Advances in Numerical Simulations of Hydrothermal Ore Forming Processes

Recent advances in numerical modeling techniques have led to unprecedented opportunities for exploring and quantifying the controlling factors of hydrothermal ore-forming processes. Such systems are challenging to study because the driving forces are mutually coupled and consist of complex chemical and physical processes of fluid-rock interaction that evolve transiently in space and time. Reading the geological and geochemical records archived in an ore deposit requires an in-depth understanding of both driving forces. Chemical reactions are responsible for hydrothermal alteration and metal mobilization from the source rocks and the spatially focused ore precipitation to eventually form a deposit. Understanding these chemical reactions requires modeling both the thermodynamics of complex fluid-mineral equilibria and the molecular controls of metal speciation in aqueous fluids. Physical processes drive fluid flow and the evolution of permeability, porosity, and fracture networks and thereby control the magnitude and efficiency of metal transport from source to deposition. The increasingly rigorous and predictive capabilities of modern numerical methods allow developing quantitative scenarios to interpret field-based observations. Mutual refinement of simulations and data collection from the field makes a very powerful but still emerging tool in geosciences that permits constraining hydrothermal ore-forming processes. The purpose of this special issue is to bring together a series of contributions of research and review articles showing recent advances in the development and application of state-of-the-art numerical models for the simulation of oreforming processes. This issue covers aspects of molecular models of metal speciation, thermodynamics of fluid-rock equilibria, and large-scale physical and chemical reactive mass transport models.