Cyprus-Type VMS

Cyprus-type (also known as mafic-type) volcanogenic (“VMS”) deposits are commonly polymetallic, copper-rich, stratabound mineral deposits, hosted by submarine mafic-volcanic rocks that form on, or near the seafloor at mid-ocean ridges and back-arc basins in an extensional tectonic regime.
Hydrothermal fluids sourced at depth migrate along feeder zones and precipitate near the seafloor to form mound-like accumulations
Mineralized with pyrite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, and sphalerite along with other metals including gold and silver
The deposits often have metal zoning patterns with copper forming near the centre, closer to the feeder zone, and zinc depositing on the outer margins of the deposit
Deposition of the massive sulfide deposits is often followed by various stages of deformation, including uplift, basin inversion, compressional deformation, and metamorphism.

Styles, Textural Evolution, and Sulfur Isotope Systematics of Cu-Rich Sulfides from the Cambrian Whalesback Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposit, Central Newfoundland, Canada, Jonathan Cloutier et. al
Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide Deposits, Alan G. Galley, Mark D. Hannington, Ian R. Jonasson
The Occurrence of Gold in Sulphide Deposits of the TAG Hydrothermal Field, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Mark D. Hannington, et. al