Tourmaline from deposits of the Birgil’da-Tomino ore cluster, South Urals

Abstract

Tourmalines from the Kalinovka porphyry copper deposit with epithermal bismuth-gold-basemetal mineralization and the Michurino gold-silver-base-metal prospect have been studied in the South Urals. Tourmaline from the Kalinovka deposit occurs as pockets and veinlets in quartz-sericite metasomatic rock and propylite. The early schorl-“oxy-schorl” [Fetot/(Fetot + Mg) = 0.66−0.81] enriched in Fe3+ is characterized by the homovalent isomorphic substitution of Fe3+ for Al typical of propylites at porphyry copper deposits. The overgrowing tourmalines of the second and third generations from propylite and quartz-sericite metasomatic rock are intermediate members of the dravite-magnesio-foitite solid solution series [Fetot/(Fetot + Mg) = 0.05−0.46] with homovalent substitution of Mg for Fe2+ and coupled substitution of X ▭ + YAl for XNa + YMg. These substitutions differ from the coupled substitution of YAl + WO2− for YFe2+ + WOH− in tourmaline from quartz-sericite rocks at porphyry copper deposits. At the Michurino prospect, the tourmaline hosted in the chlorite-pyrite-quartz veins and veinlets with Ag-Au-Cu-Pb-Zn mineralization is an intermediate member of the dravite-magnesio-foitite solid solution series [Fetot/(Fetot + Mg) = 0.20−0.31] with homovalent substitution of Mg for Fe2+ and coupled substitutions of X ▭ + YAl for XNa + YMg identical to that of late tourmaline at the Kalinovka deposit. Thus, tourmalines of the porphyry and epithermal stages are different in isomorphic substitutions, which allow us to consider tourmaline as an indicator of super- or juxtaposed mineralization.