Mississippi Valley Type ore deposits, the Laisvall Pb-Zn deposit and origin of Pb-Zn-bearing sandstone glacial erratic from the Raahe area

Abstract. The Geological Survey of Finland collected zinc-, lead- and copper-bearing glacial sandstone boulders in 1970’s and 1980’s south of Raahe, Finland. The origin of these sandstones remains inconclusive. The petrographic analysis shows sphalerite, galena, pyrite and chalcopyrite as the main ore-bearing minerals in the matrix of the sedimentary rocks, associated with quartz, feldspar and calcite. Signs of a carbonate-cemented sediment and metal-rich fluid interaction suggest that mineralization was formed as part of a Mississippi Valley type deposit system. The main hypotheses suggest that the boulders were derived from the Laisvall MVT deposit of Sweden or from an unknown mineralization in the Bothnia Bay. The objective of this study was to make a literature review of the Laisvall deposit and analyze the compositional range of sphalerite in a sample from Raahe and compare it to the chemical characteristics of the Laisvall MVT deposit in Norwegian Caledonides, to determine the origin of Raahe glacial erratic sample. The second objective of the study was to assess the dependency of the color on the iron content of the sphalerite. The study is completed by optical microscopy and electron microprobe analysis (EPMA)