The Geochemical Features of Epithermal Gold-Telluride (Au-Te) Ores of the Podgolechnoe Deposit (Central Aldan Ore District, Yakutia)

Abstract

The Central Aldan ore district is a geologically unique area, representing the conjunction zone of the ancient structures of the Archean–Proterozoic crystalline shield, overlain by the Vendian–Cambrian sedimentary cover. The latter was formed in the Mesozoic by intensive alkaline magmatism. Within the Central Aldan ore district, most of primary gold-ore deposits are confined to the sedimentary cover. Until recently it was considered that only ancient complexes in the crystalline basement contain commercial Au-U mineralization. As a result of the geological exploration works over the period of 2003–2006, the Podgolechnoe deposit was discovered. Gold mineralization in this deposit occurs both in rocks of sedimentary cover and crystalline basement. Ore bodies in rocks of the crystalline basement (A-type alkaline deposits) contain epithermal gold-telluride (Au-Te) mineralization, which is new for Central Aldan ore district. This work presents results of the study of geochemical composition of the Podgolechnoe deposit ores and their comparison with typical epithermal gold-ore deposits. In total, 15 samples were studied. The homogeneity of the sample collection, the correlation between Au and other elements, the enrichment coefficients of elements-admixtures, and the REE distribution were analyzed. It was established that gold ores of the Podgolechnoe deposit are geochemically heterogeneous, but, in general, they correspond to the geochemical spectrum characteristic of the gold ores of A-type epithermal deposits. In contrast to Au-U deposits, common in the studied area, ores of the Podgolechnoe deposit show no correlation between gold and uranium.