Metaturbidite-hosted gold deposits, Córrego do Sítio lineament, Quadrilátero Ferrífero, Brazil

Abstract

A study of geology and rocks paragenesis has been conducted at the Córrego do Sítio auriferous lineament, containing the Cachorro Bravo, Laranjeiras and Carvoaria metaturbidite-hosted lode-gold deposits located in the Quadrilátero Ferrífero Region, Minas Gerais, Brazil. These representative deposits are described to illustrate the essentially similar general character of all the deposits of lineament as well as the wide compositional and mineralogical differences in the ore of the different deposits, where, for the Cachorro Bravo deposit, a geological mapping included two underground mine galleries. The Córrego do Sítio unit is a metamorphosed turbidite in an alternating sequence of metagraywackes and phyllites, with parallel to discordant metamafic dikes and sills. The ore zone is predominantly hosted at the stratigraphic break between metasedimentary and metamafic rocks. Four deformation events affected the mine sequence. Mineralized veins and veinlets are considered to have formed within a brittle-ductile shear-zone environment and occurred in multiple episodes. Different vein types are recognized, but the most important volumetrically is a S1-concordant type characterized by smoky and milky quartz-carbonate-sulfide ± sulfosalts veins. Veins are dominated by quartz, but locally they are characterized by carbonate and a large variety of sulfide and sulfosalt minerals. Pyrite is the commonest associated sulfide mineral, followed by arsenopyrite and pyrrhotite. An extensive mineralogical study of polished sections has confirmed different generations of sulfide minerals. The sulfides and sulfosalt minerals are interrelated in the veins and disseminated on wall rocks. The data are consistent with a genetic models related to other Archean lode-gold deposits.