Controls on the siting and style of volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits

Volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits form in subaqueous environments from circulating hydrothermal fluids heated by volcanic activity. These deposits form as sulphide mounds, stratiform exhalative and/or replacive bodies and commonly have stockwork/vein mineralization in their immediate footwall. These various “styles” are essentially facies of mineralization, each one being the product of a particular set of conditions that control the...