Microthermometry of enargite-hosted fluid inclusions from the Lepanto, Philippines, high-sulfidation Cu [sbnd]Au deposit

Abstract

The spatial relation between porphyry and high-sulfidation epithermal deposits is particularly well revealed in the Mankayan mineral district of northern Luzon, Philippines, where the Lepanto high-sulfidation Cu Au deposit lies over and adjacent to the Far Southeast (FSE) porphyry Cu Au deposit. Consequently, a study was undertaken to characterize the fluids responsible for epithermal mineralization in this environment. The ore stage at Lepanto consists of enargite-luzonite (Cu 3AsS 4), pyrite, tennantite-tetrahedrite, and chalcopyrite. Infrared petrography of the enargite reveals variable transparency, with growth banding and twinning visible in euhedral specimens. Two phase (liquid > vapor) fluid inclusions occur as primary and secondary types ranging from <1 to 80 micrometers in length, with tabular, cylindrical, or oval shapes. Homogenization temperatures ( T h) of fluid inclusions in enargite were measured from within the lateral (3.0 km) and vertical (0.5 km) extent of the enargite mineralization. These values show a cooling trend toward the northwest, away from the area over the porphyry deposit, with average T h ranging from 285°C (proximal) to 166°C (distal). Ice melting temperatures ( T m) were measured using a cycling technique, as ice was usually not visible in frozen inclusions. Apparent salinities range from 4.5 to 0.2 eq. wt% NaCl, with samples from the margins of the deposit showing a general decrease in apparent salinity with lower T h. Secondary fluid inclusions in quartz phenocrysts tend to have a higher average T h and lower apparent salinities compared to enargite-hosted inclusion fluids from the same locations. Several samples of pyrite are also transparent to IR radiation, and show internal features such as growth banding, and in one instance a two phase (liquid > vapor) fluid inclusion. This inclusion yielded a salinity of 1.2 eq. wt% NaCl. There is a large discrepancy in T h and apparent salinities between the enargite mineralization and the subjacent porphyry deposit despite contemporaneous formation, suggesting that the hot, (>500°C) hypersaline, magmatic brines associated with porphyry mineralization did not directly ascend to the elevation of the enargite deposit. However, absorbtion of magmatic vapors into overlying meteoric water may have created the mineralizing fluid of the Lepanto deposit. As this liquid moved to the northwest along the Lepanto fault, it was cooled and diluted by mixing with groundwater, resulting in enargite deposition.