Figure 1
Occurrence of the Upper Gossan deposits in the Peña de Hierro area. (a) Google Earth satellite image of the Upper Gossan unit topping the Peña de Hierro where the sample 010,109–1 was collected. (b) Outcrop photograph of the lower part of the Upper Gossan unit consisting of iron oxide deposits (FeOx) infilling cracks and voids left by the alteration of sulfide materials, which are limited by quartz-rich materials (Qz). (c) Sample 010,109- was collected in the gossan material cropping out at a higher location in the Upper Gossan; it occurs as a lenticular body with internal massive fabric and topped with cm-sized popcorn and millimeter-thick filamentous structures. (d) Thin section of sample 010,109–1 around TA3 (see Fig. 7) showing a laminated fabric not recognized through observation by the naked eye; this sample contains different 30-micron ovoid elements of likely fungal origin; because they correspond with the preservation of filamentous structures, the ovoid sections suggest that they have the same orientation.
