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Formation of the Muzo hydrothermal emerald deposit in Colombia

Nature volume 369, pages 552–554 (1994)Cite this article

Abstract

FOR over 1,000 years, the emerald deposits of Colombia have been the principal source of the world's largest and finest gem-quality emeralds—a variety of beryl containing chromium and vanadium1. Whereas most emerald deposits are found in association with igneous host rocks1, the Colombian deposits occur in organic-rich black shales, and their origin in the absence of any evidence of igneous activity has been a persistent enigma. Here we present evidence from the Muzo mine (located about 100km from Bogotá) that hydrothermal brines transported evaporitic sulphate to structurally favourable sites, where it was thermochemically reduced. We suggest that the sulphur generated by this process reacted with organic matter in the shales to release trapped chromium, vanadium and beryllium, which in turn enabled emerald formation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mineralogy, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2C6, Canada

    T. L. Ottaway & F. J. Wicks

  2. 345 West Gaywood Drive, Houston, Texas, 77079, USA

    L. T. Bryndzia

  3. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N OWO, Canada

    T. K. Kyser

  4. Department of Geology, University of Toronto, 22 Russell Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3B1, Canada

    E. T. C. Spooner

Authors
  1. T. L. Ottaway
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  2. F. J. Wicks
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  3. L. T. Bryndzia
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  4. T. K. Kyser
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  5. E. T. C. Spooner
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Ottaway, T., Wicks, F., Bryndzia, L. et al. Formation of the Muzo hydrothermal emerald deposit in Colombia. Nature 369, 552–554 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1038/369552a0

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