Mineral investigations in the Northumberland trough : part 3, Ecclefechan-waterbeck area

Two of the most important criteria for the formation of major SEDEX Irish-style deposits, the presence of syn-depositional faulting in a Lower Dinantian basin and a geothermal system over a zone of high heat flow in the crust, are fulfilled along the northern margin of the Solway-Northumberland basin. Recognition of the broad similarities in the geological and tectonic history of the sedimentary basins of east-central Ireland and northern England/southern Scotland prompted Mineral Reconnaissance Programme (MRP) interest in the Solway-Northumberland basin in the 1970's soon after discovery of the world-class Navan Zn-Pb deposit in Ireland (Andrew, 1993).