The Sullivan deposit of British Columbia, Canada represents an ancient submarine hydrothermal system that formed a giant Pb-Zn-Ag massive sulfide deposit. Tourmaline is abundant in the deposit and acts as a good tracer that may reveal the nature of the original hydrothermal fluids and ore-forming processes, due to its refractory characteristics. Concentrations of Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta, U and Th in tou...