Quartz Breccia Research Articles

Fluid inclusions in quartz of the gold-ore occurrences and gold-quartz intergrowths from placers in the Sololi uplift of the Olenyok arch (Yakutia)

Fluid inclusions have been studied in vein quartz with gold sulfide mineralization from metamorphosed sandstones of the Eekite series and metarhyolites of the Early Proterozoic, in quartz breccia from the zone of overlapping gold mineralization on the Early and Middle Permian sandstones, as well as in the gold quartz intergrowths from the Sololi River placer. It has been revealed that formation of quartz breccias occurred within a wide temperature interval from 230 to 425 ºC, with predominance of carbon dioxide and nitrogen in the vapor phase. It is suggested that the increased nitrogen content may be associated with a chemical reaction between the fluid and ammonium-containing silicates of host rocks, in which nitrogen in the form of NH4+ isomorphically replaces potassium at the regressive stage of metamorphism. At the same time, it is possible that mantle nitrogen, which was transported along the Anabar-Eekite deep fault, participated in formation of the studied breccias. The close homogenization temperatures and similar nature of the water-salt composition for the fluid inclusions of quartz veins that inject the Eekite series meta-rocks and meta-rhyolites indicate the synchronism of their formation and attribute them to the common stage of ore formation. Quartz veins with gold sulfide mineralization were the primary sources of pebbles with gold-quartz intergrowths from the Sololi River, this is evidenced by similarity of principal characteristics of fluid inclusions. Oxidizing conditions of the mineralization serve as favorable factor for the Au deposition, it is indicated by the predominant CO2 content in fluid inclusions, keeping role of a geochemical barrier and leading to an elevated gold content in quartz veins.

Post-Subduction Granite Magmatism and Gold-Sulfide Mineralization in the Abu Zawal (Fatira) Area, Eastern Desert, Egypt

Gold-sulfide mineralization in the Abu Zawal (Fatira) mine area, North Eastern Desert of Egypt, is related to porphyritic felsite dikes and elongate silicification zones in granitic rocks. These felsite dikes and the host granitic rocks exhibit major and trace element geochemical features typical of calc-alkaline and metaluminous I-type granites, likely originated in a late-orogenic setting. Their geochemical characteristics along with their fractionated LREE relative to HREE patterns imply either formation in a subduction-related environment or generation from subduction-modified source materials. Partial melting of subduction-metasomatized lower crustal rocks during extension following the lithospheric thickening may account for the production of such fertile, high Sr/Y and La/Yb magmas. In the Abu Zawal (Fatira) area, NE-trending altered felsite dikes, hydrothermal breccias, quartz enclaves, and wall-rock replacements are characterized by disseminations of chalcopyrite, pyrite, and rare gold. Alteration mineralogy, dominated by sericite, drusy quartz, kaolinite, calcite, and specular hematite, combined with the available fluid inclusion data suggests moderate to low temperature and near neutral pH conditions. The geochemical data of the altered wallrocks and mass balance calculations indicate significant mass losses in the altered rocks consistent with fluid/wallrock ratios higher than unity and near neutral pH conditions. Considering that the silica-rich host rocks, hydrothermal alteration, and sulfide-bearing hydrothermal quartz breccia in Fatira mine area were intuitively related to sulfur-saturated, oxidized felsic magmatism and associated hydrothermal systems, they are most likely linked to the post-subduction felsite porphyries (post-Hammamat felsites ~ 607 Ma), or pertaining to the late phases of the subaerial high-K calc-alkaline volcanics (Dokhan Volcanics ≤ 620 Ma).

Uranium Mineralization in the MacInnis Lake Area, Nonacho Basin, Northwest Territories: Potential Linkages to Metasomatic Iron Alkali-Calcic Systems

The intracratonic Paleoproterozoic Nonacho Basin, deposited on the western margin of the Rae craton, contains historic polymetallic (i.e., U, Cu, Fe, Pb, Zn, Ag) occurrences spatially associated with its unconformable contact with underlying crystalline basement rocks and regionally occurring faults. This study presents the paragenesis, mineral chemistry and geochemistry of uranium mineralized rocks and minerals of the MacInnis Lake sub-basin of the Nonacho Basin, to evaluate the style and relative timing of uranium mineralization. Mineralization is restricted to regionally occurring deformation zones, and post-dates widely spread and pervasive albitization and more local Ba-rich K-feldspar alteration of host rocks. Uranium mineralized rocks show elevated concentration of Cu, Ag and Au relative to variably altered host rocks. Microscopic and compositionally heterogeneous altered uraninite occurs (i) as overgrowths on partially dissolved Cu-sulphides with magnetite in chlorite ± quartz, calcite veins, and (ii) with minor uranophane in hematite-sericite-chlorite ± quartz breccia and stockwork. Both uraninite types are Th poor (<0.09 wt.% ThO2) and variably rich in SO4 (up to 2.26 wt.%), suggesting a low-temperature hydrothermal origin in a relatively oxidized environment. Rare-earth element (+Y) concentrations in type-i uraninite are high, up to 9.5 wt.% Σ(REE+Y)2O3 with CeN/YN values > 1, similar to REE compositions of uraninite in metasomatic iron and alkali-calcic systems (MIAC), including low-temperature hematite-type IOCG-deposits (e.g., Olympic Dam, Gawler Craton, Australia) and albitite-hosted uranium deposits (e.g., Southern Breccia, Great Bear Magmatic Zone, Canada, and Gunnar Deposit, Beaverlodge District, Canada). Both uraninite types are variably rich in Ba (up to 3 wt.% BaO), a geochemical marker for MIAC systems, provided by the dissolution of earlier secondary Ba-rich K-feldspar. Chemical U-Th-Pb dating yields resetting ages of <875 ± 35 Ma for type-ii uraninite-uranophane, younger than strike-slip movement along regional structures of the basin that are spatially associated with the uranium occurrences. We suggest that MacInnis Lake uranium occurrences formed from oxidized hydrothermal fluids along previously altered (albitized, potassically altered) regional-scale faults. Uranium minerals precipitated on earlier Fe-rich sulfides (chalcopyrite, bornite), which acted as a redox trap for mineralization, in low-temperature (~310–330 °C, based on Al-in-chlorite thermometry) breccias and stockwork zones, late in a metasomatic iron and alkali-calcic alteration system.

Breccia and vein mineralization of the Balatoc Diatreme, Acupan gold deposit, Baguio Mineral District: An example of a diatreme-hosted epithermal deposit in the Philippines

The Acupan epithermal gold deposit is one of the Philippines’ largest gold camps, having produced over 200 t Au in the last century with average grades of ∼ 6 g/t Au mostly from well-studied vein orebodies hosted by the Virac Granodiorite. However, vein and breccia mineralization (90/99 veins and GW orebodies, respectively) currently being mined in the northeastern portion of the Acupan deposit is hosted by the less-studied Balatoc Diatreme. This study demonstrates the role of the diatreme as a precursor to epithermal mineralization at Acupan, providing structural control in focusing the fluid flow along the diatreme margin. Mineralization in the Balatoc Diatreme formed across five mineralization stages. Stage I, the main gold mineralization stage, is characterized by gray quartz with pyrite + marcasite + arsenopyrite + electrum + sphalerite ± chalcopyrite. Stage II is typified by white quartz associated with pyrite + electrum + chalcopyrite. Stage III, a newly recognized stage for the Acupan gold deposit, is composed of clear quartz hosting pyrite + stibnite + chalcopyrite + galena + sphalerite + electrum (±pyrite + marcasite + arsenopyrite). Stage IV and Stage V are associated with calcite and gypsum, respectively, hosting trace amounts of pyrite and sphalerite.Fluid inclusions hosted by Stage I and Stage II vein quartz revealed homogenization temperatures (Th) ranging from 220 to 230 °C and 280 to 290 °C, respectively. The fluid inclusions in Stage III quartz breccia cement recorded bimodal homogenization temperatures, 230 to 240 °C and 280 to 290 °C. Fluid inclusion and textural evidence from Stage I quartz and Stage II quartz suggest boiling conditions during ore formation of veins transecting the Balatoc Diatreme. Fluid mixing, on the other hand, is proposed for the formation of the base-metal rich Stage III mineralization of the GW orebodies quartz cement. Pyrite and sphalerite δ34S values (0.8 to 1.5 ‰) from Stage I to Stage IV veins and breccias indicate reduced ore-forming conditions in an H2S-dominated system. Meanwhile, the negative δ34S values (−1.6 to −1.5‰) measured from the pyrite of Stage V breccia, first reported in this study, imply partitioning of the heavier isotopes to the gypsum sulfate in an oxidizing environment and suggest possible spatial variations of sulfur isotope signatures across the Acupan epithermal vein system. This study emphasizes the significance of fluid mixing in diatreme-hosted epithermal deposits such as Acupan. The diatreme possibly provided pathways between the contrasting magmatic-hydrothermal and meteoric environments, resulting in ore precipitation.

The Paleoproterozoic porphyry copper–molybdenum deposit of Kourki (Liptako Province, western Niger)

Abstract The Kourki porphyry Cu–Mo deposit is located in the southern part of the Gorouol greenstone belt in Western Niger. The potential Cu–Mo mineralization is hosted by granitoids (granodiorite and diorite) and veins, in Paleoproterozoic plutonic rocks, which are the main porphyry Cu–Mo system. The scientific objective of this study was to determine the characteristics of Kourki Cu–Mo mineralization and to compare them with other porphyry systems in the world and particularly with those of the West African Craton. The methods implemented consist of a field study and a polarizing microscope analysis in transmitted and reflected light on the rocks bearing Cu–Mo mineralization. The use of reference diagrams made it possible, on the one hand, to confirm the origin of the Cu–Mo mineralization and, on the other hand, to specify conditions of the formation of this mineralization. The geology of the study area shows a granodiorite–tonalite pluton in close contact with dioritic intrusions to the north, clastic sediments to the east, and volcano-sedimentary rocks to the SE. The pluton is crosscut by an intrusion of molybdenum porphyry dyke with irregular shape that can be observed in outcrop. The geochemical study shows that the granodiorite–tonalite pluton can be related to a calc-alkaline plutonic series which characterizes an arc type environment. Large areas of hydrothermal quartz breccia have been identified within the pluton. They were set up by hydraulic fracturing along the zones of weakness. Most of the Cu–Mo mineralization in the Kourki deposit occurs as hydrothermal breccia, filled with veins, and was disseminated in the porphyry diorite and quartz–diorite stockworks. The mineralogical assemblage is marked by a predominance of pyrite, molybdenite, chalcopyrite and quartz with some bornite and chalcocite. The alterations include potassic alteration, propylitic alteration, sericitization and epidotization. All of these data show that the Kourki porphyry represents a characteristic system of an environmental arc, quite comparable with that of the Andean Cordillera.

Type of Gold Deposit in Arinem Cisewu and Its Surrounding Garut Regency, West Java, Indonesia

Gold deposit based on the mineralization of gold and other ore minerals in Arinem area and its surrounding was found in the quartz vein. The research area is in Arinem area and its surrounding, Garut Regency, West Java. Arinem and the vicinity was the location for early stage of research program of mineralization in Papandayan area. This area has good mineralization, and according to previous studies, is a low sulfidation area with the presence of pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena and sphalerite (Antam, 2014). The presence of galena and sphalerite mineral has suggested that instead of low sulfidation, the area may be in intermediate sulfidation zone state supported by other data such as quartz breccia, banded quartz and shear as control structure. Lithology in the area consists of breccia Quaternary and lava unit of Jampang formation in Miocene and unit of andesite and basaltic in Quaternary and intrusion of dacite, andesite and diorite. The alteration and mineralization of research area was classified as propylitic alteration zone with the presence of chlorite, epidote and calcite mineral, argillic alteration zone with montmorillonite, kaolinite mineral, silicic alteration zone with the presence of quartz-sericite, a bit of calcite mineral. The observed ore minerals are pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite. The geological structure was controlled by horizontal fault in almost north-south direction of N 170O-180O E and northeast – southwest horizontal fault in N 40O – 50O E, while the mineralization zone was controlled or following fault pattern of N 170O - 175O E. The epithermal deposit of the study area can be classified as intermediate sulfidation epithermal deposit for zones with galena and sphalerite mineral particularly on several locations near fault zones and brecciated quartz. Meanwhile, the study area is generally low sulfidation epithermal type deposit.

Huenite, Cu4Mo3O12(OH)2, a New Copper-molybdenum Oxy-hydroxide Mineral from the San Samuel Mine, Carrera Pinto, Cachiyuyo De Llampos District, CopiapÓ Province, Atacama Region, Chile

Abstract Huenite, Cu4Mo3O12(OH)2, is a new copper and molybdenum oxy-hydroxide mineral found in the San Samuel Mine, Carrera Pinto, Cachiyuyo de Llampos district, Copiapó Province, Atacama Region, Chile. This new species forms flattened orthorhombic prisms up to 60–70 μm in size, weakly elongated along [001]. Huenite crystals were found on fractured surfaces of a quartz breccia, forming aggregates 1 mm in diameter in close association with lindgrenite, gypsum, dark grayish-brown tourmaline, and an unknown pale purple phase. The color is very dark reddish-brown, with a strong vitreous to adamantine luster. Its streak is pale reddish-brown to pinkish. The mineral is brittle with an irregular fracture and a Mohs hardness of 3.5–4 with a good cleavage on {010}. Its calculated density is 5.1 g/cm3. The calculated refractive index is 2.18. Huenite is non-fluorescent under 254 nm (short wave) and 366 nm (long wave) ultraviolet light. The empirical formula, calculated on the basis of 3 (Mo+S+Si) atoms per formula unit, is (Cu3.519Fe2+0.403)Σ3.922(Mo2.907S0.090Si0.003)Σ3.000O12·(OH)2.229, with H2O content calculated for a total of 100 wt.%. Huenite is trigonal, with space group P31/c and unit-cell parameters a = 7.653(5) Å, c = 9.411(6) Å, and V = 477.4(5) Å3 for Z = 2. The eight strongest measured powder X-ray diffraction lines are: [d in Å, (I/I0), (hkl)]: 2.974 (100) (112), 1.712 (59.8) (132), 3.810 (50.6) (110), 2.702 (41.2) (022), 2.497 (38.1) (120), 1.450 (37.2) (134), 6.786 (24.9) (010), and 5.374 (24.5) (011). The mineral, which has been approved by the CNMNC under number IMA 2015-122, is named in honor of Edgar Huen.

The Invincible deposit: Early gold mineralisation truncated by unaltered c. 2665 Ma conglomerate, St Ives, Eastern Goldfields, Western Australia

Two distinct styles of mineralisation are recognised at the Invincible deposit, with bedding-parallel shear related gold mineralisation (Type 1) and shallow-dipping mineralised extension veins (Type 2). The different styles of mineralisation reflect formation during two discrete deformation events.Type 1 mineralisation is hosted in laminated mudstone of the upper Black Flag Group and mineralised quartz veins and breccia zones are distributed throughout the mudstone rather than being associated with a single shear. Mineralised zones are associated with intense sodic alteration. The early mineralised structures are strongly modified by east-west horizontal D2-3 compression. In contrast, Type 2 extension veins are undeformed and are best developed in the massive sandstone-conglomerate footwall, but also overprint Type 1 veins in the mudstone unit.Throughout the mine, the early Type 1 mineralisation is truncated by unaltered conglomerate of the c. 2665 Ma Merougil Formation. A 10–20° difference in strike/dip is commonly present and indicates that the main mineralising event at Invincible occurred prior to erosion and deposition of the Merougil Formation. The strong modification of the mineralisation by horizontal east-west D2-3 compression is also consistent with formation early in the deformation history, during the c. 2672–2660 Ma D1 event. Gold deposition in the EGT was episodic, occurring over a prolonged period during extension and compression.Bedding-vein relationships indicate southwest-side-down kinematics during the early mineralising event. In weakly mineralised zones sub-vertical extension veins cut across beds that dip 70° to the southwest. In strongly mineralised zones, bedding is sub-vertical and large quartz breccia veins develop along the bedding above moderately west-dipping shears that extend across the steep bedding. The location of the steep strongly mineralised zones where bedding is sub-vertical reflects enhanced dilation in these zones during southwest-side-down movement.Southwest-side-down movement could represent extensional slip on the laminated mudstone beds if the bedding was tilted into a developing basin (early Merougil Basin). The location of the Invincible system, at the eastern edge of the Merougil Basin likely reflects an association with early basin-controlling faults.

Fault Zone Evolution and Development of a Structural and Hydrological Barrier: The Quartz Breccia in the Kiggavik Area (Nunavut, Canada) and Its Control on Uranium Mineralization

In the Kiggavik area (Nunavut, Canada), major fault zones along, or close to, where uranium deposits are found are often associated with occurrence of thick quartz breccia (QB) bodies. These bodies formed in an early stage (~1750 Ma) of the long-lasting tectonic history of the Archean basement, and of the Proterozoic Thelon basin. The main characteristics of the QB are addressed in this study; through field work, macro and microscopic observations, cathodoluminescence microscopy, trace elements, and oxygen isotopic signatures of the quartz forming the QB. Faults formed earlier during syn- to post-orogenic rifting (1850–1750 Ma) were subsequently reactivated, and underwent cycles of cataclasis, pervasive silicification, hydraulic brecciation, and quartz recrystallization. This was synchronous with the circulation of meteoric fluids mixing with Si-rich magmatic-derived fluids at depth, and were coeval with the emplacement of the Kivalliq igneous suite at 1750 Ma. These processes led to the emplacement of up to 30 m thick QB, which behaved as a mechanically strong, transverse hydraulic barrier that localized later fracturing, and compartmentalized/channelized vertical flow of uranium-bearing fluids after the deposition of the Thelon Basin (post 1750 Ma). The development and locations of QB control the location of uranium mineralization in the Kiggavik area.

НОВЫЙ ЗОЛОТОРУДНЫЙ РАЙОН В ТАНЗАНИИ

Tanzania is one of the leading gold mining countries in the world and the discovery of new gold resources on its territory is an actual task. Known gold deposits are concentrated mainly in the northwest of the country, in the metallogenic zone of Lake Victoria, where they are associated with the Archean greenstone belts, and to a lesser extent – in the southwest, in the ore regions of Lupa and Mpanda, confined to the Ubendian Paleoproterozoic mobile belt. With regard to the eastern regions of Tanzania, where the Proterozoic structures of the Uzagaran mobile belt are developed, until recently in this region any significant manifestations of gold mineralization were not known. As a result of our research in the northern part of the Morogoro province of the Republic of Tanzania, a new previously unknown gold deposit Mananila was discovered. It is represented by a large volume, up to 400–450 m long, up to 60–80 m thick, mineralized shear zone over intensely leached and schistosed migmatites, gneisses, amphibolites, penetrated by echelon systems of quartz veins and veinlet, steeply dipping bodies of quartz breccia up to 1.0–1.5 m thick. Gold contents range from 0.61 to 8.11 g/t, the average zone content is 2.5–3.0 g/t. Parallel to the main zone, similar structures are developed on the site, although they are of lower thickness. The forecast resources of the deposit are estimated at 20 tons of gold. 2.8 km to the east from the Mananila field, the recently discovered Mazizi gold deposit is located, and a number of small occurrences of gold are also known in the region. All these objects are located within a large shear zone of the northeastern strike, up to 4–5 km width, over 20 km in length. This serves as the basis for the identification of a new gold ore region in the northern part of the Morogoro province of the United Republic of Tanzania, within the Proterozoic mobile belt of Usagaran, the possible gold content of which has never been previously discussed in geological literature.

Multiple sulfur isotopes monitor fluid evolution of an Archean orogenic gold deposit

The evolution of a gold-bearing hydrothermal fluid from its source to the locus of gold deposition is complex as it experiences rapid changes in thermochemical conditions during ascent through the crust. Although it is well established that orogenic gold deposits are generated during time periods of abundant crustal growth and/or reworking, the source of fluid and the thermochemical processes that control gold precipitation remain poorly understood. In situ analyses of multiple sulfur isotopes offer a new window into the relationship between source reservoirs of Au-bearing fluids and the thermochemical processes that occur along their pathway to the final site of mineralisation. Whereas δ34S is able to track changes in the evolution of the thermodynamic conditions of ore-forming fluids, Δ33S is virtually indelible and can uniquely fingerprint an Archean sedimentary reservoir that has undergone mass independent fractionation of sulfur (MIF-S). We combine these two tracers (δ34S and Δ33S) to characterise a gold-bearing laminated quartz breccia ore zone and its sulfide-bearing alteration halo in the (+6 Moz Au) structurally-controlled Archean Waroonga deposit located in the Eastern Goldfields Superterrane of the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia. Over 250 analyses of gold-associated sulfides yield a δ34S shift from what is interpreted as an early pre-mineralisation phase, with chalcopyrite-pyrrhotite (δ34S = +0.7‰ to +2.9‰) and arsenopyrite cores (δ34S = ∼−0.5‰), to a syn-mineralisation stage, reflected in Au-bearing arsenopyrite rims (δ34S = −7.6‰ to +1.5‰). This shift coincides with an unchanging Δ33S value (Δ33S = +0.3‰), both temporally throughout the Au-hosting hydrothermal sulfide paragenesis and spatially across the Au ore zone. These results indicate that sulfur is at least partially recycled from MIF-S-bearing Archean sediments. Further, the invariant nature of the observed MIF-S signature demonstrates that sulfur is derived from a homogeneous MIF-S-bearing fluid reservoir at depth, rather than being locally sourced at the site of Au precipitation. Finally, by constraining the MIF-S-bearing sulfur source to a fixed reservoir, we are able to display the thermochemical evolution of the ore fluid in δ34S space and capture the abrupt change in oxidation state that causes Au precipitation. Our results highlight the importance of constraining multiple sulfur isotopes in space and time in order to elucidate the source and evolution of any given Au-bearing fluid.

Costerfield antimony-gold deposit, southeast Australia: Coupling between brittle deformation and dissolution-precipitation reactions in the Melbourne Zone

The antimony-gold deposits at Costerfield are a swarm of ‘dyke-like’ antimony-gold lodes within a brittle transpressional fault system. They are hosted in the Lower Silurian sedimentary rocks of the Melbourne Zone of the Lachlan Orogen. Individual lodes are dominated by stibnite or stibnite-gold and widths vary from 1cm to ∼200cm (averaging 30cm) and lengths can exceed 1km. Lodes occur as fault-parallel layers or lenses mantled by deformed quartz-rich margins or overgrowths of hydrothermal quartz and carbonate. Inclusions in the stibnite-rich lodes include vuggy randomly oriented prismatic crystals, crack-sealed and stretched quartz with sugary mosaics of equant quartz grains and quartz breccias. Randomly oriented quartz and stibnite textures, common in the centre of the lodes, indicate free growth from a fluid. Throughout the mineralized system, the hydrothermal stibnite has replaced and overgrown the earlier quartz. Deformed lode margins preserve sub-horizontal lineations and evidence of oblique crack-seal re-opening that reflect emplacement associated with late sinistral strike-slip movements in bounding faults. Crystallographic orientation data collected from the marginal quartz, using neutron diffraction and supported by microstructural observations, reveal that lode emplacement also involved dissolution-precipitation creep and pressure solution. Both the marginal quartz and the lodes are overprinted by later microfractures, within which there has been precipitation of stibnite, pyrite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite and minor gold. 3D neutron tomography revealed individual gold crystals, with gold voxel sizes ranging from 140µm to ∼580µm, were located in late arsenopyrite-gold domains that overprint the stibnite. The mechanical evolution of the lodes involved short-lived brittle processes in combination with dissolution-precipitation crystallization in active fault zones. These ore bodies provide insights about the dynamics of fluid flow and flow velocities when faults breach over-pressured reservoirs of hydrothermal fluid. Our results also suggest that the Costerfield deposit was formed directly from metal-rich metamorphic fluids produced during Tabberabberan (∼375Ma) prograde metamorphism of sedimentary rocks near the base of the Lower Paleozoic Melbourne Zone, which lie above the Proterozoic Selwyn Block. From a reinterpretation of seismic reflection data, the deformation in the Melbourne Zone sedimentary wedge is characterized by thrusts isolating relatively undeformed packages of sedimentary units, which were moved in a piggyback manner up west-dipping faults. The ore-bearing fluids migrated upwards, at least in part, along these footwall thrusts from the base of the Heathcote Fault Zone. In the upper levels of the sedimentary package, out-of-sequence strike-slip, sub-vertical splays from these second order faults carried the mineralizing fluids to the orebodies. East-west compression during the Tabberabberan Orogeny preceded a northwest-southeast-oriented stress field which reflects the collision of VanDieland against the Gondwanan margin. This produced the sinistral strike-slip faults, which in turn controlled the overall permeability of the hydrothermal system.

Age-integrated tectonic evolution across the orogen-craton boundary: Age zonation and shallow- to deep crustal participation during Late Cambrian cratonisation of Eastern Ghats Belts, India

The Eastern Ghats Belt (EGB) is an orogenic belt which is known to evolve through Proterozoic time before cratonisation with Proto-India and holds an important key to the reconstruction of erstwhile supercontinents. To track the comprehensive evolution of the EGB with respect to Proto-India prior to and during its cratonisation, we carried out a detailed petrological and high-resolution geochronological investigation (zircon U-Pb SHRIMP and monazite U-Th-total Pb EPMA) on systematically sampled rocks from a transect across the western boundary of the EGB. Our results reveal that along a narrow zone near the thrust-bound margin between the EGB and Proto-India, the entire crustal segment, i.e. from deep-crustal granulites to mid-crustal cratonic amphibolites to shallow-crustal quartz breccia, was involved actively in the thrust-related tectonics during cratonisation of the EGB at ~550–500Ma. This youngest imprint of the ~550–500Ma event erased all the earlier age histories from the zircon and monazite grains of the marginal granulites. On the other hand, the older age-imprints are better preserved in the interior of the orogeny (~30km east of thrust-boundary between the EGB and the BC and further eastward) with little or no age-imprints of the final tectonic pulse. Combining all the new and earlier geochronological data with P-T calculations and textural characterisation, we propose a comprehensive and geochronologically well-constrained tectonic evolution of the EGB, which encompasses its earliest deep-crustal metamorphic to latest shallow-crustal sedimentation histories. The outcome of this study also reveals, for the first time, that the entire crustal section participated actively during the cratonisation. The new geochronological data coupled with field evidence and textural evidence from the shallow-crustal rock finally suggest that the thrusting vis-à-vis cratonisation was continued, at least, up to Late Cambrian, thus post-dating the Pan-African orogeny.

Petro-mineralogical Studies of the Paleoproterozoic Phosphorites in the Sonrai basin, Lalitpur District, Uttar Pradesh, India

The Paleoproterozoic phosphorites constitute an economically significant component of the Sonrai basin of Lalitpur district. These are associated with ferruginous shale, ironstone, limestone and quartz breccia. Petro-mineralogical studies of samples of the phosphorites, using X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy, reveal that the collophane (carbonate-fluorapatite) is the dominant phosphate mineral. Calcite, dolomite, quartz, mica and haematite are the dominant gangue constituents. The phosphate minerals occur as oolites mutually replaced by carbonate and silica. The presence of iron oxides has been found in most of the thin sections. There is meagre evidence of organic matter in the form of filaments of microbial phosphate laminae in the samples of phosphorite. The mineral assemblages, their texture and various forms in these phosphorites may be due to some environmental vicissitudes followed by replacement processes and biogenic activities.

Fault core and damage zone fracture attributes vary along strike owing to interaction of fracture growth, quartz accumulation, and differing sandstone composition

Small, meter-to decimeter-displacement oblique-slip faults cut latest Precambrian lithic arkose to feldspathic litharenite and Cambrian quartz arenite sandstones in NW Scotland. Despite common slip and thermal histories during faulting, the two sandstone units have different fault-core and damage-zone attributes, including fracture length and aperture distributions, and location of quartz deposits. Fault cores are narrow (less than 1 m), low-porosity cataclasite in lithic arkose/feldspathic litharenites. Damage zone-parallel opening-mode fractures are long (meters or more) with narrow ranges of lengths and apertures, are mostly isolated, have sparse quartz cement, and are open. In contrast, quartz arenites, despite abundant quartz cement, have fault cores that contain porous breccia and dense, striated slip zones. Damage-zone fractures have lengths ranging from meters to centimeters or less, but with distributions skewed to short fractures, and have power-law aperture distributions. Owing to extensive quartz cement, they tend to be sealed. These attributes reflect inhibited authigenic quartz accumulation on feldspar and lithic grains, which are unfavorable precipitation substrates, and favored accumulation on detrital quartz. In quartz breccia, macropores >0.04 mm wide persist where surrounded by slow-growing euhedral quartz. Differences in quartz occurrence and size distributions are compatible with the hypothesis that cement deposits modify the probability of fracture reactivation. Existing fractures readily reactivate in focused growth where quartz accumulation is low and porosity high. Only some existing, partly cemented fractures reactivate and some deformation is manifest in new fracture formation in partitioned growth where quartz accumulation is high. Consequences include along-strike differences in permeability and locus of fluid flow between cores and damage zones and fault strength.

40Ar/39Ar evidence for the timing of Paleoproterozoic gold mineralisation at the Sandpiper Deposit, Tanami region, northern Australia

At the Sandpiper gold deposit in the Tanami region of northern Australia sericite is intimately intergrown with arsenopyrite in gold-bearing quartz veins and breccias, suggesting sericite crystallisation synchronous with gold-bearing fluid flow. This ore-stage sericite yields a 40Ar/39Ar plateau age of 1785 ± 32 Ma (2σ including both analytical and systematic uncertainties). Recalculation using revised and more precise values for the 40K decay constants and the age of the Fish Canyon Sanidine standard shifts the age to 1794 ±12 Ma (2σ including all known uncertainties). Given the possibility of post-mineralisation isotopic resetting this age can be conservatively interpreted as a minimum constraint on the timing of gold deposition although, given local geological relationships and estimates for the argon retentivity of white mica, we consider complete isotopic resetting to be unlikely. The preferred interpretation is, therefore, that the sericite 40Ar/39Ar age indicates the timing of gold mineralisation. Thesericite age accords with a limited dataset of 207Pb/206Pb xenotime ages of ca 1800 Ma from other gold deposits in the Tanami region, interpreted as mineralisation ages. The agreement between independently derived ages from several gold deposits lends support for a widespread gold-mineralising event at ca 1800 Ma in the Tanami region.

Carbonaceous matter of quartz breccia and geyserites of the Baleiskoe ore field

Carbonaceous matter of quartz breccia and geyserites of the Baleiskoe ore field

Nature of gold mineralisation in the Walhalla Goldfield, southeast Australia

The Walhalla-Woods Point Goldfield in southeast Australia is characterised by large gold deposits associated with a Late Devonian dyke swarm. The setting of this goldfield is unique because unlike the major gold deposits in Victoria, it occurs close to the eastern margin of the Western Lachlan Orogen, and highlights the disparities between the evolving phases of orogenic gold mineralisation in the Western Lachlan Orogen, and the contrasts between sediment hosted, dyke-associated and dyke-hosted gold mineralisation. This study integrates existing and new data from renewed mapping of the geology and geochemistry of three gold deposits near the township of Walhalla, in the historically important yet under-explored and under-researched Walhalla-Woods Point Goldfield. The ten highest yielding deposits within the goldfield are either hosted within, or adjacent to, intrusions of the Woods Point Dyke Swarm. This is due to the greater chemical reactivity of the calc-alkaline dykes, and the greater rheological contrast between the dykes and surrounding low-grade metasedimentary units, which allowed for the formation of dyke-hosted quartz breccia veins that are consistently favourable sites for gold mineralisation in the Walhalla Goldfield. This is in contrast to historical production, which concentrated on visible gold within the shear zone-hosted laminated quartz veins. Gold and As assay results have highlighted the increased levels of invisible gold disseminated along dyke margins in proximity to shear zones and quartz reefs. The high-yielding gold deposits hosted wholly by the dyke intrusions of the Woods Point Dyke Swarm are orogenic gold deposits, as they are not associated with elevated levels of Bi, W, As, Mb, Te and Sb, typical of intrusion-related gold deposits.

Phreatic sulphide bearing quartz breccias between crystalline basement and Collio formation (Southern Alps, Italy)

In this work a report is given of the geological, petrographic and ore mineralogical features of several sulphide-bearing quartz breccia (SQB) bodies outcropping in a structurally complex sector of the Orobic Alps (Southern Alpine domain) and close to the uranium-rich mining area of Novazza. Although little studied, these breccia bodies were previously attributed to different genetic processes and/or geological domains (e.g., Crystalline Basement, Basal Conglomerate formation). The features of the SQB bodies suggest a hydrothermal origin likely related to the large-scale hydrothermal process causing the formation of the nearby uranium ore deposit at Novazza.

Two‐stage structural development of a Paleozoic auriferous shear zone at the Globe‐Progress deposit, Reefton, New Zealand

The Globe‐Progress gold deposit at Reefton is hosted in a curvilinear mineralised zone that cuts Paleozoic Greenland Group basement metagreywackes. Two discrete phases of mineralisation have resulted in the formation of five different ore types along the shear. An initial phase of mineralisation formed hydrothermal quartz veins and associated Au, As, and S enrichment, with low‐grade mineralised host rock. These quartz veins and mineralised host rocks form the outer regions of the mineralised zone. A second hydrothermal phase introduced Sb, Au, As, and S during brittle shear deformation focused on the pre‐existing mineralised rocks. This deformation and mineralisation resulted in the formation of metre‐scale cataclasite ore and quartz breccia from mineralised host rock and hydrothermal quartz veins, respectively. Cataclasite was derived from argillite layers in the host rock, from whichNa, Fe, and Mg have been leached during mineralisation; Al, Ti, and Cr have been conserved; and there has been minor enrichment in Sr, Pb, Zn, and Cu. No quartz was added to the cataclasite or quartz breccia during mineralisation, but some quartz recrystallisation occurred locally, and quartz clasts were physically incorporated into the cataclasite during deformation. The presence of euhedral sulfides in the cataclasite (40% of total sulfides), late‐stage undeformed stibnite veins infilling breccia (1–5 cm3 scale), and undeformed free gold in quartz breccia, imply that the second phase of m ineralisation persisted both during and after cataclasis and brecciation. Antimony deposition is greatest in the central cataclasite, up to 6 wt%, and locally in the quartz breccia where stibnite veins are present. Concentrations of Sb decrease with distance from the shear zone. The second, Sb‐rich phase of mineralisation in the Globe‐Progress deposit resembles similar Sb‐rich overprints in the correlative Victorian goldfield of Australia.