Carbonate hosted hydrothermal ore deposits commonly develop narrow mineral alteration (i.e. visible) haloes, complicating exploration targeting. In contrast, hydrothermal modification of the country rock’s stable isotope composition usually extends far beyond visible alteration. Hence, stable isotope “mapping” is an effective tool to aid exploration for carbonate?hosted deposits. However, widespread utilization of stable isotope data has been hampered by its high cost and long turn-around times.
