Study of Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Manganese Ore and Host Rocks of the Robat Karim Manganese Deposit, Southwest Tehran

Robat Karim manganese deposit is located in 7 km northwest of Robat Karim (southwest of Teharan), within northeastern margin of Orumiyeh-dokhtar volcanic belt. Based on regional geology, the studied area is situated in the northern Saveh Eocene volcanic assemblage, composed of rhyolite, trachyte, andesite and basalt. Manganese mineralization is occurred as veins, in faults, joints and fractures that crosscut the volcanic rocks. According to mineralogical studies, the manganese ore of the studied area is composed of pyrolusite, psilomelane, ramsdelite and hollandite, as well as calcite and quartz. Intergrowths of manganese oxides and quartz (or calcite) associated with various open space filling textures support the epithermal origin of the ore forming fluids in this area. Geochemistry of major and trace elements in Robat Karim manganese ores, similarity of their chondrite normalized REE pattern with volcanic host rocks and other hydrothermal manganese deposits of the world, as well as negative Ce anomaly indicate a probable epithermal origin of the deposit. Ore forming fluids could be originated from meteoric and/or magmatic waters circulating through Eocene volcanic rocks, dissolve manganese and other metals and deposit them in fault planes and major fractures. High pressure of the ore forming fluid has caused the formation of brecciated trachyte.