Central European Geology, Vol.

60/1, 53–72 (2017)

DOI: 10.1556/24.59.2016.005
First published online December 21, 2016

Ore geology of the copper sulfide mineralization in

the Rudabánya ore-bearing complex

Norbert Németh*, János Földessy, Judit Turi

Institute of Mineralogy and Geology, Faculty of Earth Science and Engineering, University of Miskolc,
Miskolc, Hungary

Received: July 18, 2016; accepted: September 21, 2016

The mineralized complex of Rudabánya hosts deposits of several mineral resources including base metal
ores. Recent exploration provided new information on the enrichment of copper within this complex. The
primary copper mineralization consists of sulfides. The paragenetic sequence starts with fahlore, continues
with bornite, and concludes in chalcopyrite formation partly replacing the former phases. It is hosted by
brecciated carbonate rocks, overprinting the paragenesis of the iron metasomatism. It was found to be spatially
separated from zinc and lead enrichments. Oxidation and a subsequent new pulse of mineralization formed
several new copper, zinc, and lead minerals, probably by the remobilization of the primary parageneses.

Keywords: base metal ore, bornite, chalcopyrite, fahlore, North Hungary, sediment hosted ore

Introduction

Rudabánya is a historic mining town in NE Hungary. Documented medieval

mining activities were targeted on copper and silver ore cropping out in a hill range
extending northeastward of the town. Beginning with the 19th century, iron ores
attracted the mining entrepreneurs. Limonite, later also siderite ore, was exploited both
with opencast and underground mining. Until the suspension of ore mining in 1985,
more than 4 km long and 1.5 km wide area was transformed into a series of open pits

*Corresponding author: Norbert Németh; Institute of Mineralogy and Geology, Faculty of Earth Science
and Engineering, University of Miskolc, H-3515 Miskolc-Egyetemváros, Hungary
E-mail: foldnn@uni‑miskolc.hu
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial purposes,
provided the original author and source are credited.

ISSN 1788-2281 © 2016 The Author(s)

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54 Németh et al.

and waste dumps. Historic exploration activity with approximately 2,800 boreholes
also extended to the few kilometer broader vicinity of this area. The history of mining,
exploration, and geology of the ore-bearing complex was documented in detail by
Pantó et al. (1957) and Balla (1987).
This area hosts a complex assemblage of different ore deposits with an equally
complex mineralogy and a strong tectonic overprint. Beyond the traditionally mined
iron ores (and as byproduct, copper), zinc, lead, mercury, precious metals, barite,
gypsum, and lignite resources also had an economic impact. Prospecting interest did
not cease with the suspension of mining. A geochemical exploration project in the
1990s studied the possibility of a Carlin-type mineralization (Korpás et al. 1999).
Despite the long exploration history, genetic problems and relationships of the ore
deposits are far from being solved.
A recent base metal ore exploration project, begun in 2007 with the participation of
the Institute of Mineralogy and Geology, University of Miskolc, provided us with a
framework for revising the ore geological model established in the 1950s (Pantó
1956), subsequently refined by a variety of mineralogical and geological evidences
summarized by Szakáll (2001). Approximately, 260 assays were obtained from
channel samples of pit walls, exploration trenches (750 m altogether), and tunnels.
Nineteen vertical or oblique holes (2,544 m altogether) were cored, and 925 assays
were obtained from core samples. Beyond these, surface mapping and sampling (also
including waste dumps and soil geochemical survey outside the pits) provided further
observations. Several results of this exploration activity were published (Földessy
et al. 2010, 2012a, 2012b, 2014; Kristály et al. 2010; Bodor et al. 2013a, 2013b;
Németh et al. 2013; Németh and Kasó 2014). This paper does not attempt to give a
complex overview of all these studies; it is devoted primarily to the topic of the
primary copper sulfide mineralization, the study of which also yielded new results,
modifying the previous model.

Ore geological and mineralogical outlines of the Rudabánya ore-bearing

complex

The rocks of the Rudabánya ore-bearing complex belong to the Silicikum

stratigraphic superunit (Kovács et al. 1989; Szentpétery and Less 2006), which is
widely distributed N of Rudabánya in the Silica Nappe. This succession begins with
sediments of a Permian–Early Triassic transgression and is characterized by the
evolution of carbonate platforms and basins during the Middle and Late Triassic. The
deposits are hosted by tectonically disturbed and metasomatized sedimentary rocks,
situated in the Darnó Zone, an approximately 100 km long, NNE–SSW striking
regional strike-slip fault zone with variable activity during the Cenozoic (Zelenka et al.
1983; Fodor et al. 1999). The zone also contains low-grade metamorphic rocks,
Jurassic mélange, and serpentinized ophiolite bodies derived from tectonic units other
than the Silica Nappe. Approximately 65 km SSW of Rudabánya, along this

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 Rudabánya, Cu-sulfide mineralization 55

zone occurs the significant porphyry and skarn copper ore deposit of Recsk. However,
there is no evidence of any magmatism affecting the ore-forming processes at
Rudabánya.
The Lower Triassic succession of the Silicikum begins with carbonate-cemented
pelitic and psammitic siliciclastic rocks consisting mainly of quartz fragments
(Bódvaszilas Sandstone Fm.); thereafter, the carbonate content gradually increases
in the pelitic formations (Szin Marl Fm. and Szinpetri Limestone Fm.) to an
overlying, thick-bedded or massive dolomite and limestone of anoxic facies
(Gutenstein Fm.; Szentpétery and Less 2006). This succession can be identified in
the mineralized complex cropping out in the mining area NNE of Rudabánya,
situated in approximately 1.5 km wide zone bordered by master faults of the Darnó
Zone, uplifted from the Neogene sediment-covered environment. The rocks in this
regional fault zone are fragmented, brecciated, and have an imbricate and blocky
structure; 10–100 m scale carbonate blocks are embedded in a fine-grained, marly
matrix.
These blocks, originating mostly from the dolomite of the Gutenstein Fm., were
subjected to siderite-forming metasomatism in the core of the zone and partly
altered at the edges (Pantó 1956). This formation is the primary siderite iron ore, and
was also the protolith of the secondary limonite ore. Original (now mostly extracted)
outcropping bodies were limonitized together with their country rocks, containing a
rich and spectacular secondary assemblage of base metal minerals. These metals
occur in the form of sulfides in the siderite bodies along with barite. Ankerite nodes
and cement can also be found in the underlying sandstone and siltstone (Bodor et al.
2013a, 2013b). The occurrence of barite, pyrite, and further sulfide minerals is also
typical for these nodes, while the bulk of the siliciclastic rocks (except for the
limonitized parts) is barren. The overlying sedimentary succession starts with the
Upper Oligocene at the boundaries and with the Pannonian stage in the central zone;
these sediments are not affected by any base metal mineralization. The unconfor-
mity shows the existence of a long Neogene and also a pre-Neogene period of
weathering.
Galena and accessory sphalerite were known minerals of the siderite deposit in
the barite-enriched edge zone of the ore blocks (“baritic spar edge”; Pantó 1956). In
some cases, the lead mineralization of that type consists of alternating barite and
sulfide-rich stripes; more frequently, it shows a brecciated structure with cm-scale
carbonate, barite, and sulfide nodes of large grain size, and also cm-scale clasts. In
other cases, ore minerals occur in the clasts of a breccia; thus, the evolved ore was
subsequently fragmented. Galena lenses can also be found in the marly country rock
of the carbonate blocks, regarded as clasts previously sheared from the edges of the
blocks. In an earlier phase of our exploration, it was observed that in some cases this
material occurs in folded layers, and evidence was interpreted to define a new
stratiform zinc–lead ore deposit type hosted by the underlying marl (Földessy et al.
2010; Németh et al. 2013). This ore (and the carbonate-bound type as well) also
contains sphalerite beyond galena, and Zn content exceeds Pb by a factor of 4–5.

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56 Németh et al.

The sphalerite, however, is hard to recognize because of the minute (<0.1 mm) grain
size and pale color.

Copper ore at Rudabánya

The copper content of the Rudabánya iron ore is a well-known feature since early
times. Pantó (1956) estimated 0.15 wt% as the average Cu content of the primary
siderite iron ore, mainly in the form of chalcopyrite with accessory bornite and
tetrahedrite, unevenly enriched in the “spar edge.” Koch et al. (1950) also described
chalcopyrite (which substitutes siderite, pyrite, and barite as well) as the main primary
copper-bearing mineral phase. The model established by these studies interpreted the
development of siderite, barite, and base metal sulfides in a continuous paragenetic
sequence.
Pantó (1956) and fellow geologists considered base metal minerals as deleterious
accessories of the iron ore, which cause problems for processing, and not as ores of
considerable economic value. From the 1970s (until 1982), the geologists began to pay
attention to other potential mining products than iron ore, and copper ores were also
exploited and sold. Documentations of newer boreholes of the “Rb” series contain
regular observations of barite, chalcopyrite, and galena content, and assays of Cu and
Pb content of the rocks. Between 1976 and 1985, 120 boreholes were completed and
aimed at defining base metal resources. The Hungarian Geological Institute made a
geochemical survey (Csalagovits 1973), from some hundreds of samples from the pit
walls and the drill cores. They found enrichments of silver, copper, manganese, lead,
and zinc in carbonates as well as in siliciclastic rocks, but with peak concentrations in
barite-containing edge zones of the siderite ore bodies. Minor enrichment was also
indicated in the Middle–Upper Triassic rocks.
Records of copper ore reserves since 1971 and of lead ore reserves since 1972 were
kept by the Hungarian Ore and Mineral Mining Co. A manuscript of the 1982 resource
estimation has been localized in the archive. The total of the estimated, indicated, and
inferred Cu ore resource according to this document is 1,548 kt, with the following
grades: Cu 0.56% and Fe 18.93%. The copper ores were not assayed for Pb or Zn, and
only two blocks have Ag data (<10 ppm).
The company started Induced polarization (IP) measurements over galena indica-
tions known from boreholes (Balla 1987). In the 1960s, IP measurements were made
to gain experience in using it to determine the sulfide content with a fairly good result
for pyrite enrichment underground and in well logs, but less successfully at surface. At
IP surveys extended to the marginal zone, the effect of sulfides was surpassed by the
effect of graphitic shale (Szalay et al. 1974).
Mineralogical studies were carried out with modern methods, and increasing
evidence improved the deposit model. According to the description of Szakáll
(2001), copper sulfides occur with sparry carbonate crystals (sometimes at cm-scale)
in nodes and veins within a country rock comprising zoned, sideritized carbonates. It

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 Rudabánya, Cu-sulfide mineralization 57

was observed and recorded that Cu and Pb–Zn sulfides occur separately, which may
suggest different genetic conditions. It also became clear, as supported by the
measurements for the estimation of crystallization temperatures (Nagy 1982; Pósfai
1989), that barite and sulfides may have been formed in more than one phase. A late
and relatively low-temperature hydrothermal mineralization was recognized, which
also affected limonitized ore bodies.

Samples and analytical methods

The sampling was carried out on open pit walls, exploration trenches, and cores
from exploration boreholes (Fig. 1). Typical sampling interval of both the channels

Fig. 1
Sketch map of the Rudabánya mining area with the location of new exploration boreholes and other
sampling sites. Insert shows the position of Rudabánya within Hungary

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58 Németh et al.

and the half-cut cores was 1 m. Assays were made for 35 elements with Inductively
Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES; after aqua regia digestion)
and Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) for gold
by the ALS Global laboratory. As the primary targets were the host bodies of base
metal sulfide mineralization, sampling was concentrated on sites and core sections
with visible sulfide enrichment and, if possible, assayed copper enrichment, avoiding
the limonitized bodies. Even so, scarcely any samples are free from oxidation features.
The zinc–lead ores and copper ores occur definitely separated in the collected material,
so observations regarding these can be separated as well, and the description of the
next chapters characterizes the copper ores.
Ore microscopy (Fig. 2) was done using a Zeiss Axioplan polarization microscope
in the Institute of Mineralogy and Geology, University of Miskolc; the observations of
Kupi (2011) at the laboratory of the University of Oviedo were also used. Back-
scattered electron images (Fig. 3) and microprobe assays were carried out on polished
sample surfaces with the JEOL JXA-8600 Superprobe in the Institute of Mineralogy
and Geology, University of Miskolc, in EDAX type energy dispersive system without
standards, at 20 kV accelerating voltage and 20 nA probe current. The compositional
data obtained by this method cannot be regarded as exact values, but the incorporation
of certain elements into the minerals is indicated by measured numbers.

Results from borehole assays

During the recent exploration campaign, numerous boreholes intersected the

copper ore mineralization at shallow depth. One of these, the T-12 borehole (Fig. 1),
was selected for illustration. Its simplified lithological log and chemical composition
are shown in Table 1. The assays were generally at 1.0 m length half-core samples. In
the table, composite values of mineralized intervals (using >0.2% Cu and >0.5% Pb
and Zn, min. 2.0 m length cut-off) are shown.
The borehole log shows the following highlighted features:

• High Cu values and high Pb and Zn values are adjacent but separated, and
lithologically controlled (Cu is hosted predominantly in dolomite, Pb and Zn in
shale and siltstone). The oxidation zone includes a mixed geochemical assem-
blage with Fe, Cu, Pb, and Zn enrichments.
• The T-12 borehole assay results show that the base metal mineralization is not
necessarily linked to margins of siderite bodies since Cu, Pb, and Zn values are
anomalous without significant parallel iron enrichment.
• Underlying sandstone is characterized by typically low base metal concentra-
tions. Assays obtained from carbonate bodies and from their carbonate-
cemented siltstone matrix are generally significantly higher.
• Copper mineralization is related to one specific lithology, namely, the dolomite
breccia. Once lithology changes (e.g., to siltstone breccia), copper mineraliza-
tion diminishes.

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 Rudabánya, Cu-sulfide mineralization 59

Fig. 2
Microscopic images of sections from the samples. Sites are shown in Fig. 1. (a) Chalcopyrite partly altered to
covellite overgrown on concentric pyrite assemblages (Trench 2). (b) Pyrite overgrown by bornite, partly
substituted by chalcopyrite (T-12; 38.1 m). (c and d) Characteristic lamellar substitution of bornite by
chalcopyrite, with chalcopyrite partly altered to covellite in the second case (Andrássy-2 wall). (e) Bornite
altered to digenite at the grain edges and chalcopyrite substituting bornite, mostly altered to covellite (wall
at Trench 5). (f) Chalcopyrite substituting fahlore (grown on pyrite) along fractures and grain edges (wall at
Trench 1). (g) Pyrite and fahlore overgrown by chalcopyrite (wall at Trench 1). (h) Fahlore of the second group in
fractures of chalcopyrite grown on pyrite (Andrássy-2 wall). (i) Pyrite with bornite inclusion overgrown by
fahlore partly altered to covellite (Trench 3). (j) Fahlore of the second (and also third) group and enargite
(probably also famatinite) as vein filling in chalcopyrite (Andrássy-1 wall). (k) Galena and pyrite overgrown by
tetrahedrite, substituted subsequently by chalcopyrite (T-5; 137.4 m). (l) Chalcopyrite altered to covellite,
overgrown by fahlore of the second group and sphalerite (wall at Trench 3). Abbreviations: bn – bornite, cpy –
chalcopyrite, cv – covellite, dg – digenite, enr – enargite, fah – fahlore, gn – galena, py – pyrite, and sp – sphalerite

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60 Németh et al.

Fig. 3
Backscattered electrons (BSE) images of the studied samples. Sites are shown in Fig. 1. (a) Pyrite, barite,
and chalcopyrite in the matrix of carbonate breccia of siderite–magnesite composition (T-27; 78.8 m).
(b) Pyrite, tennantite, and chalcopyrite overgrown on carbonate clasts of siderite–magnesite composition;
barite with quartz and in veins crosscutting the sulfide assemblage (T-27: 78.8 m). (c) Zoned intergrowth
of tennantite and pyrite; next to it, chalcopyrite altered to covellite and chalcocite (Andrássy-1 wall).
(d) Pyrite assemblage with zoned copper and lead enrichment (T-27; 50.9 m). (e) Hypidiomorph pyrite
and carbonates overgrown by bornite and void filling chalcopyrite (T-12; 38.1 m). (f) Flame structure of
chalcopyrite within bornite (T-5; 154.1 m). (g) Bornite with mawsonite and chalcopyrite, overgrown on
concentric pyrite assemblages (T-12; 162.7 m). (h) Fahlore grains of the first group as inclusions in pyrite,
bornite, and chalcopyrite (T-12; 162 m). (i) Fahlore of the second and third groups and sphalerite growing
on chalcopyrite edge altered to covellite (wall at Trench 3). (j) Vein in chalcopyrite: tetrahedrite, Zn-
tetrahedrite, enargite, and famatinite (Andrássy-1 wall). (k) Galena and As-containing pyrite overgrown by
fahlore and chalcopyrite (T-5; 137.4 m). (l) Zn-tetrahedrite, Zn-zoned rosasite, and sphalerite in the matrix
of carbonate breccia of dolomite–ankerite composition (wall at Trench 3). Abbreviations: bn – bornite, brt –
barite, cpy – chalcopyrite, cv – covellite, ct – chalcocite, dg – digenite, enr – enargite, fm – famatinite, gn –
galena, mw – mawsonite, py – pyrite, Q – quartz, rs – rosasite, sd-mgs – carbonate of siderite–magnesite
composition, sp – sphalerite, td – tetrahedrite, and tn – tennantite

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 Table 1
Simplified lithological and assay log of the T-12 drillhole. Concentration values are weighted averages of the assayed samples from the indicated interval; waste
dump was not assayed. Cu and Zn–Pb enriched intervals are highlighted with bold and italic numbers, respectively

Start End Ag Ba Cu Fe Pb S Zn
depth depth Age Rock type (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (%) (ppm) (%) (ppm)

0.00 6.50 Recent Waste dump material

6.50 18.30 Dolomite 5 71 3,481 14.2 21 1.0 99

18.30 21.90 Zone of Limonite

Anisian
21.90 25.50 oxidation Dolomite breccia 3 388 311 5.5 93 0.2 204

25.50 29.00 Limonite

29.00 35.70 Dolomite breccia 1 422 21 3.7 55 0.3 189

35.70 47.80 12 55 8,610 8.0 49 2.5 113

Anisian
47.80 54.00 Siltstone breccia 19 32 283 4.2 2,668 3.1 14,002

54.00 75.50 Mineralized Dolomite breccia 3 99 3,841 8.3 29 2.0 68

75.50 80.00 zone Shale breccia 0 81 41 3.1 80 1.1 114

80.00 87.00 Siltstone breccia

87.00 102.50 Lower Triassic 1 128 417 7.7 113 0.7 185

102.50 112.50 Limestone breccia

112.50 130.90 Sandstone breccia 0 102 1 1.7 1 0 3

Rudabánya, Cu-sulfide mineralization
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62 Németh et al.

From the 23 boreholes of the latest exploration program (with varying lengths to
max. 200 m), the copper-enriched intervals (>0.2% Cu, min. 2 m apparent thickness)
have shown the following main parameters:

Number of Average Ag
intervals length (m) (ppm) Cu (%) Ba (ppm) Fe (%) Pb (%) S (%) Zn (%)
35 5.0 6.6 0.45 135 16.3 0.07 2.2 0.14

The element concentrations indicate the presence of silver in the copper ores
(possibly related to tetrahedrite), high Fe grades indicating the iron-enriched carbonate
as frequent host lithology, low sulfide content in general and the absence of Pb and Zn
enrichments.
Our observations support that copper sulfides are bound to carbonate rocks affected
by metasomatism, but enrichments can occur inside the bodies as well as at the edges.
The grade of the copper enrichment does not depend on the grade of the sideritization,
and it also occurs in the marginal parts of the mining area. At the border of the
metasomatized complex, it was found in brecciated carbonate rocks of fault zones. In a
single case, the T-17 borehole crosscut a fault zone in underlying sandstone beds with
a quartz–ankerite vein containing chalcopyrite and 0.1–0.2 wt% assayed copper
enrichment. Sandstone bodies of the oxidized zone, however, may have higher Cu
grades hosted by secondary minerals (e.g., native copper, malachite, azurite, and
chalcocite).

Ore microscopy and electron microprobe observations and measurements

The most frequently occurring opaque minerals in the samples containing copper
sulfide mineralization are pyrite (FeS2), chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), bornite (Cu5FeS4),
tetrahedrite (Cu6[Cu4(Fe,Zn,Hg,Ag)2]Sb4S13), tennantite (Cu6[Cu4(Fe,Zn,Hg,Ag)2]
As4S13), chalcocite (Cu2S), digenite (Cu9S5), and covellite (CuS). Further accessory
sulfides are marcasite (FeS2), galena (PbS), sphalerite (ZnS), famatinite (Cu3SbS4),
enargite (Cu3AsS4), and mawsonite (Cu6Fe2SnS8). The sulfides occur in veins, vugs,
and pores of the carbonate host rock, and in the matrix of brecciated carbonates as well
(Fig. 3a), in several cases with barite (BaSO4) and sparry carbonates. These minerals
also often occur in overprinting veins and crosscutting the sulfide-bearing matrix
(Fig. 3b). Ca–Mg–Fe carbonate minerals of the host rock show variable composition
(calcite–dolomite–magnesite and dolomite–ankerite–siderite series) zoning that is
common with changing metal content within a single grain. Quartz occurs as pore
filling inside the clasts of the breccia, or as single clasts overgrown by sulfides and
barite. Further minerals filling the interspaces of the ore minerals or of the host rock are
cassiterite (SnO2), spherical, zoned rosasite and Zn–rosasite [(Cu,Zn)2(CO3)(OH)2–
(Zn,Cu)2(CO3)(OH)2], malachite [Cu2(CO3)(OH)2], crust-forming iron-hydroxides,
other Cu- and Pb-oxides, Cu-sulfates and Cu–U-sulfates.

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 Rudabánya, Cu-sulfide mineralization 63

Pyrite occurs in several forms. The prevalent grain shape is hypidiomorphic, often
fractured, sometimes altered to marcasite. Chalcopyrite, bornite, and fahlore com-
monly occur in the fractures and around the grains. Bornite and barite can also be
found as enclosures in hypidiomorphic pyrite; the bornite is always partly altered to
chalcocite and/or digenite. Another typical form of the pyrite is the concentric crystal
aggregate, usually bound to covellite, which was formed after chalcopyrite (Fig. 2a).
In some samples, tennantite is radially intergrown with pyrite, or these minerals are
changing in concentric zones, sometimes overgrown by chalcopyrite altered to
covellite (Fig. 3c). Beyond these forms, pyrite can also be collomorph, in some
cases, surrounding hypidiomorphic aggregates. The intergrowth of this pyrite with
tennantite or sometimes with covellite also can be observed; in the outer tennantite
zones, barite also occasionally appears. Finally, pyrite can occur framboidally or as
disseminated hypidiomorphic grains of ∼10 μm diameter. Chalcopyrite sometimes can
also occur among the microcrystals. However, this form is not bound to the copper
sulfides, and the dissemination is present everywhere in the host rock. Microprobe
analyses of certain pyrite grains or aggregates have shown As (1–3 wt%) and Cu
(1–8 wt%) enriched zones; in one sample also Pb enrichment (Fig. 3d).
Bornite and chalcopyrite nearly always fill together the interspaces of the
idiomorphic and hypidiomorphic carbonate and pyrite grains (Figs 2b and 3e).
Chalcopyrite grew around or in the fractures of the bornite aggregates. At the contact
of the minerals, flame structure of the chalcopyrite within the bornite is typical in
several cases (Fig. 3f). Thin chalcopyrite lamellae often follow the cleavage of the
bornite (Fig. 2c), becoming more frequent toward the edge; in some cases, the edge
consists entirely of chalcopyrite. At the grain boundaries and the fractures filled with
chalcopyrite, covellite alteration is characteristic (Fig. 2d); in bornite, it can also occur
within the aggregates. In some cases, digenite and pyrite can also be found among the
covellite crystals (Fig. 2e). Mawsonite occurs as inclusion in bornite (Fig. 3g).
Fahlore (tennantite and tetrahedrite) occurs in three forms in the texture, and
differences in the chemical composition of these forms can also be measured. Grains
of the first group occur either as inclusions in pyrite, chalcopyrite, and bornite
(Fig. 3h) or grown on pyrite, overgrown and substituted by bornite and chalcopyrite
(Fig. 2f and g). Tetrahedrite always occurs at the edge or in the fractures of tennantite.
Some fahlore grains are neither tennantite nor tetrahedrite by composition, probably
having a mixed transitional structure. Energy Dispersive Spectrum (EDS) measure-
ments of these grains show the presence of Fe, Zn, Cu, and often of mercury (2 wt% on
avg., 8 wt% max.) and of silver (2 wt% on avg., 8 wt% max.). Tennantite usually
contains more iron (5.22 wt% on avg.) than zinc (1.56 wt% on avg.), but fahlore with
mixed structure and tetrahedrite contains these in nearly equal quantities (3.25 wt% Fe
and 2.81 wt% Zn on avg.).
The second group also comprises tennantite, tetrahedrite, and fahlore of mixed
structure. These occur in veins within chalcopyrite (Fig. 2h), or as overgrowth and
substituting grains on chalcopyrite. Chalcopyrite altered to covellite at the edges can
also be overgrown by this fahlore (Fig. 3i); covellite, however, can also be the

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64 Németh et al.

alteration product of fahlore in other cases (Fig. 2i). The fahlore can be zoned with
tetrahedrite or mixed structure core and alternating tennantite and tetrahedrite layers,
usually ending with an outer tetrahedrite layer. In some cases, a thin tennantite crust
surrounds the tetrahedrite or mixed structure grains. Zinc content (5.02 wt% on avg.)
of the fahlore grains of this group exceeds the iron content (2.05 wt% on avg.) and
these also contain Hg and Ag like the first group.
Fahlore of the third group should be described rather as zinc-tetrahedrite
(Cu10Zn2Sb4S13), although it can also contain minor Fe (max. 1 wt%) and As (max.
4.6 wt%). Sometimes Hg (max. 1.8 wt%) and Pb (max. 4.6 wt%) could also be
measured. This mineral occurs in veins within chalcopyrite, grown on altered
chalcopyrite and also grown on fahlore of the first and the second groups. In one
case, it was found in a vein within chalcopyrite comprised of famatinite and enargite
(Figs 2j and 3j). Famatinite at the vein walls is intergrown with enargite inside, and at
the center of the vein, there is the Zn-tetrahedrite, substituting the previous minerals.
Some samples contained accessory galena and sphalerite. Xenomorphic galena
grains typically have a diameter of 1–5 μm, and these occur as inclusions in pyrite, as
overgrowths on pyrite, or overgrown by chalcopyrite and tetrahedrite (Figs 2k and 3k).
Assays of galena crystals contain 1–1.5 wt% Sr, and in one case ∼20 wt% Ag (without
Sr in this case). Sphalerite fills the interspaces of chalcopyrite and fahlore. Sometimes it
is a dominant constituent overgrowing every other mineral, including remnants of
chalcopyrite, covellite, and fahlore grains (Fig. 2l); marcasite may also join to the
assemblage. Sphalerite occurs in several cases at grain boundaries of chalcopyrite
altered to covellite together with Zn-tetrahedrite, but also surrounding Zn-tetrahedrite.
In such case, it also substitutes the Zn-zoned rosasite filling a void rimmed by
Zn-tetrahedrite (Fig. 3l).
Barite is a common mineral of the sulfide-dominated mineral assemblage, occur-
ring also in several forms in the texture. It can occur as inclusion of pyrite, bornite, and
tennantite from the first group; substituting pyrite and overgrown by bornite, as
overgrowth on chalcopyrite altered to covellite and digenite or as overgrowth on
fahlore substituted by Zn-tetrahedrite. Barite also occurs in the famatinite–enargite–
Zn-tetrahedrite vein and as a vein-filling, crosscutting pyrite–chalcopyrite–fahlore
assemblage.

Interpretation of the observations

The paragenetic sequence derived from the observations is summarized in Fig. 4.

Overprinting relationships described by Koch et al. (1950) were mostly supported by
our observations, but the number of possibilities was increased, as several minerals
have more than one generation, so new sequences could be identified.
Copper sulfides and associated minerals overgrow the carbonate grains of the
host rock, which occur in veins and in the cement of brecciated rocks. The oldest
detected phases are found as inclusions of hypidiomorphic pyrite, represented by

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 Rudabánya, Cu-sulfide mineralization 65

Fig. 4
Evolution chart of the described mineral assemblage related to the copper sulfide mineralization

bornite and barite. The first significant copper mineralization (primary copper
mineralization) followed the precipitation of this pyrite and sparry carbonates of
dolomite–ankerite composition, also overprinting the products of iron metasoma-
tism described by Pantó (1956). Ore controls were similar in all of these minerali-
zation events: fault zones and fractured, brecciated rocks, mainly carbonates.
Mineralized host carbonate rocks may previously have been only weakly metaso-
matized, but Fe-containing, zonal carbonate minerals are always present, even in
sandstone hosted occurrences.
Mineralization began with the crystallization of tennantite and pyrite forming
spherical assemblages, occasionally also containing copper and barite. Tennantite and
pyrite are sometimes intergrown zonally. During the ongoing crystallization, the
composition of the fahlore of the first group changed gradually from tennantite to
tetrahedrite with transitional structures, and pyrite formation ceased. After that, bornite
formed in major quantity and substituted partly in the previously precipitated minerals.
According to Pósfai (1989), who measured the appearance of bornite polymorphs
within the assemblage, bornite included in pyrite had a formation temperature
over 228 °C; other bornite crystals associated with chalcopyrite were formed at
approximately 170 °C; the latter temperature may characterize this phase of the
mineralization.
In the following stage, chalcopyrite was formed as a substituent of bornite, fahlore,
and pyrite, and also as new grains, thus becoming the most frequently occurring
copper mineral of the assemblage. Bornite was substituted by the chalcopyrite along
preferred crystallographic orientations, with characteristic flame structures. The

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66 Németh et al.

crystallization of chalcopyrite and alteration of previous copper minerals indicates an

increasing sulfur fugacity and iron content of the system.
After chalcopyrite crystallization, the environment became oxidative in certain
parts of the deposit, because the oxidation of bornite has led to the digenite–covellite–
chalcopyrite association; then, chalcopyrite was altered to covellite and pyrite. Copper
carbonates and other oxidation products may have been formed as well. These can be
separated from the recent subsurface oxidation zone minerals by a subsequent
hydrothermal overprint, which is not bound to the primary copper mineralization
but overlaps with it in several places.
This overprint is the mineralization of barite, quartz, and the mineral assemblage
described as late hydrothermal mineralization by Szakáll (2001). As we have only
studied samples of such overlapping sites here, the description does not cover the total
variability of all possible types of parageneses, only the one developed in primary
copper sulfide ores. The first phase of this mineralization is fahlore of the second
group, occurring in veins and fractures of chalcopyrite. The core of the grains is
tetrahedrite; thereafter, the composition shifted toward tennantite of mixed structure,
and occasionally zoned with transitional members. The observed famatinite and
enargite vein was probably formed parallel to this, as an increasing As/Sb ratio leads
to the zoned growth of these minerals as well. In the course of the ongoing
crystallization, both mineral groups are partly substituted by Zn-tetrahedrite, with
some arsenic content at the start. The latest phases of the mineralization process are
also barite and sphalerite, which also substitute copper sulfides and copper
carbonates.
No ore samples have been found with the coexisting carbonate-hosted zinc–lead
sulfide and primary copper sulfide mineralization, so the order of their evolution
remains ambiguous. Accessory galena grains of the copper ore cannot be exactly
placed in the paragenetic sequence due to their small grain size and a few observed
textural relationships, but probably these are older than the primary copper
mineralization and younger than the hypidiomorphic pyrite. Major occurrences of
Zn-bearing minerals in copper ore and Cu-bearing minerals in zinc–lead ore all
proved to be late hydrothermal or oxidative overprints along fractures and grain
edges.
Geochemical evidence of the spatial separation of Zn–Pb and Cu ores and also the
general occurrence of fahlore along with bornite and chalcopyrite is provided by the
correlation of Cu with Sb, As, and Bi (Tables 2 and 3) in the assayed sections of T-11,
11A, 11B, 12, 12A, 14, 15, and 15A exploration boreholes (314 assayed samples).
Pb, Ag, Zn, and Cd form another strongly correlated group. However, according to
the Sb/Cu and the (Sb + As)/Cu ratios, a maximum of 5%–10% of the total copper
content can be hosted by tetrahedrite and tennantite. If the galena-bearing (Zn–Pb ore)
sections are excluded from the sample (258 elements remaining), Ag and Hg are well
correlated with Cu. These elements are enriched in galena, but fahlores also
incorporate both of these in minor quantity, reaching a concentration <100 ppm in
the assay only.

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 Rudabánya, Cu-sulfide mineralization 67

Table 2
Linear correlation coefficients of the chemical elements conjugated with the base metal mineralization from
the assayed sections of boreholes T-11, 11A, 11B, 12, 12A, 14, 15, and 15A (letters denote holes started
from the same numbered point with different inclinations). Number of sample elements: 314; elements with
Cu content >0.1 wt%: 116 (37%); elements with Cu content >0.5 wt%: 32 (10.2%); median Cu: 275 ppm;
max. Cu: 2.44 wt%

Ag As Bi Ca Cd Cu Fe Hg Mg Pb S Sb Zn

Ag 1.00

As 0.45 1.00

Bi 0.13 0.37 1.00

Ca –0.06 0.14 0.16 1.00

Cd 0.82 0.27 –0.06 –0.15 1.00

Cu 0.21 0.51 0.68 0.25 –0.01 1.00

Fe 0.03 0.08 0.35 –0.38 –0.07 0.26 1.00

Hg 0.25 0.19 –0.02 –0.08 0.38 –0.02 –0.08 1.00

Mg –0.11 0.18 0.29 0.53 –0.18 0.33 0.12 –0.10 1.00

Pb 0.85 0.28 –0.06 –0.15 0.86 –0.04 –0.06 0.43 –0.18 1.00

S 0.70 0.52 0.18 –0.08 0.61 0.15 0.02 0.34 0.03 0.59 1.00

Sb 0.34 0.65 0.42 0.28 0.18 0.71 0.11 0.10 0.33 0.14 0.34 1.00

Zn 0.81 0.27 –0.06 –0.16 0.97 –0.03 –0.08 0.51 –0.19 0.88 0.61 0.15 1.00

Coefficient values are bold characters if exceeding 0.5 and italic characters if exceeding 0.7

Possible geologic and genetic relationships of the copper sulfide mineralization

When comparing the Rudabánya primary copper sulfide deposit with other similar
deposits in the metallogenic zone, we must separate the features of the copper
mineralization from those of the earlier and later ore-forming processes, which are
also present in the Rudabánya ore-bearing complex. For example, the Kremikovci
siderite–barite–sulfide deposit (Damyanov 1996) has many similarities with the
corresponding Rudabánya mineralization and with some of its overprints. The Lower
Triassic sedimentary exhalative iron ore formation of Kremikovci and its late
diagenetic redeposition may be considered as analogous events to the sedimentary
iron accumulation and late diagenetic remobilization of similar age at Rudabánya
(Bodor et al. 2016). Kremikovci also has subsequent sulfide mineralization (mainly
Pb, Zn, less Cu) and an extended supergene limonite zone. However, a copper sulfide
mineralization analogous with the one in Rudabánya is not known at Kremikovci.

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68 Németh et al.

Table 3
Linear correlation coefficients of the chemical elements conjugated with the base metal mineralization from a
sample of previous assays with Pb and Zn <0.1 wt% only. Number of sample elements: 258; elements with
Cu content >0.1 wt%: 96 (37.2%); elements with Cu content >0.5 wt%: 27 (10.5%); median Cu: 274.5 ppm;
max. Cu: 1.57 wt%

Ag As Bi Ca Cd Cu Fe Hg Mg Pb S Sb Zn

Ag 1.00

As 0.41 1.00

Bi 0.54 0.39 1.00

Ca 0.28 0.26 0.19 1.00

Cd 0.15 0.38 0.05 0.03 1.00

Cu 0.62 0.48 0.69 0.27 0.02 1.00

Fe 0.07 0.03 0.27 –0.43 –0.03 0.19 1.00

Hg 0.46 0.57 0.39 0.18 0.20 0.56 0.12 1.00

Mg 0.27 0.38 0.37 0.50 0.04 0.42 0.10 0.29 1.00

Pb 0.30 0.36 0.16 0.10 0.65 0.04 –0.08 0.20 0.05 1.00

S 0.37 0.54 0.42 0.10 0.19 0.36 0.01 0.36 0.27 0.42 1.00

Sb 0.48 0.67 0.45 0.32 0.13 0.73 0.06 0.75 0.43 0.06 0.38 1.00

Zn 0.23 0.36 0.19 0.18 0.81 0.11 –0.02 0.21 0.20 0.67 0.20 0.13 1.00

Coefficient values are bold characters if exceeding 0.5 and italic characters if exceeding 0.7

McKinstry (1963) set the first detailed summary of field and laboratory observa-
tions related to Cu–Fe–As–S systems, and pointed out that the most common
evolution is a trend with continuous enrichment of sulfur at a relatively constant
Cu:Fe ratio. In the interpretation of this trend, he concluded that sulfur enrichment
occurs spatially downward and inward, and is temporally a late-stage progression of
the hydrothermal system.
Cox and Bernstein (1992) have summarized dolomite-hosted metasomatic base
metal mineralization systems with Cu–Fe–As–S mineralization as a part of the
Kipushi-type Cu–Pb–Zn deposits. Most of these deposits are related to fault zones,
and underlying evaporite beds are often present as possible sources of sulfur. In this
deposit model group, Tsumeb (Namibia) has been studied in detail for the evolution of
its Cu–As–S mineral assemblage (Haynes 1985), with very similar mineral paragene-
sis (chalcopyrite, bornite, chalcocite, tennantite, and enargite) as in Rudabánya. The
observed paragenetic relationships of copper minerals are consistent with a model of
upward and outward moving chemical fronts. The paragenetic sequence related to the

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 Rudabánya, Cu-sulfide mineralization 69

Cu phases can have been produced from a single acidic, Cu-rich fluid with an initial
temperature over 250 °C, simply by passing the fluid through chemically receptive
dolomites over a period of time. The reaction with dolomite, increasing pH values of
the solution, shifts the activities of the solved components onto a path where the first
stable mineral phases are sulfosalts (tennantite and enargite), then bornite and
chalcocite, and finally chalcopyrite before reaching equilibrium with the dolomite
host. So far, this corresponds to the situation observed in Rudabánya; at Tsumeb,
however, continuing acidic fluid input resulted in a reverse alteration sequence in the
outer zones.
In a regional context, the Rudabánya deposit belongs to the cluster of vein-type
siderite–Cu mineralizations in the synthesis of geology of major modern Alpine–
Carpathian ore deposits (Neubauer 2002). These deposits were mostly interpreted as
being remobilized during Cretaceous metamorphism without genetic link to any
known igneous source. The closest important metallogenic zone with a similar style
of copper mineralization is the Gemerids of the Slovak Ore Mountains. The Paleozoic
host rocks of this zone also form the original basement of the Silicikum including the
Rudabánya ore-bearing complex. With regard to vein-type siderite–copper deposits,
Grecula et al. (1995) stressed the importance of metamorphism and tectonism in the
formation of ore-bearing fluids, modeling a “tectonic hydrothermal pump” which is
activated in several stages and has mobilized various ore-forming elements from
Paleozoic host rocks. They also described the copper vein mineralizations as hosted
by the transpressive structures and shear zone of the Alpine movements, with
ankerite, quartz, chalcopyrite, and tennantite mineral assemblage. The time range
was estimated as 70–110 ± 10 Ma, i.e., Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene. Radvanec
et al. (2004) have provided further ample evidence of this metamorphogenic model,
by placing the peak intensity of the siderite–barite–sulfide metasomatism in the
period of uplift of the Variscan metamorphic complex during the Alpine orogenic
processes. It was stressed that the genetic interpretation of the siderite–sulfide–barite
mineralization is far from complete, although the previously assumed role of
hypothetic deep-seated Cretaceous–Tertiary magmatic source was excluded. Bodor
et al. (2013b) have provided mineralogical evidence of the alterations caused by deep
burial diagenesis or early metamorphism in the ore-bearing rocks at Rudabánya.
These data underline the similarity of Rudabánya and several copper deposits of the
Gemerids of the Slovak Ore Mountains, which were explained using the metamor-
phogenic model.
Along the Darnó Zone, the relationship of the Rudabánya and Recsk porphyry and
skarn copper mineralizations was investigated by Baksa (1986). He did not find any
common points in their genesis. In the light of later borehole results, we assume that
the spatial link of these mineralizations with Late Paleozoic evaporites and Triassic–
Jurassic copper-bearing basalt within the Darnó Zone allows outlining a probable
model where copper is sourced from the basalt and sulfur from the evaporites, while
the mobilizing events are related to structural movements in the Darnó Zone regional
fault system (Földessy et al. 2012b).

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70 Németh et al.

Conclusions

The primary copper mineralization of Rudabánya is a separate stage within the

sequence of ore-forming processes, overprinting the siderite metasomatism and
probably not connected with any lead and zinc mineralizations. Host rocks are
carbonates affected by the previous iron metasomatism, but copper mineralization
is not correlated with its grade or zones. Ore controls are breccia zones; copper sulfides
were precipitated in the matrix of the carbonate clasts. Ore bodies (using 0.2% Cu cut-
off grade) are either isometric or tabular blocks of some ten meters in size. Several
adjacent ore bodies form dense clusters. The copper-mineralized region thus extends
over 1 km, with a width of 200–300 m. The mineralization began with crystallization
of fahlore continued with bornite, and the final mineral phase was chalcopyrite
replacing the previous ones. Oxidation and late-stage hydrothermal mineralization
remobilized the base metals from the altered minerals of this and previous miner-
alizations, producing polymetallic supergene enrichments.

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