Alteration, mineralization, and metamorphism in the area of the East South "C" ore zone, 24th level of the Dickenson mine, Red Lake, northwestern Ontario

Abstract

The area of the East South "C" (ESC) orebody of the Dickenson mine, Red Lake, consists of variably altered and mineralized basalt, basaltic volcaniclastic rocks, minor sulphidic iron formation, and a series of mainly postdeformation dykes. Except for the dykes, the rocks are in general well foliated. The macroscopic structural geometry of the stratiform rocks has been determined to a large extent by movement on schistosity-parallel faults.Three broad types of mineralization or alteration are recognized: an Na–Ca–Mg depletion with associated Fe–Mn enrichment controlled by primary permeable structures in basalt; a series of carbonate and quartz or "chert" veins emplaced into fissures; and auriferous silicified and sulphidized zones controlled by vein-filled fractures. The last is the main mineralization type in the ESC orebody on the 24th level of the mine, which was the focus of this study. Although all mineralization types occur within the mine, they are not directly associated either temporally or spatially on a mesoscopic scale. All, however, appear to have been overprinted by or formed synchronously with the amphibolite-facies metamorphism.A rich variety of metamorphic mineral assemblages occurs in the volcanic rocks because of the chemical effect of pre- or synmetamorphic hydrothermal alteration. These assemblages and the composition and mineral associations of arsenopyrite in the ESC orebody closely constrain the conditions of metamorphism to 520–540 °C and 3.8–4.2 kbar (380–420 MPa) fluid pressure.