Structural Geologic Controls at the San Luis Mines, Tayoltita, Durango, Mexico
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Master's Thesis Full PDF
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Figure 14 - Santa Rita Sheet
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Figure 15 - East West Section
Issue Date
1980Keywords
controlsDurango Mexico
economic geology
Mexico
mineral deposits genesis
mineral resources
San Luis Mines
structural controls
Tayoltita
west-central MexicoMines and mineral resources -- Mexico -- TayoltitaOre deposits -- Mexico -- TayoltitaGeology, Structuralmaps
Committee Chair
Davis, George H.Metadata
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The University of Arizona.Rights
Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Antevs Library, Department of Geosciences, and the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author or the department.Collection Information
This item is part of the Geosciences Theses collection. It was digitized from a physical copy provided by the Antevs Library, Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona. For more information about items in this collection, please email the Antevs Library, antevs@geo.arizona.edu.Abstract
In the San Dimas district, on the western flank of the Sierra Madre Occidental, near the small town of Tayoltita, Durango, gold and silver epithermal ore deposits are mined from the complex Arana fault system. The structural relationships of the Tayoltita system are well-mapped, but their kinematic relationship to ore deposition is unclear. In plan view and in cross-section, the Arana system has a horsetail or wedge-shaped geometry. Subsurface mapping of slickenside striae as movement indicators suggest that the N13°W-striking Arana fault, forming the eastern boundary of the system, is a normal slip fault with at least 250 m of throw. Subsidiary system faults display normal separation with varying degrees of dextral horizontal separation (which is a function of fault orientation). Experimental modeling of the Arana system indicated that the system formed under simple shear as the σ₂ and σ₃ stress axes rotated in a subhorizontal plane about σ₁. Rotational strain caused the developing fault strands to rotate and to be captured by the Arana fault, forming the typical wedge-shaped geometry. Later, a more complex rotation of the three major stress axes enabled hydrothermal fluids to progressively mineralize faults, which had more northerly strikes, by a process similar to progressive strain. This is documented by mineral assemblages that record the instants of fault opening and by the lack of mineralization along the high-angle, northwest- striking faults.Type
textThesis-Reproduction (electronic)
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Degree Name
M.S.Degree Level
mastersDegree Program
Graduate CollegeGeosciences
Degree Grantor
University of ArizonaCollections
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