A geochemical study of neoproterozoic palaeo-evaporites and their possible role in metallogenesis in the Damara Belt of Namibia

Summary in English.Bibliography: leaves 157-163.Former evaporite horizons in metamorphic terrains have frequently been referred to as a source for highly saline fluids associated with base metal ore deposits in various parts of the world. Data on the nature of these former evaporites and their associated connate fluids, however, is frequently quite sparse, and the link between the ore deposits and the source evaporites is usually intuitive, at best. In an attempt to characterise such evaporite-derived fluids and their source evaporites, a study of former evaporites in the Duruchaus Formation in the Southern Marginal Zone (SMZ) of the Damara Belt was carried out. The lithological units that make up the evaporite sequence within the Duruchaus Formation were mapped and sampled, along with discordant quartz-dolomite plugs intruding at various levels in the Duruchaus Formation stratigraphy, and in the overlying Bakos Group