Exhalative deposits in eocene volcano-sedimentary rocks in the middle part of the Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic belt: Detailed evidence from nabar deposit, west of Kashan, Urumieh – Dokhtar Magmatic Belt

Abstract

Meso-Cenozoic magmatic belt of Urumieh–Dokhtar resulted from subduction of Neothetys oceanic crust beneath the Central Iran Block with Gondwanic signature is dominated by calc-alkaline to alkaline igneous rocks. The magmatic rocks has mainly occurred in submarine environments as volcanic-volcanoclastics with interlayers of sedimentary rocks in the Eocene, while it has occurred as intrusive and subvolcanics in the Neogene. In the Nabar area volcano-sedimentary rocks of Eocene have been covered unconformably by Oligo-Miocene sedimentary rocks (Qom Formation). The Eocene and Oligo-Miocene sequences are intruded by Middle-Upper Miocene intrusive and subvolcanic bodies. Igneous rocks of Eocene and Middle-Upper Miocene are of I-type and calc-alkaline belonging to arc and post-collisional setting of continental margin, respectively. The mineralization consists of pyrrhotite, pyrite, minor chalcopyrite and sphalerite, mainly hosted by Eocene volcanoclastics and particularly by the contact metamorphic halos of Qom formation. Irregular veinlets (stringer zone) in the lower part change to massive lenses upward which conformable with Eocene enclosing rocks, and have sharp contact with overlying Qom formation. Low grad ores with irregular shape (patches, veinlets, cavity and fracture filling) which are resulted from remobilization of previous mineralization, occurred within the contact metamorphic halos of Middle-Upper Miocene intrusions. According to geochemical analysis and mineralogical studies, iron, copper, gold, silver, arsenic, lead and zinc are enriched in the ore zone. Two types of fluid inclusion (L-V and L-VS) were distinguished in quartz veinlets. The homogenization temperature and salinity of fluid inclusions vary from 121 °C – 537 °C and 9–45 wt% NaCl equivalent, respectively. These data indicating the mixing of magmatic water with meteoric water in the later stage of mineralization. The δ34S values of pyrite and pyrrhotite which varies from 10.5 to 11.6 wt% compatible with massive sulfide and skarn type deposits. Field observations, mineralogical, geochemical, fluid inclusion and isotopic data suggest that, the Nabar deposit is probably a Kuroko type massive sulfide deposit which has been partly changed to skarn during penetration of Middle-Upper Miocene subvolcanic intrusions. The Kuroko type barite deposit of Dorreh and exhalative Mn deposit of Venarch and Shahrestanak were formed at the same time, within the Eocene volcanoclastic sequences.