Devolatilization of metabasic rocks during greenschist–amphibolite facies metamorphism

The production of large volumes of fluid from metabasic rocks, particularly in greenstone terranes heated across the greenschist–amphibolite facies transition, is widely accepted yet poorly characterized. The presence of carbonate minerals in such rocks, commonly as a consequence of sea‐floor alteration, has a strong influence, via fluid‐rock buffering, on the mineral equilibria evolution and fluid composition. Mineral equilibria modelling of metabasic rocks in the system Na₂O‐CaO‐FeO‐MgO‐Al₂O₃‐SiO₂‐CO₂‐H₂O (NCaFMASCH) is used to constrain the stability of common metabasic assemblages. Calculated buffering paths on T–X_CO2 pseudosections, illustrate the evolution of greenstone terranes during heating across the greenschist‐amphibolite transition. The calculated paths constrain the volume and the composition of fluid produced by devolatilization and buffering. The calculated amount and composition of fluid produced are shown to vary depending on P–T conditions, the proportion of carbonate minerals and the X_CO2 of the rocks prior to prograde metamorphism. In rocks with an initially low proportion of carbonate minerals, the greenschist to amphibolite facies transition is the primary period of fluid production, producing fluid with a low X_CO2. Rocks with greater initial proportions of carbonate minerals experience a second fluid production event at temperatures above the greenschist to amphibolite facies transition, producing a more CO₂‐rich fluid (X_CO2 = 0.2–0.3). Rocks may achieve these higher proportions of carbonate minerals either via more extensive seafloor alteration or via infiltration of fluids. Fluid produced via devolatilization of rocks at deeper crustal levels may infiltrate and react with overlying lower temperature rocks, resulting in external buffering of those rocks to higher X_CO2 and proportions of carbonate minerals. Subsequent heating and devolatilization of these overlying rocks results in buffering paths that produce large proportions of fluid at X_CO2 = 0.2–0.3. The production of fluid of this composition is of importance to models of gold transport in Archean greenstone gold deposits occurring within extensive fluid alteration haloes, as these haloes represent the influx of fluid of X_CO2 = 0.2–0.3 into the upper crust.     

Tectonically driven fluid flow and gold mineralisation in active collisional orogenic belts: comparison between New Zealand and western Himalaya

Hydrothermal activity and mesothermal-styled gold mineralisation occurs near the main topographic divide of most active or young collisional mountain belts. The Southern Alps of New Zealand is used in this study as a model for the mineralising processes. The collisional tectonics results in a two-sided wedge-shaped orogen into which rock is transported horizontally. Upper crustal rocks pass through the orogen and leave the orogen by erosion, whereas lower crustal rocks are deformed into the mountain roots. High relief drives meteoric water flow to near the brittle–ductile transition. Lower to upper greenschist facies metamorphic reactions, driven by deformation at the crustal decollement and in the root, release water-rich fluids that rise through the orogen. Intimate chemical interaction between fluid and rock results in dissolution and later precipitation of gold, arsenic and sulphur. Fluid flow and mineralisation in the topographic divide region is facilitated by a network of steeply dipping faults and associated rock damage zones where oblique strike-slip faults intersect the thrust faults that strike subparallel to the main mountain range.The Nanga Parbat massif of the western Himalaya is an example of an active collisional zone which hosts hydrothermal activity but no gold mineralisation. The lack of gold mineralisation is due to the following factors: CO₂-dominated rising metamorphic fluid in dehydrated amphibolite-granulite facies metamorphic rocks does not dissolve gold and arsenic; hot (up to 400 °C) meteoric water confined to fractures in the gneiss limits dissolution of gold and arsenic; low density of hot water/dry steam, and low reduced sulphur content of fluid, restrict solubility of gold and arsenic; absence of fracture networks in the core of the massif and the small volumes of circulating fluid limit metal concentration; and lack of reactive rock compositions limits chemically mediated metal deposition.     

Metamorphism in Archaean greenstone belts: calculated fluid compositions and implications for gold mineralization

An inescapable consequence of the metamorphism of greenstone belt sequences is the release of a large volume of metamorphic fluid of low salinity with chemical characteristics controlled by the mineral assemblages involved in the devolatilization reactions. For mafic and ultramafic sequences, the composition of fluids released at upper greenschist to lower amphibolite facies conditions for the necessary relatively hot geotherm corresponds to those inferred for greenstone gold deposits (X_CO2= 0.2–0.3). This result follows from the calculation of mineral equilibria in the model system CaO–MgO–FeO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O–CO₂, using a new, expanded, internally consistent dataset. Greenstone metamorphism cannot have involved much crustal over-thickening, because very shallow levels of greenstone belts are preserved. Such orogeny can be accounted for if compressive deformation of the crust is accompanied by thinning of the mantle lithosphere. In this case, the observed metamorphism, which was contemporaneous with deformation, is of the low-P high-T type. For this type of metamorphism, the metamorphic peak should have occurred earlier at deeper levels in the crust; i.e. the piezothermal array should be of the ‘deeper-earlier’type. However, at shallow crustal levels, the piezothermal array is likely to have been of ‘deeper-later’type, as a consequence of erosion. Thus, while the lower crust reached maximum temperatures, and partially melted to produce the observed granites, mid-crustal levels were releasing fluids prograde into shallow crustal levels that were already retrograde. We propose that these fluids are responsible for the gold mineralization. Thus, the contemporaneity of igneous activity and gold mineralization is a natural consequence of the thermal evolution, and does not mean that the mineralization has to be a consequence of igneous processes. Upward migration of metamorphic fluid, via appropriate structurally controlled pathways, will bring the fluid into contact with mineral assemblages that have equilibrated with a fluid with significantly lower X_CO2. These assemblages are therefore grossly out of equilibrium with the fluid. In the case of infiltrated metabasic rocks, intense carbonation and sulphidation is predicted. If, as seems reasonable, gold is mobilized by the fluid generated by devolatilization, then the combination of processes proposed, most of which are an inevitable consequence of the metamorphism, leads to the formation of greenstone gold deposits predominantly from metamorphic fluids.     

Nature and source of the ore-forming fluids associated with orogenic gold deposits in the Dharwar Craton

Neoarchean orogenic gold deposits, associated with the greenstone-granite milieus in the Dharwar Craton include(1) the famous Kolar mine and the world class Hutti deposit;(2) small mines at HiraBuddini, Uti, Ajjanahalli, and Guddadarangavanahalli;(3) prospects at Jonnagiri; and(4) old mining camps in the Gadag and Ramagiri-Penakacherla belts. The existing diametric views on the source of ore fluid for formation of these deposits include fluids exsolved from granitic melts and extracted by metamorphic devolatilization of the greenstone sequences. Lode gold mineralization occurs in structurally controlled higher order splays in variety of host rocks such as mafic/felsic greenstones, banded iron formations, volcaniclastic rocks and granitoids. Estimated metamorphic conditions of the greenstones vary from lower greenschist facies to mid-amphibolite facies and mineralizations in all the camps are associated with distinct hydrothermal alterations. Fluid inclusion microthermometric and Raman spectroscopic studies document low salinity aqueous-gaseous(H_2O + CO_2 ± CH_4 + NaCl) ore fluids,which precipitated gold and altered the host rocks in a narrow P-T window of 0.7-2.5 kbar and 215-320℃. While the calculated fluid O-and C-isotopic values are ambiguous, S-isotopic compositions of pyrite-precipitating fluid show distinct craton-scale uniformity in terms of its reduced nature and a suggested crustal sulfur source.Available ages on greenstone metamorphism, granitoid plutonism and mineralization in the Hutti Belt are tantamount, making a geochronology-based resolution of the existing debate on the metamorphic vs.magmatic fluid source impossible. In contrast, tourmaline geochemistry suggests involvement of single fluid in formation of gold mineralization, primarily derived by metamorphic devolatilization of mafic greenstones and interlayered sedimentary rocks, with minor magmatic contributions. Similarly, compositions of scheelite, pyrite and arsenopyrite point toward operation of fault-valves that caused pressure fluctuation-induced fluid phase separation, which acted as the dominant process of gold precipitation,apart from fluid-rock sulfidation reactions. Therefore, results from geochemistry of hydrothermal minerals and those from fluid inclusion microthermometry corroborate in constraining source of ore fluid,nature of gold transport(by Au-bisulfide complex) and mechanism of gold ore formation in the Dharwar Craton.     

青藏高原碰撞造山背景造山型金矿床:构造背景、地质及地球化学特征

青藏高原碰撞造山背景下形成了雅鲁藏布江缝合带及哀牢山造山带两条造山型金矿带。雅鲁藏布江缝合带包含马攸木、念扎、邦布及折木朗金矿等;该矿带形成于拉萨地块及特提斯喜马拉雅地层序列地壳初始缩短加厚的背景(59~44Ma),与林子宗火山岩和高压变质岩同期形成。控矿构造主要以EW向展布。金以自然金形式赋存在石英硫化物脉及石英脉两侧以绿片岩相变质为主的千枚岩及板岩中。哀牢山造山带包含镇沅、金厂、大坪及长安金矿等,主要形成于35~26Ma,成矿背景为区域发生大规模走滑剪切,矿区内分布有成矿前期的煌斑岩及富碱斑岩。控矿构造主要以NW-SE向展布,围岩变质级低于雅鲁藏布江缝合带。C-S-H-O-Pb同位素变化较大,整体雅鲁藏布江缝合带及哀牢山造山带造山型金矿成矿流体主要来源于深部地幔流体、围岩地层的变质流体及岩浆流体,成矿围岩的差异性也会导致同位素的变化性。     

High-grade metamorphic processes which influence Archaean gold deposits, with particular reference to Big Bell, Australia

Abstract Mineralogical and geochemical evidence indicates that partial melting and desulphidation have occurred in the Big Bell gold deposit. Decarbonation may also have occurred, to account for the lack of a carbonate alteration halo; this is compatible with the present data, but difficult to test. The Big Bell deposit consists of auriferous sulphide-bearing (‘lode’;) schists with muscovite and K-feldspar, and surrounding biotite schists, all derived by intense premetamorphic alteration of rocks of mafic composition. Assemblages which include cordierite-sillimanite-K-feldspar-garnet-biotite-quartz suggest peak metamorphic conditions of 4–5 kbar, and 650–700° C, based on phase relations, geobaro-meters and garnet-biotite Fe-Mg exchange partitioning. Partial melting occurred at peak metamorphism, particularly in the altered mafic rocks in and around the deposit, and its occurrence may have been essential to the preservation of the deposit. Melting greatly limited the importance of devolatilization reactions, resulting in negligible aqueous fluids and no means of removing appreciable gold. Minor gold loss may have accompanied desulphidation. A diversity of complex metamorphic assemblages occurs around the mine, compared to the assemblages developed regionally; variable bulk rock composition influences this contrast, but there is no evidence of higher metamorphic grades at the mine, nor that this might have been the prime control on the different assemblages in this narrow belt. It is suggested that the Big Bell and Hemlo deposits are the higher metamorphic grade equivalents of the more abundant greenschist facies gold deposits within Archaean greenstone belts. This interpretation is favoured by the host rock setting and geochemical characteristics of Big Bell. Alternative models that suggest that this class of deposit is a new type must account for the absence of high-grade equivalents of the greenschist facies deposits and also the lack of low-grade equivalents of the Big Bell/Hemlo type. Archaean gold deposits in high-grade metamorphic terrains have undergone a series of processes that are not recorded in the more typical gold deposits of the greenschist facies.     

The genesis and tectonic control on archaean gold deposits of the Western Australian Shield — A metamorphic replacement model

Gold deposits occur in greenstone belts world wide, and contribute to anomalously high gold production from Archaean terranes. As in other cratons, Archaean gold mineralization of Western Australia represents a complex array of deposit styles. Despite this, most deposits are clearly epigenetic, and large deposits have a number of features in common, including their strong structural controls, distinctive wallrock alteration (Fe-sulphide, K-mica±albite, Ca---Mg---Fe carbonates), consistent metal associations (Au---Ag---As---Sb---W---B; low base metals), commonly Fe-rich host rocks, great depth extension and lack of appreciable vertical zonation. These shared characteristics, combined with their ubiquitous occurrence, indicate that Archaean gold deposits had a common origin related to the tectonic evolution of greenstone belts.Auriferous hydrothermal systems were broadly synchronous with regional metamorphism and emplacement of synkinematic granitoids and felsic (porphyry) intrusions. Although these gold systems involved low-salinity, lowdensity, reduced, near-neutral H₂O---CO₂ fluids carrying gold as reduced sulphur complexes, the origin of the fluids is equivocal. Most timing evidence and stable isotope data cannot distinguish metamorphic from magmatic (granitoid or felsic porphyry) orggins, but the lack of consistent spatial relationships between specific, volumetrically significant intrusive phases and large gold deposits in a number of cratons strongly favours metamorphic derivation of fluids.The metamorphic-replacement model for gold mineralization involves devolatilization of the lower portions of the greenstone pile, with high geothermal gradients inhibiting significant melting. CO₂ possibly formed by the decarbonation of early alteration, related to mantle degassing along crustal-scale, synbasinal fault zones. Auriferous fluids were channelled along greenstone-scale faults, in part developed during reactivation of crustal-scale faults in a strike-slip regime. Gold deposition occurred largely under greenschist facies conditions (about 300–400°C, 1–2 kb) in response to decreasing gold solubility with declining temperature. However, a major control on gold deposition was fluid/wallrock interaction. Many large deposits formed by sulphidation of Fe-rich host rocks, with synchronous deposition of Fe-sulphides and gold. However, the variable nature of gold-depositing reactions, including lowering of fO₂ and pH, allowed a multitude of small, and some large, deposits to form wherever that fluid circulation occurred. In consequence, several of the relatively small deposits currently worked from open pit are hosted by ultramafic and felsic rocks. There are few constraints on the source of components (Au, S, K, CO₂) added to gold deposits, but even giant deposits such as the Golden Mile, Kalgoorlie could have formed from a realistic greenstone source volume (ca. 8×8×5 km). Convective circulation of fluids could have contributed to the generation of high fluid-rock ratios.On the regional scale, the markedly heterogeneous distribution of large gold deposits, gold productivity and host rocks to deposits can be accommodated by the metamorphic-replacement model. The most favourable conditions for development of auriferous hydrothermal systems operated in younger (ca. 2.7±0.1 Ga) rift-phase greenstones where greatest extension and crustal thinning produced high geothermal gradients, crustal-scale synbasinal faults, and rapid extrusion and burial of volcanics, including abundant komatiites. Iron-rich tholeiitic basalts and dolerites were preferred host rocks for large gold deposits. The least favourable conditions existed in older (ca. 3.5-3.4 Ga) platformphase greenstones, where gentle sagging on submerged continental crust produced eruption of mainly mafic volcanics with few komatiites, commonly in very shallow-water environments. This allowed intense synvolcanic alteration of both gold source rocks and potential host rocks. The generally smaller gold deposits formed mainly in ultramafic or greywacke hosts. Younger (ca. 3.0 Ga) platform-phase greenstones appear intermediate in nature but, unlike other greenstones, have significant epigenetic gold deposits in originally oxide-facies BIF, which were deposited on relatively deep-water platforms. Similar controls appear to exist on a world scale, with gold mineralization peaking at ca. 2.7±0.1 Ga in response to development of major rift zones in thickened, relatively mature continental crust. Interestingly, the giant Witwatersrand goldfield formed at about the same time.     

A mineral equilibria study of the hydrothermal alteration in mafic greenschist facies rocks at Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

The influx of a H₂O–CO₂‐dominated fluid into actinolite‐bearing metabasic rocks during greenschist facies metamorphism in the Kalgoorlie area of Western Australia resulted in a zoned alteration halo around inferred fluid conduits that contain gold mineralisation. The alteration halo is divided into two outer zones, the chlorite zone and the carbonate zone, and an inner pyrite zone adjacent to the inferred fluid conduits. Reaction between the fluid and the protolith resulted in the breakdown of actinolite and the development of chlorite, dolomite, calcite and siderite. In addition, rocks in the pyrite zone developed muscovite‐bearing assemblages as a consequence of the introduction of potassium by the fluid. Mineral equilibria calculations undertaken using the computer software thermocalc in the model system Na₂O–CaO–K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O–CO₂ show that mineral assemblages in the outer zones of the alteration halo are consistent with equilibrium of the protoliths with a fluid of composition X_CO2 = CO₂/(CO₂ + H₂O) = 0.1–0.25 for temperatures of 315–320 °C. The inner zone of the alteration halo reflect equilibrium with a fluid of composition X_CO2≈ 0.25. Fluid‐rock buffering calculations show that the alteration halo is consistent with interaction with a single fluid composition and that the zoned structure of the halo reflects the volume of this fluid with which the rocks reacted. This fluid is likely to have also been the one responsible for the gold mineralisation at Kalgoorlie.     

The gold content of some Archaean rocks and their possible relationship to epigenetic gold-quartz vein deposits

Gold mineralization in Archaean granite-greenstone environments, especially gold-quartz veins, contributes considerably to the world's gold production. The formation of epigenetic gold mineralization in greenstone belts is generally explained by the metamorphic secretion theory. This theory is based on the assumption that the source of the gold may be komatiitic or tholeiitic lavas, pyritic chemical or clastic sediments and even granitic rocks from which, as a result of regional metamorphic overprinting, gold was extracted and concentrated in suitable structures.It has been shown that in proposed potential source rocks, gold is predominantly associated with sulfide minerals and thus relatively easily accessible to secretion and reconstitution processes.A large number of various rock types originating from granite-greenstone terranes of the Kaapvaal and the Rhodesian cratons were geochemically investigated, and the following ranges for gold determined:volcanic rocks (komatiitic and tholeiitic): 0.1–372 ppbgranitic rocks of the basement: 0.3–7.8 ppbiron-rich chemical sediments: 1.0–667 ppbStatistical treatment of the data reveals that volcanic rocks as well as iron-rich chemical sediments are favorable sources for epigenetic gold mineralization formed by metamorphic secretion, while the granitic rocks make less suitable primary gold sources. This finding explains the close spatial relationship which is common between gold-quartz veins and greenstone belts. The conspicuous abundance of epigenetic gold mineralization in the Archaean, however, is attributed to the unique geologic and metamorphic history of the granite-greenstone terranes.     

Two‐Stage Sulfide Mineral Assemblages in the Mineralized Ultramafic Rocks of the Laowangzhai Gold Deposit (Yunnan,SW China): Implications for Metallogenic Evolution

The Laowangzhai gold deposit, located in the Ailaoshan gold belt (SW China), is hosted in various types of rocks, including in quartz porphyry, carbonaceous slate, meta‐sandstone, lamprophyre, and altered ultramafic rocks. In contrast to other wall rocks, the orebodies in altered ultramafic rocks are characterized by the occurrence of a large amount of Ni‐bearing minerals. The ore‐forming process of the orebodies hosted by altered ultramafic rocks can be divided into two stages: pyrite‐vaesite‐native gold and gersdorffite‐violarite stages. The contents of As and Sb increased during the evolution of ore‐forming fluid based on the mineral assemblages. Thermodynamic modeling of the Ni‐Cu‐As‐Fe‐S system using the SUPCRT92 software package with the updated database of slop16.dat indicates the fS₂ in ore‐forming fluid decreases significantly from stage I to stage II. The decreases of fS₂ due to crystallization of sulfides and fO₂ due to fluid–rock reaction were responsible for ore formation in altered ultramafic rocks of the Laowangzhai gold deposit. Geological evidence, the in situ sulfur isotope values of pyrite, and the other published isotopic data suggest that the ore‐forming fluid for ultramafic rock ores was dominantly composed of evolved magmatic fluid with the important input of sediments.     

Copper mobility in the Eastern Creek Volcanics, Mount Isa, Australia: evidence from laser ablation ICP-MS of iron-titanium oxides

The Palaeoproterozoic Eastern Creek Volcanics are a series of copper-rich tholeiitic basalts which occur adjacent to the giant sediment-hosted Mount Isa copper deposit in Queensland, Australia. The volcanic rocks are often cited as the source of metals for the deposit. New laser ablation ICP-MS analyses of iron–titanium oxides from the basalts provide evidence for the local mobilisation of copper during regional greenschist facies metamorphism. This interpretation is based on the observation that copper-bearing magmatic titanomagnetite was destabilised during greenschist facies metamorphism, and the new magnetite which crystallised was copper poor. Petrological observations, regional geochemical signatures and geochemical modelling suggest that the mobilised copper was concentrated in syn-metamorphic epidote-rich alteration zones, creating a pre-concentration of copper before the main mineralisation event at Mount Isa. Geochemical modelling demonstrates this process is enhanced by the addition of CO₂ from adjacent carbonate-rich sediments during metamorphic devolatilisation. Regional geochemical data illustrate elevated copper concentrations in epidote-rich zones (high CaO), but where these zones are overprinted by potassic alteration (high K₂O), copper is depleted. A two-stage model is proposed whereby after metamorphic copper enrichment in epidote–titanite alteration zones, an oxidised potassium-rich fluid leached copper from the epidote-altered metabasalts and deposited it in the overlying sedimentary rocks to form the Mount Isa copper deposit. This ore-forming fluid is expressed regionally as potassium feldspar-rich veins and locally as biotite-rich alteration, which formed around major fluid conduits between the metabasalt metal source rocks and the overlying deposit host sequence. This model is consistent with the remobilisation of copper from mafic source rocks, as has been found at other world-class copper deposits.Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at and is accessible for authorized users.     

Geochemistry of late metamorphic hydrothermal alteration and graphitisation of host rock, Macraes gold mine, Otago Schist, New Zealand

The Macraes gold deposit in the Otago Schist, New Zealand, formed during late metamorphic fluid flow through a lower greenschist facies shear zone. Mineralisation occurred near to the brittle-ductile transition at about 300 °C. Large volumes of host rock in a shear zone up to 120 m thick have been hydrothermally altered by this fluid activity. Most alteration is not structurally controlled apart from proximity to the shear zone. Ductile and brittle microshears traverse the most mineralised rocks and some structural control of fluid flow occurred as well. Fluid flow was slow, similar to that in metamorphic rocks (mm/year) and diffusion through interconnected fluid was a significant chemical process. Localised extensional hydrofractures (m scale) are filled with mineralised quartz. Most alteration of the host rocks was isochemical with respect to the lithophile elements, and mineralised rocks have been variably enriched in As, Au, Sb, W, Mo and Bi, but not Co or Cd. Addition of sulphur has occurred to both host rocks and mineralised rocks, up to 1 wt.% above a background of 0.1 wt.%. Host rock sulphur is mainly pyritic and is not structurally controlled. Mineralised rocks have pyrite and arsenopyrite along microshears. Pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite and galena have formed from sulphidation of silicates with no addition of metals. Graphite has been added to mineralised rocks along microshears, up to 3 wt.% locally, above a background of 0.1 wt.% noncarbonate carbon. Graphite deposition may have occurred as a result of mixing of two fluids, water+methane, and water+carbon dioxide. Graphitisation and sulphidation reactions released low δD water, which accumulated in the slow-moving mineralising fluid. Distinction between this low δD reaction water and meteoric water incursion is difficult.     

Crustal-scale shear zones and their significance to Archaean gold mineralization in Western Australia

Many large Archaean epigenetic gold deposits show a broad spatial relationship to regional lineaments in greenstone belts, although in detail they are sited in subsidiary brittle-ductile fault structures. Fluids, originating from a deep source, follow a complex path and re-equilibrate with different lithologies and with metamorphic fluid during migration to higher crustal levels. Temperature and pressure conditions at or below the amphibolite/greenschist metamorphic boundary, where most gold deposits are located, favour the establishment of brittle-ductile and brittle subsidiary structures, the preferred structural setting of gold deposits. Physical gradients between the regional ductile structures and more brittle subsidiary structures ensure transient, strongly localized, fluid flow into the latter, where lower temperatures and suitable host rocks with high Fe/(Fe + Mg) ratios favour gold-deposition. The multi-source origin and continuous re-equilibration of the fluid with crustal rock, which includes granitoid and greenstone-belt lithologies of different ages, is reflected in the diverse isotopic and geochemical signature of the gold deposits.     

Fluid evolution during burial and Variscan deformation in the Lower Devonian rocks of the High-Ardenne slate belt (Belgium): sources and causes of high-salinity and C–O–H–N fluids

Fluid inclusions in quartz veins of the High-Ardenne slate belt have preserved remnants of prograde and retrograde metamorphic fluids. These fluids were examined by petrography, microthermometry and Raman analysis to define the chemical and spatial evolution of the fluids that circulated through the metamorphic area of the High-Ardenne slate belt. The earliest fluid type was a mixed aqueous/gaseous fluid (H₂O–NaCl–CO₂–(CH₄–N₂)) occurring in growth zones and as isolated fluid inclusions in both the epizonal and anchizonal part of the metamorphic area. In the central part of the metamorphic area (epizone), in addition to this mixed aqueous/gaseous fluid, primary and isolated fluid inclusions are also filled with a purely gaseous fluid (CO₂–N₂–CH₄). During the Variscan orogeny, the chemical composition of gaseous fluids circulating through the Lower Devonian rocks in the epizonal part of the slate belt, evolved from an earlier CO₂–CH₄–N₂ composition to a later composition enriched in N₂. Finally, a late, Variscan aqueous fluid system with a H₂O–NaCl composition migrated through the Lower Devonian rocks. This latest type of fluid can be observed in and outside the epizonal metamorphic part of the High-Ardenne slate belt. The chemical composition of the fluids throughout the metamorphic area, shows a direct correlation with the metamorphic grade of the host rock. In general, the proportion of non-polar species (i.e. CO₂, CH₄, N₂) with respect to water and the proportion of non-polar species other than CO₂ increase with increasing metamorphic grade within the slate belt. In addition to this spatial evolution of the fluids, the temporal evolution of the gaseous fluids is indicative for a gradual maturation due to metamorphism in the central part of the basin. In addition to the maturity of the metamorphic fluids, the salinity of the aqueous fluids also shows a link with the metamorphic grade of the host-rock. For the earliest and latest fluid inclusions in the anchizonal part of the High-Ardenne slate belt the salinity varies respectively between 0 and 3.5 eq.wt% NaCl and between 0 and 2.7 eq.wt% NaCl, while in the epizonal part the salinity varies between 0.6 and 17 eq.wt% NaCl and between 3 and 10.6 eq.wt% for the earliest and latest aqueous fluid inclusions, respectively. Although high salinity fluids are often attributed to the original sedimentary setting, the increasing salinity of the fluids that circulated through the Lower Devonian rocks in the High-Ardenne slate belt can be directly attributed to regional metamorphism. More specifically the salinity of the primary fluid inclusions is related to hydrolysis reactions of Cl-bearing minerals during prograde metamorphism, while the salinity of the secondary fluid inclusions is rather related to hydration reactions during retrograde metamorphism. The temporal and spatial distribution of the fluids in the High-Ardenne slate belt are indicative for a closed fluid flow system present in the Lower Devonian rocks during burial and Variscan deformation, where fluids were in thermal and chemical equilibrium with the host rock. Such a closed fluid flow system is confirmed by stable isotope study of the veins and their adjacent host rock for which uniform δ¹⁸0 values of both the veins and their host rock demonstrate a rock-buffered fluid flow system.     

北山地区金矿类型、成矿规律和找矿方向

北山地区金矿床分布广,主要类型有韧性剪切带型、岩浆热液型和海相火山岩型。成矿物质主要来源于基底变质岩、华力西期中酸性侵入岩和石炭系海相火山岩和次火山岩。除基底变质岩和石炭系火山岩外,其他层位赋矿选择性不明显。成矿流体以岩浆来源为主,但韧性剪切带型金矿床成矿流体来源于岩浆热液和动力变质热液。构造控矿作用研究表明,区域大地构造控制成矿岩系分区,二级构造控制成矿带和成矿岩体的分布,主要赋矿构造形式有韧性剪切带、低角度推覆构造和岩体构造裂隙。金矿床的成矿时代以晚古生代为主。金矿有利找矿远景区是小西弓外围地区、白墩子-石板墩地区、金窝子-照壁山地区,拾金坡-南金滩地区、马庄山-南金山外围地区和古堡泉-老金厂地区。      

工准噶尔库布苏金矿床岩脉与金矿成因关系的研究

库布苏金矿床的三个金矿带均产于闪长玢岩和花岗闪长斑岩内。为了研究这些岩脉与金矿的成因关系,测定了含金石英脉中英流体包裹体均一温度、成分、盐度和Ｈ２Ｏ的氢氧同位素,分析了含英脉和相关脉岩及围岩的稀土元素及微量元素,发现石英流体包裹体属有较高的均一温度、低盐度、富ＣＯ２的还原性流体,其阳离子组合为Ｃａ＾２＋〉Ｎａ＾＋〉Ｋ＾＋或Ｎａ＾＋〉Ｋ＾＋〉Ｍｇ＾２＋,阴离子组合属Ｃｌ＾１〉ＳＯ４＾２－〉Ｆ＾－型,     

Ordovician Intrusive-related Gold-Copper Mineralization in West-Central New South Wales, Australia

Three major types of Ordovician intrusive-related gold-copper deposits are recognized in central-west New South Wales, Australia: porphyry, skarn and high sulphidation epithermal deposits. These deposits are mainly distributed within two Ordovician volcano-intrusive belts of the Lachlan Fold Belt: the Orange-Wellington Belt and the Parkes-Narromine Belt. Available isotopic age data suggest that mineralization of the three types of deposits is essentially coeval with the Ordovician intrusive rocks (480-430 Ma).Porphyry gold-copper deposits can be further divided into two groups. The first group is associated with monzonite showing shoshonitic features, represented by Cadia and Goonumbla. The second group is associated with diorite and dacite, including the Copper Hill and Cargo gold-copper deposits. Gold skarn is associated with Late Ordovician (430-439 Ma) monzonitic intrusive complexes in the Junction Reefs area (Sheahan-Grants, Frenchmans, and Cor-nishmens), Endeavour 6, 7 and 44, Big and Little Cadia     

四川会东小街金矿床成矿机理分析

四川会东小街金矿床为川西产于元古宙绿片岩地层中的菱铁矿型金矿床的典型代表。金矿体呈脉状产于中元古界会理群青龙山组碳质板岩、流纹质凝灰岩、变粗面炭和花岗斑岩的内外接触带中,受ＥＷ向基底断裂的次级断裂和层间破碎带的严格控制。矿石矿物组合为黄铁矿、毒砂、黄铜矿、黔铜矿族、Ａｕ－Ａｇ系列矿物,石英和菱铁矿。其成矿元素组成为Ａｕ－Ｃｕ－Ａｇ－Ｐｂ－Ｓｂ－Ａｓ－Ｆｅ。围岩蚀变以硅化、粘土化和碳酸盐化（菱铁矿化     

Metamorphism of the Bikou Group in the Shanxi-Gausu-Sichuan Border Region1

Abstract The Bikou Group on the Shaanxi-Gansu-Sichuan border is composed of Mid-Late Proterozoic metamorphosed bimodal volcanic rocks and flysch sediments. Its metamorphism may be divided into the blueschist and greenschist facies. Three metamorphic zones, i.e. zones A, B, and C, may be distinguished on the basis of the field distribution of metamorphic rocks and the variation of b₀ values of muscovite. Blueschists are characterized by coexistence of sodic amphiboles and epidote and occur as stripes or relict patches in extensive greenschists of zone A. Studies of metamorphic minerals such as amphiboles, chlorite, epidote and muscovite and their textural relationships indicate that blueschists and greenschists were not formed under the same metamorphic physico-chemical conditions. The blueschist facies was formed at temperatures of 300-400°C and pressures of 0.5–0.6 GPa. The greenschist facies in zones A and B has similar temperatures but its pressure is only 0.4 GPa or so. The transition from the blueschist to greenschist facies is a nearly isothermal uplift process. The rock and mineral assemblages of the Bikou Group indicate that the blueschist facies metamorphism of the group might be related to crustal thickening or A-subduction accompanying the closure of an intracontinental small ocean basin.     

大兴安岭古利库金矿区落马湖群变质岩系及其含矿性

大兴安岭古利库金矿区出露的新元古代-早寒武世落马湖群变质岩系,系一套片麻岩、片岩、变粒岩以及大理岩、板岩组合,属低绿片岩相、高绿片岩相和低角闪岩相.恢复原岩为中基性、中酸性火山岩及其碎屑岩和粉砂岩-砂岩、灰岩等.主要成矿元素Bi、Au、Ag、Hg对比大陆地壳相对富集,在遭受韧性剪切作用后,Au、Ag、Bi明显富集,As、Sb亦有富集.由此推断,落马湖群变质岩系应属矿源岩,韧性剪切作用使Au、Ag等成矿元素预富集.