ENVIRONMENT OF ORE DEPOSITION IN CREEDE MINING DISTRICT, SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, COLORADO .3. PROGRESS TOWARD INTERPRETATION OF CHEMISTRY OF ORE-FORMING FLUID FOR OH VEIN

This paper is the third in a series which explores the geologic, hydrologic, and chemical environment of deposition of the Ag-Pb-Zn-Cu-Au ores of the Creede mining district. The report gives preliminary interpretation of the chemical and hydrologic environments as deduced primarily from a detailed study of the mineral assemblage of the OH vein, one of the important producing veins in the district, together with evidence from fluid inclusions trapped in both ore and gangue minerals. A quantitative treatment of the chemical environment is presented with particular emphasis on identifying those factors which appear to have guided the chemistry of the ore fluids. Refs.