FLUID DRIVE MECHANISMS OF MISSISSIPPI VALLEY-TYPE PB-ZN DEPOSITS, PARTICULARLY THE VIBURNUM TREND, MODELED WITH THE AID OF 3-D PRINTING, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI, USA

Lead and zinc are highly valued ore bodies that provide essential minerals for a variety of industrial and household items ranging from fusible alloys, radiation shields, solders, deodorants, antidandruff shampoos to dietary supplements. One way that these elements get concentrated in the Earth is in epigenetic ore deposits known as Mississippi Valley-type deposits (MVT). Typically these are emplaced in Cambrian to Triassic aged dolostones in undeformed foreland carbonate platforms, although other host rocks and tectonic settings are possible. The control on how the deposit is formed is multivariable and district specific, with influences from any proximal shale bodies, faulting, basement topography, hydrological processes, fluid chemistry, porosity/permeability and more. As such, this is a complex depositional process.

The purpose of this research is to study the fluid (reservoir) drive mechanisms of Mississippi Valley type Pb-Zn deposits in the Southeast Missouri Lead District and the Viburnum Trend, through the aid of 3-D printing and modeling. The fluid drive mechanism is responsible for supplying the energy that forms the deposit at the site. Several types of fluid drive mechanisms exist including water drive, gas expansion, and compaction drive, but the study will focus on gravity drainage. The fluid drive mechanism responsible for these particular deposits was most likely the product of extreme tectonic activity during the Devonian-Permian.

A model of the target area at the time of origin will be constructed from known data and tested to evaluate the fluid drive mechanisms. Because the most robust method is the topography driven model, it will be the one used in the models. Three components, flow patterns, rates of flow, and thermal effects, will be tested for optimal conditions in order to satisfy the topography driven hydrologic system model. Because this is still a relatively new method for studying geologic systems, new G-code data will be created and tested using Makerware software and the Flash Forge Creator X 3-D printer.