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Volume 16
Issue 6
10.3390/min16060607
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Article

A New Geochemistry Exploration Method to Identify Deep VMS-Type Deposits—Application to the Cu-Zn Neves-Corvo Deposit, Iberian Pyrite Belt

by
Igor Morais
1,*,
Luís Albardeiro
1,
Lúcia Rosado
2,
José Mirão
2,3,
João Xavier Matos
1,
Maria João Batista
4,
Teresa Silva
4,
Pedro Barrulas
2,5 and
Daniel de Oliveira
4,6
1
LNEG (National Laboratory for Energy and Geology), Mineral Resources and Geophysics Research Unit, Bairro de Val d’Oca, Apartado 14, 7601-909 Aljustrel, Portugal
2
HERCULES Laboratory, IN2PAST—Associate Laboratory for Research and Innovation in Heritage, Arts, Sustainability and Territory, University of Évora, Largo Marquês de Marialva 8, 7000-809 Évora, Portugal
3
Department of Geosciences, School of Sciences and Technology, University of Évora, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal
4
LNEG (National Laboratory for Energy and Geology), Mineral Resources and Geophysics Research Unit, Estrada da Portela, Apartado 7586, 2610-999 Amadora, Portugal
5
Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, School of Sciences and Technology, University of Évora, Rua Romão Ramalho 59, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal
6
Mineral Resources Expert Group, EuroGeoSurveys, Rue Joseph II, 36–38, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Minerals 2026, 16(6), 607; https://doi.org/10.3390/min16060607 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 29 April 2026 / Revised: 1 June 2026 / Accepted: 2 June 2026 / Published: 5 June 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Iberian Pyrite Belt: Advances in Mineral Exploration, Mineral Deposits and Geological Processes)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Mineral exploration in the Iberian Pyrite Belt follows increasingly deeper targets. The present study introduces an innovative methodology for the detection and identification of blind metallic mineral deposits, in particular volcanogenic massive sulfides based on surface rock coatings. This approach follows the identification pathways of upward metal escape routes and metal distribution in rock fractures located in different anisotropic or isotropic planes above the Neves-Corvo VMS deposit ore lenses, using VP-SEM-EDS and XRD. Coatings are dominated by poorly crystalline to amorphous phases, with goethite and birnessite as the main Fe- and Mn-bearing minerals. Copper, zinc and lead are systematically enriched in coatings developed above or near the ore bodies, reflecting chalcopyrite, sphalerite and galena acidic leaching. Tin shows a restricted and heterogeneous distribution, while Ni and Co display no systematic relationship with the ore bodies. Barium and late Ba–Pb–(Zn) mineralization along fault zones record VMS mineralization. Lead isotopic coating signatures overlap those of IPB massive sulfide deposits, confirming a dominant VMS-derived contribution. Fe–Mn coatings were formed by precipitation from ascending meteoric fluids that leached metals from massive sulfides, their alteration halos, and surrounding lithologies, preserving the geochemical footprint of buried mineralization. This approach constitutes a new patented exploration tool.
Keywords: Iberian Pyrite Belt; VMS mineralisation; rock coating geochemistry; mineral exploration Iberian Pyrite Belt; VMS mineralisation; rock coating geochemistry; mineral exploration

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MDPI and ACS Style

Morais, I.; Albardeiro, L.; Rosado, L.; Mirão, J.; Matos, J.X.; Batista, M.J.; Silva, T.; Barrulas, P.; de Oliveira, D. A New Geochemistry Exploration Method to Identify Deep VMS-Type Deposits—Application to the Cu-Zn Neves-Corvo Deposit, Iberian Pyrite Belt. Minerals 2026, 16, 607. https://doi.org/10.3390/min16060607

AMA Style

Morais I, Albardeiro L, Rosado L, Mirão J, Matos JX, Batista MJ, Silva T, Barrulas P, de Oliveira D. A New Geochemistry Exploration Method to Identify Deep VMS-Type Deposits—Application to the Cu-Zn Neves-Corvo Deposit, Iberian Pyrite Belt. Minerals. 2026; 16(6):607. https://doi.org/10.3390/min16060607

Chicago/Turabian Style

Morais, Igor, Luís Albardeiro, Lúcia Rosado, José Mirão, João Xavier Matos, Maria João Batista, Teresa Silva, Pedro Barrulas, and Daniel de Oliveira. 2026. "A New Geochemistry Exploration Method to Identify Deep VMS-Type Deposits—Application to the Cu-Zn Neves-Corvo Deposit, Iberian Pyrite Belt" Minerals 16, no. 6: 607. https://doi.org/10.3390/min16060607

APA Style

Morais, I., Albardeiro, L., Rosado, L., Mirão, J., Matos, J. X., Batista, M. J., Silva, T., Barrulas, P., & de Oliveira, D. (2026). A New Geochemistry Exploration Method to Identify Deep VMS-Type Deposits—Application to the Cu-Zn Neves-Corvo Deposit, Iberian Pyrite Belt. Minerals, 16(6), 607. https://doi.org/10.3390/min16060607

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