Lead-zinc metallotects of the Ozark dome

This is a regional study of the relationship between Mississippi Valley-type mineral deposits and structural features of the Ozark dome which resulted in the description and classification of lead-zinc metallotects . A more accurate delineation of the Ozark dome was accomplished by examining the gradient and structural contour lines of its Precambrian basement. A general background on the geology, structure, and evaluation of the Ozark dome was discussed along with the stratigraphy, structure, and ore deposits of the major lead-zinc districts of the Ozark dome in order to develop the background data for the application of the metallotect concept. The major lead-zinc districts studied in this research are the Southeast Missouri District, the Tri-State District of Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma, the Central Missouri District, and the Northern and Northeastern Arkansas Districts. Many more small occurrences were also plotted and their distribution studied. Lineament terminology and lineament studies were also discussed as further background data. The metallotect concept as it was developed and applied in this study consists of the relationship between the Precambrian highs, faults and fractures, lineaments, and mineral deposits of the Ozark dome. Thus, previously the metallotect concept was poorly defined but this study developed and defined the concept as it is applied to dome-hosted Mississippi Valley-type deposits in a platform region and based on spatial (geometric) relationships. Furthermore this concept, as it is purely descriptive, will serve as an example for further studies performed by economic and structural geologists. The multifacted structural relationships between the whole dome, secondary Precambrian highs and districts, major and local faults, and mineral deposits are described. It was found that the structural features of the region had at least as much if not a larger role than the lithofacies or ore solution chemistry in localizing mineral deposits on a regional and local scale --Abstract, pages ii-iii