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Article

Mafic VMS Mineralization in the Mesozoic Metavolcanic Rocks of the Evros Ophiolite, Xylagani Area, Greece

by
Vasilios Melfos
1,*,
Panagiotis Voudouris
2,
Grigorios-Aarne Sakellaris
1,
Christos L. Stergiou
1,
Margarita Melfou
1,
Eftychia Peristeridou
1,
Lambrini Papadopoulou
1,
Jaroslav Pršek
3 and
Anestis Filippidis
1
1
School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
2
School of Geology and Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece
3
Faculty of Geology, Geophysics, and Environmental Protection, AGH University of Krakow, 30 Mickiewicz Av., 30-059 Kraków, Poland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Minerals 2025, 15(4), 420; https://doi.org/10.3390/min15040420
Submission received: 3 March 2025 / Revised: 8 April 2025 / Accepted: 15 April 2025 / Published: 17 April 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ore Deposits Related to Metamorphism)
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Abstract

The sulfide mineralization at Xylagani is hosted in metamorphosed mafic massive and pillow lava. It has an Early–Middle Jurassic age and belongs to the Makri unit, which represents the upper crustal section of the Evros ophiolite in the Circum Rhodope Belt, Northern Greece. The protolith of the host rock is basalt that has a boninitic-to-low-Ti tholeiitic composition and was formed in an intra-oceanic supra-subduction zone within a juvenile forearc-to-volcanic arc setting. The volcanic rocks were subjected to ocean-floor metamorphism at very low-grade prehnite–pumpellyite facies and low-grade greenschist facies at temperatures of up to 360 °C and pressures between 1 and 4 kbar. The mineralization shows typical features of a stratabound–stratiform deposit and occurs as silicified lenses and layers with disseminated and massive sulfides and gold. Based on host rock composition, geotectonic setting, and base metal content, the mineralization at Xylagani is classified as a Cu-rich mafic volcanic-associated deposit, i.e., Cyprus-type VMS (volcanogenic massive sulfide). The mineralization consists of pyrite, chalcopyrite, gold, pyrrhotite, sphalerite, galena, and tennantite-(Zn). It was formed at a subseafloor setting where hydrothermal fluids circulated through the host volcanic rocks, resulting in a pervasive alteration (silicification and chloritization) and the development of a replacement VMS deposit. The very low-to-low-grade orogenic metamorphism and related deformation during the Alpine collision in the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous periods remobilized the mineralization and formed milky quartz veins with rare sulfides, crosscutting the metavolcanic rocks.
Keywords: VMS mineralization; mafic or Cyprus type; hydrothermal alteration; ocean-floor metamorphic processes; orogenic metamorphism VMS mineralization; mafic or Cyprus type; hydrothermal alteration; ocean-floor metamorphic processes; orogenic metamorphism

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MDPI and ACS Style

Melfos, V.; Voudouris, P.; Sakellaris, G.-A.; Stergiou, C.L.; Melfou, M.; Peristeridou, E.; Papadopoulou, L.; Pršek, J.; Filippidis, A. Mafic VMS Mineralization in the Mesozoic Metavolcanic Rocks of the Evros Ophiolite, Xylagani Area, Greece. Minerals 2025, 15, 420. https://doi.org/10.3390/min15040420

AMA Style

Melfos V, Voudouris P, Sakellaris G-A, Stergiou CL, Melfou M, Peristeridou E, Papadopoulou L, Pršek J, Filippidis A. Mafic VMS Mineralization in the Mesozoic Metavolcanic Rocks of the Evros Ophiolite, Xylagani Area, Greece. Minerals. 2025; 15(4):420. https://doi.org/10.3390/min15040420

Chicago/Turabian Style

Melfos, Vasilios, Panagiotis Voudouris, Grigorios-Aarne Sakellaris, Christos L. Stergiou, Margarita Melfou, Eftychia Peristeridou, Lambrini Papadopoulou, Jaroslav Pršek, and Anestis Filippidis. 2025. "Mafic VMS Mineralization in the Mesozoic Metavolcanic Rocks of the Evros Ophiolite, Xylagani Area, Greece" Minerals 15, no. 4: 420. https://doi.org/10.3390/min15040420

APA Style

Melfos, V., Voudouris, P., Sakellaris, G.-A., Stergiou, C. L., Melfou, M., Peristeridou, E., Papadopoulou, L., Pršek, J., & Filippidis, A. (2025). Mafic VMS Mineralization in the Mesozoic Metavolcanic Rocks of the Evros Ophiolite, Xylagani Area, Greece. Minerals, 15(4), 420. https://doi.org/10.3390/min15040420

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