedto the 5 analyseson samples compositions (Table 2). ClustersE and H have
from the Taxco area yields a very similar picture. beenexpandedgeographically to includerather dis-
The comparisons indicatethat the above-mentionedtant but isotopicallysimilar depositsat Etzatlan and
errors are realistic estimatesfor the data presented Pachuca,and at Zimapan, respectively. Similarly,
here and also suggestthat our massdiscrimination the isotopicrange of clustersA and C has been ex-
factor yieldscorrectedvalueswith a bias of the same pandedslightlyto includegeographically nearbyde-
magnitude as the triple filament data quoted by positsat Tascatitoand Plomosas(Sinaloa), re-
Csernaet al. (1977). It is possible,in fact, to find spectively.In eachof the clustersC, D, E, F, andH,
evidencein Figure 2 to suggestthat the correlation the individualdepositshave similar characteristics
coefficientis considerablylarger than quotedabove. and probableage and, with the exceptionof cluster
Note that the two typesof orebodiesat Fresnillo,re- E, all of them trend northwest,parallelto the trend
placementmantos, and open space-fillingveins (see of the major Cenozoicand Mesozoicgeologicfeatures
Kreczmer, 1977; and Macdonald,1978), exhibit con- of northern Mexico.
sistentcompositional differencesfor bothour analyses ClustersA, B, G, and I, which containdepositsof
and thoseof Csernaet al. (1977). Ellipses drawn different probableagesand different types, do not
aroundthe separatemantosand vein populationsare trend northwest. ClusterA is especiallynoteworthy
very narrow, similar to that for Taxco, and indicate becauseit containsdepositsranging in age from
error correlationsof about0.8. Inasmuchas rigorous probableJurassicto mid-Cenozoic, all of which are
evaluationof this higher correlationrequiresa larger relativelylow in radiogeniclead. ClusterB, whichis
numberof duplicateanalysesthan we have available, isotopicallysimilar to cluster A, is less well docu-
we have not made further use of it here. mentedgeologically.Of the remainingunclassified
1400 CUMMING, KESLER, .4ND KRSTIC

15.7-
relationshipof the data to 2 of the more recentlypro-
posed terrestrial lead isotope growth curves. The
massivesulfidedepositsof Mesozoicage,Cuale (7 on
the figures) and Campo Morado (9), which are
probablyabout135m.y. old,yieldan agecloseto 100
m.y.usingthe CuremingandRichards(1975) param-
eters, or slightly lessthan 50 m.y. from the Stacey
and Kramers (1975) growth curve. They do not
seelnto conformvery closelyto the compositionex-
pectedfor the "average" orebodyimplied by either
model. On the other hand the data from the Meso-

15.6 i i i i i i i i i I zoic Plomosas,Chihuahua(4), sedimentarydeposit,

38.9- yields model ages which are about 100 m.y. for the
Staceyand Kramers model and about 130 m.y. from
the Cummingand Richardscurve, in reasonableac-

• 38.8-

,•E]
This
study
15.'70 A

[] Veins
19
oJ

38.7-
© Montos --. 15.65 • 1415
[]
[] Cserno et el. (1977)
(• Vein
• Manto
15.6½
i i i i
38.6 18.5 18.6 18.7 18.8 18.9
18.[ 18.•

206Pb/204pb
FIG. 2. Isotopiccomposition
of lead in the Fresnillo de-
positshowing:(1) thecloseagreementbetween our analyses 38J
•34
and thoseof Csernaet al. (1977) and (2) the very small
compositional rangeexhibitedby all 9 analysesfrom Fres-
nillo. The ellipseshowsour estimatederror (1 p). Because ERROR LIMITS

this range is similar to our analytical uncertaintywe have AT 1 SIGMA

averagedthe valuesand usedthis averagein Figure 3 and 38.8

2O
subsequent
discussionof the data. []

23
33
19 [] ß
deposits,the Mesozoicmassivesulfidedepositsat 38.7
[]

17 21
Cuale and Campo Morado are similar isotopically
but widelyseparated geographically.Avino fitsmost •8
readilywith cluster! but is alsotoo far from it to be +

included. 38.6

Referenceto Figure 1 showsthat the radiogenic •ø2o

componentof lead in the depositclustersis lowest MESOZOIC DEPOSITS - I
38.5
near the west coast and highest near the east coast. I •- S•dimentary
ß - Massive sulfide
This tendencyis best developedin the Cenozoicde- CENOZOICDEPOSITS-II,Ill,lV
positsof clustersC, D, E, F, G, H, and ! and linear I I X - Limestonereplacement
correlationof the 2ø*Pb/2ø4Pb compositions of these 38.4 +-
•-
Veto
Trons•honol
depositswith their distancefrom the west coast of III 0 - bmestonere•ocement
Mexico (prior to separationof Baja California) ß -
•-
V•n
Tm•lt•ono)
yieldsthe relationship 38.3 IV [] - L•mestonereCacement

2øøPb/2ø4Pb
= 18.706+ 0.0002.S (kin). 18.4
i

18.5
i

18.6
i

18.7
i

18.8
i

18.9

The correlation coefficientfor this relationship is •o• Pb/eo•Pb

0.412, which is significantat the 97.5 percentlevel. Fro. 3. Isotopic composition of lead in mineral deposits
from northern Mexico. Symbols correspond to those in
Interpretation of the lead isotopedata Figure 1. Numbers designate individual deposits listed in
Table 1. The compositionsplotted here are averagesof any
Figure 3 showsthe lead isotopecompositionsof duplicate analysesor sampleslisted in Table 1, following the
thesenorthernMexican depositsand Figure 4 the conclusionsregarding Figure 2 as explained in the text.
 LEAD IN MEXICAN MINERAL DEPOSITS 1401

cord with the possibleage of deposition. However, 1570

the fact that both modelsyield unreasonablyyoung
agesfor the apparentlygeologicallysimilarTascatito •oo

deposit
(10) suggests
thatatleast
some
oftheMeso-•, 15.65
zoic depositsoriginatedby processes
too complexto 2 4 08_...•-
---'-
• '-'"-
•
beexplained
bythese
simple
models.
In viewofthis, •0• •-•--•--•o 25 0
we will defer further discussion of the Mesozoic de-
15.60
posits until more analysesare available and concen- 18.5
I I

18.6
[

18.7' 18.8
I

18.9
trate the remainderof this paper on the Cenozoicde-
posits.
The Cenozoic depositslie near the Stacey and
Kramers growth curve with apparent ages ranging
from 150 m.y. to about -160 m.y. Although we
have suggestedabove that there are severalphases
involved in the formation of the Cenozoic ore de-
/
posits,
theactualtimeinterval
wouldnotlikelybe 38.8 /
/

greater than 15-20 m.y., a negligiblerange for the /

/
purposeof modellead agecalculations. Thus we feel /
/
justified
in pooling
alltheCenozoic
deposits
byfitting • 38.7 /
astraight
linetothedata.
Insofar
asthedata
actually /

fit a singleline,thereis animplicitassumption

that2
or at most3 distincteventscontrolthe isotopic
corn- *, 38.6
position(Gale and Mussett,1973) of thesedeposits;
that is, the data form a secondaryisochron. One of
these eventsmay be taken as the average age of 38.5
formation,or about30 m.y. For the 30 Cenozoicde-
posits(56 analyses)we havecalculateda best-tting
straight line using the method of Cumminget al. 38.4
(1972). The slopeis R--0.092- 0.017 with mean
squaredweighteddeviates(MSWD) = 0.84, for 54
degreesof freedom,usingthe error valuesdiscussed 38.3
previously. This is a strong confirmationof our 18.4 18.5 18.6 18.7 18.8 18.9
estimatederrorsin that the data fit a singlestraight •øapb?ø*pb
line within the expectedexperimental error. Using Fro. 4. This figure showsthe positionof two widely used
30 m.y. as the t2 valuein a two-stagemodelcalcula- lead isotope growth curves in relation to several of the
Mexican depositsdiscussedin the last sectionsof the paper.
tion, we obtain1,450m.y. as the t• time. Thesetwo- Curve CR is from Cumming and Richards (1975) and SK
stagemodelagesare discussed
below. is from Stacey and Kramers (1975). The dashed line
(A-B) is the best fit to the 30 Cenozoicleads represented
here. Numbers correspondto those in Figures 1 and 3.
TABLE2. Geographically LocalizedClustersof Deposits
with Similar Lead IsotopicComposition
Clusters are listed in approximateorder of increasing Although smallergroupingsof the Cenozoicde-
radiogeniclead content. Parenthesesindicate depositwith posits delineate better lines, the lack of radiometric
possibleaffiliation to cluster. confirmationfor the age of mineralizationin most of
the Cenozoicdeposits,the similarity of slopesob-
Cluster Deposits
tained for the different stagesof mineralization,and
A. Dos Marias; Plomosas,Chihuahua;Santa Eulalia; the effectof analyticaluncertaintyon theseslopesdue
(Tascatito) to the smallrangeof ratios,suggestto us that con-
B. Cerro Dolores,Coyucade Catatlan sideration of our data at this time should be confined
C. Cosala; Copala; Tayoltita; Tigre; (Plomosas,
Sinaloa) to an interpretationof this pooledCenozoicline.
D. Ojuela, Naica, E1 Pavo The bestfit line for the pooleddata on the Ceno-
E. Taxco, Angangueo,(Etzatlan), (Pachuca)
F. Encatada, Puerto Rico zoicdeposits is plottedin Figures4 and5. Figure4
G. Charcas, Llera compares this line to two differentgrowthcurvesas
H. Zacatecas,Real de Angeles, Fresnilo, Parrall,
Velardefia (Zimapan) mentioned above,whilein Figure5 wehavecompared
I. Santa Maria de la Paz, Reforma,E1 Diente the line for our data (A-B) with the compositional
fieldsoccupiedby severaltypesof rocksthat could
 1402 CUMMING, KESLER, AND KRSTIC

16.0
radiogeniccomponent.Accordingto Figure 5, the
radiogeniccomponentcould be derived from either
pelagicsedimentor noncratonized(upper crustal)
15.8
continent,with the positionof point B in Figure 5A
makingthe continentalalternativemore attractive.
Possible evidence for the involvement of Precam-
brian continentalmaterial in the developmentof the
Mexican lead ores is found in the two-stagemodel
agesmentionedabove,where we deduceda two-stage
modelinvolvingthe averageageof the deposits,about
15.2
30 m.y., and an earlier eventat about 1,450m.y. It
is of some interest that when we calculate the inter-
sectionof the line AoB with the Staceyand Kramers
growth curve we obtain 33 m.y. and 1,438 m.y., in
39.0
excellentagreementwith the two-stagemodelcalcu-
lations. The fact that the anomalous lead line for
our Mexican data is very shortand nearly parallelto
the growth curve meansthat theseintersections have
very large errors. Nevertheless,this result implies
• 38.C
that the Mexicanleadwasderivedin part from a Pre-
cambrian source and that the U/Pb ratio in the
original sourceof theseorescorresponds to the value
used in the constructionof the Stacey and Kramers
growth curve,namelyt• = 9.74.
Precambrian basement rocks could have affected
the isotopiccompositionof lead in northern Mexican
206Pb/2ø4pb lead depositseither by contributingsedimentto be
partially melted with the downthrustplate of western
Fro. 5. This figure shows the relationshipbetween the
Cenozoicbestfit line (A-B, Fig. 4) and the compositional Mexico or by releasingleadto magmasor hydrother-
fields occupiedby oceanicvolcanicrocks (OV), pelagic mal solutionsthat passedthroughthe basementrocks
sediments(PS), noncratonized continentand derivedsedi-
ment (NC), and maturearcs (MA) after Doe and Zartman prior to or during mineralization. The possibility
(1979). Line OT is the oceanicvolcanictrend referredto that the Precambrian basement contributed lead
by Church(1976) and Kay (1976). Point X is discussed directly to circulating hydrothermalsolutionsseems
in the text.
unlikely becauseso many of the depositsformed in
Mesozoic and Cenozoic wall rocks, thousands of feet
have been involved in the formation of the Mexican aboveany possiblePrecambrianbasement. In some
mineraldeposits,namelypelagicsediments,
oceanic of these deposits,such as Naica, the mineralizing
volcanicrocks, noncratonizedcontinentand derived solutionwas far too saline (Erwood et al., 1979) to
sediments,aswell asthe compositionalfieldobserved havecirculatedfar enoughthroughthe wall rocksto
for mature island arcs such as Japan. Within the have leached Precambrian basement rocks. Selection
oceanicvolcanicfield, we have plottedthe location is less easy between the other two alternatives,
(OT) of the oceanic
volcanictrend as indicatedby namely,Cenozoicpartialmeltingof downthrustsedi-
Church(1976). Recentstudies by Church(1976) ment derived from Precambrian basement or contri-
and Kay (1976) havesuggested that the Cascadesbution of lead from Precambrian basement to Ceno-
and Aleutian volcanicrocks fall on relatively steep zoic (and Mesozoic) magmas passing upward
mixinglinesbetweenpointX on the OT line and throughthe basement.We preferthe second,magma
continent-derived sediment in the area of B. In con- contamination,
hypothesislargelybecauseit provides
trast, the pooledMexican Cenozoicdata (A-B) an explanationfor the observedregionalvariation in
delineatea line of muchlower slopethat coincidesin lead isotopiccompositions exhibitedby the mineral
part with the maturearc field of Doe and Zartman deposits. For instance,areassuchas northernChi-
(1979) but extendsto distinctlymore radiogenichuahua(A, Fig. 1), wheredepositsof both Mesozoic
compositions.Thus, the compositions in Figure 5 and Cenozoicagehavethe lowestlead isotoperatios,
indicate that the Mexican lead data could be ac- are mosteasilyexplainedas beingunderlainby Preo
countedfor by the sameprocessthat forms lead in cambriah crustwithan unusually lowU/Pb ratio.
maturearcsbut with a significantadditionof a more Referenceto Figure 3 showsthat U/Th ratios in
 LEAD IN MEXICAN MINERAL DEPOSITS 1403

sucha basementmay have varied more widely than to be secondaryisochronswith t• equalto about 1,800
did U/Pb ratios, since the scatter of points on the m.y. About 80 percent of our data from northern
-øøsPb/2ø4Pb
vs 2øøPb/2ø4Pb diagram is in excessof Mexico, which should be in the southern continuation
our experimentalerror (MSWD = 1.22 on 54 D.F.). of Zartman's area Ib, fall within I in Zartman's
Once theseMesozoicand Cenozoicmagmascontami- figure 1, with the remaininganalysesextendinginto
nated with lead from the Precambrian crust reached his area II. As notedpreviously,our data fall on a
the upper crust, they couldcontributelead to the ore probable two-stage linear array indicating a t• of
depositseither by evolvingdirectly a magmatichy- about 1,400m.y. suggesting similaritiesto the model
drothermal solution (as at Naica) or by releasing obtainedfor Zartman'sarea Ib. The disturbingas-
lead to circulating hydrothermal solutions (with a pect of this comparison,however, is the absenceof
large meteoriccomponent),suchas probablyformed linear arrays in our data for individual districts.
many of the vein deposits. As long as the lead iso- Althoughthiscouldbe a resultof our havingsampled
tope compositionof the Mesozoic and/or Cenozoic mostlylarge depositswithout obtainingrepresenta-
rocks was relatively homogeneous within individual tion from peripheraldeposits,the homogeneity of the
mineralized districts, both processeswould produce Fresnillo and Taxco data do not supportthis inter-
the sameresult. The fact that the lead isotopecom- pretation (becauseseveralorebodiesrepresentedin
positions of the ore depositsin northern Mexico thesegroupsare small). Thus, althoughour data
exhibit a relativelylimited spreadindicatesthat the showmuchgreater similarityon this basisto Zart-
Precambrian crust had a similarly restricted range man's area II (in which individual districts exhibit
of compositionsin Cenozoictime or that it was the little or no lead isotopiccompositional
spread),the
subordinatecomponentof the Precambrian crust- Mexicandataplot withinthe compositional rangeof
Cenozoic mantle lead mixture. Zartman's area I and well outside his area II.
If our explanationfor the developmentof the lead Our tentative conclusion from these observations is
isotopecompositionsis correct, it followsthat north- that northern Mexico representsthe southerncon-
ern Mexico is underlain by Precambrianbasement tinuationof Zartman'sarea Ib. The mechanism by
rangingin age from about 1,000 m.y. to 1,800 m.y. whichleadwasincorporated into the ore deposits
re-
and averagingabout1,400m.y., in agreementwith the sultedin a more completemixing of lead in Mexico
two-stage model calculation. One direct test of the than it did to the north and a wider rangeof base-
involvement of Precambrian basement rocks in the ment agesis involvedin this part of Mexicothan in
formationof the Mexican lead depositswould be to Zartman'sarea Ib. This, in turn, suggests that the
look for differencesin the isotopiccompositions of Precambrianlead componentfound in the Mexican
depositsknownto be underlainby basementof dif- oreswas introducedby magmacontamination, rather
ferentages(e.g., 800 to 1,300m.y. and 1,600to 1,800 than by mineralizing solutions circulatingthrough
m.y., as previouslynoted). Unfortunately,we sim- Precambrian basement rock.
ply do not know the distribution of Precambrian
rocks of these ages beneath the area of northern Conclusions
Mexico in which most of our depositsare located.
We have tested the data for differences between de-
posits to the north and south of the trans-Mexican Our analyticalresultsindicatethat the isotopic
composition of leadin Mexicanmineraldeposits falls
volcanicbelt, a major Quaternaryvolcanochainthat
crosses Mexico at about 21ø N latitude. No differ- within a surprisingly restricted
range. The 30 Ceno-
ence was noted, which implies that the basement zoicdeposits
we haveanalyzeddefinea lineararray
beneaththe ore depositsis similar in both areas. that can be explained asa resultof an approximately
two-stageprocess. During the first stage lead was
removedfrom the mantle between 1,800 and 1,000
Comparisonwith Related Depositsin m.y. ago to form the Precambriancrust underlying
Northern North America northernMexico. In the secondstage,it was re-
Zartman (1974) has divided the western United mobilizedin Cenozoic time alongwith lead formed
Statesinto three provinceson the basisof the lead by decay of uranium and thorium in the Precam-
isotopiccompositionof its oresand rocks. The area brian crust and combined with lead from the Ceno-
to the north of northernMexico, includingNew zoic mantleto form the lead deposits.This line of
Mexico, Arizona, and parts of southernCalifornia, reasoning,if correct,suggeststhat most of northern
makesup Zartman'sarea Ib in whichlead isotope Mexicois underlainby Precambrian crustaveraging
analysesfor rock provincesand mineral districtsfall 1,400m.y.but includingrocksof a substantial
range
alonglineararrays(Staceyet al., 1968)interpretedof ages.
1404 CUMMING, KESLER, AND KRSTIC

Acknowledgments PRESENT ADDRESS:

DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGYAND MINERALOGY
Field work for this project was begun in 1974 UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
while Kesler was on sabbatical leave from the Uni- ANN ARBOR,MICHIGAN 48109
versity of Toronto and was serving as a research July 18, 1978; January3, 1979
scientistwith the Consejo de RecursosMinerales.
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sistanceand support. posits in Chiapas, Mexico: A case for genesisassociated
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Locationsfor SamplesIncludedin This Study
Kesler, S. E., 1977, Geochemistryof manto fluorite deposits,
northernCoahuila,Mexico: EcoN. GEo,-.,v. 72, p. 204-218. State is given in parenthesesafter deposit's name.
Koch, G. S., 1956, The Frisco mine, Chihuahua, Mexico: Samplesfrom all depositsfor which samplecollector
ECON.GEOL.,v. 51, p. 1-40. is not designatedwere collectedby S. E. Kesler.
Kreczmer, M. J., 1977, The geology and geochemistryof the
Fortuna mineralization, Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Mexico: Most depositsare discussedin the text where refer-
M.Sc. thesis, Univ. of Toronto, 155 p. ence is made to descriptionsof their geology. For
Lorinczi, G. I., and Miranda V., J. C., 1978, Geology of the those depositsthat are not so treated, we have ap-
massive sulfide deposits of Campo Morado, Guerrero,
Mexico: EcoN. GEo,-.,v. 73, p. 180-191. pendedappropriatereferencesto their geologyhere.
Lozej, G. P., and Beales, F. W., 1977, Stratigraphy and
structure of La Encantada mine area, Coahuila, Mexico: MesozoicDeposits
Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 88, p. 1793-1807. Plomosas(Chihuahua) (28o53';105o40')
Macomber, B. E., 1962, Geologyof the Cuale mining district,
Jalisco, Mexico: Unpub. Ph.D. dissert. Rutgers Univ., D1C-41--galena from coarselycrystallinecalcite,
387 p. stope7-6-92, level 6, 32 orebody.
1406 CUMMING, KESLER, AND KRSTIC

D1C-42SP--sphalerite from layered ore in black 786(J)--galena from Jesusmine,Jesusvein, level

shalein stope6-46, sublevel10, Carola orebody. 5; originally collectedby W. E. Snow and
Tascatito (Chihuahua) (approx. 28ø50'; 105030') analyzedat Universityof Toronto (see Russell
M-TAS--galena from surface;collectedby F. W. and Farquhar, 1960, p. 151-152). All of the
Beales. following samplesfrom Taxco have the same
Cuale (Jalisco) (20ø25'; 104050') sourceand were loanedto us for reanalysisby
CL-CA--galena-rich massivesulfide ore in sur- R. M. Farquhar.
face exposureof ChivosArriba deposit. 787(SA-I)--galena from San Antonio mine, San
CL-CS--galena-rich massivesulfideore in surface Isidro vein, level 0.
exposureof Socorrodeposit. 792(SA-EC)--galena from San Antoniomine, E1
CampoMorado (Guerrero) (18ø10'; 100ø10') Carmen vein, level 75.
CM--galena in Fe-rich massivesulfideore from 788(H)--galena from Huepyamine,Huepyavein,
old adit in Reforma mine; collected by Juan level 0.
Carlos Miranda and Raymundo Garcia Loera. Coyuca(Guerrero) (approx.18ø25';100ø45 ')
CM-X--galena from surfacesampleat vein pros-
CenozoicDeposits pectnear Coyucade Catalan;collectedby Ray-
mundo Garcia Loera.
Tayoltita (Durango) (24010';105055')
21-760--galena from pre-base metal sulfides in Dos Marias (Chihuahua)(29ø15'; 103ø45 ') (Fraga
Candelaria vein, 10 level; collectedby Douglas Purata, 1973)
M. Smith, Jr. DM--galena from 2" botroidalsphaleriteaggregate
CV-10--1ead-bearingsulfosaltsfrom preciousmetal cored by bitumenfrom Dos Marias prospect;
ore in 20-760 vein, 21-76 stope; collectedby samplecollectedby David CardenasFlores.
DouglasM. Smith, Jr. SantaEulalia(Chihuahua) (28ø36';i05ø57 ')
Avino (Durango) (24ø31'; 104014') D1C-35G--galena from silicate ore in Chorro
AV--galena from north end of main pit at Avino chimney,level 10 (S 300, E 200); samplecol-
vein. lected by R. J. Hamann.
Zacatecas(Zacatecas)(22ø45'; 102ø35 ') D1C-36--galena from massivesulfideore on level
ZAC-SB--galena from San Bartolovein, 200 level. 30 (S 550, E 300); samplecollected by R. J.
Fresnillo (Zacatecas)(23ø25'; 102050') Hamann.
FRR--galena from lower Fortuna manto, 965 D1C-37SE--galenafrom chimneyat S 400, F 600
level; collectedby M. J. Kreczmer. on level20; collectedby R. J. Hamann.
V-2-1--galena from 2137 vein, 965 level; collected Naica (Chihuahua) (27ø50'; 105ø30')
by M. J. Kreczmer. D1C-l--galena from coarse-grained skarn ore in
F-V-2-1--galena and lead-bearingsulfosaltsfrom chimney48-7, level 240.
Concepcion vein, 270 level. Ojuela (Durango) (25ø50'; 103ø50')
F-G-9-2--galena from upper Fortuna manto, level 0-A2--galena from ore on dump at main shaft of
935; collectedby M. J. Kreczmer. America Dos mine.
F-ES-5--galena from Espiritu Santo vein, 165 Copala (Sinaloa) (approx. 23ø15'; 106003')
level.
CSL-G--galena from upperlevelof Gallineramine.
F-45-2--galena from chimney2907, level 965; col-
Tigre (Nayarit) (22ø28'; 105ø28
')
lected by M. J. Kreczmer.
T1G--galena from surface at E1 Porvenir pros-
F-2031-8•galena from 2031 manto, 270 level.
pect; collectedby Douglas M. Smith, Jr.
Real de Angeles (Zacatecas) (approx. 22ø35';
102015' ) Plomosas(Sinaloa) (approx. 23ø01'; 105010')
DH-E-9-218--galena from diamonddrill holeE-9, PL-SN--galena from main prospect;collectedby
Enrique Gaitan.
218 m; collectedby L. R. Stoiser.
Etzatlan (Jaliso) (20ø45'; 104o05') Cosala (Sinaloa) (23ø25'; 106040')
76-ETZ-CAL--galena from samplefrom ore dump CSL-LA--galena from skarn ore in main pit at
at mine mouth at Calabazasdeposit. La Estrella deposit.
Pachuca(Hidalgo) (20ø10'; 98o45') CSL-VH--galena from copper-richskarnat Vado
PCH-PR-400--galena from Purisimavein, level 6. Hondo deposit.
Angangueo(Michoacan) (19ø40'; 100o15') Reforma (Coahuila) (27ø30'; 101040') (Fletcher,
ANG--galena from mine-run ore (7/76). 1926)
Taxco (Guerrero) (18ø37'; 99035') REF--galena from ore on dump at main mine
TAX-5--galena from Cobre vein, 330 level. mouth.
 LEAD IN MEXICAN MINERAL DEPOSITS 1407

E1 Diente (Nuevo Leon) (approx.25ø40'; 100o15

') Tecolotes shaft in San Albino vein at Santa
(Fletcher, 1926) Barbara.
ED--galena from ore in lowest level in mine E1 Pavo (Zacatecas)(24ø55'; 102o40 ') (Bealesand
(1975). Lozej, 1975)
Zimapan (Hidalgo) (20ø47'; 99o46') (Simonsand M-EP-LV--galena from E1 Pavo prospect in
Mapes,1956) Sierra de Ramirez; collectedby F. W. Beales.
D1C-77--galena from "de la Tolva 2" chimney, Cerro Dolores (Puebla) (17ø58'; 98o37')
+28-m level in Las Animas mine (Carrizal CDL---galenafrom sampleP-127 from San Joes
area). adit; collectedby Roger J. C/tven.
Charcas(San Luis Potosi) (23ø10'; 101ø05') Velardefia (Durango) (25ø05'; 103ø40 ') (Spurr and
CHR-7--galenafrom diamonddrill hole3941 (56 Garvey, 1908)
m) V-SN--galena from San Nicolas shaft.
Puerto Rico (Coahuila) (approx. 103ø20'; 28o55')
SantaMaria de La Paz (23ø42'; 100ø45 ') (Garcia
29-1--galena from surfaceat Puerto Rico pros-
Gutierrez and Mufioz, 1973)
pect; collectedby Panfilo SanchezAlvarado.
LP-EP-512--galena from E1 Pilar mine, 512 m
level.
Encantada(Coahuila) (28o25';102o30') (Lozej and
Beales,1977)
Parral (Chihuahua) (26ø59'; 105o43') 5-EN--galenafrom smallzoneof coarse-grained
D1C-12--galena from level 11 in Rosario vein sulfideore on 600 levelof La Prieta orebody.
near 500 fault at San Francisco del Oro.
Llera (Tamaulipas) (23ø18'; 99o00') (Priego de
D1C-23--galena from level 20, section16 in Prieta Witt, 1974)
vein at Hidalgo del Parral. LLR--galena from sample at mouth of Cerro
D1C-25--galena from level 12, 150 m north of Gordo mine.