Trace Element Geochemistry of Silica Phases: Understanding the Evolution of the Cerro Pabellón Geothermal System

The study of mineral textures coupled with trace element geochemistry has proven to be a useful tool to understand the evolution of geological environments. The purpose of this study is to provide new constrains on the formation of an active geothermal system, specifically the Cerro Pabellón field. The Cerro Pabellón system is located at 4500 m above sea level and is the first geothermal power plant in operation in Chile and South America. Thirteen samples were collected from a 550 m long drill core. Samples were first studied under petrographic microscopy followed by scanning electron microscopy coupled with a cathodoluminescence detector (CL-SEM). The different textures recognized using petrography and the CL-SEM technique were later analyzed by Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) in order to determine variations in the trace element concentrations as a function of silica textures. Two vein types (A and B) with different silica polymorphs were identified by CL-SEM. Vein type A has only a colloform texture, whereas vein type B, younger and crosscutting the type A, shows zonation, colloform, and jigsaw textures. LA-ICPMS results show high concentrations of Li, Al, Na, K, As, and Sb for all types of silica. A comparison between vein type A and B, show that vein type A is Al-Na-K-Li poor (2088, 36, 309, and 122 ppm average, respectively) and As-Sb rich (43 and 249 ppm average, respectively). On the other hand, vein type B has variable concentrations of Al-Na-K-Li-Sb, but usually higher than in vein type A. Overall, the Cerro Pabellón geothermal system shows high concentrations of Li and Sb, reaching up to 360 and 703 ppm, respectively. Our preliminary results show that the trace element geochemistry is strongly related to the different silica textures, which formed as a response to different thermodynamic conditions and fluid-rock ratios. This work is a contribution to the FONDAP-CONICYT 15090013 Project.