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455
Chapter 18
An Overview of the European Kupferschiefer Deposits*
GREGOR BORG,1,† ADAM PIESTRZY ´NSKI,² GERHARD H. BACHMANN,1WILHELM PÜTTMANN,³ SABINE WALTHER,1
AND MARCO FIEDLER1
1 Economic Geology and Petrology Research Unit, Institute for Geosciences and Geography, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg,
Von-Seckendorff-Platz 3, D-06120 Halle, Germany
2 Economic Geology Centre, AGH-University of Science and Technology, Cracow, Poland
3 Institute of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, Goethe University, Frankfurt (Main), Germany
Abstract
The Kupferschiefer of northern central Europe is not only one of the largest sediment-hosted accumula-
tions of copper ores worldwide (largest 1% of deposits with >60 Mt contained Cu) but has also one of the
longest continuously documented mining histories, starting from at least 1,199 A.D. in the Mansfeld district
of Germany. Kupferschiefer ores are currently mined in Poland from several large underground mines with
active near-mine exploration and possible downdip extensions at a planning stage. Kupferschiefer mines in
the Mansfeld and Sangerhausen districts of Germany had been largely exhausted by 1990 but a new explo-
ration campaign is currently targeting a major deep Kupferschiefer resource near Germany’s eastern border
with Poland.
The Cu-rich part of the Kupferschiefer mineralization is dominated by chalcocite, chalcopyrite, and bornite
and is hosted by several rock types including footwall sandstone and conglomerate, black shale, carbonate rocks
in the immediate hanging wall, and anhydrite even higher in the hanging wall. Orebodies can range in thick-
ness from 0.3 m, contained largely within the black shale of the Kupferschiefer sensu stricto, up to more than
50 m, where sublevel stoping, backfilling, and pillar mining reflect the pervasive mineralization. The ore zone
can occur at various stratigraphic levels from (1) as low as some 35 m below the Kupferschiefer sensu strict, to
(2) within and immediately adjacent to the black shale unit, to (3) several tens of meters above the base of the
Zechstein limestone. Economic mineralization also occurs locally where no black shale has been deposited at
all, for example, above Weissliegend sand dunes at the basin margin of the Kupferschiefer Sea that were never
covered by the black euxinic mud. Ore textures include disseminated ores, disseminated replacement of dia-
genetic and framboidal pyrite, crosscutting and bedding parallel veinlets, impregnation and replacement ore of
carbonate and anhydrite cements, replacement of fossil shells, and even replacement of detrital feldspar and
feldspar in lithic clasts.
All copper deposits share a marked metal and ore mineral zonation pattern adjacent to a major secondary
redox front, the so-called Rote Fäule. This three-dimensionally, roughly hemispherically zoned mineralization
system is transgressive and locally even steeply crosscutting to stratigraphy. It grades from an Fe³+zone
(hematite), through a locally developed precious metal (Au, Pt, Pd) zone, an always redox-proximal Cu zone
(chalcocite, bornite, chalcopyrite), a locally overlapping Pb and Zn zone, into a distal Fe²+zone of preore, com-
monly framboidal or early diagenetic pyrite. The oxidized part of the zoned orebodies commonly originates
from permeable zones such as fault structures or sand dunes, which might have acted as valves through the rel-
atively impermeable Kupferschiefer.
In general, the Kupferschiefer mining districts occur exclusively within an arcuate belt that is situated above
basement rocks of magmatic arc origin, the Mid-European Crystalline High, typically at the intersections with
major NW-SE– and NNE-SSW–trending fault structures. Local and regional studies have shown that regional
metal distribution, orebody geometry, and metal grades are largely structurally controlled, although divergent
opinions were originally expressed as to the timing of metal introduction via these conduits. An absolute age of
ca. 255 Ma is generally accepted as the sedimentation age for the “Kupferschiefer” black shale. However,
recent paleomagnetic age dating of mineralization at Sangerhausen has revealed late epigenetic mineralization
ages of 149 and/or 53 Ma. The results argue for a new metallogenic model, which involves two major epige-
netic pulses of metal introduction to the Kupferschiefer ores as impregnations, replacements, and subsequent
veins and breccias.
A holistic understanding of the Central European Basin, which hosts the Kupferschiefer ores in its lower
part of the stratigraphy, from the basin’s origin in the Late Carboniferous to the Tertiary, and particularly
the various related extensional and compressive tectonic events helps to put the individual stages of
Kupferschiefer mineralization into a European plate tectonic perspective. The time span from Late Juras-
sic to Mid-Cretaceous was a period of major crustal rearrangement with the break-up of Pangea and the
potential for the remobilization of major pulses of metalliferous brines. Both the main quantity of the
† Corresponding author: e-mail, gregor.borg@geo.uni-halle.de
*Plates 1–3 appear at the end of the paper. Digital Appendices are included on the CD-ROM.
© 2012 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.
Special Publication 16, pp. 455–486
Introduction
THE ORE DEPOSITS of the European Kupferschiefer are sedi-
ment-hosted strata-bound copper deposits, located in Ger-
many and Poland (Fig. 1). The deposits have been mined for
many centuries and are currently exploited in deep, modern
mines in Poland and actively explored both in Poland and
Germany. Historically, the copper-silver ores of the Kupfer-
schiefer have been one of the main metal sources in Germany
from medieval times until 1990, when the mines, which had
been uneconomic for many decades, finally closed. In Poland,
modern exploration and mining started comparatively late,
i.e., in the 20th century but continues today with new, even
deeper mines in an advanced planning stage. Kupferschiefer
ore is by far the most important primary European metal
source. Modern exploration, using state-of-the-art geophysi-
cal methods, is currently carried out both in Poland and Ger-
many, targeting mineralization at depths greater than 800 m.
The inhomogeneity of the amount and quality of data from
the various parts of the metallogenetic belt is also partly
reflected in this paper, since research in Poland has remained
much more active over the last decades, due to ongoing min-
ing and exploration. This includes strongly opposing genetic
models, which include—from very early on—syngenetic and
epigenetic models. The number of publications dealing with
the various aspects of the Kupferschiefer mineralization men-
tioned above is vast and cannot be fully included in a brief
summary review as the present one. The analytical data base
for the much quoted precious and specialty metal concentra-
tions is surprisingly scarce on the German side of the metal-
logenic belt, due to historical and political reasons. The authors
have therefore chosen an approach, in which a comprehen-
sive reference list and selected (previously unpublished) ana-
lytical data are included as a digital appendix. This reference
list includes a particularly large portion of historical publica-
tions in German and Polish, which might be difficult to access
and understand for many international readers. It was felt ap-
propriate to point the reader toward these valuable sources of
scientific information that are also important documents for
456 BORG ET AL.
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Kupferschiefer ores and the giant Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) Pb-Zn ores of Upper Silesia appear to
have formed at this stage. The younger, Tertiary, mineralizing event is also noted in both base metal
provinces and was probably, again, related to crustal movement that involved metalliferous fluid flow.
Additionally, this period was accompanied by magmatic pulses in the wider area of the Kupferschiefer met-
alliferous belt. Locally, late vein-type Co-Ni-rich mineralization, upgrading preexisting impregnation and
replacement ores, gives evidence for this latest hydrothermal event, for example, in the German mining
districts of Spessart/Rhön and Richelsdorf.
Polish
Basin
NW German
Basin
Hessian
Depresion
Lubin
Rudna
Polkowice /
Sieroszowice
Mansfeld/
Sangerhausen
Konrad Lena
Richelsdorf
Korbach/
Thalitter
Kellerwald/
Frankenberg
Bieber
Schweina
Spremberg/
Weisswasser
Spessart
Rhoen
Oberkatz
Edderitz
Schluechtern
0 100 km
Berlin
Leipzig
Dresden
Hannover
Frankfurt
Stuttgart
Koeln
Hamburg
Warsaw
Prague
limit of basal Zechstein (Z1)
historical mines and mining districts
operating mines
former and actual Kupferschiefer exploration targets
200 km
Polish
Basin
NW German
Basin
Hessian
Depression
Lithuanian
Basin
English
Basin
Norwegian-Danish
Basin
N
FIG. 1. Simplified map of the central part of the Kupferschiefer basin in northern central Europe (see insert map for ori-
entation). Shown is the maximum extent of deposition of the basal Zechstein and the various Cu mining districts and explo-
ration areas; near-mine exploration in Poland is not shown.
the history of science related to this remarkably complex type
of ore deposit. The overview itself comprises a summary of all
relevant features of the Kupferschiefer mineralization, the
most important genetic concepts, and new insights from ab-
solute age dating. The review also includes summaries of his-
torical mining information from those ore districts that were
mined in medieval times but not actively exploited in modern
times any longer. A holistic investigation of all of the mining
districts in the Cu-mineralized part of the basin is probably
the key to the understanding of the metallogeny and particu-
larly to the metal sources of the Kupferschiefer ores. More
general summaries of certain aspects of the Kupferschiefer
have been given by Deans (1950), Kulick et al. (1984),
Speczik and Püttmann (1987), Vaughan et al. (1989), Wodz-
icki and Piestrzy´nski (1994), Speczik (1995), Oszczepalski
(1999), Blundell et al. (2003), Paul (2006), Liedtke and
Vasters (2008), and Hitzman et al. (2010).
Mining History
Germany
Prehistoric finds of slag and bronze from smelting sites on
top of or immediately adjacent to outcropping Kupferschiefer
ores at Wettelrode, Mohrungen, and Bottendorf in Central
Germany give evidence of Early to Middle Bronze Age uti-
lization of the Kupferschiefer ores (Leipold, 2007). The me-
dieval mining history of the Kupferschiefer ores is docu-
mented in written sources since at least 1,199 A.D. from the
Mansfeld district in Central Germany (Spangenberg, 1572;
Fig. 1). The Counts of Mansfeld developed several copper
mines, smelters, and a mint at the town of Eisleben, where
copper and silver coins were minted from the metals of the
Kupferschiefer ores. Although the Mansfeld and subsequently
the Sangerhausen districts (Fig. 1) remained the centers of
German Kupferschiefer mining and processing (Plate 1A-C),
there were numerous other locations where the Kupfer-
schiefer mineralization was mined in medieval and early in-
dustrial times. Unfortunately, there are only scarce records of
past production for most of these mines but historical records
of the number of miners, adits, and smelters document that
the copper production must have been substantial at times
between the 12th and 19th centuries. Examples of these other
mining districts include the Richelsdorf district (Fig. 1) with
the Schnepfenbusch mine, near Nentershausen (Kulick et al.,
1984). This mine operated during two periods, from 1460 to
1850 and from 1934 to 1955, with some 400 miners working
prior to the mine’s closure. A significant portion of the ore in
the Richelsdorf district has been contained in the footwall
sandstones (“Sanderz”) and in hanging-wall carbonate al-
though this observation has not been quantified (Schnorrer-
Köhler, 1983).
Another prominent historical mining district was the region
around Schweina in Thüringen, Central Germany (Eisenhuth
and Kautzsch, 1954; Fig. 1). Here, the mining targeted rich
ores of up to 10% Cu, hosted by both the Kupferschiefer stra-
tum sensu stricto and particularly by the underlying sandstones
and conglomerates. Copper mining prevailed from 1441 to
1714 and was succeeded by the mining of rich cobalt ores,
which ceased in 1714. At the height of production, the region
had 100 producing adits and 12 smelters. The high-grade
mineralization is fault controlled on bounding faults of the
basement block of the Thuringian Forest.
Modern Kupferschiefer mining in Germany took place pre-
dominantly in the districts of Mansfeld and Sangerhausen.
The Sangerhausen district still employed an impressive, though
markedly uneconomic, work force of some 5,000 miners at
the end of the mining operation in 1990, who mined to a max-
imum depth of 995 m below surface. The ore was mined pre-
dominantly from the Kupferschiefer black shale sensu stricto
and from the immediate contact bedding planes with the
footwall and subordinately with the hanging wall (Plate 1B,
C). However, a narrow zone of rich sandstone- and conglom-
erate-hosted footwall ore and a more diffuse zone of carbon-
ate-replacement and vein-type hanging-wall ore have been
mined as well (Knitzschke, 1995; Knitzschke and Spilker,
2003). Highly mineralized hanging-wall and footwall rocks
are common on mine dumps of the Mansfeld and Sanger-
hausen districts, suggesting that mining partly ignored these
ore types, possibly for technical reasons. The orebodies of the
Mansfeld syncline have been completely exploited (Table 1),
but a small portion of already delineated ore blocks have re-
mained intact within the Sangerhausen district (Stedingk et
al., 2002). Here, proven ore reserves still remain on the order
of 35.4 million metric tons (Mt) with an average grade of
2.34% Cu, containing 0.86 Mt Cu, 0.11 Mt Pb, 0.10 Mt Zn,
and 4,650 t Ag, at a depth between 500 and 800 m (Knitzschke,
1995).
The area of Spremberg/Weisswasser in Brandenburg, east-
ern Germany, is situated between the German mining dis-
tricts of Mansfeld and Sangerhausen and the mining districts
in SW Poland (Fig. 1). Here, East German state exploration
identified substantial Kupferschiefer mineralization under
thick cover rocks and explored these between 1965 and 1980.
Most of the exploration results have been documented in un-
published internal reports of the state exploration company
“VEB Geologische Forschung und Erkundung Halle,” some
of which have been summarized and illustrated by Kopp et al.
(2008). The Kupferschiefer ores occur at a minimum depth of
800 m below surface within the fold axis of the Mulkwitz an-
ticline (Kopp et al., 2006, 2008). According to these authors,
the ore zone has an average thickness of 2.4 m but locally can
reach a thickness of 8.2 m and is transgressive to stratigraphy
at a shallow angle from footwall conglomerate and sandstone
(ca. 31%) through the Kupferschiefer black shale (ca. 46%)
into the hanging-wall carbonates (ca. 23%). Overall, the ore-
bodies dip along the fold hinges and the mineralization is
open at depth. The state exploration company reported an in-
dicated reserve (originally a C2 reserve according to the Russ-
ian reserve estimation scheme) of ca. 98 Mt ore with an aver-
age grade of 1.53% Cu, containing a total of 1.5 Mt Cu metal
(Kopp et al., 2006, 2008). The Spremberg/Weisswasser dis-
trict is being actively explored at the time of publication.
Poland
In the 16th century, extraction of copper from Kupferschiefer
ores started in the North-Sudetic trough area (Fig. 2), however
systematic exploration began only in 1930 (Eisentraut, 1939).
By 1936 some 40 drill holes had been completed within the
Grodziec syncline, outlining a copper deposit some 14 km long
and 5 km wide and extending to a depth of 1,000 m. In the years
OVERVIEW OF THE EUROPEAN KUPFERSCHIEFER DEPOSITS 457
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1936 to 1937, 20 additional drill holes were sunk to the depth
of 480 m in the Zotoryja syncline, delineating a copper deposit
with an extent of 20.9 km2. In 1938, the first public mining
company, BUHAG (“Berg- und Hütten-Aktiengesellschaft”,
i.e. Mining and Smelting Corporation) was launched. This com-
pany owned and operated four mines: Mittlau mine (1938−
1945), Mühlberg mine (1938−1945), and the Libichau and
Wahlstadt mines (1936−1945). After World War II, Poland re-
activated all former German mines and in 1949, the Konrad
mine (Figs. 1, 2) was reopened and operated until 1987. A total
of 37,914,702 t of ore containing 212,894 t of metallic copper
and 756.7 t of silver were extracted from the Konrad mine.
The Lena mine became the first new mining operation in
the Zotoryja syncline after World War II (Figs. 1, 2). This
mine was active from 1948 to 1974, with a maximum annual
production of 0.5 to 0.7 Mt of ore with a Cu grade of 0.6%.
The adjacent Nowy Kos´ciół mine, located also in the Zotoryja
syncline, operated from 1952 to 1968, with a maximum pro-
duction of 0.42 Mt ore at 0.50 to 0.55% Cu. The first explo-
ration within the Fore-Sudetic monocline (Fig. 2) begun dur-
ing the late 19th century with drill holes located in Krajków, 15
km south of Wrocław (Roemer, 1876). Until the end of 1944,
several other holes were drilled in the vicinity of Wrocław.
Until the end of World War II, no drilling took place in the
area of the current Polish copper deposits, the position of
which was marked on Eisentraut’s maps (1939) as non-
prospective. Polish geologists began to explore this area in
1951. In the years 1951 to 1952 a seismic profile along the
line Bolesławiec-Głogów was completed (Zwierzycki, 1951).
Based on seismic records, two conceptual models inferring a
suboutcrop of Zechstein north of Bolesławiec were prepared.
Based on the first model, a drill hole was positioned in the
Gromadka village but was stopped in 1955 after tapping
metamorphic schists below the Quaternary and Tertiary sed-
iments of the Fore-Sudetic block. Switching to the second
prospecting model, the next four drill holes were planned by
Jan Wyz
·ykowski. The first three were stopped due to techni-
cal problems. However, today we know that they were located
458 BORG ET AL.
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TABLE 1. Copper and Silver Production and Current Reserves of Major Kupferschiefer Mining Districts of Germany and Poland
(data from www.kghm.com, Knitzschke, 1995, and Kopp et al., 2006)
Period District Ore (Mt) Cu metal (t) Ag metal (t)
Germany
1200 to 1990 Mansfeld
mined 80.76 2,009,800.00 11,111.00
remaining reserves none none none
Sangerhausen
mined 28.14 619,200.00 3,102.00
remaining proven reserves 35.40 860,000.00 4,650.00
Exploration Spremberg/Weisswasser
1953 to present indicated reserves 97.70 1,486,000.00 no data
Total Germany Mined and proven 242.00 4,975,000.00
Poland
1949 to present North-Sudetic trough
mined 37.91 212,894.00 756.7.00
remaining reserves 104.26 1,460,000.00 no data
Fore-Sudetic monocline
mined >1,000,00 >20,000,000.00 >14,085.00
remaining proven reserves 1,470.00 29,790,000.00 no data
remaining indicated reserves 212.50 3,990,000.00 no data
Total Poland Mined, proven, and indicated >2,824.67 >55,452,894.00
Total Germany and Poland Mined plus remaining >3,066.67 >60,427,894.00
Odra Fault Zone
Fore -S
udeticB
lock
(Proterozoic)
North Sudetic
Trough
Fore - SudeticM
onocline
(PostP
ermian)
Lubin
S
R
G
L
P
southern limit
of Zechstein
020
km
Lubichów field
Konrad Mine
Grodziec field
Mine
Lena Mine
Permian
Rote
Fäule
Nowy Kos´ c i ó ł
FIG. 2. Simplified map (Cenozoic not shown) of SW Poland (see insert
map) with the deposits of the North-Sudetic trough and Fore-Sudetic mon-
ocline (Lubin-Sieroszowice mining district). Abbreviations: G = Głogów in-
dustrial field, L = Lubin mine, P = Polkowice mine, R = Rudna mine, S =
Sieroszowice mine.
within the deposit area. In 1955, the fourth borehole was
drilled by the Polish Oil Industry in Wschowa village, 20 km
north of Głogów, which is presently the northern part of the
known copper deposit. This borehole was the first to intersect
the mineralized Kupferschiefer horizon. This discovery oc-
curred in 1957, when borehole S-1, located at Sieroszowice
village, intersected the Cu-mineralized section close to the con-
tact between Lower and Upper Permian strata (Wyz
·ykowski,
1958). The first report, based on 24 drill holes, was completed
in 1959, delineating a deposit that extended over 175 km2and
contained 1,364 Mt of ore at 1.42% Cu (19.3 Mt of contained
Cu). Premining reserves in the early 1960s were calculated to
a depth of 1,250 m and, together with inferred resources,
were estimated at 2,700 Mt tons of ore, containing 52 Mt of
Cu and 141,000 tons of Ag.
The so-called “Lubin mine under Development” was es-
tablished in 1959 (Fig. 3a) with the first shaft intersecting the
ore horizon at a depth of 610 m in 1963. Six years later, when
the mine reached 25% of its annual output, it received its new
and formal name, Lubin mine (Figs. 1–3a). The next mine,
Polkowice, was opened in 1969, followed by the Rudna mine
in 1974, and the Sieroszowice mine in 1986. Between 1960
and 1991, four mines, three flotation plants, and two smelters
were operated by Copper Mining and Smelting Industrial
Complex (KGHM), which was subsequently converted to
KGHM Polska Miedz´S.A. Today, extraction is predominantly
by room and pillar mining although a first long wall mining
system was implemented. Back-fill with extraction of remain-
ing pillars is applied where orebodies reach a thickness of 15
m or more.
Even after 50 years of mining, the Kupferschiefer district of
the Fore-Sudetic monocline is still host to proven reserves of
1.47 Bt of ore, containing 29.79 Mt of copper plus an indi-
cated reserve of 212.5 Mt of ore, containing 3.99 Mt of cop-
per in immediately adjacent areas (Fig. 3b). Overall, the
largest volume of Cu ores of the Polish deposits is hosted by
footwall sandstone (60%), followed by ores in hanging-wall
carbonate rocks (30%), and only subordinately in the Kupfer-
schiefer black shale (10%). However, the main host rock dif-
fers from mine to mine with sandstone ore amounting to 69.7
and 84.3% at the Lubin and Rudna mines, respectively
(www.kghm.pl 2012). In contrast, 59.7% of the ore at Polkow-
ice-Sieroszowice originates from hanging-wall carbonate
rocks. KGHM, the owner of these mines and prospects has
the mining and exploration rights over some 450 km2(Fig.
3b). All reserve calculation are based on a cut-off accumula-
tion index of 50 kg/m2of Cu plus Ag equivalent (currently 10g
Ag = 0.1% Cu), and 0.7% Cu as an overall cut-off grade, a
minimum Cu content within the section of 0.7% Cu, and a
depth limit of mining at 1,250 m below surface. However, it
is important to note that the deposits are open to depth and
the current limits are due to economic reasons only. Addi-
tionally, the Grodziec syncline within the North-Sudetic
trough is still host to 104.26 Mt of copper ore containing 1.46
Mt of metallic Cu (Bachowski et al., 2011). These are joint re-
serves of the abandoned Konrad mine and the Wartowice II
deposit.
The impressive tonnages of historical and modern mine
production and remaining (minimum) reserves are summa-
rized in Table1.
Mining and Stratigraphic Terminology—
History and Inherent Problems
The strong influence of medieval mining of the Kupfer-
schiefer in Germany is documented by several stratigraphic
terms of the Permian in Germany and parts of Central Europe.
Rotliegend translates to “red footwall,” which was the rock that
the miners were lying on (German: “liegen”) during manual
mining of the thin reef and refers to the terrestrial red-bed
sediments. Weissliegend and Grauliegend refer to local color
variations of the partly chemically reduced, uppermost Rot -
liegend, which are thus not a chronostratigraphic unit sensu
stricto. The Kupferschiefer (literally and ambiguously trans-
lated as “copper shale/slate”) is the basal stratigraphic unit of
the Zechstein (Fig. 4) and was the reef that was originally
mined, although, geologically, it is a nonmetamorphic, Corganic-
rich black shale. The overlying Zechstein cycles of marl, lime-
stone, and evaporites have their names from the descriptive
term of a tough, well-supporting marl or limestone hanging-
wall rocks; “tough rock” translating in medieval German as “der
zaeche stein,” i.e., Zechstein. Even the secondary oxidation,
closely associated with ore-grade mineralization of the Kupfer-
schiefer and its immediate footwall and hanging-wall rocks,
has a descriptive mining name, the “Rote Fäule.” Literally
translated, this term means “red rot” and early miners attrib-
uted this negative connotation to the oxidized, barren rocks.
To complicate matters further, drastically different styles of
mineralization have been referred to as Kupferschiefer ores.
These ore types include disseminated sulfide ores within the
Kupferschiefer stratum sensu stricto, sandstone- and conglom-
erate-hosted impregnation and replacement ores in the foot-
wall of the Kupferschiefer stratum, mineralized veinlets and
local carbonate replacement pockets in the Zechstein lime-
stone of the hanging wall, and finally, clearly crosscutting vein-
type and wall-rock impregnation-type ores (so-called “Rücken”
or “ore ridges” due to their morphologically positive weather-
ing gossans). As a lithostratigraphic unit, the Kupferschiefer
black shale can be found throughout most of the basin although
locally grading into marly facies equivalents, for example, in
the North-Sudetic trough in SW Poland. However, the
“Kupferschiefer” is, in most parts of the basin, nonmineralized
or mineralized by Pb and Zn sulfides and pyrite only and thus
does not qualify as a “cupriferous shale” (Oszczepalski, 1999).
With respect to another local mining term it is interesting
to note that miners and ore deposit researchers in the Mans-
feld/Sangerhausen region alike described the metal content
of the ore—the term “grade” would not be appropriate as a
translation—in kg/m². This unit was referred to as “Kupfer-
Schüttung,” which is literally translated most appropriately as
“copper discharge” or “copper fill.” The unit kg/m² does not
take the thickness of the mineralized section and the density of
the host rock and ore directly into account, although empirical
correction factors were applied (Knitzschke, 1995, and pers.
commun., 2011). The origin of the term is hard to trace but the
earliest use of the unit kg/m² is in Hoffmann (1923). The con-
cept of using the metal content per area is a direct reflection
of the (assumed) reeflike, tabular geometry of the orebodies.
Abundant hand specimens of sandstone- and conglomerate-
hosted ore from old mine dumps in the Mansfeld/Sanger-
hausen district give evidence that the stratiform concept of
OVERVIEW OF THE EUROPEAN KUPFERSCHIEFER DEPOSITS 459
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460 BORG ET AL.
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POLKOWICE
MINE
RUDNA
MINE
Oder
Polkowice
Lubin
LUBIN
MINE
SIEROSZOWICE
MINE
BY TOMO
DRZÁNSKI
FIELD (1988)
RETKOW FIELD
(1988)
FIELD
(1988)
MAŁOWICE
FIELD
R
G
05km
mining areas
reserve areas
boundary of mining licence
recent positions of
shafts
Głogów
Oder
Polkowice
Lubin
SIEROSZOWICE
POLKOWICE
LUBIN
05km
outline of identified copper
deposits (1959)
outline of identified copper
deposits (1962)
outline of identified copper
deposits (2008)
Głogów
GŁOGÓW
FIG. 3. Top: Outline of copper deposits of the Fore-Sudetic monocline, growing in size from 1959 through 1962 to 2008.
Bottom: Recent positions of shafts, mining areas, and reserve areas (after Leszczyn´ski, 2011).
purely black-shale-hosted ore in strictly reef-shaped orebod-
ies did not apply. Locally and particularly adjacent to the Rote
Fäule oxidation zone, the mineralization has long been known
to grade into hanging-wall rocks, with the same metal content
distributed over a thicker stratigraphic section at lower, sube-
conomic grades (Luge, pers. commun., 2009). However, the
mines of the Mansfeld/Sangerhausen district used kg/m² as
well as kg/t, although for different production parameters.
The unit kg/m² was a measure for the extraction grade by
mining (German: “Bauwürdigkeit”) where 8 to 10 kg/m² was
the typical range of “economic” ore grades (Knitzschke,
1995). The unit kg/t characterized the pyro-metallurgical re-
covery (German: “Schmelzwürdigkeit”) from the ore by the
smelter and a cut-off of 5.5 kg/t was applied during GDR
times (Knitzschke, pers. commun., 2011). The kg/m² termi-
nology for ore grades is also maintained in the Polish mining
industry until today. Currently, an accumulation index of 50
kg/m² is used as economic cut-off grade for Polish copper
ores. Interestingly, in modern metallogenic ore zonation or
distribution maps, the unit kg/m² is a good measure of the
total volume of metals introduced into a certain region.
Tectonic, Sedimentary, and Magmatic Evolution of
the Central European Basin
The Kupferschiefer was deposited in the Central European
Basin, which is roughly subdivided into three parts: the North
Sea Basin, North German Basin, and Polish Basin (e.g.,
Ziegler, 1990; Littke et al., 2008; Doornenbal and Stevenson,
2010). The Central European Basin is an intracontinental (or
cratonic) basin (Bachmann and Grosse, 1989; Ziegler, 1990)
and came into existence after the Variscan Orogeny in latest
Carboniferous times as a successor basin to the Variscan fore-
deep and on the northern margin of the orogen. The reasons
for the origin and evolution of the basin include crustal ex-
tension, magmatic underplating, crustal heating, as well as the
increasing weight of the basin fill (Bachmann and Hoffmann,
1997).
During latest Carboniferous and earliest Permian times (ca.
300 Ma ago), the eastward drift of the European Plate rela-
tive to the African Plate caused a stress field with E-W maxi-
mum extension in the region of the Variscan Orogen and its
foreland. This in turn led to the formation of a large conjugate
shear fault system (Arthaud and Matte, 1977; Ziegler, 1990).
The faults strike predominantly NW-SE and NNE-SSW and
large and small pull-apart basins formed due to transtension.
The shearing opened up deep pathways for the intrusion of
magma and the extrusion of volcanic rocks. Magmatism was
markedly bimodal (Eckardt, 1979) with mafic magmas result-
ing from decompression melting of upper mantle and felsic
magmatism from partial melting of lower continental crust.
The main depocenter of the Central European Basin is lo-
cated in northeastern Germany with a SSW-NNE trend. Up
to 3 km of rhyolitic and basaltic to andesitic volcanic rocks as
well as some terrestrial clastic sediments of the Lower Rot -
liegend were deposited in this basin (Plein, 1995; Breitkreuz
and Kennedy, 1999). Crustal heating and extension caused
widespread thermal uplift and erosion as manifested by
the “Saalian Unconformity” between the Lower and Upper
OVERVIEW OF THE EUROPEAN KUPFERSCHIEFER DEPOSITS 461
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 461
Pe
rm
ian
R
ot
li
egen
d
Zechs
t
ein
v
v
v
vvv
v
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
Rotliegend
Werra Anhydrite (A1)
Zechstein Limestone (Ca1)
Weissliegend (S1)
clastic red bed sediments
with felsic and mafic
volcanic rocks
Kupferschiefer (T1)
Boundary Dolomite (T1Ca)
ore-bearin
g
zone
C
u-Pb-Zn
(
A
g)
G
rauliegen
d
[m]
0.5
0
Secondary Oxidized
System (S.O.S.)
hematitic patches
(Rote Fäule)
gold mineralization
hematite
Transition Copper
Deposit
Zone (TZ)
Polish
Gold Deposit Succession
German/Polish
Copper Deposit Succession
General
Stratigraphy
FIG. 4. Stratigraphic column of the Permian in Germany and Poland with typical mineralized successions in copper- and
precious metal-dominated parts of the cupriferous belt. For practical reasons the Rotliegend/Zechstein boundary is at the
base of the Kupferschiefer (T1). Note that secondary oxidation (Rote Fäule) is not shown for clarity in German/Polish suc-
cession and left column of general stratigraphy is not to scale.
Rotliegend (Ziegler, 1990; Bachmann and Hoffmann; 1997).
The late Early, Middle, and Late Permian (Upper Rotliegend)
were characterized by thermal subsidence of the basin as well
as subordinate extensional tectonics that caused meridionally
trending graben systems in Northwest Germany (Gast, 1988).
In the late Permian, the Central European Basin was situ-
ated approximately at 20° N latitude, within the influence of
the northern “trade wind” system, leading to an arid climate
(Ziegler, 1990). The basin was hydrologically closed and a
large playa system developed, in which the more than 2-km-
thick terrestrial red beds and evaporites of the Upper
Rotliegend were deposited. Occasional tectonic pulses caused
unconformities and some basaltic volcanism (Plein, 1995).
Since the Upper Rotliegend, the trend of the basin was
WNW-ESE, stretching from England to Poland with the
most important depocenter in Northwest Germany. Some
short-termed marine ingressions occurred in the uppermost
Rotliegend along the same seaway from the Boreal Sea as
during the subsequent Zechstein transgression (Littke et al.,
2008).
In latest Permian (Wuchiapingian) times, the basin floor
was some 200 to 300 m below sea level as a result of contin-
ued thermal subsidence. The ingression of the Zechstein Sea
from the Boreal Sea happened very rapidly and catastrophi-
cally (Glennie and Buller, 1983) via a graben system between
Scandinavia and Greenland, flooding the basin with seawater
(Ziegler, 1990). Commonly thin, partly transgressional con-
glomerates and sandstones of the Weissliegend became sub-
sequently covered almost basin-wide by the Kupferschiefer
sediment. This unit is a typically 0.3- to 0.6-m-thick, black, bi-
tuminous and carbonaceous, laminated marine shale or marl
that was deposited in anoxic, euxinic bottom waters (e.g.,
Paul, 2006). Subsidence of the Central European Basin was
mainly due to further cooling and the weight of the sedi-
ments, with only minor extensional tectonics involved. The
more than 1.5-km-thick basin fill of the Zechstein is charac-
terized by up to eight major evaporite cycles (Littke et al.,
2008).
The Central European Basin expanded and subsided sig-
nificantly during the Triassic due to further cooling as well as
extensional tectonics, heralding the break-up of Pangea. This
resulted in the formation of local SSW-NNE–trending
grabens, depressions, and swells, as well as salt diapirs of the
underlying Zechstein salt (Doornenbal and Stevenson, 2010).
More than 1.5-km-thick clastic fluvial and playa sediments
dominated the basin fill (Buntsandstein, Keuper), with sev-
eral hundred meters of marine carbonate and evaporite sand-
wiched in between (Muschelkalk). Repeated tectonic pulses
caused significant unconformities.
The break-up of Pangea occurred in the Jurassic. Both the
Middle Atlantic and Penninic Oceans opened and shallow
seas covered the area of the Central European Basin for most
of the time. During the Late Jurassic (ca. 150 m.y. ago),
wrench tectonics uplifted the WNW-ESE–trending London-
Bohemia Swell and the smaller Lusitania Swell, which was
situated to the northeast (Ziegler, 1990). It is interesting to
note that the Cu mineralization of the Kupferschiefer and
several of the Kupferschiefer mining districts are situated
close to the northern hinge zones of these uplifted swells.
These include the Richelsdorf district immediately to the
southwest, the Mansfeld and Sangerhausen districts right on
top, the North-Sudetic trough between the Bohemia and
Lusitania Swell, and the Spremberg/Weisswasser district to
the northwest of the Lusitania Swell. Major NW-SE- as well
as NNE-SSW–trending, crosscutting fault zones dissected
the swell, thus accommodating differential lateral crustal
movements. The differential crustal uplift in the southeast
and renewed subsidence in the northwest caused tilting of
crustal blocks and, as a consequence, allowed lateral and ver-
tical large-scale fluid migration along major fault zones and
suitable lithologic aquifers.
During the Early and particularly Late Cretaceous, large
parts of the Central European Basin were flooded by a shal-
low sea due to a worldwide rise of the sea level. Parts of the
Central European Basin underwent SW-NE compression
due to convergence of the African and European plates, with
a maximum between the latest Turonian and Campanian, ca.
86 to 70 m.y. ago (Kley and Voigt, 2008). The compression
caused reactivation of NW-SE-trending faults and associated
conjugate fault systems of originally Late Carboniferous and
Permian age. Compressional tectonics also included thrusting
of basement blocks up to several kilometers along reverse
faults, causing “inversion” of the basin. Examples of uplifted
basement blocks include many of today’s mountain ranges or
highlands, for example, the Harz Mountains in North Ger-
many or the Fore-Sudetic block in southwestern Poland.
Other blocks, adjacent to the uplifts, for example, the north-
ern foreland of the Harz Mountains, started to subside and
accumulated large quantities of syntectonic clastic sediments,
eroded from the uplifted areas in the Late Cretaceous (Littke
et al., 2008). The paired uplift and subsidence caused local
and regional tilting of crustal blocks, triggering renewed mi-
gration of basinal fluids. It was particularly near the tectoni-
cally uplifted blocks where historic mining activities began to
target the economically viable orebodies of the outcropping
Kupferschiefer mineralization.
The early Tertiary (Paleogene) was mostly characterized by
extension. During the Paleocene, the northeastern part of the
Central European Basin was flooded by the North Sea (Lit-
tke et al., 2008). In the early Eocene, around 53 m.y. ago, the
Iceland plume became emplaced and the Middle Atlantic
started to open, accompanied by crustal heating and lithos-
pheric delamination (Nielsen et al., 2002). A further rise in
sea level during the Eocene and Oligocene flooded even
larger parts of the basin. The southern German Molasse
Basin subsided to the north of the advancing Alpine nappes.
At the same time, the SSW-NNE–trending volcanically active
rift systems of the Upper Rhine graben and the Hessian De-
pression as well as the SSE-NNW–trending Lower Rhine
graben developed due to E-W extension and were flooded,
thus creating a seaway between the North Sea and the south-
ern German Molasse Basin. Additionally, the WSW-ENE vol-
canically active Eger graben started to form. The Tertiary was
a time of intense, mostly basaltic volcanism, spatially and pet-
rogenetically associated with the rift systems, with maximum
activity in the Miocene. The areas of intense Tertiary magma-
tism centered on zones of structurally controlled crustal
weakness, particularly at the intersection of major fault and
graben systems. Locally and regionally the magmatism trans-
ferred substantial heat and metal sources to upper crustal
462 BORG ET AL.
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levels. The late Tertiary (Neogene) is characterized by gener-
ally N-S-directed compression, leading to mostly continental
conditions in the basin.
Characteristics of “Kupferschiefer” Ores
The Kupferschiefer sensu stricto is a thin, commonly 0.3-
m-thick layer of marine black, Corganic-rich shale (with the
German stratigraphic abbreviation T1), which occurs at the
base of the Zechstein succession. It is underlain by immature,
coarse to fine clastic, continental red beds of the Rotliegend,
which locally (ore-proximal) feature an upper part of up to
several meters that has been bleached and chemically re-
duced to a white or gray color, the so-called Grauliegend (Fig.
4; Plate 1C-D). In detail, the Weissliegend (Fig. 4) consists of
eolian, fluvial, and, locally, marine sandstones that remained
white due to insufficient oxidation and hematitic reddening,
immediately after deposition (Ehling et al., 2008). The
Grauliegend sandstones and conglomerates, in contrast, had
originally undergone terrestrial oxidation and hematitic red-
dening but became bleached (i.e., chemically reduced) due to
the flooding by the subsequently stagnant, euxinic Kupfer-
schiefer Sea. Kupferschiefer mineralization, however, is, at
best, strata bound but not stratiform and occurs in coarse
clastic footwall sediments (“sand-ore”), in the Kupferschiefer
black shale sensu stricto, in the hanging-wall marl and lime-
stone, and locally even in Werra Anhydrite. However, re-
gional variations include a higher portion of the ore being
contained in black shale in the Mansfeld/Sangerhausen dis-
trict (Plate 1B-C) and a higher portion of footwall and hang-
ing-wall ores in the Spremberg/Weisswasser district (Kopp et
al., 2008) and particularly in the Sieroszowice/Rudna mines
(www.kghm.pl, 2012). Rydzewski (1964) illustrated the vari-
ous vertical positions of the Cu mineralization in relationship
to stratigraphy, which locally does not even feature any black
shale of the Kupferschiefer but is still well mineralized (Fig.
5). The thickness of footwall and hanging-wall ore can range
from several decimeters to locally up to 50 m (Fig. 6). It is im-
portant to note that the vertical thickness of the mineraliza-
tion varies gradually from east to west, i.e., from Poland to
Germany (Wedepohl and Rentzsch, 2006). The thickness of
the mineralization is greatest within the Polish deposits (Fig.
6), is still predominantly hosted in footwall and hanging-wall
rocks in the Spremberg/Weisswasser area, and is more closely
associated with the Kupferschiefer black shale (although cer-
tainly not only) in the Mansfeld/Sangerhausen (Plate 1B-C)
and Richelsdorf districts (Fig. 7). However, an exploration
borehole at the village of Queck in the far southwestern
Kupferschiefer district of Kellerwald/Frankenberg in the
Hessian Depression (Fig. 1) revealed 36% of the low-grade
mineralization to be hosted by footwall sandstone (Kulick et
al., 1984).
The styles of mineralization range from disseminated (Plate
2A) and veinlet-hosted ore in the Kupferschiefer sensu stricto
to disseminated pore fillings, vein-type (Plate 2B) replace-
ment of cements (Plate 2C-F), diagenetic pyrite, fossil shells,
feldspar within lithic clasts in the footwall conglomerates and
sandstones (Plate 3A-E), and sulfate and thiosulfate minerals
(Plate 3G- H), to irregularly disseminated and spotted car-
bonate-replacement-style mineralization in the hanging-wall
limestone and in the overlying Zechstein Werra Anhydrite.
The ore zones of the Kupferschiefer mineralization show a
broad but systematic metal and ore mineral zonation with a
marked redox front at the proximal side (Plate 1E-F). The
various zones are (1) a hematitic (Fe3+) zone (the Rote Fäule;
Plate 1E-F), (2) a copper zone with ore minerals ranging from
chalcocite to bornite to chalcopyrite, (3) a widely overlapping
OVERVIEW OF THE EUROPEAN KUPFERSCHIEFER DEPOSITS 463
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% Cu % Cu % Cu % Cu % Cu % Cu % Cu
Zechstein Limestone Kupferschiefer Rotliegend distribution of copper mineralization
FIG. 5. Simplified lithologic profiles from various Polish deposits and boreholes, showing the different vertical positions
of the copper mineralization, irrespective of the host rock (after Rydzewski, 1964). Note that the black shale of the Kupfer-
schiefer is missing in several profiles.
lead-zinc zone with lead being more proximal and zinc more
distal, and (4) an (Fe2+) zone that is barren and contains only
diagenetic pyrite. The first authors to recognize the full extent
and relationship between lateral and vertical metal and ore
mineral zonation were Rentzsch and Knitzschke (1968) and
subsequently Rentzsch (1974). The laterally and vertically
zoned mineralization front commonly documents a shallow
oblique upward migration direction (Fig. 8). However, locally
inverse zonation, i.e., downwardly zoned, has also been de-
scribed (Kulick et al., 1984; Schmidt, 1987) and here a per-
meability controlled “roll over” effect of the migrating fluids
has been assumed (Schmidt, 1987).
The transgressive to crosscutting nature of the metal and
ore mineral zonation pattern, combined with the ubiquitous
textures of ore minerals replacing preexisting early diagenetic
pyrite, local carbonate cements, fossil shells, and even lithic
clasts all document the late, epigenetic origin of the ore-grade
mineralization. The redox front-related base and precious
metal mineralizing system is thus a dynamic one that has as-
cended at a shallow, stratigraphy transgressing angle and has
generally produced lobe-shaped metal and redox zones. The
resulting style, geometry, texture, and grade of mineralization
are strongly controlled by the respective host rocks, i.e., con-
glomerate and sandstone of the footwall, pyrite-bearing, Cor-
ganic-rich black shale of the Kupferschiefer sensu stricto, and
marl, limestone, and locally even evaporitic rocks of the im-
mediate and higher hanging wall. The metalliferous brines
have interacted with early diagenetic pyrite in a systematic,
dynamic, step-wise replacement process that caused the wide
metal and ore mineral zonation pattern, which can be exem-
plified by the following general order of gradual replacement:
(preore) pyrite →sphalerite (+ galena) →
galena (+ sphalerite) →chalcopyrite/bornite →chalcocite →
hematite (the secondary Rote Fäule redox front).
It is important to note that, where present, a narrow precious
metal-rich zone straddles the redox front and the highest val-
ues of gold and PGEs occur very close to the redox boundary
(Fig. 7). The precious metals can occur locally in Cu-rich
strata on the chemically reducing side (Walther et al., 2009) or
on the immediately adjacent oxidized side of the redox front
(Piestrzy´nski et al., 2002). The broadly zoned strata-bound to
gently crosscutting mineralization described above has locally,
in turn, been overprinted by even later, vein-type mineraliza-
tion, e.g., in the German Spessart and Rhön areas (Friedrich
et al., 1984; Fig. 1). Here, the subsequent mineralization was
rich in As, Co, and Ni. Rich vein-type mineralization has also
been described from several Polish deposits (Oszczepalski,
1999). Abundant ore petrographic studies have been carried
out on the Kupferschiefer mineralization and these focused on
both the broadly zoned and on the vein-type mineralization
(e.g., Rentzsch and Knitzschke, 1968; Kulick et al., 1984;
Mayer and Piestrzy ´nski, 1985; Oszczepalski, 1999). More than
80 ore minerals have been described in several publications
from Kupferschiefer ores in Poland, most of them are sum-
marized in Piestrzy´nski (2007). Particularly the paragenesis of
the secondary oxidation system, which locally contains native
gold (Plate 3F) but also several noble metal alloys, tellurides,
464 BORG ET AL.
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 464
WSW ENE
Sr 14-528 Sr 14-259 Po 1-671 Po 3-131 Po 18-912 Mo 25-626
13.5
13.6
2
O
RE
BO
D
Y
0
1
2m
kmkm
%Cu
4
02
02
024
0124
0
4
0
%Cu
%Cu
%Cu
%Cu
%Cu
FIG. 6. Simplified cross section through the copper deposits of the Sieroszowice, Polkowice, Rudna, and Lubin mines
within the Fore-Sudetic monocline, showing the thickness and strong vertical variation of the position of the ore zone rela-
tive to stratigraphy (adapted from Wodzicki and Piestrzy´nski, 1994).
OVERVIEW OF THE EUROPEAN KUPFERSCHIEFER DEPOSITS 465
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 465
526.50
527.53
527.80
528.50
depth [m]
Ca1
S1
T1
526.5
527.0
527.5
528.0
528.5
10-4 10-2 10010-4 10-2 10010-4 10-2 10010-1 101103
Cu [%] Pb [%] Zn [%] Au [ppb]
Sangerhausen (drill core Ldo 6/62)
Rote Fäule
mineralization copper dominated
Sangerhausen (drill core LfdSh 8/59)
458.50
458.90
459.10
459.50
depth [m]
Ca1
S1
T1
Cu [%] Pb [%] Zn [%] Au [ppb]
458.5
459.0
459.5
10-4 10-2 10010-4 10-2 10010-4 10-2 10010-1 101103
mineralization lead/zinc dominated
Sangerhausen (drill core Sh 20/49)
669,50
670,31
670,65
depth [m]
Ca1
S1
T1
670,00
10-4 10-2 100
669.5
670.0
670.5
10-4 10-2 10010-4 10-2 10010-1 101103
Au [ppb]Zn [%]Pb [%]Cu [%]
FIG. 7. Typical lithologic profiles with metal distribution from Sangerhausen (this page) and Spremberg, Germany, and
various locations of the Fore-Sudetic monocline, Poland (following two pages). Note that Cu-mineralized intersections in
Polish mines are not routinely assayed for precious metals. However, the precious metal zones occur characteristically be-
tween the Cu zone and the secondary oxidation of the Rote Fäule.
466 BORG ET AL.
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 466
Cu [%] Pb [%] Zn [%] Au [ppb]
Spremberg (drill core KSL-CuSp 133/09)
1459,22
1507,03
1508,62
depth [m]
Ca1
S1
1523,19
10-4 10-2 100
1460
1470
1480
1490
1500
1510
1520
10-4 10-2 10010-4 10-2 10010-1 101103
Spremberg (drill core KSL-CuSp 131/09)
Cu [%] Pb [%] Zn [%] Au [ppb]
957.07
979.87
980.24
989.10
depth [m]
Ca1
S1
10-4 10-2 100
960
970
980
10-4 10-2 10010-4 10-2 10010-1 100101102103
Spremberg (drill core KSL-CuSp 136/09)
1025.90
1052.26
1053.20
1056.36
depth [m]
Ca1
S1
10-4 10-2 100
1030
1040
1050
10-4 10-2 10010-4 10-2 10010-1 101103
Cu [%] Pb [%] Zn [%] Au [ppb]
FIG. 7. (Cont.)
OVERVIEW OF THE EUROPEAN KUPFERSCHIEFER DEPOSITS 467
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Poland (drill core Pr 13-7001)
020 40 60 80 100
Ca1
S1
T1
0
1 m
Scale
Au [ppb]
0482610
Cu [%] Pb [%] Zn [%]
0
1
2 m
Scale
Ca1
S1
T1
0482610
28,67 %
41,00 %
048
2610 0482610
Poland (drill core S 85)
Cu [%]
Poland (drill core S 120)
Cu [%] Pb [%] Zn [%]
0
1
2 m
Scale
Ca1
S1
T1
0482610 0482610
14,2
048
2610
FIG. 7. (Cont.)
selenides, arsenides, and arsenates, has been described by
Piestrzy´nski et al. (2002), Pieczonka and Piestrzy ´nski (2008),
and Pieczonka et al. (2008).
In Poland, mineralization of sandstone ore has typically re-
placed preexisting carbonate cement (Plate 2C-F). Mineral-
ization occurs also as fine disseminations in all lithotypes
forming micronests and mineralized veinlets. Locally, base
metal sulfides have replaced clayey-carbonate cement, car-
bonate lamina and organogenic remnants such as shells of
foraminifera (Plate 3C), as well as sulfate nodules and franco-
lite, a carbonate-rich variety of fluorapatite. It is important to
note that the base metal mineralization has commonly re-
placed preexisting (early diagenetic) pyrite (Plate 3A). A par-
ticularly instructive example from black shale-hosted ore
from the Mansfield area is shown in Plate B, where the indi-
vidual crystallites of framboidal pyrite have been replaced or
partly replaced by chalcocite, documenting clearly the epige-
netic origin of the copper-bearing ore paragenesis. Late em-
placement of the Cu mineralization has not only affected pre-
existing sulfide minerals but also carbonate cements in clastic
footwall rocks and even lithic (silicate) clasts or parts thereof
(Ludwig and Rentzsch, 1967; Banas et al., 1982; Walther et
al., 2007). As one particularly instructive example from the
Schnepfenbusch mine, Richelsdorf district (Fig. 1), chalcopy-
rite-chalcocite has replaced parts of and even entire feldspar
clasts in footwall conglomerate (Plate 3D-E) below the
Kupferschiefer sensu stricto.
Mine Geology—the Example of the
Lubin-Głogów Deposit
The present review does not allow an in-depth description of
each Kupferschiefer deposit or mine. The present authors have
thus concentrated on the particularly characteristic Lubin-
Głogów deposit, located within the Fore-Sudetic monocline.
The deposit lies on the southwestern corner of the Fore-
Sudetic monocline and is limited tectonically to the south by
basement rocks of the Fore-Sudetic block (Figs. 2, 3). The
Fore-Sudetic monocline is composed of three major geologic
units, separated by unconformities. The first unit is the crys-
talline basement composed of crystalline schist, graywacke,
hornfels, granodiorite, and gneiss of Precambrian and upper
Paleozoic age and of Carboniferous sediments (Kłapcin´ski et
al., 1975; Tomaszewski, 1978). This basement unit is overlain
by generally NE-dipping Permian, Triassic, and Cretaceous
sediments deposited unconformably on the southern and
northern parts of the Fore-Sudetic monocline and the Fore-
Sudetic block (Konstantynowicz, 1971). Within the mining
districts, the second unit comprises Rotliegend, Zechstein,
and Buntsandstein strata covered unconformably by Paleo-
gene, Neogene, and Quaternary sediments. Farther north,
the Triassic units also comprise Middle and Upper Triassic
rocks, which are missing in the mining districts.
The Rotliegend is subdivided in the Lower and Upper
Rotliegend. The Lower Rotliegend is composed of red con-
glomerates and sandstones intercalated with shales and vol-
canic effusive rocks and tuffs (Ryka, 1981). The Upper
Rotliegend comprises brownish-red sandstones, shales, con-
glomerates, and white sandstones at the top. The chrono- and
biostratigraphic units “Autunian” and “Saxonian” of older lit-
erature are now obsolete. The overall thickness of the
Rotliegend sedimentary red-bed succession reaches 300 m
and that of the white Weissliegend sandstones 40 m. The vol-
canic rocks are up to 1,000 m thick near the German border.
The boundary between Rotliegend and Weissliegend sand-
stones is still discussed since the uppermost part was partly
reworked during the transgression of the Zechstein Sea. The
Zechstein Conglomerate is genetically classified as the basal
marine sediment (Oszczepalski, 1999) although the uppermost
468 BORG ET AL.
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Cu
Pb
ga (PbS)
cc (Cu S)
2
Rote Fäule
(oxidizing zone)
hem (Fe O )
23
Fe3+
cpy (CuFeS )
2
bo (Cu FeS )
54
Fe2+
py (FeS )
2
Zn
sph (ZnS)
Fe2+
py (FeS )
2
Fe2+
py (FeS )
2
parent rock Fe2+
in solution
Fe2+
in solution
T1
Ca1
S1
FIG. 8. Schematic illustration of metal and mineral zonation of the epigenetic Kupferschiefer system, transgressive to the
stratigraphic units. The zonation and thus the interpreted fluid migration direction is more lateral in the German mining dis-
tricts (e.g., Richelsdorf) and more vertically ascending in the Polish mining districts.
part of the Rotliegend sandstone was decolorized during de-
position of the Kupferschiefer black shale under euxinic con-
ditions and with chemically reducing basin and pore fluids,
resulting in the so-called Grauliegend. For practical reasons,
the Kupferschiefer is regarded by the miners as the basal unit
of the Zechstein (Kłapcin´ski, 1971), which corresponds with
the Rotliegend/Zechstein boundary of Germany. However, a
carbonate horizon up to 30 cm thick occurs below the
Kupferschiefer in the eastern part of the area. This unit is re-
ferred to as Boundary Dolomite, an equivalent of the Basal
Limestone occurring in the North Sudetic trough (Krason´,
1964) and the so-called “Mutterflöz” (mother seam) of the
marginal Kupferschiefer facies of Germany. The Kupfer-
schiefer is overlain by the Zechstein Limestone (Fig. 4),
which is up to 110 m thick at the eastern flank of the deposit.
The Zechstein Limestone, in turn, is overlain by the Lower
Anhydrite and, in the western portion of the deposit, by the
oldest rock salts and by the Upper Anhydrite strata (Krason´,
1964; Tomaszewski, 1978), which can reach up to 130 m of
evaporites. The upper units of the Zechstein strata are devel-
oped in typical evaporite cyclothems.
Lithology of the ore horizon
The mineralization, typically but inadequately referred to
as “ore horizon,” is hosted by several lithologic units and these
comprise from bottom to top: white sandstones (Weissliegend),
Boundary Dolomite, and the Kupferschiefer sensu stricto. In
the mining area, the average thickness of the Weissliegend
sandstones is approximately 18 m, although it can locally
range from a few meters to 35 m. The white sandstones occur
in a typical arenitic variety composed of quartz, feldspar, and
lithic fragments of crystalline rock, commonly angular grains
typically featuring cements composed of clay, carbonate-clay,
clay-carbonate, anhydrite, and carbonate-clay-sulfide. The
uppermost part of the white sandstones is more carbona-
ceous. Where mineralized, the Cu content of the sandstone
ore can range from 0.7% Cu in disseminated impregnation-
type ores to up to 30% Cu in massive replacement types of
ore (cf. Plate 2C). The average grade of sandstone ore is 1.8%
Cu. Lenses of anhydrite-cemented sandstones occur com-
monly in thicker and thus morphologically elevated parts of
the Weissliegend sandstones, which represent coastline-par-
allel dunes or sandbars. Here the sandstones are usually bar-
ren with minor pyrite, marcasite, galena, sphalerite, and cov-
ellite only. Massive chalcocite and covellite sandstone ores are
common where situated spatially adjacent to anhydrite-ce-
mented sandstone bodies.
The Boundary Dolomite is developed in the eastern part of
the deposit as a continuous and solid layer but occurs only lo-
cally as lenses in the western part. The Boundary Dolomite is
developed as a bioclastic mudstone and locally as packstone
and grainstone, rich in skeletons of foraminifers, brachiopods,
and ostracod skeletons, and ore grades range from 1.1 to 12%
Cu.
The Kupferschiefer at the Lubin mine is a typical metal-
bearing black microlaminated shale composed of illite, mixed-
layer clays, dolomite, organic matter, sulfides, calcite, and minor
phosphates, gypsum, anhydrite, and clastic materials, for ex-
ample, quartz, different types of mica and titanium oxides.
From bottom to top the following mineralogical varieties have
been recognized: pitchy shale, (clay-organic), clay-dolomitic,
dolomitic-clay, and clay-calcareous. The thickness varies from
absent to 0.7 m in the mining area with an average of 0.27 m.
The average total organic carbon (TOC) content is 7.34% and
the average Cu grade is 10%, locally ranging from a few per-
cent up to maximum grades of 35% Cu. Locally some por-
tions of the Kupferschiefer are rich in foraminifer and ostra-
cod skeletons.
Hanging-wall carbonate rocks overlying the Kupferschiefer
(i.e., Z1: Zechsteinkalk to Ca1-Werra Anhydrite) are typically
fine-crystalline dolomite, characterized by a highly variable
thickness ranging from a few meters up to 110 m. Generally,
this unit ranges from several meters only in the western part
of the mine to 40 m in the eastern part. From bottom to top
three lithotypes can be distinguished: clayey dolomite, dolomite
containing clay-rich laminae, and calcareous dolomite. In de-
tail, this unit is composed of mudstone, bioclastic calcareous
dolomite, packstone, and wackestone (Peryt, 1978). Some
modifications comprise up to 35% of clay minerals and minor
anhydrite, gypsum, and quartz both as clasts and authigenic.
The copper content of this unit ranges from 0.7% to several
percent.
Local tectonic setting and structural features of
the Lubin deposit
The Lubin deposit is situated in the southeastern part of
the Fore-Sudetic monocline, the middle part of the Odra
fault zone, adjacent to the Fore-Sudetic block (Fig. 2). In
general, all Permian and post-Permian sedimentary rocks of
the Fore-Sudetic monocline dip shallowly toward the north-
east although the dip can be locally as much as 25°. Four dif-
ferent fault systems have been identified in the mining area,
trending NW-SE, W-E, N-S, and probably NNW-SSE. The
latter fault system is represented by small degrees of strike-
slip low-angle dislocations, fractures developed in brittle
sandstone, and folds developed in ductile shale. Low-angle
fissures and cracks represent the youngest tectonic deforma-
tional event. Fissures developed between the calcitic and
dolomitic varieties of the Kupferschiefer are commonly filled
by copper sulfides.
Mineralization at the Lubin mine
The Lubin copper deposit is located at the redox interface
that crosscuts, peneconcordantly, both Rotliegend and Zech-
stein strata, including white sandstone, Kupferschiefer black
shale (Plate 2E), and Werra clayey dolomite (Wodzicki and
Piestrzy´nski, 1994). The Lubin deposit features three dis-
tinctly different lithologic host-rock sections (Fig. 7), one of
which is the “classic” section. The second type is an oxidized
host-rock section, with secondary red (hematitic) spots and
patches (Plate 1E), which locally overprint footwall sand-
stone, Kupferschiefer black shale, and hanging-wall clayey
dolomite. The third host-rock section is referred to as “anhy-
dritic,” where the Kupferschiefer is missing and the ore is
hosted by anhydrite-cemented sandstone, with mineralized
sections locally up to 68 m in thickness. Subordinate host
rocks are the “boundary dolomite” and organogenic lime-
stone. The orebody geometry and style of mineralization has
been internally classified as (1) stratiform with one horizon,
(2) stratiform with two horizons, (3) strata-bound nests and
OVERVIEW OF THE EUROPEAN KUPFERSCHIEFER DEPOSITS 469
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lenses, and (4) strata-bound but irregular. The ore minerals
occur commonly disseminated, but zones with particularly
high Cu contents feature massive (Plate 2C-D), lensoidal,
nested, spotted, and vein-type ores (Plate 2B). A major sys-
tem of secondary oxidation has been identified in the south-
western part of the deposit (Wodzicki and Piestrzy´nski, 1994;
Piestrzy´nski at al., 2002).
Precious Metals in the Kupferschiefer Ores
Germany
Both research and analytical data on the occurrence and
contents of gold and precious metals in German Kupfer-
schiefer ores are scarce. Hammer et al. (1990) presented lim-
ited analytical data and gave concentration ranges for the
main base metals (Cu, Pb, Zn) as well as for gold in the
Kupferschiefer sensu stricto of the Sangerhausen syncline.
These authors differentiated between several metallogenic
zones and gave minimum and maximum values for the most
common elements. Highest gold values were reported from
the zone of secondary oxidation (Rote Fäule), locally with
maximum gold values of 7,500 ppb. However, maximum gold
concentrations within the copper zone were 275 ppb Au and
85 ppb Au in the Pb-Zn zone (Hammer et al., 1990). It is im-
portant to note that these results were published under the
former East German state-controlled mining regime, when
information on precious metals was treated as highly confi-
dential. As a consequence, the given maximum and minimum
ranges of precious metal contents, without detailed and re-
producible information on sample sites and stratigraphic po-
sitions, were only of limited use.
The Cu-mineralized regions of the Kupferschiefer in
southwestern Thuringia and southern Hessen contain pre-
cious metals in concentrations, which are commonly below or
close to the detection limit. Here, gold shows maximum val-
ues of about 71 ppb, which is slightly elevated compared to a
background value of 35 ppb, given for typical black shale by
Kane et al. (1990). The concentrations of PGEs in samples
from Thuringia and Hessen are commonly below the detec-
tion limit and show no significant enrichment, neither in
Kupferschiefer sensu stricto, nor in adjacent strata or the sec-
ondary oxidation zone of the Rote Fäule.
Investigation of drill core samples from the Sangerhausen
district south of the Harz Mountains revealed two locally re-
stricted regions with elevated Au and PGE contents (Borg et
al., 2005). The elevated precious metal values occur in a nar-
row fringe between the copper-rich Kupferschiefer and the
Rote Fäule zone (Fig. 7). Follow-up research on drill core
from the Sangerhausen district, south of the Harz Mountains,
identified elevated gold concentrations of up to 1,200 ppb.
The highest Au concentrations were detected in rocks that
had undergone secondary oxidation (Rote Fäule) and occur
spatially immediately below the zone with the highest copper
contents within this borehole. Systematically elevated gold
values (120−200 ppb) as well as slightly elevated platinum
concentrations (up to 60 ppb) occur in samples that are situ-
ated adjacent to areas with high copper grades (Walther et al.,
2009).
A small range of recently analyzed Cu- and Zn/Pb-rich ore
samples of footwall sandstone, Kupferschiefer black shale,
and hanging-wall limestone from the Mansfeld district gener-
ally contain only background concentrations of Au and PGEs
(see data in digital Appendix). Pt and Pd concentrations are
generally less than 4 ppb and Au concentrations below 5 ppb,
with few samples containing between 20 and 90 ppb Au.
However, initial sampling of historic, low-grade ore dumps
has revealed significantly higher Au and—to a lesser extent—
Pt and Pd concentrations in a first sample suite of sieved frac-
tions of partly weathered and decomposed dump material.
Sieved fractions of particles larger than 1.6 cm feature low Au,
Pt, and Pd concentrations, indistinguishable from the con-
centrations reported above. The nine sieved fractions between
1.6 cm and the clay fraction (<63 μm) all contain between 300
to 800 ppb Au, 17 to 51 ppb Pt, and 9 to 30 ppb Pd (digital
Appendix). The Au contents correlate largely with Cu con-
tents and perfectly with V contents of the samples, the latter
element being a reliable proxy for the Corganic content. Although
these new results document local and irregular precious metal
mineralization in the Mansfeld district, further research is re-
quired to characterize the siting of the Au and PGE mineral-
ization in detail.
A recent ore mineralogical investigation of the precious
metal and selenides mineralization at Spremberg-Graustein
has identified a hydrothermal late epigenetic ore paragenesis
(Kopp et al. 2012). According to these authors, the mineral-
ization has probably formed at relatively high temperatures
between 230° and 290°C and has been compared to mineral-
ization in Silesia in Poland as well as in the Harz Mountains
and in the Richelsdorf district, Germany.
Recent exploration of a Kupferschiefer target area in the
Spremberg/Weisswasser district by Kupferschiefer Lausitz
GmbH at the German border with Poland has provided new
analytical data from three diamond drill holes, which are be-
tween 1,007 and 1,545 m deep (Fig. 7). The analytical data in-
clude a full set of assays for precious metals (see digital Ap-
pendix). Generally, the precious metal contents are below
detection limit (here 2.5 ppb). However, several analyses in
all three boreholes show precious metal contents that are
slightly above the detection limit, in the range of 10 to 20 ppb.
Higher precious metal values occur in one of the boreholes
(borehole Cu Sp 133/09), where the lowermost part of the
Kupferschiefer has been oxidized (Rote Fäule). Here, assays
from the basal 40 cm of Kupferschiefer yield up to 648 ppb
Au, up to 318 ppb Pd, and up to 60 ppb Pt. The upper, nonox-
idized part of the Kupferschiefer black shale, overlying the
oxidized, precious metal-bearing Kupferschiefer contains up
to 1% Cu and up to 100 ppm Ag, with elevated Pb values
(<1%) in the Zechstein limestone above.
In summary, the spectacular maximum Au values (up to
7.7% Cu and 7,300 ppb Au) reported by Hammer et al. (1990)
for the (East) German Kupferschiefer appear to have repre-
sented individual spots of mineralization, which have not been
analytically reproduced or localized. Precious metal analyses
of most Cu-mineralized districts of the German Kupfer-
schiefer (Borg et al., 2005; Walther et al., 2009; and present
data) show rather unspectacular precious metal contents, with
the exception of a spatially restricted area in the Sangerhausen
district, some erratic anomalously high gold values in random
samples from low-grade ore dumps in the Mansfeld district,
and one borehole in the Spremberg/Weisswasser exploration
470 BORG ET AL.
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area. However, all of the anomalous Au contents reported
from regionally and stratigraphically well-documented sam-
pling sites occur in rocks that have undergone secondary oxi-
dation (Rote Fäule) and/or near the main copper zone, close
to the epigenetic redox front (Borg et al., 2005; Walther et al.,
2009). Although the maximum concentrations of gold in the
German Kupferschiefer are far below the values given for the
Polish Kupferschiefer, for example, by Piestrzy´nski and
Sawłowicz (1999), the geological and geochemical position of
the precious metal mineralization appears to be similar in all
regions. The zone of anomalous gold (and PGE) mineraliza-
tion is generally situated in a geochemical zone that straddles
the epigenetic redox front of the Rote Fäule.
Numerous other metals, besides Au and PGEs, have been
recovered from the German Kupferschiefer. These metals in-
clude Ag, Ni, and Co, the latter being particularly rich where
late crosscutting veins have upgraded earlier phases of min-
eralization. The topographically elevated gossans associated
with such Co-Ni-rich ores have been baptized “Rückenver-
erzung” or “Kobalt-Rücken” (German for cobalt-ridge). These
vein systems locally follow reactivated basement structures as
shown by Friedrich et al. (1984). Other than Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag,
Au, Pt, Pd, several other metals such as Co, Ni, Mo, Se, Re,
V, Cd, Tl, and I have also been industrially recovered by the
processing plants of the Mansfeld and Sangerhausen districts
(Eisenhuth and Kautzsch, 1954). However, most of the met-
als were produced in relatively small quantities and informa-
tion on grades and tonnages (or rather kilograms) was highly
restricted during state mining in the former GDR. It is inter-
esting to note that the recovery of most of these elements was
even acknowledged at the time to have been uneconomic
(Eisenhuth and Kautzsch, 1954, p. 44). These authors had al-
ready pointed out that a private enterprise could neither have
developed the necessary recovery processes nor could they
have recovered these metals economically. The metals Ag,
Au, Pd, Pt, and Se were recovered from electrolytic (anode)
mud, accumulated from the dissolution of huge quantities of
copper anodes (Eisenhuth and Kautzsch, 1954). One might
argue that, although totally uneconomic at the time, the East
German state mining and recovery scheme was an early way
of sustainable recovery of the maximum range of metals from
the Kupferschiefer ores.
Poland
Gold in Kupferschiefer ores from Lubin was mentioned
first by Kucha (1982) but economic concentrations of gold
(Plate 3F) have been studied systematically first by Piestrzy ´nski
et al. (2002). A comprehensive summary of the gold mineral-
ization within the Kupferschiefer ores with abundant photo
documentation and analytical data is given by Pieczonka et al.
(2008) and the reader is referred to this publication. Overall,
the level of documentation and investigation of the precious
metal mineralization within the Kupferschiefer metallogenic
system is more advanced in Poland compared to Germany.
The Polish Kupferschiefer ores are known for significantly
elevated concentrations of gold, with up to 2,500 ppb Au in the
Lubin-Głogów district as well as anomalous concentrations of
PGEs of up to 186 ppb Pt and 88 ppb Pd in the Lubin area
(e.g., Kucha and Przyłowicz, 1999; Piestrzy´nski and Sawłowicz,
1999; Oszczepalski et al., 2002). Particularly spectacular values
for gold (up to 3,000 ppm), Pt (up to 370 ppm), and particu-
larly for Pd (up to 1,000 ppm) have been reported from the
0.5-m-thick Kupferschiefer sensu stricto of the Lubin West
orebody (Kucha, 1982) but subsequent studies were unable
to reproduce these results at the same sites. More recently,
Piestrzy´nski et al. (2002) documented up to 94.9 ppm Au in
the Polkowice-Sieroszowice mine with a 0.22-m-thick hori-
zon yielding 2.25 ppm Au, 0.138 ppm Pd, and 0.082 ppm Pd.
The Metallogenic Role of Carbon, Sulfur,
Iron, and Oxygen
Organic carbon is one of the most important constituents of
the Kupferschiefer mineralizing system. The highest concen-
trations of TOC occur in the black shale of the Kupferschiefer
sensu stricto (Tokarska, 1971; Sawłowicz, 1989). The organic
matter consists predominantly of the marine type of kerogen
II, followed in quantity by kerogen I, with kerogen III occur-
ring in minor amounts only (Kirst, 1994; Wie¸cław et al., 2007).
The average content of TOC in footwall sandstone is 0.4%,
in the Kupferschiefer black shale 7.5 to 8.0%, and 0.72% in
hanging-wall dolomite in Poland (Kucha and Mayer, 2007;
see also Table 1A in digital Appendix). The present-day TOC
content depends on the state of oxidation of the Kupfer-
schiefer. The Kupferschiefer from a primary, reduced envi-
ronment (R zone) is characterized by a high TOC content and
high hydrogen index (HI index; mgHC/gTOC) and low oxygen
index (OI index; mgCO2/gTOC). In contrast, the red, hematitic
secondarily oxidized Kupferschiefer is characterized by small
TOC contents and high HI and OI indices (Pieczonka et al.,
2008). In Poland, the Kupferschiefer zone with the lowest
TOC (below 0.1%) coincides spatially with high precious
metal contents (Piestrzy´nski et al., 2002). A catalytical role of
U for the fixation of precious metals, as pointed out by Kucha
and Przybyłowicz (1999), can be neglected due to its small
content in the red, oxidized variety of the Kupferschiefer
(Pieczonka et al., 2008).
The diagenetic maturation of organic matter and particu-
larly the influence of a magmatic intrusion on the extent of
isomerism in acyclic isoprenoids have been studied by Diedel
and Püttmann (1988) and Püttmann and Eckardt (1989) for
the Pb-Zn–mineralized Kupferschiefer of the Lower Rhine
embayment in northwestern Germany. These authors identi-
fied a cryptic alteration halo, defined by anomalous aromatic
hydrocarbons, that is related to a regional intrusion-related
thermal event. Although some studies on the organic geo-
chemistry have been carried out on parts of the Polish
Kupferschiefer (Püttmann et al., 1988, 1989), this method
still holds considerable potential for other parts of the
Kupferschiefer metalliferous belt.
It goes without saying that sulfur in primary and secondary
sulfide minerals, as well as in sulfate minerals, is another cru-
cial constituent in the Kupferschiefer metallogenic system.
The Cu sulfides are characterized by light sulfur, ranging
from −10 up to −45‰ σ34S (Piestrzy´nski, 2007). Several sul-
fur sources have been identified and these include early dia-
genetic irregular, cube-shaped, and partly framboidal pyrite,
the latter being commonly interpreted as bacteriogenic (e.g.,
Wodzicki and Piestrzy´nski, 1994; Oszczepalski, 1999). Other
sources comprise organic sulfur and sulfates, as well as vari-
ous sulfoxy species, and extrinsic H2S (Oszczepalski, 1999).
OVERVIEW OF THE EUROPEAN KUPFERSCHIEFER DEPOSITS 471
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Abundant iron (ca. 3%) was precipitated throughout the
Zechstein Sea during deposition of the black shale along the
former shore line. The iron is largely present as framboidal
iron sulfides but also as ankerite (Sun and Püttmann, 1997).
The presence of ankerite in the immature Kupferschiefer from
the Lower Rhine basin in northwestern Germany indicates
that the availability of iron has not been the limiting factor for
the formation of iron monosulfides as a result of bacterial sul-
fate reduction during sedimentation. The sulfur content of
the organic matter is consequently very low.
In Cu-mineralized areas, the secondary oxidation front
(Rote Fäule) caused the dissolution of pyrite and other metal
sulfides, resulting in a metal-rich solution at the front or even
in front of the Rote Fäule and a metal-poor residual rock be-
hind the redox front. The mobilization and transport of met-
als in solution can be easily explained by the leaching of the
highly oxidized Rote Fäule. However, the process of precipi-
tation of metals from these solutions is more complex and re-
quires abundant reducing equivalents, which can be provided
either by the presence of sulfidic sulfur or by hydrocarbons,
which commonly co-occur in black shale such as the Kupfer-
schiefer sensu stricto. The contact of the oxidizing Rote Fäule
with the reducing Kupferschiefer caused redox reactions
leading to the precipitation of the metals dissolved in the
fluid.
The processes responsible for metal precipitation in the
Kupferschiefer and adjacent strata are summarized in Figure
9. During sedimentation and early diagenesis, bacterial sul-
fate reduction (BSR) will provide hydrogen sulfide, which re-
acts with simultaneously generated Fe2+ to precipitate iron
monosulfides. These monosulfides are subsequently trans-
formed to framboidal pyrite by reaction with an excess of hy-
drogen sulfide, as shown by laboratory experiments at a tem-
perature above 60°C (Butler and Rickard, 2000). According
to Machel et al. (1995) BSR is restricted to sedimentary envi-
ronments at temperatures below 80°C, although some hyper-
thermophilic sulfate-reducing bacteria have been discovered,
which can live at temperatures as high as approximately
110°C. BSR is well known to occur in tailings of former base
metal mining areas (i.e., Parys Mountain, Anglesey, Wales),
where Cu sulfides with a chalcopyrite-like structure have
been detected in anoxic black mud (Parkman et al., 1996).
Incorporation of high amounts of Cu into the iron monosul-
fides already during BSR is unlikely since this would require
abundant Cu to be dissolved in the water column or the pore
water. Cu was shown to be toxic to sulfate-reducing bacteria
(SRB) at concentrations as low as 30 μmol/L (Kumar Sani et
al., 2001). Therefore, other processes have to be considered
for the formation of Cu-rich iron sulfides in sedimentary en-
vironments. Cowper and Rickard (1989) have demonstrated
in laboratory experiments at temperatures <100°C a rapid
conversion of pyrrhotite (Fe0.9S) to chalcopyrite (CuFeS2)
under acidic conditions. In similar experiments with an excess
of Cu in solution, Zies et al. (1916) had shown already in 1916
that chalcopyrite was further replaced sequentially by bornite
(Cu5FeS4), covellite (CuS), chalcocite (Cu2S), native Cu, and
Cu oxides (Zies et al., 1916). However, the extent of pyrite re-
placement for the enrichment of Cu in sediments is limited
by the amount of reduced sulfur provided by the sedimentary
pyrite. In Kupferschiefer provinces such as the Sangerhausen
district the amount of Cu can locally increase in the bottom
section of the black shale unit to values up to 20% and is char-
acterized by a concomitant increase of the sulfidic sulfur,
clearly exceeding the amount originating from BSR. This ad-
ditional sulfur, required for precipitation of large amounts of
base metals (mainly Cu), originated from thermochemical
sulfate reduction (TSR), which is possible at temperatures
above 80° to 100°C according to Machel et al. (1995). Four
lines of evidence are available for the additional metal accu-
mulation by TSR: (1) during TSR, organic matter is partly ox-
idized to carbon dioxide, which is precipitated as saddle
(sparry) dolomite and/or calcite; (2) the remaining organic
matter is converted to solid bitumen (pyrobitumen), which is
microscopically visible; (3) the H2S generated by TSR is iso-
topically heavier compared to H2S generated by BSR; and (4)
the carbon isotope composition of the diagenetic saddle
dolomite/calcite is lighter than that of sedimentary carbon-
ates. All of these effects have been observed in highly miner-
alized Kupferschiefer from the Sangerhausen area (Sun und
Püttmann, 1997; Bechtel et al., 2001). The occurrence of TSR
as the final step of base metal enrichment is consistent with
the proposed temperatures of up to 130°C that affected the
Kupferschiefer in the Sangerhausen area.
Metal Sources of the Kupferschiefer Ores
Chasing the metal sources of ore deposits can be a specula-
tive venture since the original source rocks are commonly in-
accessible due to erosion, tectonic removal, or deep burial.
However, several regional features of the location and distri-
bution of the ore districts within the Kupferschiefer basin are
worth discussing in some detail. Potential source rocks of sed-
iment-hosted strata-bound copper deposits can either be
found in the internal (volcano-) sedimentary basin fill, de-
rived from an eroded hinterland, or in external, underlying
basement rocks (accessible by fault and shear zones with tec-
tonically induced permeability). In general, mafic mineral as-
semblages are more favorable copper sources compared to
felsic mineral assemblages, which are more suitable sources
for lead. The principal copper sources of the Kupferschiefer
mineralizing system are thus either the mafic volcanic rocks
in the deep and central parts of the Rotliegend basin (Leeder
et al., 1982) or basement rocks such as the metamorphosed
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SO2-
4
SO2-
4
CH3
O
H2S
S0
BSR FeS2
FeS
organic
matter TSR
PR
Cu2+ Cu2S
CuFeS2
Cu54
FeS
(CuFe) S
95
pyrobitumen
sparry calcite
Cu2S
CuFeS2
Cu54
FeS
(CuFe) S
95
Cu2+
FIG. 9. Proposed model for the formation of ore sulfides in Kupfer-
schiefer (adapted from Sun and Püttmann, 1997). BSR = bacterial sulfate re-
duction, PR = pyrite replacement, TSR = thermochemical sulfate reduction.
magmatic arc rocks of the Mid-European Crystalline High,
which underlies part of the Kupferschiefer basin, or both of
these.
The eponymous Kupferschiefer sediment, i.e., the basin-
marginal Corganic-rich black shale unit, occurs throughout a
major portion of Northern Europe along most of the western,
southern, and eastern coastal region of the Kupferschiefer
basin (Fig. 1). However, only a relatively small, arc-shaped
portion of the central southern basin margin—and even areas
south of the depositional boundary of the Kupferschiefer sed-
iment sensu stricto—are host to the economically significant
copper ores and copper mineralization (Borg, 1991). Similarly
suitable pyrite- and Corganic-rich host rocks for base metal min-
eralization occur in areas from England to Lithuania but, in
these places, are merely typical metal-anomalous black shales
and economically barren. Locally restricted regions, such as
the Lower Rhine embayment in northwestern Germany, ap-
pear to mimic the Pb-Zn base metal endowment of the locally
underlying basement rocks (Diedel and Friedrich, 1986).
Borg (1991) demonstrated that the Cu-mineralized part of
the southern basin margin coincided with areas where basinal
brines could have been expelled due to sediment compaction,
having percolated through thick, metal-endowed but now
metal-depleted mafic volcanic and subvolcanic rocks of the
Lower Rotliegend (Ryka, 1981). Lead isotope data by Wede-
pohl et al. (1978) identified basement rocks as a major source
of lead in the Kupferschiefer ores. Wodzicki and Piestrzy´nski
(1994) and Rentzsch and Friedrich (2003) estimated the orig-
inal and depleted metal contents of all possible intrabasinal
metal sources as well as the underlying basement rocks. The
source rocks most favored by these authors for the majority
of the economic metal accumulations are the basement
rocks of the Mid-European Crystalline High and the Lower
Rotliegend basalts, basaltic andesites, and subordinately rhy-
olites (e.g., for Pb) in northeastern Germany and northwest-
ern Poland, for which a metal depletion has even been docu-
mented (Ryka, 1981; Borg, 1991). The best spatial match of
the Cu-Pb-Zn-Ag(-Au-PGE)−rich part of the Kupferschiefer
sensu lato is with the Late Proterozoic to Variscan domain of
the Mid-European Crystalline High, where these rocks have
been intersected by major NW-SE- as well as NNE-SSW-
trending fault structures (Fig. 10a-c; Rentzsch et al., 1997;
Wedepohl and Rentzsch, 2006). These rocks of the Mid-
European Crystalline High have formed in a magmatic arc
setting, are well endowed with base and precious metals,
and coincide best with the arc-shaped copper-rich domain.
Wedepohl and Rentzsch (2006) postulated the origin of base-
ment-derived metalliferous fluids from the Mid-European
Crystalline High as having emanated from “tectonic vents,”
percolated through permeable strata and along faults within
the Lower Rotliegend, and finally having precipitated at the
redox front in or in the vicinity of the pyrite-bearing and
chemically reducing Kupferschiefer and Zechstein limestone.
The combination of underlying suitable source rocks and
fault intersections is also evident in the German mining dis-
tricts of Richelsdorf (Fig. 10d) and Mansfeld/Sangerhausen
(Fig. 11), where richest ores occur immediately at prominent
fault intersections or in tectonic domains that have been
strongly faulted by sets of NW-SE– and NNE-SSW–trending
faults, respectively.
Absolute Age Dating of Host Rocks and Mineralization
Logical age dating of mineralization in relationship to the
host rocks or to tectonically induced fluid pathways, but par-
ticularly the absolute age dating by suitable methods, is cru-
cial in any ore deposit or metal district. Here, the spatial dis-
tribution of the mineralization, which is clearly transgressive
to both litho- and chronostratigraphy, precludes simplistic
synsedimentary metallogenic concepts. Particularly, mineral-
ization that reaches locally into carbonate rocks and evapor-
ites of the Werra Anhydrite, within the lowermost evaporitic
cycle of the Zechstein, clearly documents an epigenetic origin
of the ores and the associated metal zonation patterns. Major
remobilization from synsedimentary mineralization can also
be precluded due to the lack of textural or geochemical de-
pletion halos within the Kupferschiefer black shale sensu
stricto. Absolute sedimentation ages of the rocks at the bound-
ary between the Rotliegend and Zechstein have been com-
prehensively summarized by Symons et al. (2010). The vari-
ous age-dating studies summarized therein have determined
ages for the Kupferschiefer strata and for the immediately
overlying Werra Anhydrite sequence, respectively. All available
absolute sedimentation ages cluster in a relatively narrow in-
terval between 260.4 ± 0.4 Ma (Slowakiewicz et al., 2009), 258
± 19 Ma (Menning, 1995), 257.3 ± 1.6 Ma (Brauns et al., 2003),
258 ± 2 Ma (Menning et al., 2006), 260 Ma (Slowakiewicz et
al., 2009), and 247 ± 20 Ma (Pašava et al., 2010).
Recently, Symons et al. (2010) have conducted paleomag-
netic age dating of the mineralization in the Sangerhausen
district. These authors demonstrated that initial attempts for
paleomagnetic dating of the Rote Fäule in Poland by Jowett
et al. (1987), already giving an epigenetic, Mid-Triassic min-
eralization age, had been too imprecise, with recalculated
ages being indistinguishable from the Kupferschiefer sedi-
mentation age (Symons et al., 2010). However Symons et al.
(2010) conducted extensive paleomagnetic and rock magnetic
measurements on a total of 205 specimens from 15 under-
ground sites within the abandoned but still accessible Wettel-
rode mine in the Sangerhausen district. Here, the Cu miner-
alization is richest in the Kupferschiefer black marly shale
(nine sampling sites; Plate 1C) but extends also into footwall
sandstone (three sampling sites) and hanging-wall limestone
(two sampling sites). The results of Symons et al. (2010) give
a Late Jurassic paleopole at 149 ± 3 Ma on the apparent polar
wander path for Europe of Besse and Courtillot (2002) but
also a second paleopole at 53 ± 3 Ma.
It is interesting to note that paleomagnetic ages, not too dif-
ferent from these 149 and 53 Ma ages for the Kupferschiefer
ores at Sangerhausen, have been determined as potential
mineralization ages at two other European base metal dis-
tricts. One is the district of the Cevennes in southern France
with a (second) pulse of mineralization at 60 to 50 Ma (Henry
et al., 2001). The other—perhaps more importantly—is the
giant MVT Pb-Zn district of Upper Silesia in southern Poland
(Heijlen et al., 2003; Muchez et al., 2005), where two miner-
alization ages have been determined. For the Upper Silesian
Pb-Zn ores, Rb/Sr dating of insoluble residues from sulfide
minerals yielded a Middle Cretaceous age of 135 Ma (Heijlen
et al., 2003; Muchez et al., 2005). Paleomagnetic dating of the
same deposit determined also a Tertiary age (Symons et al.,
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Moldanubian
Saxo-Thuringian
Mid-German
Crystalline High
Northern Phyllite Zone
Köln
Leipzig
Hamburg
Magdeburg
Berlin
Frankfurt
50 km
N
areas with low copper conc.
(Cu < 0.2 %)
tectonic lineaments
areas with medium copper conc.
(Cu 0.2 - 1.0 %)
areas with high copper conc.
(Cu >1.0 %)
limit of Kupferschiefer
distribution
aCu
Moldanubian
Saxo-Thuringian
Mid-German
Crystalline High
Northern Phyllite Zone
Köln
Leipzig
Hamburg
Magdeburg
Berlin
Frankfurt
50 km
areas with low lead conc.
(Pb < 0.2 %)
areas with median lead conc.
(Pb 0.2 - 1.0 %)
areas with high lead conc.
(Pb >1.0 %)
b
limit of Kupferschiefer
distribution
N
tectonic lineaments
Pb
limit of Kupferschiefer
distribution
areas with low zinc conc.
(Zn < 0.2 %)
areas with median zinc conc.
(Zn 0.2 - 1.0 %)
areas with high zinc conc.
(Zn >1.0 %)
Mold anubian
Saxo-Thuringian
Mid-German
Crystalline High
Northern Phyllite Zone
Köln
Leipzig
Hamburg
Magdeburg
Berlin
Frankfurt
50 km
c
N
tectonic lineaments
Zn d
3 km
N
Hessian
Lineament
Sontra
Bebra
areas with low copper conc.
(Cu < 1.0 %)
areas with medium copper conc.
(Cu 1.0 - 2.0 %)
areas with high copper conc.
(Cu >2.0 %)
areas with Rote Fäule characteristics
Rotliegend sediment
tectonic lineaments
FIG. 10. Schematic diagrams of supraregional and local distribution of metal grades in relationship to lineaments and fault structures and major underlying crustal
units (potential source rocks). a-c. Cu, Pb, and Zn distribution in the German part of the Kupferschiefer metallogenic belt. Note the spatial match between the Mid-
German Crystalline High and crosscutting lineaments (after Wedepohl and Rentzsch, 2006). d. Distribution of Cu grades in relationship to fault structures and sec-
ondary hematite alteration (Rote Fäule) in the Richelsdorf district. Modified after Rentzsch and Franzke (1997).
1995). The two ages, or rather the dated mineralizing epi -
sodes, have been attributed by these authors to the Late
Jurassic to Mid-Cretaceous break-up of Pangea and to exten-
sional faulting during the closure of the Tethyan Ocean dur-
ing the Carpathian orogeny, respectively. The importance of
basin-wide mobilization of mineralizing fluids by major tec-
tonic events in the north German and Polish basin has been
pointed out already by Schmidt Mumm and Wolfgramm
(2004). Fluid inclusion studies are lacking for the Kupfer-
schiefer ores since they are severely hindered by the lack of
suitable carrier minerals. However, mineralizing fluids with
temperatures of 145° to 160° and 180° to 200°C have been
determined by Strengel-Martinez et al. (1993) for Polish
vein-type Kupferschiefer ores. Muchez et al. (2005) pre-
sented a first integrated interpretation of the absolute ages
and interrelated mechanisms of European ore district forma-
tion. These authors have pointed out the importance of basin-
hosted and basement-fault-hosted brines with a long resi-
dence time (tens of millions of years) and the tectonic
remobilization and propulsion of metal-bearing brines toward
favorable trap sites. Such a mechanism has been proposed by
Muchez et al. (2005) for—among other deposits—both the
(SW-Polish) Kupferschiefer and the Upper Silesian Pb-Zn
district. Although not including the Kupferschiefer mineral-
ization as having formed specifically from an epigenetic met-
allogenetic episode, these authors have also recognized the
regional, late epigenetic mineralizing potential of metallifer-
ous fluids with temperatures of up to 200°C that had been
stored in fault structures and other basinal reservoirs for a
long period of time.
When compared with the stages of tectonic and magmatic
evolution of the Central European basin (see chapter above),
both potential mineralization ages coincide markedly with
major crustal events of tectonic and/or magmatic activity.
These tectonic events included the wrench tectonics with re-
sulting transpressional uplift of the London-Bohemia Swell
during the Late Jurassic at approximately 150 Ma and the
opening of the Middle Atlantic, associated by hot-spot mag-
matism in the early Eocene at about 53 Ma. Thermal and mag-
matic pulses, supraregional tilting of major crustal blocks, and
the reactivation of deep-reaching, basement-tapping large-scale
fault structures are all known as being capable of providing,
mobilizing, and channeling metalliferous brines. Particularly
transpressive wrench movements along major subcontinen-
tal-scale fault structures can actively drive huge volumes of
(metalliferous) fluids over large lateral and vertical distances
by seismic pumping, a process described in detail by Sibson
et al. (1975).
Previous Metallogenic Models
The Kupferschiefer sediments were deposited in an anoxic,
euxinic environment (e.g., Pompeckj, 1914; Paul, 2006). The
origin of the Kupferschiefer ore deposits sensu lato has been
debated controversially for many decades. The various pro-
posed models have reflected—at times—both sound observa-
tion but also concepts from relatively dogmatic schools of
thought. The numerous metallogenic models have been sum-
marized rather comprehensively by authors such as Kulick et
al. (1984), Vaughan et al. (1989), and Oszczepalski (1999). In
the following section, we will point out the most prominent
OVERVIEW OF THE EUROPEAN KUPFERSCHIEFER DEPOSITS 475
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Halle
Volcanic Complex
Kyffhäuser Mt.
Mansfeld Mining
District
Harz Mountains
Sangerhausen
Mining District
Hettstedt
Mansfeld
Eisleben
Querfurt Syncline
Hornburg-Anticline
Heldrungen
Sangerhausen
town
smelter, closed
shaft, abandoned
fault (major, minor)
basement
ore body mined out
remaining ore body
0510 km
N
FIG. 11. Schematic map of the mining districts of Mansfeld and Sangerhausen, showing orebodies, both mined out and
remaining, in relationship to the local fault pattern (adapted from Stedingk et al., 2002).
theories and their proponents. This summary can only quote
a brief selection of authors, due to the limitations of this text.
However, a more comprehensive list of authors is included in
the digital Appendix for further reading.
According to the earliest model, the base metal sulfides
were precipitated in a strictly synsedimentary process, directly
from the Zechstein sea in an euxinic environment following
ideas of German geologists like Freiesleben (1815), Pompeckj
(1914), Gillitzer (1936), Eisenhuth and Kautzsch (1954),
Wedepohl (1971), and Jung and Knitzschke (1976). Several
Polish authors adopted this model (e.g., Konstatynowicz, 1973;
Sawłowicz, 1990). A similar concept was presented by
Brongersma-Sanders (1966), who suggested base metal sul-
fide precipitation directly from sea water in estuarial sedi-
ments. However, Jung and Knitzschke (1976) discarded this
model as unrealistic, due to a mass balance of metals, which
could not be derived from the body of marine sea water
alone. Epigenetic models were presented by Beyschlag
(1900) and Lisiakiewicz (1959) and—as a special twist—
hydrothermal fluids emanating metals into the partly biogenic
Kupferschiefer sediment were proposed by Ekiert (1960) and
Wyz
·ykowski (1971). Recently, Kopp et al. (2012) attributed
the precious metal and selenides mineralization at Sprem-
berg, southeastern Germany, to a late epigenetic, hydrother-
mal event.
An early diagenetic formation of the base metal sulfide ores
was proposed by authors such as Rentzsch (1964) and Osz -
czepalski (1989). In contrast, precipitation of sulfides during
late diagenesis was assumed by Jowett et al. (1987), Hammer
et al. (1990), and Oszczepalski and Rydzewski (1991). Multi-
stage models were presented by Beyschlag (1900, 1921) and
Vaughan et al. (1989) and the various facets of multistage
models proposed by Polish authors have been summarized
comprehensively in Piestrzy´nski (2007). Two separate oxida-
tion events that resulted in the “reddening” of originally
chemically reduced black or gray sediments have been distin-
guished by Piestrzy´nski et al. (2002). These authors distin-
guish a “diagenetic oxidation stage (DOS),” associated with
copper mineralization and a “secondary oxidation stage
(SOS),” associated with epigenetic Au mineralization. Finally,
Rentzsch and Friedrich (2003) took the multistage genesis of
the (German) Kupferschiefer ores to the extreme and distin-
guished a total of ten mineralizing stages and substages.
These authors also attempted to estimate the relative propor-
tion of metals introduced and the local or regional lateral ex-
tent of each of the ten stages of mineralization. A five-stage
model was also used by Wodzicki and Piestrzy´nski (1994) and
Piestrzy´nski et al. (2002).
The initial, strictly synsedimentary models for the origin of
the Kupferschiefer ores were based on arguments such as the
assumption of fossilized fish being poisoned by metalliferous
seawater, from which the mineralization was supposed to
have been precipitated (Freiesleben, 1815). The first epige-
netic concepts of ascending metalliferous fluids that have
mineralized the Kupferschiefer must be credited to Beyschlag
(1900). Subsequently, several renewed syngenetic proposals
have been published and the evidence of late emplacement of
copper mineralization has been largely ignored or interpreted
as local secondary remobilization. This includes mineralized
lithic clasts in the Weissliegend conglomerates (similar to the
ones shown in Plate 3D, E), which had been interpreted as
sulfide pebbles of porphyry copper ores from the hinterland
and transported by rivers in a terrestrial environment toward
the Kupferschiefer Sea (Schüller, 1959). Brongersma-Sanders
(1966) suggested that the entire metal content of the Kupfer-
schiefer ores had been supplied by precipitation from seawater
and the Kupferschiefer ores were even referred to as the
“prototype of syngenetic sedimentary deposits” by Wedepohl
(1971). The synsedimentary models all envisaged the metals
to have been supplied by the erosion of a partly mineralized
hinterland, the Variscan orogen with its prominent examples
of massive sulfide ores (e.g., Rammelsberg and Meggen) and
vein-type ore districts (e.g., the Harz Mountains in Germany).
The Variscan mineralization should have been transported in
particulate form as sulfides (Schüller, 1959) or oxidized ore
particles in suspension or dissolved in river water (Brongersma-
Sanders, 1966; Wedepohl, 1971). Metal precipitation and metal
zonation was envisaged, by this school of authors, as occurring
upon entering a chemically reducing lagoonal, deltaic, or
marginal marine part of the euxinic Kupferschiefer Sea. How-
ever, this model did not take into account that the metal zona-
tion did not match a basin-margin-to-basin-center-directed
chemical zonation with solubility-controlled metal precipita-
tion and particularly not that the mineralization is not re-
stricted to the Kupferschiefer sensu stricto.
One particular feature associated with the mineralization has
caught the attention of geologists from early times on and, in
fact, the attention of the miners right from the start. This is the
secondary oxidation zone, the Rote Fäule (Plate 1E, F), which
has been discussed in detail already by Freiesleben (1815) and
its spatial relationship to features that intersect the black shale
layer of the Kupferschiefer sensu stricto. Such features in-
clude aeolian sand dunes of the Weissliegend that had formed
at the end of the terrestrially deposited uppermost Rotliegend
sediments and which were not covered by the subsequently
deposited black shale of the Kupferschiefer. Gillitzer (1936)
mapped large numbers of such sand dunes in great detail in
the Mansfeld district. These sand dunes, together with fault
structures crosscutting the Kupferschiefer, have been widely
interpreted as permeable zones (or valves) for epigenetically
migrating ore fluids through the relatively impermeable
Kupferschiefer (Rentzsch and Langer, 1963; Rentzsch, 1964,
1974; Rentzsch and Knitzschke, 1968). These authors must be
credited with having first proposed the general metallogenic
model of a systematically zoned three-dimensional mineralizing
system, transgressive to stratification (Fig. 12), which until now,
accommodates many metallogenically relevant observations
in virtually all Cu-mineralized districts of the basin. However,
systematically and both vertically and laterally zoned sulfide
(chalcocite-bornite-chalcopyrite-pyrite) mineralization, origi-
nating from crosscutting faults and extending up to 200 m away
from the fault in the Mansfeld district was described by Hecker
as early as 1859. The epigenetic transgressive brine model and
the resulting three-dimensional metal and ore mineral zonation
model have been refined and modified (Fig. 12) by authors
such as Schmidt (1987) and Vaughan et al. (1989). The relative
timing of the epigenetic mineralizing event is implied by the
fact that the ore and redox zones have locally transgressed
stratigraphy well into the hanging wall, affecting not only the
basal limestone cycle of the Zechstein but locally even the
476 BORG ET AL.
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lowermost evaporite unit of the Werra Anhydrite (Rentzsch,
1974). Thus the metallogenic model is clearly epigenetic al-
though the term has apparently been avoided at the time and
for many years to follow, with the exception of few early au-
thors (e.g., Kaemmel, 1965). The origin of the mineralization
was instead referred to as being early to late diagenetic (e.g.,
Kulick et al., 1984; Blundell et al., 2003; Hitzman et al., 2010).
Given the long-lasting, historic to subrecent debate on the
metallogenesis of the Kupferschiefer ores, it is surprising that
regional to local structural evidence has been taken into ac-
count only very early (Beyschlag, 1921) and again much more
recently and by comparatively few authors (Rentzsch and
Franzke, 1997; Rentzsch et al., 1997; Muchez et al., 2005;
Wedepohl and Rentzsch, 2006; Symons et al., 2010).
Conclusions and a New Holistic Model
The Kupferschiefer metallogenic belt of Germany and
Poland is one of three “supergiant” sediment-hosted copper
deposits of the world and is among the largest 1% of deposits
with >60 Mt contained Cu. The belt is hosted by the much
more extensive Central European basin, but the individual
Kupferschiefer mining districts cluster in a comparatively
small, kidney-shaped area at the central southern basin mar-
gin. The economic deposits spatially overlie a basement of
magmatic arc rocks of the Mid-European Crystalline High.
Probably the most important observation on the ore deposit
style and geometry is the shallow transgressive to crosscutting
nature of the mineralization relative to stratigraphy. Overall,
at least half of the ore is hosted by footwall sandstones and
conglomerates and by hanging-wall carbonate rocks rather
than by the Corganic-rich, originally pyritic black shale of the
Kupferschiefer sensu stricto. Except for examples on hand
specimen to outcrop scale, the mineralization is not strati-
form. The transgressive mineralization is systematically zoned
with respect to both metals and ore minerals and this zona-
tion is developed both vertically (upward) and laterally. The
zoned mineralizing system consistently includes a marked
redox front with a characteristic hematitic alteration zone, the
Rote Fäule. A migration direction of the mineralizing system
from the hematite (Fe³+) zone through a Cu zone, Pb zone,
and Zn zone to a (pre-ore) pyritic (Fe²+) zone is generally ac-
cepted. Highest Cu grades occur proximal (on the chemically
reducing side) to the redox front and precious metal mineral-
ization—where present—straddles the redox front or occurs
very proximal on the oxidizing side of it.
The vast majority of evidence from ore textures, regional
metal zonation, spatial relationship to fault structures, and
mass-balance considerations (e.g., the insufficiency of bio-
genic sulfur from the black shale to produce the total Cu sul-
fide ores) all document the epigenetic origin of the economic
Kupferschiefer orebodies. Additionally, recent absolute age
dating, both for the Kupferschiefer and other European ore
districts, also revealed epigenetic ages of ore formation, sig-
nificantly later than the formation of the host rocks and much
later than previously anticipated. A clear spatial and most
likely genetic relationship exists between favorable intrabasi-
nal and particularly basement source rocks, major regional,
deep basement-tapping fault structures, and the location and
outline of the most important Kupferschiefer deposits.
The last decade has seen a liberation from early but persis-
tent syngenetic to early diagenetic metallogenic models. This
liberation has allowed relating the Kupferschiefer metallo-
genic system to the entire tectonic and magmatic evolution of
the wider region, particularly the Central European basin and
its neighboring crustal domains. Allowing such an approach,
it turns out that many of the active stages in the formation and
subsequent and episodic extensional and compressional tec-
tonic evolution are reflected in the metallogenic history of the
Kupferschiefer ore deposits.
Our present compilation of results from ore textures, re-
gional spatial coincidence of copper mining districts with
major crustal zones, and regional to local coincidence of ore-
bodies with fault structures and crustal lineaments and ab-
solute age dating does not support any of the previously pro-
posed metallogenic models for the Kupferschiefer ores. We
therefore propose the following model as illustrated in Figure
13. The present authors are aware that this model represents
“work in progress,” since the metallogenic implications of
many of the phenomena described above have only recently
been recognized. The present model and review paper show
the need for a holistic evaluation of all available evidence and
the improved understanding of the significance of tectonic
structures and tectonically induced secondary permeability.
This evaluation will hopefully result both in new research and
new exploration of areas previously considered as low-priority
targets.
The model presented here is a composite from and for both
German and Polish deposits, each of which will invariably dif-
fer in specific details. The first four stages (Fig. 13a-d) do not
differ significantly from various previous models described
above and are merely a summary of the current knowledge.
Major differences, however, exist for the main metallogenic
stages that have produced the economically viable orebodies
(Fig. 13e, f).
The fault-bounded terrestrial Rotliegend basin has been
filled rapidly with immature red beds, evaporites, and bimodal
volcanic rocks (Fig. 13a). Basinal fluids were moderately warm,
OVERVIEW OF THE EUROPEAN KUPFERSCHIEFER DEPOSITS 477
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Cu
Pb +
Zn
RF
Zechstein
Kupferschiefer
Weißliegend
Rotliegend
Basement
RF: Rote Fäule
(secondary oxidation)
Pb+Zn: lead-zinc zone
Cu: copper zone
migration direction of
metalliferous oxidizing fluids
Pb +
b
Cu
Pb +
RF
Zn
b +
Basement
Rotliegend
W
Kupferschiefer
Zechstein
Basement
Rotliegend
eißliegendW
Kupferschiefer
Zechstein
Cu: copper zone
Pb+Zn: lead-zinc zone
(secondary oxidation)
RF: Rote Fäule
Cu: copper zone
Pb+Zn: lead-zinc zone
(secondary oxidation)
RF: Rote Fäule
ous oxidizing fl
m
etalli
f
e
r
r
e
ct
i
on o
f
migration dir
e
ous oxidizing fluids
FIG. 12. Three-dimensional illustration of the (early) diagenetic metallo-
genic model (adapted from Rentzsch, 1974, and Schmidt, 1987). Note the
valve-like function of the permeable rocks of the sand dune in contrast to the
more impermeable black shale and the lack of fault structures in this model.
478 BORG ET AL.
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Cu Cu
Cu
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
Rotliegend
Mid-European Crystalline High
continental, arid - hyperarid environment
high rate of evaporation
influx of sediment
from eroded
basement
S
S
S
metal ions stored as Cl- or S-complexes
evaporites
volcanics
Zn
Pb
Pb
Zn
a
Grauliegend
euxinic Kupferschiefer sea
Mid-European Crystalline High
Cu Cu
Cu
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
Rotliegend
S
S
S
volcanics
evaporites
sandbar
redox-front
Zn Pb
Pb
Zn
b
Grauliegend
Mid-European Crystalline High
Cu Cu
Cu
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
Rotliegend
S
S
S
volcanics
evaporites
sand dune Cu Fe
Kupferschiefer-sediment (C -rich, pyritic, metal-anomalous)org.
Zn Pb
Pb
Zn
cdYYYYYYYYYY
YYYYYYYYY
YYY
Mid-European Crystalline High
RF
Grauliegend
Cu Cu
Cu
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
Rotliegend
S
S
S
volcanics
evaporites
Werra Anhydrit
Zechstein limestone
Kupferschiefer
Cu
Pb
Zn
Zn
Pb
Cu
Zn Pb
Fe Cu
Fe Fe
ZnCl
S
Cl
Cl
d
FIG. 13. Proposed metallogenic model for the Kupferschiefer ores with two late epigenetic stages being responsible for the economic orebodies (see text for expla-
nation).
oxidizing, saline, and thus capable of altering all rock types of
the basin fill and of basement rocks in permeable faults and
shear zones. The rapid transgression by the Kupferschiefer
Sea subsequently resulted in a stagnant and euxinic body of
water, which infiltrated the topmost red beds in a descending
and irregular fashion thus creating the bleached and chemi-
cally reduced Grauliegend (Fig. 13b). Deposition of Corganic-
rich mud, the Kupferschiefer sediment sensu stricto, some
255 m.y. ago, acted as a chemical sink with the precipitation
of framboidal pyrite and minor accumulation of available base
metals (Fig. 13c). Sediment compaction led to partial basin
dewatering and mobilization of metalliferous brines from
deeper parts of the basin (Fig. 13d). The fluids have possibly
partly oxidized rocks of the Grauliegend, Kupferschiefer
sensu stricto, and Zechstein. However, this process has been
increasingly hindered by low primary permeability and diage-
netic cementation of the clastic sedimentary basin fill and is
thus most probably not responsible for the major pulse of
mineralization. A major central European transpressional tec-
tonic event at the end of the Jurassic, some 150 m.y. ago, also
involved some regional crustal tilting. Major NW-SE– and
NNE-SSW–trending fault systems, dissecting both basement
rocks and the basinal volcanosedimentary succession, had
acted as a reservoir for moderately heated and metal-charged
fluids. Upon reactivation of these fault structures, the fluids
became mobilized and transported over large vertical and lat-
eral distances, spreading slowly laterally in the uppermost
Rotliegend and Weissliegend clastic rocks to suitable, struc-
turally controlled trap sites (Fig. 13e). The thin, quasihori-
zontal Kupferschiefer black shale acted as a severe hydrody-
namic and geochemical barrier to the migrating fluids. This
barrier will have slowed down or stopped ascending fault-
propagated fluid flow and caused “ponding” of the metallifer-
ous fluids below the black shale aquiclude. The mineralizing
fluids will thus have had a long residence time within and re-
action time with the uppermost, partly sulfate-cemented
Rotliegend or Grauliegend coarse clastic sediments and with
the more impermeable but also more reactive Corganic-rich,
pyritic black shale. Slow hydrodynamic valves through the
black shale, such as slowly decemented sand dunes and fault
and shear zones would have released the metal-bearing fluids
into overlying, reactive carbonate and evaporite rocks of the
hanging wall. This low fluid velocity has probably been the
main reason for the development of the particularly pro-
nounced metal and mineral zonation pattern of the mineral-
ization (for comparison, see Merino et al., 1986). It is open for
debate if the higher velocities of basin dewatering fluids in
noncemented clastic sediments would have allowed the de-
velopment of such a broad and persistent zonation pattern.
Most of the economic copper orebodies have formed during
this metallogenic stage, even though the details of formation
of the secondary oxidation (or various oxidations?) are still not
fully understood and need further research. An even later
metallogenic pulse occurred during the Tertiary, some 53 m.y.
ago, when subcontinental-scale tectonic structures under-
went another phase of reactivation and hot-spot magmatic ac-
tivity provided additional sources of metals and local heat
(Fig. 13f). This stage is responsible for localized high-grade,
massive vein- and breccia-type ores that have overprinted
earlier types of ores in many of the mining districts.
OVERVIEW OF THE EUROPEAN KUPFERSCHIEFER DEPOSITS 479
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 479
YYYYYYYYYY
YYYYYYYYY
YYY
RF
Grauliegend
Cu Cu
Cu
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
Cl
Rotliegend
S
S
S
volcanics
evaporites
Werra Anhydrit
Zechstein limestone
Kupferschiefer
Cu
Pb
Zn
Zn
Pb
Cu
Cu
Cu
Cu
Cu
Cu
Au
Au
Au
Cu
Cu
Cu
Cu
Cu
Cu
Cu
Zn Pb
Pb
Pb
Fe Cu
Cu
Pb
Fe Fe
Zn
Zn
Zn Zn
Zn
Cl
S
Cl
Cl
eYYYYYYYYY
YYYYYY
YYY
Grauliegend
Rotliegend
Werra Anhydrit
Zechstein limestone
Kupferschiefer
localized magmatic
intrusions
Co, Ag
vein-type ore
(”Rücken”)
f
FIG. 13. (Cont.)
Outlook
Ore geologic research on the genesis of the Kupferschiefer
ores sensu lato is far from being complete or obsolete. Partic-
ularly the various redox processes still need scientific clarifi-
cation and research, since the different basinal fluids, their
origin, properties, and effect on source and host rocks are still
incompletely understood. Particularly the role of hydrocar-
bon- and evaporite-related fluids within the Central Euro-
pean basin and their relationship to the Kupferschiefer ores
and alteration patterns hold considerable research potential.
Additionally, future research needs a fully integrated approach
to the European dimension of the metallogenic systems that
have been triggered and driven by major crustal tectonic and
magmatic events. These continental-scale processes have
formed regional metallogenic districts and local ore deposits
and orebodies, which still carry the—sometimes apparently
cryptic—imprints of the underlying larger cause.
Acknowledgments
The manuscript has benefited from constructive comments
by the reviewers Derek Blundell, David Vaughan, and Mike
Harris. Jeff Hedenquist is acknowledged for his patient, per-
sistent, and encouraging guidance in his role as editor. The
authors are grateful to Thomas Lautsch (CEO) and Thomas
Kaltschmidt (Director Geology) of KSL Kupferschiefer
Lausitz GmbH for generously providing analytical data from
KSL’s current exploration program and giving permission to
publish the borehole data in the digital Appendix to this
paper. Manuela Frotzscher has contributed to the discussion
of the manuscript, provided microphotographs, and has given
valuable hints to references almost overlooked. Saskia
Meißner is acknowledged for providing an impressive picture
of the Rote Fäule redox front in limestone. Sten Hüsing,
Martin Kettmann-Pommnitz, Raik Döbelt, Sebastian Heitzer,
Antje Migalk, Franziska Lierse, and Christin Bieligk, all stu-
dents at Martin-Luther-University, have contributed with
constructive discussions and assisted with draft and correc-
tion work. The University of Waterloo is acknowledged for
providing a hide-away in the form of office space for the first
author to finalize the first draft of the manuscript. The second
author was supported by a Polish AGH-UTS grant 11.11.
140.562, which is gratefully acknowledged.
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PLATE 1. A. Medieval and early industrial Kupferschiefer mine dumps at Hettstedt, near Mansfeld. Note the increasing
size of the waste dumps due to the increasing depth of the Kupferschiefer, dipping toward the photographer. B. Stope face
in historic part of the Wettelrode mine, Sangerhausen district. Mining width is 0.45 m with Kupferschiefer black and basal
Zechstein limestone (yellow-brown) being extracted prior to 1950. C. Kupferschiefer ore above barren Weissliegend sand-
stone, Wettelrode mine, Sangerhausen district. Modern mining width 1.4 m. D. Quarry near Münden, Richelsdorf district.
Rotliegend (R), down-faulted Weissliegend (W), Kupferschiefer (arrow), Zechstein limestone (Z). Hammer for scale below
arrow. The Cu zone is indicated by a white bar. E. Kupferschiefer altered and oxidized by Rote Fäule on top of Weissliegend
with hematitic spots. Polkowice mine, Poland. F. Two zones within secondary hematitic oxidation front (Rote Fäule) in Zech-
stein limestone, Mansfeld district. Image: Saskia Meißner.
A
B
D E
C
F
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PLATE 2. A. Photomicrograph of finely disseminated chalcocite-bornite-chalcopyrite ore in black shale, partly replacing
diagenetic pyrite cubes (reflected light). Mansfeld district. Image: Manuela Frotzscher. B. Chalcocite veins in uppermost
part of Weissliegend sandstone, Rudna mine. C. Massive chalcocite impregnating Weissliegend sandstone, Rudna mine. D.
Massive chalcocite impregnation crosscutting Weissliegend sandstone, Rudna mine. E. Photomicrograph of chalcocite (light
gray) and covellite (blue) cementing dolorhombs in hanging-wall dolomite ore, Sieroszowice mine (reflected light, field of
view 0.86 ×0.6 mm). F. Photomicrograph of thin coatings of chalcopyrite (white) in calcite crystal boundaries, Sieroszowice
mine (reflected light, field of view 0.86 ×0.6 mm).
AB
C
D
E F
OVERVIEW OF THE EUROPEAN KUPFERSCHIEFER DEPOSITS 485
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PLATE 3. A. Photomicrograph of chalcocite (white) and bornite (mid-gray) pseudomorph after diagenetic pyrite cubes in
Weissliegend Sandstone, Lubin mine (reflected light, field of view 0.86 ×0.6 mm). B. Photomicrograph of early diagenetic
framboidal pyrite (white) being replaced to varying degrees by chalcocite (light blue), Mansfeld district (reflected light).
Image: Saskia Meißner. C. Photomicrograph of a foraminifer skeleton replaced by chalcocite, Grodziec syncline (reflected
light, field of view 1.6 ×1.2 mm). D. Hand specimen of uppermost Weissliegend conglomerate and basal Kupferschiefer
with rich chalcopyrite (yellow) and chalcocite (not visible) mineralization partly replacing lithic clasts, Schnepfenbusch mine,
Richelsdorf district. E. (following page) Photomicrograph (reflected light) showing replacement of feldspar component of
lithic clasts by chalcopyrite (yellow) and chalcocite (light gray). F. Photomicrograph of intergrown native gold (yellow) and
secondary hematite in Weissliegend sandstone, Polkowice mine, western ore field (reflected light, field of view 0.4 ×0.2
mm). G. Photomicrograph of thiosulfates as cement in sandstone, Lubin mine (reflected light, field of view 0.86 ×0.6 mm).
H. Photomicrograph of botryoidal bornite (brownish pink), covellite (blue), and marcasite (white), pseudomorph after thio-
sulfates, Lubin mine (reflected light, field of view 0.4 ×0.2 mm).
A B
C D
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E F
G H
PLATE 3. (Cont.)
