Seafloor massive sulfides from mid-ocean ridges: Exploring the causes of their geochemical variability with multivariate analysis

The neovolcanic zones of mid-ocean ridges are host to seawater-derived hydrothermal systems forming seafloor massive sulfide (SMS) deposits. These deposits have high concentrations of base metals and potentially economic enrichment of a wide range of trace elements. The factors controlling this enrichment are currently poorly understood. We have investigated the main factors controlling SMS compositional variability through robust principal component analysis and robust factor analysis of published and newly obtained bulk geochemical data for samples collected from SMS deposits worldwide. We found that a large part of the observed variability is produced by a combination of three independent factors, which are interpreted to reflect (in order of importance): (1) the temperature of deposition, (2) the ridge spreading rate, and (3) zone refining. The first and the third factors are mostly related to processes operating near the seafloor, such as conductive cooling, mixing of the hydrothermal fluids with seawater and metal remobilization, and determine the relative proportions of the main minerals and, thus, of Cu and Zn (Co, Se, Sb, Pb). The ridge spreading rate influences the structure of the oceanic lithosphere, which exerts a major control on the length and depth of the hydrothermal convection cell and on the rock-to-water ratios in the reaction zone, which in turn control the behavior of the precious metals Au and Ag and elements including Ni (Mo, Se). Despite the obvious role of substrate rocks as metal sources, their composition (specifically mafic vs. ultramafic) does not emerge as a statistically significant independent factor.