The Ishkinino Co-Cu massive sulfide deposit hosted in ultramafic rocks of the Main Ural Fault Zone, the southern Urals

Abstract

The results of study of the Ishkinino Co-Cu massive sulfide deposit hosted in ultramafic rocks of the Main Ural Fault Zone are discussed. The ore field is localized in a fragment of Early Devonian accretionary prism composed of oceanic and island-arc tectonic sheets. The antiform structure of the ore field was formed at the collision stage in the Late Devonian. The primary ore was deposited near the bottom in the environment of the accretionary prism at the island-arc stage of evolution, whereas the superimposed ore mineralization was related to the collision stage. The primary ore is composed of massive, stringer-disseminated, and clastic varieties with two mineral assemblages of sulfides and oxides. The superimposed stringer-disseminated ore mineralization is represented by Co-Ni-Fe arsenides and sulfoarsenides, native gold, Bi and Te minerals, and late sulfides and oxides. Loellingite, safflorite, rammelsbergite, and krutovite were identified in the massive sulfide ore for the first time in the Urals. The geochemical attributes of Co-Ni minerals serve as indicators of superimposed processes. Chromites contained in rocks and ore correspond to Cr-spinel of suprasubduction ultramafic rocks in chemical composition. It is suggested that sulfide ore may be found in the accretionary prisms of the presently active island arcs composed of ultramafic sheets.