The Pokrovskoe gold-silver deposit (Amur Region): Geological settings, formation factors, and ore mineralogy

The Pokrovskoe gold-silver deposit is explored by drill holes. Its gently dipping orebodies (lodes) revealed by core sampling are quarry mined. It is considered that they also consist of gently dipping quartz veins and vein-stringer zones. The performed investigation of the terraces in the exploited quarries made it possible to correct the available present-day concepts. It is shown that their structure is dominated by steeply dipping veins and vein-stringer zones. They are characterized by the northeastern strike in the central part of the deposit and its western flank and the mostly northwestern one in its eastern part. An important role in the formation and distribution of the orebodies belongs to various geological screens poorly permeable for fluids. The main factors responsible for the ore localization in screened hydrogeological systems are revealed with the assessment of the thermal impact of a dacite sill on the formation of the ore-hosting cavities and ore deposition. The electron microscope investigation of the ores substantially widened the spectrum of ore minerals previously unknown in this deposit, including gold-bearing varieties (copper gold and its complex intermetallic compounds). Based on the dominant micrometer sizes of all the ore minerals and their dispersion within the quartz matrix, it is inferred that the deposition of productive ores occurred in nonequilibrium environments.