Mineralogical and Geochemical Characteristics of the Utanobori Gold Deposit in Northern Hokkaido,Japan

The Utanobori gold deposit is a low‐sulfidation, epithermal vein‐type deposit located in northern Hokkaido, Japan. The deposit is hosted by conglomerate, sandstone, and tuff of the Middle to Late Miocene Esashi Formation. These rocks were hydrothermally altered. Silica sinters and quartz‐adularia veins are common in the deposit. The quartz‐adularia veins either contain a ginguro band, which corresponds to the main gold‐bearing vein (Type 1 Veins), or do not contain a ginguro band but contain minor adularia (Type 2 Veins). Type 1 Veins are divided into three stages with 12–14 substages. Ore minerals identified include electrum, naumannite, chlorargyrite, bromargyrite, an unidentified Fe‐Sb mineral, and an Fe‐(Sb)‐As mineral. These ore minerals formed in the main mineralization stages I (bands I‐b and I‐d) and II (band II‐a). Scanning electron microscopy with cathodoluminescence images show that cathodoluminescence‐dark microcrystalline quartz exhibiting colloform (ghost‐sphere) texture is closely associated with ore minerals in the Type 1 Vein and Type 2 Vein, and the Al and K contents of such quartz are commonly >1000 ppm. This indicates that the ore minerals were crystallized from alkaline, silica‐saturated fluids at temperatures <200°C, which initially deposited amorphous silica that was recrystallized to microcrystalline quartz. The average Au content of electrum is 52.5 at% Au (n = 10), 65.7 at% Au (n = 20), and 55.5 at% Au (n = 5) in bands I‐b, I‐d, and II‐a, respectively, of Type 1 Veins. The δ³⁴S_CDT values of two fine‐grained disseminated pyrites in the altered conglomerate and bedded tuff in the argillic altered zone are ?4.3 and ?4.2‰. Ar‐Ar dating on adularia yielded 13.6 ± 0.06 Ma, 13.6 ± 0.07 Ma, and 13.6 ± 0.06 Ma for the stages I, II, and III of the Type 1 Vein, respectively. K‐Ar ages determined on adularia in the silica sinter and on whole‐rock of glassy rhyolite of the Esashi Formation are 15.0 ± 0.4 Ma and 14.6 ± 0.4 Ma, respectively. These radiometric ages indicate that silica sinter associated with the rhyolitic volcanic rocks formed prior to the main gold mineralization.     

Characterization of drying-induced deformation behaviour of Opalinus Clay and tuff in no-stress regime

The drying-induced deformation behaviour of Opalinus Clay and tuff, which are being investigated under international and local collaborative projects for nuclear waste disposal in Switzerland and Japan, was investigated under a no-stress condition in the laboratory to evaluate their generic susceptibility to the formation of excavation damaged zone. The cylindrical core samples of Opalinus Clay and tuff were prepared to a one-dimensional drying condition and submitted to an uncontrolled laboratory environment. The strain evolution, evaporative water loss and environmental entities, such as temperature and relative humidity, were recorded simultaneously and quasi-continuously. It was observed that the drying phase induced significant strain magnitude and damage in Opalinus Clay samples, which was evidenced by the formation of hairy cracks on the surface parallel to the bedding. On the contrary, the strain occurrences in tuff samples were relatively insignificant, and no tendency of cracking was observed. In addition, the quasi-continuous availability of volumetric strains was further used in poroelastic relation for the estimation of capillary suction evolution. The calculated results were validated with pore size distributions obtained from mercury intrusion porosimetry.     

Overprinting porphyry‐type veinlets on the intrusive rocks and phreatomagmatic breccias in the Southwest prospect,southwestern Sto. Tomas II (Philex), Baguio District,Philippines

The Southwest prospect is located at the southwestern periphery of the Sto. Tomas II porphyry copper–gold deposit in the Baguio District, northwestern Luzon, Philippines. The Southwest prospect hosts a copper‐gold mineralization related to a complex of porphyry intrusions, breccia facies, and overlapping porphyry‐type veinlets emplaced within the basement Pugo metavolcanics rocks and conglomerates of the Zigzag Formation. The occurrences of porphyry‐type veinlets and potassic alteration hosted in the complex are thought to be indications of the presence of blind porphyry deposits within the Sto. Tomas II vicinity. The complex is composed of at least four broadly mineralogically similar dioritic intrusive rocks that vary in texture and alteration type and intensity. These intrusions were accompanied with at least five breccia facies that were formed by the explosive brecciation, induced by the magmatic–hydrothermal processes and phreatomagmatic activities during the emplacement of the various intrusions. Hydrothermal alteration assemblages consisting of potassic, chlorite–magnetite, propylitic and sericite–chlorite alteration, and contemporaneous veinlet types were developed on the host rocks. Elevated copper and gold grades correspond to (a) chalcopyrite–bornite assemblage in the potassic alteration in the syn‐mineralization early‐mineralization diorite (EMD) and contemporaneous veinlets and (b) chalcopyrite‐rich mineralization associated with the chalcopyrite–magnetite–chlorite–actinolite±sericite veinlets contemporaneous with the chlorite–magnetite alteration. Erratic remarkable concentrations of gold were also present in the late‐mineralization Late Diorite (LD). High X_Mg of calcic amphiboles (>0.60) in the intrusive rocks indicate that the magmas have been oxidizing since the early stages of crystallization, while a gap in the composition of Al between the rim and the cores of the calcic amphiboles in the EMD and LD indicate decompression at some point during the crystallization of these intrusive rocks. Fluid inclusion microthermometry suggests the trapping of immiscible fluids that formed the potassic alteration, associated ore mineralization, and sheeted quartz veinlets. The corresponding formation conditions of the shallower and deeper quartz veinlets were estimated at pressures of 50 and 30 MPa and temperatures of 554 and 436°C at depths of 1.9 and 1.1 km. Temperature data from the chlorite indicate that the chalcopyrite‐rich mineralization associated with the chlorite–magnetite alteration was formed at a much lower temperature (ca. 290°C) than the potassic alteration. Evidence from the vein offsetting matrix suggests multiple intrusions within the EMD, despite the K‐Ar ages of the potassic alteration in EMD and hornblende in the LD of about the same age at 3.5 ± 0.3 Ma. The K‐Ar age of the potassic alteration was likely to be thermally reset as a result of the overprinting hydrothermal alteration. The constrained K‐Ar ages also indicate earlier formed intrusive rocks in the Southwest prospect, possibly coeval to the earliest “dark diorite” intrusion in the Sto. Tomas II deposit. In addition, the range of δ³⁴S of sulfide minerals from +1.8‰ to +5.1‰ in the Southwest prospect closely overlaps with the rest of the porphyry copper and epithermal deposits in the Sto. Tomas II deposit and its vicinity. This indicates that the sulfides may have formed from a homogeneous source of the porphyry copper deposits and epithermal deposits in the Sto. Tomas II orebody and its vicinity. The evidence presented in this work proves that the porphyry copper‐type veinlets and the adjacent potassic alteration in the Southwest prospect are formed earlier and at a shallower level in contrast with the other porphyry deposits in the Baguio District.     

Asia-Pacific mussel watch: monitoring contamination of persistent organochlorine compounds in coastal waters of Asian countries

Contamination of persistent organochlorines (OCs) such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), DDT and its metabolites (DDTs), HCH (hexachlorocyclohexane) isomers (HCHs), chlordane compounds (CHLs), and HCB (hexachlorobenzene) were examined in mussels collected from coastal waters of Asian countries such as Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Far East Russia, Singapore, and Vietnam in 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2001 to elucidate the contamination status, distribution and possible pollution sources and to assess the risks on aquatic organisms and human. OCs were detected in all mussels collected from all the sampling sites investigated. Considerable residue levels of p,p(')-DDT and alpha-HCH were found in mussels and the concentrations of DDTs and HCHs found in mussels from Asian developing countries were higher than those in developed nations suggesting present usage of DDTs and HCHs along the coastal waters of Asian developing countries. On the other hand, lower concentrations of PCBs detected in mussels from Asian developing countries than those in developed countries indicate that PCBs contamination in mussels is strongly related to industrial and activities. To our knowledge, this is a first comprehensive report on monitoring OCs pollution in the Asia-Pacific region.