Zinc-rich pyrite from the TAG active mound, the TAG hydrotherma field, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Pyrite rich in Zn, up to 3.1 wt%, was found in the TAG active mound of the TAG hydrothermal field, the slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 26°08′N and 44°49′W. The Zn-rich pyrite is characterized by an optical homogeneity, a homogeneous distribution of Zn in the back-scattered electron images, both at a magnification of about 500, a negative correlation between Fe and Zn contents of the pyrite and a rather small unit cell edge (a₀ = 5.4117 ± 0.0008Å), strongly indicating that the detected Zn is present in the pyrite in solid solution. Such Zn concentrations are observed exclusively in dendritic pyrite, suggesting that the Zn-rich pyrite grew from hydrothermal fluids of a high degree of supersaturation due to quenching on the seafloor.