Mineral Types of Gold Deposits and Regularities of Their Localization in Southeastern East Sayan

Abstract

The gold-bearing deposits of southeastern East Sayan have been categorized according to mineral composition. The most important classification criterion is the composition of productive ore mineral assemblages specific to each of the distinguished types, whereas the use of other criteria results in the inevitable overlap of different structural, compositional, or genetic features of deposits. Eight mineral types of deposits have been determined, which characterize the main gold-bearing mineral ore parageneses: gold-polysulfide, gold-quartz, gold-telluride, gold-tetradymite, gold-antimony, gold-bismuth-sulfosalt, gold-pyrrhotite, and gold-fahlore. The regional metallogenic units are structural-metallogenic zones somewhat differing by the nature of mineralization. Thus, in the Bokson-Gargan metallogenic zone, the gold-quartz, gold-polysulfide, and gold-pyrrhotite types of deposits prevail, while in the western part of the zone, the gold-telluride and gold-bismuth-sulfosalt types are widespread. In the Ilchir zone, gold-fahlore deposits are developed, while in the Khamsarinskaya zone, gold-tetradymite and gold-stibnite. It has been established that the mineral types of deposits depend on the composition of the host rock complexes: gold-quartz, gold-polysulfide, and gold-pyrrhotite types form in association with ophiolites and Archean basement rocks. At granitoid-massif-related deposits, base-metal minerals assume the leading role: Bi sulfosalts, stibnite, tetradymite, and tellurides. The gold-fahlore type forms in carbonate sequences. The proposed classification makes it possible to group all of the known gold-bearing deposits of southeastern East Sayan; it can also be applied to adjacent regions.