Oxygen isotopic composition of quartz veins and host rocks at the Sukhoi Log deposit,Russia

The relationships between the δ¹⁸O of quartz veins and veinlets pertaining to the main stage of gold mineralization at the Sukhoi Log deposit and metasomatically altered host slates are estimated. The oxygen isotopic composition of veined quartz and host slates is not uniform. The δ¹⁸O of quartz veins from the Western, Central, and Sukhoi Log areas of the deposit vary from +16 to + 18 ‰. The δ¹⁸O range of metasomatically altered slates in the Western and Sukhoi Log areas attains 6 ‰. The δ¹⁸O of quartz veins are always higher than those of host slates by 3–7‰. The regular difference in the δ¹⁸O between quartz veins and host slates indicates that the oxygen isotopic composition of the ore-bearing fluid forming the system of quartz veins and veinlets at the Sukhoi Log deposit could have formed as a result of interaction with silicate rocks, for instance, terrigenous slates enriched in δ¹⁸O. Such interaction, however, took place at deeper levels of the Sukhoi Log deposit. It is suggested that the fluid phase participating in the formation of the vein and veinlet system had initially high δ¹⁸O(>+10‰) due to interaction with the rocks enriched in δ¹⁸O at a low fluid/rock ratio. The oxygen isotope data indicate that the fluid participating in the formation of gold mineralization at the Sukhoi Log deposit was not in equilibrium with igneous rocks at high temperatures.     

Wall-rock metasomatism of carbonaceous terrigenous rocks in the Lena gold district

The Lena gold district is situated in the fold-and-shear belt of the southern framework of the Siberian Platform. The gold deposits are hosted in the Riphean-Vendian Khomolkho and Aunakit formations, revealing the strict control of ore mineralization by folding and shearing. The microstructure of metasomatically altered ore-bearing carbonaceous sedimentary rocks at the Sukhoi Log, Golets Vysochaishy, and Verninsky deposits (the latter includes the Pervenets vein zone) testifies to parallelism in the development of shearing, foliation, and ore-forming metasomatism. The local pressure gradients are marked by removal of silica from pressured zones into opened cleavage fractures and pockets. Two metasomatic stages are recognized: (1) early sodic metasomatism, which is characterized by the assemblage of magnesian siderite and paragonite, and (2) late potassic metasomatism, with formation of muscovite in association with sideroplesite and ankerite. The rocks altered at the early stage are distinguished by elevated Ni, Cr, and probably PGE contents. The second stage, close in age to the emplacement of Hercynian granitic plutons, was accompanied by the gain of chalcophile metals and deposition of the bulk of gold. In mineral composition, the metasomatic rocks are close to beresites, but the alteration differed in somewhat elevated alkalinity, so that microveinlets of albite and potassium feldspar occur in the ore zone together with muscovite. The ratio of modal muscovite to paragonite contents in orebodies is substantially higher than in the surrounding metasomatized rocks. This ratio directly depends on the degree of rock permeability and the intensity of the flow of ore-forming solutions. Carbonaceous matter (CM) in the ore zone underwent reworking and redeposition. CM is graphitized to a lesser extent than in the rocks affected by regional metamorphism. The spatial distribution of CM containing nitro and amino groups indicates more oxidizing conditions in the zone of ore deposition than at a distance from this zone. The temperature of metasomatic processes estimated from the muscovite, muscovite-paragonite, and chlorite mineral thermometers and fluid inclusions in quartz was 300–350°C at a pressure of about 1 kbar. The S, O, and C isotopic compositions of ore-forming fluids that pertain to the second stage of metasomatism (δ³⁴S= +8.5‰, δ¹⁸O = +10‰, and δ¹³C= ?11 to ?18‰) indicate their crustal origin. The generally similar conditions and products of the ore-forming metasomatic process at the giant Sukhoi Log deposit and at the small Golets Vysochaishy deposit are combined with some differences. The formation of the described deposits was related to the deep convection of fluids along shear zones followed by more local flows of postmagmatic solutions derived from the emplaced granitic magma.     

Evolution of palaeofluids at the Variscan thrust front in eastern Belgium

The geochemical evolution of the fluids migra- ting at the Variscan thrust front in eastern Belgium has been investigated by a petrographic, mineralogical and geoche-mical study of ankerite, quartz and ferroan calcite veins hosted by lower Devonian rocks. Three vein generations have been recognized. The first generation consists of quartz, chlorite and ankerite filling pre- to early Variscan extensional fractures. The second generation is present as shear veins of Variscan age, and contains quartz, chlorite and ferroan calcite. The third generation consists of ankerite filling post-Variscan fractures. The oxygen and carbon isotopic composition of the two ankerite phases and of the ferroan calcites are respectively between –16.4 and –11.4‰ PDB between –17.8 and –1.7‰ PDB. This range is greater than that of calcite nodules in the lower Devonian siliciclastic sediments (δ¹⁸O= –15.6 to –11.1‰ PDB and δ¹³C= –13.4 to –10.2‰ PDB). This suggests precipitation of the carbonate veins from a fluid which was at most only partly isotopically buffered by the calcite nodules in the host rock. The calculated oxygen isotopic composition of the ambient fluid from which the calcite veins formed is between +7.8 and +10.0‰ SMOW. Two main fluid types have been recognized in fluid inclusions in the quartz and carbonates. The first fluid type is present as secondary fluid inclusions in the first and second vein generations. The fluid has a salinity of 0.5–7.2 eq. wt.% NaCl and a high, but variable, homogenization temperature (Th=124–188°C). Two origins can be proposed for this fluid. It could have been expelled from the lower Devonian or could have been derived from the metamorphic zone to the south of the area studied. Taking into account the microthermometric and stable-isotope data, and the regional geological setting, the fluid most likely originated from metamorphic rocks and interacted with the lower Devonian along its migration path. This is in agreement with numerical simulations of the palaeofluid and especially the palaeotempera-ture field, which is based on chlorite geothermometry and vitrinite reflectance data. The second fluid type occurs as secondary inclusions in the shear veins and as fluid inclusions of unknown origin in post-Variscan ankerite veins. Therefore, it has a post-Variscan age. The inclusions are characterized by a high salinity (18.6–22.9 eq. wt.% CaCl₂). The composition of the fluid is similar to that which caused the development of Mississippi Valley-type Pb–Zn deposits in Belgium.     

Evolution of gold-bearing veins in dykes of the Woods Point dyke swarm,Victoria

The Woods Point dyke swarm comprises hundreds of narrow, subparallel igneous dykes and dozens of pipe-shaped dyke bulges within strongly deformed early Palaeozoic turbidites of the Melbourne trough. Porpylitic alteration accompanied dyke emplacement and was followed by microfracturing induced by high fluid pressures, involving CO₂ of magmatic origin, as the dykes solidified. Further stress caused through-going faults having ladder and other patterns. Isotopic studies suggest that metamorphically or geothermally-derived solutions filled the faults and other fractures with quartz and carbonate and altered immediately adjacent dyke rock. However earlier-formed vein and wall rock carbonates retained their magmatic isotopic composition. Fluid inclusions indicate vein deposition began at approximately 400°C with salinities up to 9 weight percent NaCl. Nine sulfide minerals and gold were deposited in the veins after ankerite, sericite and albite, while quartz deposition continued through all stages. Sulfur isotopic determinations indicate the vein sulfur could not have been derived from adjacent sedimentary rocks, nor exclusively from the dykes. Metamorphic waters of marine origin is a viable source for sulfur. Saline and CO₂-rich alkaline solutions reacted with the dyke wall rocks and probably evolved chemically prior to deposition of gold. Vug carbonates deposited by meteoric water that leached vein carbonates mark the end of vein formation.Present Adress: 631 Station Street, North Carlton 3054, Victoria, Australia     

New insights into the origin of early Cambrian carbonate-hosted Pb-Zn deposits in South China: A case study of the Maliping Pb-Zn deposit

The western margin of the Yangtze Block hosts the giant Upper Yangtze Pb-Zn metallogenic province, with the occurrence of >400 carbonate-hosted Pb-Zn deposits. More than 50% of these deposits are hosted in carbonate rocks of late Ediacaran to early Cambrian age. Although they have attracted great attention over the past two decades, it is still unclear why such carbonate sequences host so many Pb-Zn deposits and the role that the country rocks played during mineralization. The newly-discovered Maliping Pb-Zn deposit (~6 Mt @ 4.18 wt% Pb and 9.18 wt% Zn) is hosted in early Cambrian strata composed of carbonate and phosphate rocks, black shales, as well as evaporite sulfates, of which the carbonate rocks are the direct ore-hosting rocks. Evidence from mineralogy and the concentrations of ore-forming metals indicate that the phosphate rocks played an important role in providing geochemical barriers during Pb-Zn ore formation. Homogenization temperatures of the primary fluid inclusions in sphalerite and quartz range from 185 to 282 °C, and their salinities vary from 3.39 to 17.17 wt% NaCl equiv. The REE and C-O isotopes imply that the hydrothermal carbonates were formed under relatively oxidizing conditions and that the wall rocks were involved in the Pb-Zn mineralization through dissolution. Sulfur isotopic compositions (δ³⁴S = +7.60–+31.79‰) of sulfides reveal that S²⁻ originated from evaporite sulfates within the ore-hosting strata, and that the black shales acted as an important reducing agent during thermo-chemical reduction (TSR). Pb isotopic ratios of galena (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 17.856–17.973, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.668–15.689 and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 37.953–38.101) are similar to those of Proterozoic basement rocks in the region. This implies that the basement could be the key source of mineralizing metals. Hence, we propose that: (i) The favorable lithological combination of early Cambrian phosphate rocks, black shales, carbonates and evaporites, as well as Proterozoic basement in the area, were responsible for controlling the majority of Pb-Zn deposits in the late Ediacaran-early Cambrian carbonate sequences in the western Yangtze Block; and (ii) the Maliping Pb-Zn deposit resulted from a combination of mineralized fluids, various trap structures and favorable lithologies, of which the fluids were epigenetic with low to moderate temperatures and salinities.     

Characteristic Features of REE and Pb–Zn–Ag Mineralizations in the Na Son Deposit,Northeastern Vietnam

The Na Son deposit is a small‐scale Pb–ZnPb–Zn–Ag deposit in northeast Vietnam and consists of biotite–chlorite schist, reddish altered rocks, quartz veins and syenite. The biotite–chlorite schist is intruded by syenite. Reddish altered rocks occur as an alteration halo between the biotite–allanite‐bearing quartz veins and the biotite–chlorite schist. Allanite occurs in the biotite–allanite‐bearing quartz veins and in the proximal reddish altered rocks. Rare earth element (REE) fluorocarbonate minerals occur along fractures or at rim of allanite crystals. The later horizontal aggregates of sulfide veins and veinlets cut the earlier reddish altered rocks. The earlier Pb–Zn veins consist of a large amount of galena and lesser amounts of sphalerite, pyrite and molybdenite. The later Cu veins cutting the Pb–Zn veins include chalcopyrite and lesser amounts of tetrahedrite and pyrite. The occurrences of two‐phase H₂O–CO₂ fluid inclusions in quartz from biotite–allanite‐bearing quartz veins and REE‐bearing fluorocarbonate minerals in allanite suggest the presence of CO₂ and F in the hydrothermal fluid. The oxygen isotopic ratios of the reddish altered rocks, biotite–chlorite schist, and syenite range from +13.9 to +14.9 ‰, +11.5 to +13.3 ‰, and +10.1 to +11.6 ‰, respectively. Assuming an isotopic equilibrium between quartz (+14.6 to +15.8 ‰) and biotite (+8.6 ‰) in the biotite–allanite‐bearing quartz vein, formation temperature was estimated to be 400°C. At 400°C, δ¹⁸O values of the hydrothermal fluid in equilibrium with quartz and biotite range from +10.5 to +11.7 ‰. These δ¹⁸O values are consistent with fluid that is derived from metamorphism. Assuming an isotopic equilibrium between galena (+1.5 to +1.7 ‰) and chalcopyrite (+3.4 ‰), the formation temperature was estimated to be approximately 300°C. The formation temperature of the Na Son deposit decreased with the progress of mineralization. Based on the geological data, occurrence of REE‐bearing minerals and oxygen isotopic ratios, the REE mineralization is thought to result from interaction between biotite–chlorite schist and REE‐, CO₂‐ and F‐bearing metamorphic fluid at 400°C under a rock‐dominant condition.     

Geological and Geochemical Characteristics of Gold Mineralization in the Salu Bulo Prospect,Sulawesi, Indonesia

The Salu Bulo prospect is one of the gold prospects in the Awak Mas project in the central part of the western province, Sulawesi, Indonesia. The gold mineralization is hosted by the meta‐sedimentary rocks intercalated with the meta‐volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the Latimojong Metamorphic Complex. The ores are approximately three meters thick, consisting of veins, stockwork, and breccias. The veins can be classified into three stages, namely, early, main, and late stages, and gold mineralization is related to the main stage. The mineral assemblage of the matrix of breccia and the veins are both composed of quartz, carbonate (mainly ankerite), and albite. High‐grade gold ores in the Salu Bulo prospect are accompanied by intense alteration, such as carbonatization, albitization, silicification, and sulfidation along the main stage veins and breccia. Alteration mineral assemblage includes ankerite ± calcite, quartz, albite, and pyrite along with minor sericite. Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral that is spatially related to native gold and electrum (<2–42 μm in size). It is more abundant as dissemination in the altered host rocks than those in veins. This suggests that water–rock interaction played a role to precipitate pyrite and Au in the Salu Bulo prospect. The Au contents of intensely altered host rocks and ores have positive correlations with Ag, Ni, Mo, and Na. Fluid inclusions in the veins of the main stage and the matrix of breccia are mainly two‐phase liquid‐rich inclusions with minor two‐phase, vapor‐rich, and single‐phase liquid or vapor inclusions. CO₂ and N₂ gases are detected in the fluid inclusions by Laser Raman microspectrometry. Fluid boiling probably occurred when the fluid was trapped at approximately 120–190 m below the paleo water table. δ¹⁸O_SMOW values of fluid, +5.8 and +7.6‰, calculated from δ¹⁸O_SMOW of quartz from the main stage vein indicate oxygen isotopic exchange with wall rocks during deep circulation. δ³⁴S_CDT of pyrite narrowly ranges from ?2.0 to +3.4‰, suggesting a single source of sulfur. Gold mineralization in the Salu Bulo prospect occurred in an epithermal condition, after the metamorphism of the host rocks. It formed at a relatively shallow depth from fluids with low to moderate salinity (3.0–8.5 wt% NaCl equiv.). The temperature and pressure of ore formation range from 190 to 210°C and 1.2 to 1.9 MPa, respectively.     

Tourmaline geochemistry and boron isotopic variations as a guide to fluid evolution in the Qiman Tagh W-Sn belt,East Kunlun,China

The Qiman Tagh W-Sn belt lies in the westernmost section of the East Kunlun Orogen, NW China, and is associated with early Paleozoic monzogranites, tourmaline is present throughout this belt. In this paper we report chemical and boron isotopic compositions of tourmaline from wall rocks, monzogranites, and quartz veins within the belt, for studying the evolution of ore-forming fluids. Tourmaline crystals hosted in the monzogranite and wall rocks belong to the alkali group, while those hosted in quartz veins belong to both the alkali and X-site vacancy groups. Tourmaline in the walk rocks lies within the schorl-dravite series and becomes increasingly schorlitic in the monzogranite and quartz veins. Detrital tourmaline in the wall rocks is commonly both optically and chemically zoned,with cores being enriched in Mg compared with the rims. In the Al-Fe-Mg and Ca-Fe-Mg diagrams,tourmaline from the wall rocks plots in the fields of Al-saturated and Ca-poor metapelite, and extends into the field of Li-poor granites, while those from the monzogranite and quartz veins lie within the field of Li-poor granites. Compositional substitution is best represented by the MgFe_(-1), Al(NaR)_(-1), and AlO(Fe(OH))_(-1) exchange vectors. A wider range of δ~(11)B values from -11.1‰ to -7.1‰ is observed in the wall-rock tourmaline crystals, the B isotopic values combining with elemental diagrams indicate a source of metasediments without marine evaporates for the wall rocks in the Qiman Tagh belt. The δ~(11)B values of monzogranite-hosted tourmaline range from -10.7‰ and-9.2‰, corresponding to the continental crust sediments, and indicate a possible connection between the wall rocks and the monzogranite. The overlap in δ~(11)B values between wall rocks and monzogranite implies that a transfer of δ~(11)B values by anataxis with little isotopic fractionation between tourmaline and melts. Tourmaline crystals from quartz veins have δ~(11)B values between -11.0‰ and-9.6‰, combining with the elemental diagrams and geological features, thus indicating a common granite-derived source for the quartz veins and little B isotopic fractionation occurred. Tourmalinite in the wall rocks was formed by metasomatism by a granite-derived hydrothermal fluid, as confirmed by the compositional and geological features.Therefore, we propose a single B-rich sedimentary source in the Qiman Tagh belt, and little boron isotopic fractionation occurred during systematic fluid evolution from the wall rocks, through monzogranite, to quartz veins and tourmalinite.     

Incipient metamorphism and deformation in the Variscides of SW Dyfed, Wales: first steps towards isotopic equilibrium

Incipient metamorphism accompanying thrusting, folding and cleavage development has been investigated in a varied sequence of Palaeozoic sediments near the Variscan front in SW Dyfed, Wales. The aim was to evaluate a critical stage in the progression from heterogeneous sediment, whose detrital phases are neither in equilibrium with one another, nor with pore fluids, through indurated sedimentary rock to metamorphic rock comprising newly formed crystals that equilibrated with one another as they grew. Quartz veins are widely developed in the area, especially in the more psammitic lithologies, while finer grained rocks became cleaved during tectonic deformation. Mineralogical constraints and fluid inclusion measurements suggest maximum temperatures around 200-310d? C (slightly higher in the Marloes-Musselwick Thrust Sheet than in other parts of the structural succession) at depths of the order of 6-13 km. Quartz veins yield distinctly heavier oxygen isotopic compositions than detrital quartz grains in the adjacent wall rocks, although care must be taken in interpreting the data because slivers of detrital grains may become incorporated into veins, while matrix detrital grains may incorporate veinlets or rims of newly formed quartz. It is concluded that vein quartz grew in isotopic equilibrium with a fluid phase whose isotopic composition was primarily controlled by exchange with phyllosilicates, not detrital quartz grains. Vein and matrix quartzes from the Marloes-Musselwick Thrust Sheet are distinctly lighter (δ¹⁸O_veins=+14 to +18% and δ¹⁸O_matrix=+11 to +14%) than those from other thrust sheets (δ¹⁸O =+17 to +20% and +14 to +17%, respectively). We conclude that vein quartz and phyllosilicate grains in cleavage domains probably attained equilibrium with a locally buffered pore fluid at the peak of metamorphism, but many relict grains of different chemical and isotopic composition remained elsewhere in the rock. Local fluid migration along veins and through cleavage lamellae facilitated the attainment of equilibrium, but there is little evidence for large-scale infiltration of externally derived fluids. With further metamorphism the quartz in these rocks would attain an isotopic composition intermediate between that of the heavy vein material and light detritus which coexist here.     

Isotopic Geochronology of the Late Paleozoic Kanggur Gold Deposit of East Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang, NW China

Abstract: The Kanggur gold deposit lies in East Tianshan mountains, eastern section of Central Asia orogenic belt. The gold mineralization occurs on the northern margin of the Aqishan‐Yamansu Paleozoic island arc in the Tarim Plate. It was hosted mainly in Middle‐Lower Carboniferous calc‐alkaline volcanic rocks, and controlled by the distributions of syn‐tectonic intrusions and ductile shear zones. In order to determine ore‐forming age of the Kanggur deposit, samples were collected from ores, wall rocks, altered rocks and intrusions. The dating methods include Rb‐Sr isochron and Sm‐Nd isochron, and secondly ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age spectrum, U‐Pb and Pb‐Pb methods. Based on the mineral assemblage and crosscutting relationship of ore veins, five mineralization stages are identified. This result is confirmed by isotope geochronologic data. The first stage featuring formation of pyrite‐bearing phyllic rock, is mineralogically represented by pyrite, sericite and quartz with poor native gold. The Rb‐Sr isochron age of this stage is 2905 Ma. The second stage represents the main ore‐forming stage and is characterized by native gold–quartz–pyrite–magnetite–chlorite assemblage. Magnetite and pyrite of this stage are dated by Sm‐Nd isochron at 290.47.2 Ma and fluid inclusion in quartz is dated by Rb‐Sr isochron at 282.35 Ma. The third mineralization stage features native gold–quartz–pyrite vein. In the fourth stage, Au‐bearing polymetallic sulfide‐quartz veins formed. Fluid inclusions in quartz are dated by Rb‐Sr isochron method at 25821 Ma. The fifth stage is composed of sulfide‐free quartz–carbonate veins with Rb‐Sr age of 2547 Ma. The first and second stages are related to ductile‐brittle deformation of shear zones, and are named dynamo‐metamorphic hydrothermal period. The third to fifth stages related to intrusive processes of tonalite and brittle fracturing of the shear zones, are called magmato‐hydrothermal mineralization period. The Rb‐Sr isochron age of 2905 Ma of the altered andesite in the Kanggur mine area may reflect timing of regional ductile shear zone. The Rb‐Sr isochron age of 28216 Ma of the quartz‐syenite porphyry and the zircon U‐Pb age of 2757 Ma of tonalite in the north of Kanggur gold mine area are consistent with the age of gold mineralization (290‐254 Ma). This correspondence indicates that the tonalite and subvolcanic rocks may have been related to gold mineralization. The Rb–Sr, Sm‐Nd and U‐Pb ages and regional geology support the hypothesis that the Kanggur gold deposit was formed during collisional orogenesis process in Late Variscan.     

Geology,geochemistry, and genesis of Axi: A Paleozoic low-sulfidation type epithermal gold deposit in Xinjiang,China

Axi is a low-sulfidation type epithermal gold deposit hosted in Paleozoic subaerial volcanic rocks in the western Tianshan orogenic belt, Xinjiang, China. The resource is more than 50 t gold at an average grade of > 4.4 ppm. The deposit occurs in the Tulasu volcanic fault-basin in the Paleozoic active continental margin on the northern side of the Yili-Central Tianshan plate. The host rocks are andesitic volcaniclastic rocks of the Paleozoic Dahalajunshan Formation, and the orebodies occur as veins in annular faults of a paleocaldera. Mineralization at Axi can be subdivided into five stages: quartz and/or chalcedony vein, quartz vein, quartz-carbonate vein, sulfide vein and carbonate vein. There are two types of ore host: quartz vein and altered rocks. Ore minerals are native gold, electrum, pyrite, marcasite, arsenopyrite, hematite, limonite, and trace amounts of pyrargyrite, polybasite, naumannite, cerargyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, tetrahedrite, galena, pyrrhotite and clausthalite; gangue minerals are mainly quartz, chalcedony, illite, calcite, siderite, dolomite, adularia and laumontite. The main wall-rock alteration is silicification and phyllic alteration, carbonatization and propylitization. The deposit is characterized by an enrichment, relative to crustal abundance, of Au, Ag, As, Sb, Bi, Hg, Se, Te and Mo, depletion in base metals (Cu, Pb, and Zn), and a low Ag/Au ratio (0.5–3.7).Three types of fluid inclusions were recognized in quartz from the major mineralization stages: liquid aqueous inclusions, liquid-rich two-phase inclusions and small amounts of vapor-rich two-phase inclusions. Microthermometric measurements indicate that the final ice melting temperatures are − 0.3 to − 4.4 °C, corresponding to salinities of 0.5–6.9 wt.% NaCl equiv. (2.2 wt.% NaCl equiv. in average). The peak temperatures of ice melting varies from − 0.4 to − 1.9 °C, corresponding to salinities of 0.7–3.1 wt.% NaCl equiv. Homogenization temperatures range mainly between 120 and 240 °C, with an average of 190 °C and a maximum of 335 °C. The fluid density is 0.73 to 0.95 g/cm³ and thus the estimated maximum mineralization depth is about 700 m.Hydrogen and oxygen isotopic compositions of the ore fluids lie within a narrow range: δD_H2O is − 98 to − 116‰ and δ¹⁸O_H2O − 1.8 to 0.4‰. ³He/⁴He ranges from 0.0218 to 0.138 Ra, with an average of 0.044 Ra, indicating that He derived predominantly from crust with negligible mantle He in the ore fluids. By contrast, the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ranges from 317.7 to 866.0, suggesting that crust-derived radioactive ⁴⁰Ar⁎ accounts for 7.0 to 66%, and atmospheric ⁴⁰Ar about 43 to 93% in the ore fluids. Hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, sulfur and noble gas isotopes indicate that the ore-forming fluids of the Axi gold deposit consisted predominantly of circulating meteoric water. Ore-forming metals may have derived mainly from the host volcaniclastic rocks of the Dahalajunshan Formation and basement rocks. The occurrence of adularia, platy calcite, and quartz or sulfide aggregates as pseudomorphs after bladed calcite in ore veins, and occurrence of aqueous liquid, and liquid-rich and vapor-rich two-phase inclusions, indicates that boiling of the ore-forming fluid have occurred, leading to supersaturation of the hydrothermal solution and deposition of ore metals. This is the main mineralization mechanism for quartz-vein type ores in Axi. The ore-forming fluid was buffered to a near-neutral pH in a reduced environment during mineralization. The preservation of this Paleozoic Axi deposit and its discovery required a rapid accumulation of sediments in the basin after formation of the deposit, and minimal amount of erosion after Late Cenozoic uplift.     

陕西西沟钼矿床辉钼矿Re-Os年代学和同位素地球化学特征及其地质意义

西沟钼矿床是东秦岭黄龙铺地区近些年新发现和勘查的碳酸岩脉型钼矿床。钼矿体主要赋存于新太古界太华群变质岩内的石英方解石碳酸岩脉中,呈脉状、似层状或透镜状产出。辉钼矿主要呈浸染状、薄膜状、团块状分布于石英方解石碳酸岩脉中,成矿有关的围岩蚀变有钾长石化、硅化、黄铁矿化、萤石化、硬石膏化等。为查明西沟钼矿床的成矿时代、成矿物质来源、成矿机制、确定矿床类型,文章开展了辉钼矿Re-Os同位素测年,同位素地球化学分析。6件辉钼矿样品Re-Os同位素测年结果,模式年龄为(222.3±3.4)Ma～(226.6±3.7)Ma;加权平均年龄为(225.1±1.4)Ma;等时线年龄为(224.6±9.1)Ma,表明该矿床形成于晚三叠世。硫化物和硫酸盐的S同位素组成、重晶石和方解石Sr-Nd同位素组成及方解石C-O同位素组成均指示:西沟钼矿的成矿物质可能主要来源于地幔。根据其与华北陆块南缘其他碳酸岩型钼矿床地质特征、成矿时代和成矿物质来源等对比,确定西沟钼矿床属碳酸岩型脉状矿床。成矿作用发生于扬子板块与华北板块碰撞造山的后碰撞伸展环境,由于软流圈物质上涌诱发富集岩石圈地幔发生低程度部分熔融,所形成的碳酸质流体携带钼等成矿物质上升,在NW-NWW向深断裂带沉淀富集成矿。     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987115000900

The Chertovo Koryto gold deposit(80 t Au at 1.84 g/t) in the Lena world-class province,Siberia,is hosted in a metamorphosed sequence of the Paleoproterozoic Mikhailovsk Formation that comprises the oldest black shale strata of the Baikal-Patom region.The mineralisation is confined to the thrust zone complicated with a conjugate anticline fold,zones of shearing and dislocation.The struaural position of the mineralisation is similar to that at the giant Sukhoi Log deposit in the neighbouring Mama-Bodaibo zone.In the latter,the isotope age data suggest that Khomolkho black shales,hosts to Sukhoi Log mineralisation,are of Ediacaran age and underwent prograde metamorphism during early Paleozoic.The geochemical composition of the terrigenous rocks that host Sukhoi Log,Chertovo Koryto,and a number of other deposits at the various stratigraphic levels throughout the Proterozoic sequence have much in common.They do not show elevated metal contents above the common black shale abundances,except for Au and As,which is at variance with the accepted view on diagenetic enrichment of black shales in the Lena province.The occurrence of sagenitic rutile in quartz and chlorite pseudomorphs after biotite and other petrographic observations provide evidence on a retrograde nature of the metamorphic mineral assemblages in the Mikhailovsk rocks.The sulphides are pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite with very minor pyrite at Chertovo Koryto,whereas pyrite is the predominant sulphide in the Sukhoi Log ore.Fluid inclusion data on both deposits emphasise a high-temperature nature of the mineralisation albeit revealing great contrast in the fluid composition.Sukhoi Log mineralisation was formed at mixing between low-salinity aqueous solutions and dense gaseous carbonic fluids,which facilitated effective gold scavenging and precipitation,as demonstrated by thermodynamic simulation.The precursory devolatilisation of the Mikhailovsk sediments at the prograde stage results in the paucity of gaseous carbonic fluid during retrograde metamorphism and mineralisation.The similarity in the styles and chemical parameters of mineralisation,and the predominant structural control of ore localisation within the same Precambrian regional tectonic unit support an idea that orogenic gold mineralisation in the Lena province was produced during a single early Paleozoic event.     

The nature of gold-bearing fluids in Atud gold deposit,Central Eastern Desert,Egypt

Electron microprobe analyses of gold and associated ore minerals as well as stable isotope analyses of sulphide and carbonate minerals were performed in order to determine the metal and fluid sources and temperature of the mineralizing systems to better understand the genesis of the Atud gold deposit hosted in the metagabbro–diorite complex of Gabal Atud (Central Eastern Desert, Egypt). The gold can be classified as electrum (63.6–74.3 wt.% Au and 24.6–26.6 wt.% Ag) and is associated with arsenopyrite and As-bearing pyrite in the main mineralization (gold-sulphides) phase within the main mineralized quartz veins and altered host rocks. Based on the arsenopyrite geothermometer, As-contents (29.3–32.7 atom%) in arsenopyrite point to deposition in the Log ?_S2 and T ranges of ?10.5 to ?5.5 and 305–450°C, respectively, during the main mineralizing phase. Based on the δ³⁴S isotopic compositions of the sulphides, they are originated from magmatic fluids in which the sulphur is either sourced directly from magma or remobilized from the magmatic rocks (gabbroic rocks). On the other hand, calcite formed from fluids having mainly magmatic mixed with variable metamorphic signatures based on its δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values. This work concluded that the gold-bearing ores at Atud deposit have magmatic sources leaching from the country intrusive rocks during water/rock interactions then remobilized during a metamorphic event. Therefore, the Atud gold deposit is classified as an intrusion-related gold deposit, in which the gabbro–diorite host intrusion acted as the source of metals which were mobilized and deposited as a result of the effects of NW–SE shearing.     

Gold Mineralization in Banded Iron Formation in the Amalia Greenstone Belt,South Africa: A Mineralogical and Sulfur Isotope Study

The Blue Dot gold deposit, located in the Archean Amalia greenstone belt of South Africa, is hosted in an oxide (± carbonate) facies banded iron formation (BIF). It consists of three stratabound orebodies; Goudplaats, Abelskop, and Bothmasrust. The orebodies are flanked by quartz‐chlorite‐ferroan dolomite‐albite schist in the hanging wall and mafic (volcanic) schists in the footwall. Alteration minerals associated with the main hydrothermal stage in the BIF are dominated by quartz, ankerite‐dolomite series, siderite, chlorite, muscovite, sericite, hematite, pyrite, and minor amounts of chalcopyrite and arsenopyrite. This study investigates the characteristics of gold mineralization in the Amalia BIF based on ore textures, mineral‐chemical data and sulfur isotope analysis. Gold mineralization of the Blue Dot deposit is associated with quartz‐carbonate veins that crosscut the BIF layering. In contrast to previous works, petrographic evidence suggests that the gold mineralization is not solely attributed to replacement reactions between ore fluid and the magnetite or hematite in the host BIF because coarse hydrothermal pyrite grains do not show mutual replacement textures of the oxide minerals. Rather, the parallel‐bedded and generally chert‐hosted pyrites are in sharp contact with re‐crystallized euhedral to subhedral magnetite ± hematite grains, and the nature of their coexistence suggests that pyrite (and gold) precipitation was contemporaneous with magnetite–hematite re‐crystallization. The Fe/(Fe+Mg) ratio of the dolomite–ankerite series and chlorite decreased from veins through mineralized BIF and non‐mineralized BIF, in contrast to most Archean BIF‐hosted gold deposits. This is interpreted to be due to the effect of a high sulfur activity and increase in fO₂ in a H₂S‐dominant fluid during progressive fluid‐rock interaction. High sulfur activity of the hydrothermal fluid fixed pyrite in the BIF by consuming Fe²⁺ released into the chert layers and leaving the co‐precipitating carbonates and chlorites with less available ferrous iron content. Alternatively, the occurrence of hematite in the alteration assemblage of the host BIF caused a structural limitation in the assignment of Fe³⁺ in chlorite which favored the incorporation of magnesium (rather than ferric iron) in chlorite under increasing fO₂ conditions, and is consistent with deposits hosted in hematite‐bearing rocks. The combined effects of reduction in sulfur contents due to sulfide precipitation and increasing fO₂ during progressive fluid‐rock interactions are likely to be the principal factors to have caused gold deposition. Arsenopyrite–pyrite geothermometry indicated a temperature range of 300–350°C for the associated gold mineralization. The estimated δ³⁴S_ΣS (= +1.8 to +2.5‰) and low base metal contents of the sulfide ore mineralogy are consistent with sulfides that have been sourced from magma or derived by the dissolution of magmatic sulfides from volcanic rocks during fluid migration.     

Nature and genesis of a carbonatite-associated fluorite deposit at Speewah, East Kimberley region, Western Australia

Summary The Speewah fluorite deposit (>2.28Mt at 25.5% CaF₂) is sited adjacent to the crustal-scale Greenvale Fault on the western side of the Halls Creek Orogen, in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia. Host rocks are Palaeoproterozoic sedimentary rocks, dolerite and granophyre, Early Cambrian basalt, and the Yungul carbonatite. The deposit comprises mainly fluorite–quartz veins associated with lesser barite, sulfides and calcite, controlled by NNE–SSW and N–S brittle faults and fractures. Cross-cutting field relationships indicate that the fluorite veins were deposited post Early Cambrian.Fluorite–quartz vein textures, including colloform banding and comb texture, combined with microthermometric data from primary fluid inclusions, indicate that fluorite was deposited by the incremental infill of open-space structures in an epizonal, and probably epithermal, environment (<160°C) from complex, Li–Ca–Mg-rich, highly saline ore-fluids.The Yungul carbonatite and intimately-associated replacement-type fluorite have similar levels of REE enrichment and identical chondrite-normalised HREE patterns. Samarium and neodymium isotopic analyses of the fluorite indicate extreme differentiation of the ¹⁴⁷Sm/¹⁴⁴Nd ratio, from 0.0709 to 0.6918. These Sm–Nd isotopic data correspond to a mineral isochron with an age of 122±24Ma, interpreted to represent the age of fluorite deposition.Based on the potentially magmatic fluid composition, the replacement-type fluorite within the carbonatite, the similar HREE patterns of fluorite and carbonatite, and direct, if imprecise, isotopic dating of the fluorite, which confirms that fluorite mineralization is younger than the Early Cambrian basalts, the Speewah fluorite deposit is interpreted to be genetically related to the Yungul carbonatite. The large fluorite resource cannot have been derived from the exposed, low-volume carbonatite dyke. Rather, it must have been sourced from a larger carbonatite body at depth, whose presence is implied from basement-derived xenocrystic zircons in the Yungul carbonatite.     

Genetic aspects of gold mineralization in the Southern Granulite Terrain,India

Gold mineralization in Southern Granulite Terrain (SGT) of India has close spatial relationship with the shear zones (Moyar–Bhavani) present in Cauvery Suture Zone. Gold is found to be associated with primary quartz veins, placers and laterites. The gold prospects in SGT can be broadly grouped into three provinces i) Wynad-Nilgiri, ii) Malappuram and iii) Attappadi. The auriferous quartz veins are within the deformed biotite/hornblende bearing gneisses and amphibolite. Wall rock alteration is conspicuous around the mineralized veins and gives an assemblage of muscovite–calcite–ankerite–chlorite–biotite–pyrite related to fluid–rock interaction at the time of vein formation. Fluid inclusion studies of vein quartz gives an idea of the nature of the ore forming fluids, the fluid involved in gold mineralization is of low saline and aqueous-carbonic in composition and quite similar to the orogenic lode gold deposits reported world-wide. Micro-thermometric data indicates fluid immiscibility (phase separation) during trapping of fluid inclusions and this must have played an important role in gold deposition. Geochronological studies of mineral separates from Wynad-Nilgiri province using Rb–Sr and Sm–Nd isochron methods of the auriferous quartz veins gave an age of approximately 450 Ma for the vein formation. The present studies on SGT gold mineralization indicate 1. During the Pan-African orogeny, extensive fluid influx from mantle and metamorphism extracted gold from a mafic source and were focused along major structural discontinuities of Moyar–Bhavani Shear Zone, 2. The aqueous–carbonic ore fluid interacted with rocks of the upper crust and triggered a set of metasomatic changes responsible for the dissolved components such as Ca, Si and Fe and finally precipitating in the veins and 3. The mineralizing fluid with dissolved gold in sulphide complex got destabilized due to fluid immiscibility and wall rock alteration leading to the deposition of gold with associated sulphide minerals in the vein system.     

Lead isotopic composition from data of high-precession MC-ICP-MS and sources of matter in the large-scale Sukhoi Log noble metal deposit,Russia

The lead isotopic composition of 33 sulfide samples from orebodies of the Sukhoi Log deposit was studied by high-precession MC-ICP-MS with a precision of ±0.02% (±2SD from 120 analyses of the SRM 981 standard sample). The deposit is located in the Bodaibo gold mining district in the northern Baikal-Patom Highland. Gold mineralization is hosted in Neoproterosoic black slates. Variations of lead isotope ratios of the Sukhoi Log sulfides are generally typical of Phanerozoic deposits and ore fields. They are significant for ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb (17.903–18.674), moderate for ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb (37.822–38.457), and relatively narrow for ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb (15.555–15.679). In the Pb-Pb isotope diagrams, the data points of pyrite and galena constitute a linear trend. The points corresponding to pyrite from metasomatic ore occupy the left lower part of the trend. Galena from late gold-quartz veins shows more radiogenic Pb, and corresponding data points are located in the upper part of the trend. According to the Stacey-Kramers model, the end points of the trend, which is regarded as a mixing line, have μ₂ = 9.6 and μ₂ = 13.2 and model Pb-Pb ages 455 and 130 Ma, respectively. The isotope characteristics of ore lead, their relationships in pyrite and galena, and the mixing trend of Pb isotopic compositions are clearly tied to two Paleozoic stages in the formation of the Sukhoi Log deposit (447 ± 6 and 321 ± 14Ma) and testify to the leading role of crustal sources, which are suggested as being the Neoproterozoic black-shale terrigenous-carbonate rocks.     

Role of basement in epithermal deposits: The Kushikino and Hishikari gold deposits,southwestern Japan

The magma–ore deposit relationship of most low-sulfidation epithermal ore deposits is still unclear, partly because many stable isotopic studies of such deposits have indicated the predominance of meteoric waters within hydrothermal fluids. However, it is certainly true that hydrothermal systems are ultimately driven by magmatic intrusions, and epithermal gold deposits might therefore be produced by magmatic activity even in deposits having has no obvious links to a magma. We re-examine the genesis of two typical low-sulfidation epithermal gold deposits, the Kushikino and Hishikari deposits, using structural simulations and isotope data.Many epithermal gold deposits including the Kushikino and Hishikari deposits have been discovered in Kyushu, southwestern Japan. The Kushikino deposit comprises fissure-filling veins within Neogene andesitic volcanics that overlie unconformably Cretaceous sedimentary basement. The veins consist of gold- and silver-bearing quartz and calcite with minor amounts of adularia, sericite and sulfides. Although carbon and oxygen isotopic data for the veins indicate a meteoric origin of the ore fluid, finite element simulations suggest that the vein system might have formed in direct response to magma intrusion. In particular, geophysical data suggest that intruding magma has uplifted the basement rocks, thereby producing fractures and veins and a positive Bouguer anomaly, and providing the heat necessary to drive an ore-forming hydrothermal system.The second component of this study has been to investigate the nature and evolution of the Kushikino and Hishikari epithermal systems. Isotope data document the geochemical evolution of the hydrothermal fluids. We conclude that the existence of sedimentary basement rocks at depth might have affected the strontium and carbon isotopic ratios of the Kushikino and Hishikari ore fluids. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and δ¹³C–δ¹⁸O trend reveal that major ore veins in the Hishikari deposit can be distinguished from shallow barren veins. It was suggested isotopically that fluids responsible for the barren veins in nearby shallow and barren circulation systems were only controlled by the shallow host rocks. Such multi-isotope systematics provide a powerful tool with which to determine the center of hydrothermal activity and thereby document the evolution of hydrothermal fluids.     

Role of basement in epithermal deposits: The Kushikino and Hishikari gold deposits, southwestern Japan

The magma–ore deposit relationship of most low-sulfidation epithermal ore deposits is still unclear, partly because many stable isotopic studies of such deposits have indicated the predominance of meteoric waters within hydrothermal fluids. However, it is certainly true that hydrothermal systems are ultimately driven by magmatic intrusions, and epithermal gold deposits might therefore be produced by magmatic activity even in deposits having has no obvious links to a magma. We re-examine the genesis of two typical low-sulfidation epithermal gold deposits, the Kushikino and Hishikari deposits, using structural simulations and isotope data.Many epithermal gold deposits including the Kushikino and Hishikari deposits have been discovered in Kyushu, southwestern Japan. The Kushikino deposit comprises fissure-filling veins within Neogene andesitic volcanics that overlie unconformably Cretaceous sedimentary basement. The veins consist of gold- and silver-bearing quartz and calcite with minor amounts of adularia, sericite and sulfides. Although carbon and oxygen isotopic data for the veins indicate a meteoric origin of the ore fluid, finite element simulations suggest that the vein system might have formed in direct response to magma intrusion. In particular, geophysical data suggest that intruding magma has uplifted the basement rocks, thereby producing fractures and veins and a positive Bouguer anomaly, and providing the heat necessary to drive an ore-forming hydrothermal system.The second component of this study has been to investigate the nature and evolution of the Kushikino and Hishikari epithermal systems. Isotope data document the geochemical evolution of the hydrothermal fluids. We conclude that the existence of sedimentary basement rocks at depth might have affected the strontium and carbon isotopic ratios of the Kushikino and Hishikari ore fluids. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and δ¹³C–δ¹⁸O trend reveal that major ore veins in the Hishikari deposit can be distinguished from shallow barren veins. It was suggested isotopically that fluids responsible for the barren veins in nearby shallow and barren circulation systems were only controlled by the shallow host rocks. Such multi-isotope systematics provide a powerful tool with which to determine the center of hydrothermal activity and thereby document the evolution of hydrothermal fluids.