Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 33 (1987) 217-222 217

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam - - Printed in The Netherlands

CALDERA-RELATED GOLD MINERALIZATION OF THE EL

LIMON MINING DISTRICT, WESTERN NICARAGUA

GARY B. MALONE* and RICHARD E. STOIBER

Department of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N H 03755 U.S.A.

(Received November 25, 1986)

Abstract

Malone, G.B. and Stoiber, R.E., 1987. Caldera-related gold mineralization of the El LimSn mining district, western
Nicaragua, In: S.N. Williams and M.J. Carr (Editors), Richard E. Stoiber 75th Birthday Volume. J. Volcanol.
Geotherm. Res., 33: 217-222.

The town of El LimSn, the center of a small gold mining district, lies 36 km northeast of LeSn, Nicaragua. This
paper reports on the sequence of volcanic rocks in the district, the structures in these volcanics and the relationship
of the gold veins to them.

Introduction have continued since. An estimated 1.6 million

An area of 150 km 2 centered on El LimSn was
mapped by Geyne and Houston (1952). The
map emphasizes lithology but includes little
structure. We have expanded on this informa-
tion. The structure of this area was mapped and
the lithology remapped by the first author in
January-March 1973 and 1974 on the ground,
underground and from air photos on a scale of
1:15,000 ( Malone, 1975). Over 10,000 m of drill
core were logged ( Malone, 1974). Both authors
have studied the vein mineralization and sur-
face geology at various times since 1964. Rock
identifications were confirmed by chemical
analyses,
Gold mining activity in the E1 LimSn mining
district was begun in the early 1870's by an
English company. Operations were abandoned
in 1918. In 1941, operations were resumed and
*Deceased.
ounces of gold and 4 million ounces of silver
have been produced since 1930 (White, 1977;
N.N. Haigie, pers. commun., 1974).
The E1LimSnminingdistrict, Fig. 1, is largely
underlain by volcanics, contiguous with the very
large area of Tertiary volcanics lying northeast
of the Nicaragua depression (McBirney and
Williams, 1965). The district is close to the
northeast boundary of the depression where the
boundary is no longer straight but forms a fault-
bounded salient of older rocks about 17 X 24 km
in area. There are andesites, basalts, pyroclas-
tic dacites and, latest of all, rhyolites. There are
also extrusive domes of dacite which have pro-
duced brecciated talus.
The volcanics in the area consist largely of
extrusive basaltic and andesitic lavas, breccias
and agglomerates which are, from drill core
data, at least 650 m thick. They are presumed
to be part of the Lower Coyol group but there
have been no determinations of the age of these

0377-0273/87/$03.50 © 1987 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

218

: ^^ol._,... .... soale:

~ r j- U~,40 W

~ ".----" 86 30 W
---1~2°45'N ~""~\

NG

Fig. 1. The Nicaraguan depression in western Nicaragua. Geologyfrom Cat~stro e inventario de recursos naturales (1972).
NG = Nicaragua Depression. E L = E1 Limdn map area (see Fig. 2); L M = Lake Managua; T= Tertiary rocks, chiefly volcan-
ics, Q= Quaternary; PO = Pacific Ocean; Triangles-= Quaternary volcanic cones.
Insert upper left (location map): Nic ~ Nicaragua; map location shaded.

rocks. The radiometric age of the uppermost
beds of the andesite series of the Lower Coyol
rocks is 14.6_+0.2 m.y. (Williams, 1972). Nine
radiometric dates from Lower Coyol rocks span
the period 12.0_+ 1.2 to 14.9 _+0.3 m.y.
The basaltic and andesitic lavas (which con-
tain 51-62% of SiO2 ) are both aphanitic and
porphyritic with plagioclase and pyroxene
phenocrysts. T h e y comprise about 350 m of the
LimSn section. The breccias are composed of
fragments of andesite or basalt lava, usually
angular, 1-4 cm in diameter, set in an ashy
matrix. No bedding is apparent. They make up
about 240 m of the section, more than 1/3 of
the volcanic pile. Agglomerates, in contrast,
show bedding and some sorting. Many of the
subangular fragments exhibit a weathered
appearance. They represent less than 60 m of
the andesitic and basaltic section. The entire
section of volcanic lavas and breccias hosts the
gold quartzveins.
Dacite tufts and associated breccias overlie
the andesite and basalt sequence in much of the
area, and are preserved at the higher elevations.
The ash flow tufts are composed of plagioclase
phenocrysts and lithic fragments which lie in

the matrix of ash. Welding is seen in some of
the lower drill core intersections. Rocks asso-
ciated with the ash flows have large (3 m) lith-
ics usually of dacites and less often of andesites
which have been interpreted to be coignimbrite
lag deposits. There is no bedding or flow struc-
ture. A thin airfall tuff is found at the base of
the dacite ash flow section in some drill holes
suggesting that airfall began the period of dac-
ite pyroclastic activity,
Overlying these dacitic rocks is a 120-m sec-
tion of rhyolitic lava and ash flow tuffs. The ash
flow tuffs, 80% of the rhyolite section, contain
angular fragments of dacites and rhyolites set
in a groundmass of devitrified ash. Rhyolite lava
flows are the most recent volcanic products. The
maximum thickness is 120 m. They are aphan-
itic with small-scale flow banding originating
from a vent 3 km north of E1 LimSn. Outcrop
and drill core information is not adequate to
determine whether this vent may have issued
from one of the circular fractures,
Domes, identified as dacites according to the
classification of Irvine and Barrager (1971) ,are
fine grained, largely devitrified glass with occa-
sional hornblende and very rare plagioclase
phenocrysts. Although this rock type is volu-
metrically small the domes are topographic
highs and are prominent features. The few dac-
ite dikes observed appear to be feeders for the
domes. Rarely, dacite lavas less than 15 m thick,
with prominent flow banding, are observed.
Boulders of the domes and of andesite flows
make up dacite agglomerates, talus deposits or
avalanche deposits, which are areally more
widespread than the domes from which they
appear to have been derived,
Several categories of fractures have been
delineated within the mapped area (Fig. 2):
concentric fractures, a northern and northwes-
terly fracture set, a few fractures in a northeas-
terly set and fractures filled with gold-bearing
quartz, usually either part of or subsidiary to
fractures in the northwesterly and north-
trending set. These fractures are identified
219
largely from aerial photos but also in outcrop
and in mines.
The least common fracture direction is
northeast. Northeasterly fractures are common
throughout Nicaragua as indicated by radar
imagery ( Schmoll et al., 1975, Plate 1 ). Only a
few have been mapped in the El LimSn area.
The relatively abundant concentric fractures
seem to be part of 3 or perhaps 4 rings which
have radii of 2 to 7 km. They appear to be down-
thrown toward El Limdn. Along one radius,
vertical displacement was estimated from drill
core logs to be 270 m over a horizontal distance
of 3.5 km. The concentric fractures are inter-
preted as evidence of caldera collapse. The outer
margin of the caldera may be marked by the
fractures 10 km north of E1 LimSn, Fig. 2, and
the southern margin marked by the line of frac-
tures and domes 3 km south of E1 LimSn. With
successive collapse, the center moved to the
vicinity of El LimSn. The eastern margin of the
caldera has not been located. This caldera and
the associated collapse fractures are not related
to the E1 Sauce caldera lying over 20 km to the
northeast referred to by Lilljequist (1985).
Many dacite domes apparently intruded along
the concentric fractures lie in a circular array.
In a few instances there is some displacement
by post-dome faulting.
We have made a reconnaisance field exami-
nation in eastern El Salvador, 200 km west of
E1 LimSn in the same belt of volcanic rocks.
Here gold mineralization occurs in a region with
close geologic parallels to the El LimSn district.
The host rocks for the gold silver epithermal
veins are andesites and basalts {lavas and brec-
cias). There are many domes composed of vol-
canic rock megascopically similar to that at El
LimSn. There are at least 3 circular structures.
The most prominent, within which are the
Monte Cristo and Divisidero veins, is 6 km in
diameter.
At E1 LimSn north and northwestern frac-
tures are distinguished. The NW fractures par-
allel the major fracture system that controls the
NE wall of the Nicaragua depression. There is
220

I
I N Scale: Km

~(~ /I __...--- 0
I 1
I- 2
I
~ ~ ~ . ~ .~..~ .-

~ )/o o/
. /r-i/ : ~'\ o \ :1 I I
....
- ELr...o,:
I '"! ,
-°\-,,
\
,
I D[
",~,..- / ~. ,.o ~, ,,'~ , ~..
" sP
,' h
Fig. 2. Structures and domes in the El LimSn mining district, Nicaragua. Mapped in 1973-1974 by Gary MaLone. Fracture
sets: solid lines = concentric; dashed lines = n o r t h and northwest; dash dot dot dash = northeast; dots = veins. D is down-
thrown side. Dotted areas, dacite domes (contacts in part from Geyne and Houston, 1952 }. EL=: El LimSn: SP--Santa
Pancha.

vertical motion along the wall of the depression
with displacement down to the southwest and
the major boundary faults are said (Williams,
1972) to show right-lateral motion as well which
would result in related N-S tensional breaks,
In the E1 Limdn area the northwestern pattern
of faulting along the boundary of the depres-
sion intersects the salient of older volcanic
rocks. The northwestern faults within the E1
Limdnareaboundanorthwest-strikingdepres-
sion with its lowest point near E1 Limdn and
Santa Pancha. Vertical motion is indicated by
topography and suggested by drill data. North
of E1 Limdn the down side is to the southwest
and to the south of E1 Limdn to the northeast,
North-trending fractures may be subsidiary to
the NW fractures. They result in a north-south
structure crossing the area, the most down
thrown part of which lies approximately 1-2 km
east of E1 Limdn.
Quartz veins crop out in many parts of the
area but mostly in the northwest-trending floor
of the depression. Two groups have produced
most of the gold and silver, one at E1 Limdn and
the other at Santa Pancha. They have been
explored to depths of only 350 m. They are typ-
ical epithermal veins comprised largely of'
quartz, minor calcite and occasional pyrite. Gold
and silver is present as electrum not visible in
hand specimen. A study of the minerals at E1
Limdn and other Nicaraguan deposits (Car-
ranza and H~lenius, 1985) confirms this. Gold
is extracted from the ore after grinding to finer
than 200 mesh. Most of the veins occur along

the northern or northwestern fault set or in
fractures subsidiary to them. Faulting and
brecciation of the wallrock and veins occurred
both penecontemporaneously with and after
vein-filling episodes. There is much post-min-
eral faulting within the northwest-striking sec-
tion of the major vein at E1 Limdn.
Unmineralized northwestern faults cut veins in
the Santa Pancha area.
Hot water, often 65°C but some reaching
85°C, is issuing from fractures in the Santa
Pancha veins. There is a constant flow rate dur-
ing both wet and dry seasons. Despite the pres-
ence of these waters in the mines, hot springs
are not found in the mining area.
Conclusions
The E1 Lim6n mining district is the site of
caldera collapse. The concentric fractures and
the apparent motion on t h e m as well as the
localization of the dacite domes supports this
interpretation. It is probable but not certain t h a t
the dacite and rhyolite pyroclastics, including
rocks interpreted as coignimbrite lag deposits,
are associated with the postulated caldera. Late
rhyolites may have issued from the caldera
faults. The mineralized veins are within the
caldera co!lapse area. The presence of hot water
in the mines suggests a local relatively deep heat
source. The temperatures are below those asso-
ciated with epithermal vein deposition. These
waters could represent the late cooler stages of
vein-forming waters or represent an unrelated
hydrothermal event. The northern and
northwesterly fractures are interpreted as being
related to the faulting at the margin of the
Nicaraguan depression. T h e y are prominent in
the El Lim6n area because the area appears to
be a horst in the depression intersected by the
northwest-striking set of fractures which form
its margin. The major vein at E1 Lim6n is in
north- and northwest-trending fractures. Veins
at Santa Pancha also strike north or northwest
or are in fractures subsidiary to the northern
and northwestern fracture Set. The productive
221
typical epithermal veins formed in the area
because of the juxtaposition of favorable north
and northwest structures, circulating waters
and the heat source below the caldera. The veins
are believed to be a more recent event super-
posed on an older structural setting.
Acknowledgements
T h a n k s are extended to Ed Haigie, General
Superintendent, E1 Setentrion Mining Co., A.
Bengochea, geologist at the mine, Half Zantop,
Richard Gleason, Stanley Williams and m a n y
others who helped along the way.
References
CarranzaB., G. and H~lenius,U., 1984. Mineralogyof pre-
cious metal-bearingvein deposits at E1 Limdn, Rinc6n
de Garcfa and La Libertad, Nicaragua, (abstract). VI
Congreso Centroamericanode Geologfay Primer Sym-
posio de la Minerfa, Managua,Nicaragua, pp. 112-113.
Catastro e Inventario de Recursos Naturales. 1972. Mapa
Geologico, Lamina IVE: Instituto Geogr~ificoNacional.
Managua, Nicaragua.
Geyne,A.R.and Houston,R.S., 1952. Geologyof the Lim6n
area; El Limdn, Nicaragua. Empresa Minera del Seten-
trion, CompanyReport, 24 pp.
Irvine, T.N. and Baragar, W.R.A., 1971. A guide to the
chemical classificationof the common volcanic rocks.
Can. J. Earth Sci., 8: 523-548.
Lilljequist,R., 1984. Alteration zones at the margin of a
giant caldera and the formation of gold bearing quartz
veins at the Lim6n mining district, Nicaragua,
(Abstract). VI CongresoCentroamericanode Geolog/a
y Primer Simposio de la Minerfa, Managua, Nicaragua,
p. 120.
Malone, G.B., 1974. Structural and geological setting of
epithermal gold-silvermineralizationin Mina el Lim6n
area, Nicaragua. EmpresaMineradel Setentrion, Com-
pany Report, 20 pp.
Malone,G.B., 1975.Epithermal goldsilverveins of Central
America and S02 emission from Hawaiian and Italian
volcanoes. Ph.D. thesis, Dartmouth College, Hanover,
NH, (unpubl.).
McBirney,A. and Williams,H., 1965. Volcanic history of
Nicaragua. Univ. Calif. Publ., Geol.Sci., 55: 1-65.
Schmoll,H.R., Kruschensky, R.D. and Dobrovobny, E.,
1975. Geologicconsiderationsfor redevelopmentplan-
ningofManagua, Nicaragua.U.S. Geol.Surv., Prof. Pap.
914, plate 1.
222

White, L., 1977. Central America; diverse mineralization Williams, R.L., 1972. The Geology of Western Nicaragua:
provides targets for exploration. Eng. Min. J. 187: Final Technical Report. Catastro e Inventario de
190-191. Recursos Naturales, v. VI, Managua, Nicaragua.