Stratiform Copper Mineralization Research Articles

Controls on the Stratiform Copper Mineralization in the Western Syncline, Upper Peninsula, Michigan

The Western Syncline hosts reduced-facies, or Kupferschiefer-type, sedimentary rock-hosted stratiform Cu deposits (SSC) in the lowermost meters of the Nonesuch Formation, which is part of a thick section of clastic sedimentary rocks that comprise the upper fill of the Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift of North America. Located in the Porcupine Mountains Cu district in Upper Peninsula, Michigan, these blind deposits were discovered in 1956, but are not yet developed, although recent renewed interest may result in near-term production. The deposits are distinguished by their relatively undeformed nature and lack of superposed hydrothermal events. Prior to lithification, chalcocite mineralization replaced diagenetic pyrite within two discrete tabular, albeit discontinuous, potential orebodies referred to as the lower Cu-bearing sequence (LCBS) and the upper Cu-bearing sequence (UCBS). The Top Cu Zone transgresses lithologic boundaries, suggesting that a limited volume of Cu-bearing fluids moved vertically upwards through the unlithified stratigraphy, since reductant pyritic rocks above this zone are essentially barren of Cu. The total Cu inventory that has a reasonable expectation of economic extraction is 3678 M lbs. of Cu with 15.3 M oz. of byproduct Ag. When a cutoff grade of 0.9% Cu over a minimum thickness of 2 m is applied to justify an underground room-and-pillar mine, the LCBS and UCBS are not continuous over the Western Syncline. Sedimentology is the first-order control of potential ore and its continuity; dark-gray shales and siltstones deposited under low-energy, anoxic conditions are preferred host rocks, whose thickness must be >2 m to be potential ore since host-rock thickness determines economic viability of extraction. Furthermore, stratigraphy influences the time constraints on mineralization as the lithification process impedes vertical permeability and thus the flow of Cu-bearing fluids upward through the unlithified section. Syn-sedimentary tectonic movements, likely along pre-existing buried faults, are a third-order control as the thickness of host rocks is enhanced under such conditions. Therefore, an understanding of the depositional and tectonic history throughout the Western Syncline is fundamental to understanding the limits of possible economic exploitation and to optimizing ore extraction.

Textures, in situ trace element and sulfur isotope of pyrite from the sediment-hosted Cu–Co deposits in the Zhongtiao Mountains, Trans-North China Orogen: Implications for ore genesis

Sediment-hosted Cu–Co deposits in the Zhongtiao Mountains are hosted by the metasedimentary rocks of the Paleoproterozoic Zhongtiao Group in the southern part of the trans-North China orogen, North China Craton. The ore genesis is still disputed with proposed genetic models including metamorphosed sedimentary exhalative (M−SEDEX), metamorphosed sediment-hosted stratiform copper (M−SSC) and metamorphogenic mineralization type. Pyrite occurs as a ubiquitous mineral throughout all ore-forming stages and is ideal for clarifying this issue via the integration of in situ (LA–ICP–MS and EPMA) elemental and LA–MC-ICP–MS sulfur isotope composition analyses. Two main types of pyrite are identified based on petrographic and SEM observations: fine- to medium-grained, variably deformed and inclusion-rich Py1 (including Py1a and Py1b subtypes) in the disseminated–veinlet mineralization stage (S1), and coarse-grained, fractured Py2 (including Py2a and Py2b subtypes) in the fracture-controlled vein-type mineralization stage (S2, main ore stage). Deformed and inclusion-rich Py1a is overgrown by inclusion-poor Py1b, and nonporous Py2a is rimed by porous Py2b. Geochemical results show that the studied pyrite samples have considerable contents of Co (mean > 1000 ppm) and Ni (mean > 100 ppm). These features could be related to both the Co and Ni-rich sedimentary environment (e.g., a volcaniclastic-rich sulfidic marine) and metamorphic enrichment. The content of Se (mean > 200 ppm) in Py2 is significantly higher than that in Py1, indicating the extensive interaction of mineralizing fluids with Se-bearing graphite schist. LA–ICP–MS mapping and textural studies indicate the presence of coupled dissolution-reprecipitation (CDR) reactions that could lead to trace metal compositions (e.g., Co, Ni, Se, Pb, Bi) in the product phases (Py1b, Py2b) that differ from those of their parent phases (Py1a, Py2a). These variations were most likely controlled by fluid temperature and precipitation of specific minerals. The grain-scale chemical zoning of Py2a revealed by elemental mapping indicates fluctuating fluid parameters (e.g., temperature, fS2, and/or parent fluid compositions). The bimodal distributions in Py1 (10–14 ‰ and 18–24 ‰) are consistent with the inheritance of sulfur from sedimentary pyrite and the input of thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR) -related sulfur from reworked evaporite sulfates in an increasingly open system. The relatively lighter and wider variation in δ34S values (3.2–22.4 ‰, mean = 15.1 ‰) of Py2 implies that the evolution of the ore fluid in S2 was far more complicated, probably as a result of fluid–rock interactions and fluid cooling. During this process, hydrothermal rims with lighter δ34S values (8.4 ‰) grew on older metamorphic pyrite cores with relatively heavier δ34S values (17.4–18.2 ‰). Chalcopyrite displays overlapping S isotopic compositions with pyrite from different mineralization stages, suggesting that copper sulfides inherited reduced sulfur from earlier formed pyrite. Cooling and fluid–rock interactions serve as the critical controls triggering Cu precipitation from the fluid. The combined textural and compositional data of pyrite and chalcopyrite are suggestive of a syn-orogenic copper deposit model, in which all the ore-grade copper was introduced during the Zhongtiao orogeny.

Sediment Hosted Stratiform Copper (SSC) Mineralization in Bhudoli-Basari Area, North Delhi Fold Belt, Mesoproterozoic Delhi Supergroup, Rajasthan

The rocks of the Kushalgarh Formation of the Delhi Supergroup in northeast Rajasthan, host low-temperature prospect generally known as sediment hosted stratiform copper (SSC) mineralization in Bhudoli-Basari area, district Sikar, Rajasthan. Mineralization is about 3km in length with variable width of up to 600m and sulphides occur mainly as fine dissemination as well as veinlets within the steeply dipping carbonate rocks, which were remobilized along the quartz-calcite veins during compaction and subsequent deformation. The prospect is product of low-temperature aqueous brines. The brines leached, transported, and deposited copper (and associated metals) as per physical and chemical stabilities. The mineralization in the Bhudoli-Basari SSC consists mainly of bedding-parallel disseminations of fine-grained sulphides, typically zoned. Copper is leached from poorly sorted first-cycle clastic sediments of footwall redbeds, associated meta/volcanics of the Raialo Group and basement rocks during their progressive diagenetic alteration by moderate-temperature oxygen rich brines. Ore mineral zoning from chalcocite to pyrite in the Bhudoli-Basari area is archetypal to other SSC deposits viz. the Kupferschiefer of Poland-Germany and the Central African Copper belt of Zambia.

Latent volcanic heat and further unique aspects of early diagenetic stratiform copper mineralization in the White Pine-Presque Isle District, northern Michigan

The curious occurrence of copper-rich early diagenetic sediment-hosted stratiform copper mineralization in the finest-grained facies of Nonesuch greybeds in northern Michigan has been previously attributed to the warming of cupriferous brines in the footwall Copper Harbor Conglomerate by latent volcanic heat from the subjacent Porcupine Volcanics shield volcano. That anomalous footwall warming is employed here to explain other unique aspects of the White Pine-Presque Isle mineralization: the abrupt downward sulfide zoning from disseminated pyrite to chalcocite across the top of the cupriferous zone; the absence of bornite and chalcopyrite in the cupriferous zone proper; and the essential absence of pseudomorphs after pyrite euhedra and framboidal aggregates within the cupriferous zone proper, as well as the relatively coarse-grained character of disseminated chalcocite in the cupriferous zone.

In Situ Monazite Dating of Sediment-Hosted Stratiform Copper Mineralization in the Redstone Copper Belt, Northwest Territories, Canada: Cupriferous Fluid Flow Late in the Evolution of a Neoproterozoic Sedimentary Basin

AbstractThe 300-km-long Redstone copper belt in the Mackenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada, is composed of a series of sediment-hosted stratiform copper (SSC) deposits hosted in Neoproterozoic fault-bounded intracontinental rift basins. Mineralization at Coates Lake, the largest of these deposits, is concentrated within microbial laminite layers in the transition zone between underlying continental red beds of the Redstone River Formation and overlying marine carbonates of the Coppercap Formation. Disseminated cupriferous sulfides (chalcopyrite, bornite, and chalcocite) form part of a late diagenetic mineral association with dolomite, K-feldspar, albite, quartz, monazite, apatite, and pyrite that partially replaced detrital and early diagenetic minerals, including calcite cements, sulfate, and earlier generations of pyrite. Bornite (± minor chalcopyrite), calcite, dolomite, quartz, K-feldspar, and albite were also deposited in rare bedding-parallel veins adjacent to the lowermost mineralized microbial laminite layer in the transition zone.The absolute timing of mineralization was constrained by in situ U-Th-Pb chemical dating of monazite from four samples hosting disseminated SSC-type mineralization. The monazite have rounded, Th-U-heavy rare earth element-rich, detrital cores surrounded by Th-U-poor, light rare earth element-S-Sr-rich rims. The rim stage of monazite growth is intergrown with and enveloped by cupriferous sulfide and is paragenetically constrained as being part of the disseminated SSC-type mineralizing event. Eleven detrital cores yielded dates between 1843 and 1025 Ma, older than the depositional age of transition zone strata previously constrained to be between 775 and 732 Ma. Ten monazite rims yielded dates between 661 and 607 Ma. A weighted average date of 635 ± 13 Ma provides a maximum estimate, and is our preferred interpretation, for the absolute age of all copper mineralization at the Coates Lake deposit. Mineralization formed approximately 100 m.y. after deposition of the host rocks, during the thermal sag phase of continental rifting.Stratigraphic reconstructions, coupled with estimates of sediment compaction, indicate that at 635 Ma the transition zone was buried by ~4 km of sediments and overlaid another ~1.7 km of sediments that formed the Redstone River and Thundercloud Formations. Mudstone and carbonate-rich units above the transition zone acted as low permeability caps that led to suprahydrostatic fluid pressures in the underlying sediments. The bedding-parallel veins indicate transient supralithostatic fluid pressures. Free convection of pore fluids began within the transition zone and underlying units once they became hydrologically isolated from overlying strata. Mineralization formed as oxidized saline pore fluids circulated through the red beds (± underlying basaltic flows and basal sedimentary detritus), stripping copper and carrying it up into the transition zone. The salinity of the pore fluids may have, at least in part, originated from cryogenic brines generated by the Sturtian (717–662 Ma) global glaciation event.

Constraints on Conceptual and Quantitative Modeling of Early Diagenetic Sediment-Hosted Stratiform Copper Mineralization

Early diagenetic sediment-hosted stratiform copper (eSSC) mineralization results from low-temperature cuprous chloride complexes carried by saline aqueous solution circulating through footwall aquifers. Favorable copper solubilities are attained in moderately oxidizing, near-neutral pH solutions. That specific oxidation level is not determined by co-existence with hematite, with its near-indiscriminant control over Eh. Instead, redbed footwall aquifers are signatures of diagenetic oxidation. Relentless in-situ oxidation of ferrous minerals in redbeds produces pore waters too reduced to transport copper, thus eliminating compaction waters as ore solutions. Continuous early influxes of descending oxygen-rich meteoric waters which have assimilated evaporitic salts may redden aquifers and still retain oxidation levels capable of carrying copper to form downstream eSSCs.

Reactive transport modelling of ore mineral zoning and the paragenesis of copper sulfides in sediment-hosted stratiform ore deposits, the Katanga Copperbelt (DRC)

1. Introduction and geological settingSediment-hosted stratiform copper deposits are characterized by including several types of sulfide and oxide minerals that exhibit different zoning and paragenesis. Stratiform copper mineralization in the Katanga Copperbelt (Democratic Republic of Congo; Fig. 1) took place in the Neoproterozoic Katanga Supergroup, mainly in the Roan Group, but also in the Nguba and Kundelungu Groups. The Nguba Group overlies the Roan Group and consists at its base of the Grand Conglomerat, a glacial deposit. The Nguba Group is overlain by the Kundelungu Group, with the Petit Conglomerat at its base. The latter is also a diamictite deposit (Cailteux et al., 2005). Two main ore bodies are present in the Mines Subgroup in the lower part of the Roan Group, i.e. the Lower and Upper Orebody. Between both ore bodies, a barren or weakly mineralized member, the Roches Siliceuses Cellulaire (RSC), occurs. The host rock of the two ore bodies is formed by dolomitic shales, siltstones and stromatolitic dolomites (Cailteux et al., 2005). The latter shales and siltstones contain lenticular layers and nodules of pseudomorphs after anhydrite and very early diagenetic pyrite (Cailteux et al., 2005). The RSC is interpreted to originally represent massive stromatolitic dolomites with some interbedded dolomitic siltstone, and thus biogenic carbonates. Figure 1. Location of the Central African Copperbelt and of the most important ore deposits (after Cailteux et al. 2005).Numer

Fluid Inclusion and Carbon‐Oxygen Isotope Studies of the Hujiayu Cu Deposit, Zhongtiao Mountains, China: Implications for Syn‐metamorphic Copper Remobilization

The Hujiayu Cu deposit, representative of the “HuBi‐type” Cu deposits in the Zhongtiao Mountains district in the southern edge of the North China Craton, is primarily hosted in graphite‐bearing schists and carbonate rocks. The ore minerals comprise mainly chalcopyrite, with minor sphalerite, siegenite [(Co, Ni)3S4], and clausthalite [Pb(S,Se)]. The gangue minerals are mainly quartz and dolomite, with minor albite. Four fluid inclusion types were recognized in the chalcopyrite‐pyrite‐dolomite‐quartz veins, including CO2‐rich inclusions (type I), low‐salinity, liquid‐dominated, biphase aqueous inclusions (type II), solid‐bearing aqueous inclusions (type III), and solid‐bearing aqueous‐carbonic inclusions (type IV). Type I inclusion can be further divided into two sub‐types, i.e., monophase CO2 inclusions (type Ia) and biphase CO2‐rich inclusions (with a visible aqueous phase), and type III inclusion is divided into a subtype with a halite daughter mineral (type IIIa) and a subtype with multiple solids (type IIIb). Various fluid inclusion assemblages (FIAs) were identified through petrographic observations, and were classified into four groups. The group‐1 FIA, consisting of monophase CO2 inclusions (type Ia), homogenized into the liquid phase in a large range of temperatures from −1 to 28°C, suggesting post‐entrapment modification. The group‐2 FIA consists of type Ib, IIIb and IV inclusions, and is interpreted to reflect fluid immiscibility. The group‐3 FIA comprises type II and IIIa inclusions, and the group‐4 FIA consists of type II inclusions with consistent phase ratios. The group‐1 and group‐2 FIAs are interpreted to be entrapped during mineralization, whereas group‐3 and group‐4 FIAs probably represent the post‐mineralization fluids. The solid CO2 melting temperatures range from −60.6 to 56.6° C and from −66.0 to −63.4° C for type Ia and type IV inclusions, respectively. The homogenization temperatures for type II inclusions range from 132 to 170°C for group‐3 FIAs and 115 to 219°C for group‐4 FIAs. The halite melting temperatures range from 530 to 562°C for type IIIb and IV inclusions, whereas those for type IIIa inclusions range from 198 to 398°C. Laser Raman and SEM‐EDS results show that the gas species in fluid inclusions are mainly CO2 with minor CH4, and the solids are dominated by calcite and halite. The calcite in the hosting marble and dolomite in the hydrothermal veins have δ13CV‐PDB values of −1.2 to 1.2‰ and −1.2 to −6.3‰, and δ18OV‐SMOW values of 14.0 to 20.8 ‰ and 13.2 to 14.3 ‰, respectively. The fluid inclusion and carbon‐oxygen isotope data suggest that the ore‐forming fluids were probably derived from metamorphic fluids, which had reacted with organic matter in sedimentary rocks or graphite and undergone phase separation at 1.4–1.8 kbar and 230–240°C, after peak metamorphism. It is proposed that the Hujiayu Cu deposit consists of two mineralization stages. The early stage mineralization, characterized by disseminated and veinlet copper sulfides, probably took place in an environment similar to sediment‐hosted stratiform copper mineralization. Ore minerals formed in this precursor mineralization stage were remobilized and enriched in the late metamorphic hydrothermal stage, leading to the formation of thick quartz–dolomite–sulfides veins.

LATENT THERMAL EFFECTS FROM PORCUPINE VOLCANICS CALDERAS UNDERLYING THE WHITE PINE-PRESQUE ISLE STRATIFORM COPPER MINERALIZATION, NORTHERN MICHIGAN

Economic stratiform copper mineralization in the fine-grained, carbonaceous basal Nonesuch Formation of the ~50-km-wide White Pine-Presque Isle mining district, northern Michigan, has long been explained by the essentially vertical infiltration of cupriferous brine across the full width of basal Nonesuch strata from the underlying Copper Harbor Conglomerate aquifer, followed by copper precipitation mainly by reactions with in situ iron sulfide. Based on that model, why do lesser amounts of total copper, measured in vertical sections, occur in coarser grained (presumably more permeable) basal Nonesuch strata situated laterally to the east and west of the mining district? The answer may lie in increased infiltration rates for Copper Harbor-hosted ore-forming brine warmed locally by latent volcanic heat from a resurgent caldera (or calderas) located within the large Porcupine Volcanics dome underlying the mine district. Not only would caldera heat have warmed the brine and lowered its density, but more importantly it would have produced a remarkable decrease in the brine viscosity. An increase in temperature from 15° to 100°C could have increased the brine infiltration rate by more than four times in very early diagenetic time when the sediments were poorly compacted and highly porous. Because progressive compaction would have opposed the temperature effect, a very early diagenetic timing is suggested for main-stage copper mineralization over the Porcupine Volcanics caldera. Textural evidence has also long supported an early mineralization event. At the rift-basin scale, the exceptionally rapid upward flux of warmed brine into fine-grained Nonesuch over the caldera would have required equivalent volumes of replacement brine, which would in turn have required a lateral convergence of brine within the footwall Copper Harbor Conglomerate aquifer toward the White Pine-Presque Isle district. This lateral focus of brine toward the warm caldera area would have created a more efficient basin-scale ore-forming system than that resulting from a linear hydrogeologic flow. Most concepts described here deserve further evaluation through quantitative hydrogeologic modeling. Thermal effects on ore brine viscosities and densities, developed here for the sediment-hosted stratiform copper mineralization of the White Pine-Presque Isle district, could be considered in genetic models for other deposits and deposit types. The effects are especially strong for solutions warmed from low temperatures (e.g., 20°C or lower) to 100°C, and could also be important to ore fluid flow for ores involving much higher hydrothermal temperatures if solutions with initially low temperatures played a role in their genesis.

The Mesoproterozoic Copperwood Sedimentary Rock-Hosted Stratiform Copper Deposit, Upper Peninsula, Michigan

Copperwood is located in Gogebic County, Upper Peninsula, Michigan, within the Porcupine Mountains copper district. It was discovered in 1956 and, in 2008, Orvana Minerals Corp began exploration and development work with production projected in the near future. Stratiform copper mineralization is hosted by gray to black shales and siltstones of the basal Nonesuch Formation. Copper mineralization is overlain by laminated gray siltstones of the Nonesuch Formation and is underlain by red-bed sandstones, conglomerates, and minor siltstones of the Copper Harbor Formation; these rocks are part of a thick section of clastic sedimentary rocks that comprise the upper fill of the Mesoproterozoic (1.1–1.0 Ga) Midcontinent rift. The copper deposit is a tabular body that averages 2.5 m thick, lacks significant basal undulations, and dips 8° to 12° northward on the southwest limb of the Western syncline, an open fold with a shallow plunge to the northwest. Chalcocite is the only Cu-bearing mineral in the orebody and occurs as concentrations along stratigraphic laminations and as disseminated grains. Within the orebody, there is no mineral or metal zoning; Cu, Ag, and S are strongly enriched, Zn is very slightly enriched and Pb and Co lack enrichment. Gangue minerals in the orebody are quartz, clinochore, muscovite/illite, plagioclase, K-feldspar, calcite, and hematite, which are consistent with temperatures of less than 130°C. Only one significant fault, a shallow NW-dipping reverse fault with displacement of up to 7 m, has disturbed the section. The mineralized zone at Copperwood is stratigraphically equivalent to that at the White Pine mine, but Copperwood lacks the structural complexity and the hydrothermal overprint manifested by the native Cu mineralization at White Pine. Reported Canadian National Instrument 43-101-compliant measured, indicated, and inferred resources are 33 million metric tonnes (Mt) of 1.60% Cu and 4.1 ppm Ag for total contained Cu of about 1.165 billion lb and 4.32 Moz of Ag. The characteristics of Copperwood are consistent with those of reduced-facies, or Kupferschiefer-type, sedimentary rock-hosted stratiform copper deposits. The proposed genetic model is chalcocite replacement of pyrite in unlithified sediments during diagenesis as a result of emanating upward-focused, compaction-driven, Cu-bearing saline basinal waters with Cu leached from the underlying red-bed paleoquifer. The simplicity of the mineralizing event and the undeformed nature of the deposit distinguish Copperwood from most other examples of reduced-facies, or Kupferschiefer-type, sedimentary rock-hosted stratiform copper deposits throughout the world.

Age and genesis of the White Pine stratiform copper mineralization, northern Michigan, USA, from paleomagnetism

AbstractAt White Pine, the stratiform sedimentary copper (SSC) mineralization occurs mostly as chalcocite in gray‐black shales in the basal approximately 6 m of the 1081 ± 9 Ma Nonesuch Formation of the Keweenawan Supergroup. Paleomagnetic analysis of 176 specimens (19 sites) isolated collinear characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) directions in both magnetite and hematite in both the oxidized SSC zones and overlying pyritic and upper zones of the Nonesuch Formation. A paleomagnetic fold test shows that the normal‐polarity ChRM is prefolding in origin. Combining the ChRM directions from this study (18 sites) and from (Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 14, 1977, 1128; 11 sites), the Nonesuch mineralized and nonmineralized sites give a paleopole at 7.3°N, 174.7°E (N = 29, A95 = 3.0°), yielding an age of 1063 ±8 Ma on the Keweenawan apparent polar wander path. The observed 1063 ± 8 Ma age is interpreted to date both the average age of oxidation and mineralization of the SSC zone. Thus, ore genesis occurred after burial by the overlying Freda Formation and after conversion by oxidation of the underlying original clastic sediments of the Copper Harbor Formation to red beds, most likely by gravity‐driven recharge of subsurface brines by meteoric water from adjacent highlands on the southeast side of the Keweenawan Rift.

The sandstone-hosted stratiform copper mineralization at Mwitapile and its relation to the mineralization at Lufukwe, Lufilian foreland, Democratic Republic of Congo

The Lufilian foreland is a triangular-shaped area located in the SE of the Democratic Republic of Congo and to the NE of the Lufilian arc, which hosts the well-known Central African Copperbelt. The Lufilian foreland recently became an interesting area with several vein-type (e.g., Dikulushi) and stratiform (e.g., Lufukwe and Mwitapile) copper occurrences. The Lufilian foreland stratiform Cu mineralization is, to date, observed in sandstone rock units belonging to the Nguba and Kundelungu Groups (Katanga Supergroup). The Mwitapile sandstone-hosted stratiform Cu prospect is located in the north eastern part of the Lufilian foreland. The host rock for the Cu mineralization is the Sonta Sandstone of the Ngule Subgroup (Kundelungu Group). A combined remote sensing, petrographic and fluid inclusion microthermometric analysis was performed at Mwitapile and compared with similar analysis previously carried out at Lufukwe to present a metallogenic model for the Mwitapile- and Lufukwe-type stratiform copper deposits. Interpretation of ETM+ satellite images for the Mwitapile prospect and the surrounding areas indicate the absence of NE–SW or ENE–WSW faults, similar to those observed controlling the mineralization at Lufukwe. Faults with these orientations are, however, present to the NW, W, SW and E of the Mwitapile prospect. At Mwitapile, the Sonta Sandstone host rock is intensely compacted, arkosic to calcareous with high silica cementation (first generation of authigenic quartz overgrowths). In the Sonta Sandstone, feldspar and calcite are present in disseminated, banded and nodular forms. Intense dissolution of these minerals caused the presence of disseminated rectangular, pipe-like and nodular dissolution cavities. Sulfide mineralization is mainly concentrated in these cavities. The hypogene sulfide minerals consist of two generations of pyrite, chalcopyrite, bornite and chalcocite, separated by a second generation of authigenic quartz overgrowth. The hypogene sulfide minerals are replaced by supergene digenite and covellite. Fluid inclusion microthermometry on the first authigenic quartz phase indicates silica precipitation from an H 2O–NaCl–CaCl 2 fluid with a minimum temperature between 111 and 182 °C and a salinity between 22.0 and 25.5 wt.% CaCl 2 equiv. Microthermometry on the second authigenic quartz overgrowths and in secondary trails related to the mineralization indicate that the mineralizing fluid is characterized by variable temperatures (Th = 120 to 280 °C) and salinities (2.4 to 19.8 wt.% NaCl equiv.) and by a general trend of increasing temperatures with increasing salinities. Comparison between Mwitapile and Lufukwe indicates that the stratiform Cu mineralization in the two deposits is controlled by similar sedimentary, diagenetic and structural factors and likely formed from a similar mineralizing fluid. A post-orogenic timing is proposed for the mineralization in both deposits. The main mineralization controlling factors are grain size, clay and pyrobitumen content, the amount and degree of feldspar and/or calcite dissolution and the presence of NE–SW to ENE–WSW faults. The data support a post-orogenic fluid-mixing model for the Mwitapile- and Lufukwe-type sandstone-hosted stratiform Cu deposits, in which the mineralization is related to the mixing between a Cu-rich hydrothermal fluid, with a temperature up to 280 °C and a maximum salinity of 19.8 wt.% NaCl equiv., with a colder low salinity reducing fluid present in the sandstone host rock. The mineralizing fluid likely migrated upwards to the sandstone source rocks along NE–SW to ENE–WSW orientated faults. At Lufukwe, the highest copper grades at surface outcrops and boreholes were found along and near to these faults. At Mwitapile, where such faults are 2 to 3 km away, the Cu grades are much lower than at Lufukwe. Copper precipitation was possibly promoted by reduction from pre-existing hydrocarbons and non-copper sulfides and by the decrease in fluid salinity and temperature during mixing. Based on this research, new Cu prospects were proposed at Lufukwe and Mwitapile and a set of recommendations for further Cu exploration in the Lufilian foreland is presented.

Postorogenic Origin of the Stratiform Cu Mineralization at Lufukwe, Lufilian Foreland, Democratic Republic of Congo

The Central African Copperbelt, which stretches across the border between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, is one of the largest sediment-hosted stratiform Cu-Co provinces in the world. The triangular-shaped Lufilian foreland is located to the northeast of the Copperbelt. Recently sediment-hosted stratiform copper occurrences have been explored in the foreland, including the Kinkumbi prospect in the Lufukwe anticline. Although the stratiform copper mineralization in the Copperbelt is mainly concentrated in the Roan Group sedimentary rocks, where it is commonly associated with cobalt, the Lufilian foreland copper mineralization occurs in sedimentary rock units of the Nguba and Kundelungu Groups where it is mainly associated with silver. This paper examines the metallogenesis of the stratiform copper mineralization at Lufukwe. The Lufukwe anticline is situated in the eastern part of the Lufilian foreland and is composed of Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks belonging to the Katanga Supergroup. The Kinkumbi prospect, a sediment-hosted stratiform copper-silver occurrence, is located in the northern part of the western flank of the anticline. This part of the anticline is characterized by disseminated copper-silver mineralization hosted in the lower 10 to 15 m of the Monwezi Sandstone (Nguba Group). A comparison between the location of high copper grades in surface samples and boreholes and the location of structural lineaments visible on ASTER images indicates that the mineralization is spatially related to northeast-southwest to east-northeast‐west-southwest strike-slip faults. These faults are nearly perpendicular to the strike of the host rock and postdate both the Lufilian folding and deposition of the entire Katanga Supergroup. The Monwezi Sandstone was subjected to strong compaction and silica cementation (authigenic quartz overgrowths), followed by intense feldspar dissolution, which resulted in a well-developed secondary porosity represented by dissolution cavities. Copper sulfides are mainly concentrated in these cavities and partially replace the detrital grains. The copper mineralization is both hypogene (chalcopyrite, bornite, and chalcocite) and supergene (digenite, covellite, and minor native copper), with malachite and chrysocolla as the main oxidation products. Point counting and grain size measurements demonstrate that the sandstone horizons with high copper content (>1.25% Cu) are those with a detrital grain size larger than 175 µm, more than 35 percent altered feldspars and little or no fine-grained matrix. Microthermometry of fluid inclusions indicates that the authigenic quartz overgrowths precipitated from a moderate-temperature (80°‐130°C), high-salinity (18.8‐23.4 wt % CaCl2 equiv) H2O-NaCl-CaCl2 fluid. The hypogene copper-silver mineralization was deposited from a hot (120°‐180°C) and low- to moderate-salinity (1.9‐7.7 wt % NaCl equiv) H2O-NaCl fluid with a general trend of increasing homogenization temperatures with increasing salinities. The interpretation of the available structural, stratigraphic, petrographic, and fluid inclusion microthermometric data constrain the timing of the mineralization to a time after the Lufilian folding and deposition of the entire Katanga Supergroup. The data presented support a postorogenic fluid-mixing model in which the mineralization is related to the mixing of a copper-rich mineralizing fluid with a temperature ≥180°C and salinity ≥7.7 wt percent NaCl equiv, likely migrating upward along northeast-southwest‐ to east-northeast‐west-southwest‐oriented strike-slip faults, with a colder, low-salinity, reducing fluid in the Monwezi Sandstone. The location and distance between the northeast-southwest to east-northeast‐west-southwest faults strongly influenced the spatial distribution of the copper mineralization in the anticline, and the variability in grain size and composition of the Monwezi Sandstone caused the preferential lateral migration of the mineralizing fluid through the lower 10 to 15 m. Copper precipitation was possibly induced by reduction by preexisting noncopper sulfides (pyrite and arsenopyrite) and hydrocarbons and by the drop in fluid temperature and salinity. Based on this research the areas with dominant northeast-southwest to east-northeast‐west-southwest structural lineaments are considered favorable sites for further copper exploration in the Lufilian foreland, especially where these lineaments cut previously deformed Katanga sediments. Coarse-grained sandstones with no fine matrix that underwent intense feldspar dissolution are the most promising host rocks for the late disseminated stratiform copper mineralization in the Lufilian foreland. Airborne gamma-ray spectrometric surveys could be used as a powerful exploration tool for targeting ore-related, K-depleted zones in these sandstones.

Geological context, mineralization, and timing of the Juramento sediment-hosted stratiform copper–silver deposit, Salta district, northwestern Argentina

The Juramento deposit in northwestern Argentina exhibits several readily visible general characteristics of sediment-hosted stratiform copper (SSC) mineralization. It consists of fine-grained disseminated base-metal sulfides within marine to lacustrine graybeds (the basal whitish Late Cretaceous Lecho Sandstone and shallow-water carbonates of the overlying Maastrichtian Yacoraite Formation) that overlie a thick sequence of redbeds (the Pirgua Subgroup). The property has been examined and drilled in three successive exploration programs as a possible analog of world-class mineralization in the copperbelts of central Africa and the Kupferschiefer. The present report provides specific field and laboratory results that confirm the classification as SSC-type mineralization. The host graybeds are the basal sandstone and overlying oolitic and stromatolitic units of the Yacoraite Formation, which are shown from textural studies to be carbonaceous and to have initially contained very fine-grained, disseminated, syndiagenetic pyrite. These sediments would have been sufficiently porous and permeable in early diagenetic time to allow an infiltration of metalliferous fluids from the underlying redbeds, resulting in the observed progressive replacement of in situ pyrite by common base-metal sulfides (sphalerite, galena, argentiferous tetrahedrite, and copper-rich sulfides: first chalcopyrite, then bornite, and finally chalcocite). Sulfur isotope analyses indicate that a portion of the sulfur of ore-stage sulfides is isotopically heavier than that of pyrite, possibly due to a contribution from associated gypsum. Ore-stage sulfides are zoned vertically and obliquely through the mineralized zones, from cupriferous sulfides at low stratigraphic levels to lead- and zinc-rich mineralization above, with unreplaced pyrite remaining within upper Yacoraite strata. The zoned sulfides and their replacement textures, the peneconformable configuration of the mineralized zones, and the position of ore-stage mineralization adjacent to a stratigraphically defined redox transition from redbeds upward into graybeds indicate an overprint of copper (and accompanying ore-stage metals) on originally pyritic graybeds. The influx of ore-stage metals, presumably in an oxidized low-temperature brine, terminated with a silicification event that effectively sealed the host carbonates. These observations and the overall genetic interpretation are consistent with the general deposit-scale genetic model for early diagenetic SSC mineralization. The regional geologic context is also consistent with its classification as a SSC deposit: It is hosted by post-oxyatmoversion sediments and was formed in association with evaporites at a low paleolatitude in a major intracontinental rift system.

GENESIS OF NATIVE COPPER LODES IN THE KEWEENAW DISTRICT, NORTHERN MICHIGAN: A HYBRID EVOLVED METEORIC AND METAMOPHOGENIC MODEL

The Keweenaw Peninsula of northern Michigan is well known for early diagenetic sulfide-dominant sediment-hosted stratiform copper mineralization hosted mainly by basal siltstone-shale units of the Nonesuch Formation in the White Pine district, and later native copper lodes hosted mainly by flow-top breccias and amygdaloidal portions of flood basalts and interbedded conglomerates of the stratigraphically lower Portage Lake Volcanics. The native copper mineralization is generally attributed to downdip burial metamorphism of the host strata. An alternative model is proposed here, involving a complementary influx of evolved meteoric water (elevated in salinity and progressively equilibrating with its aquifers), similar to the fluid which formed the White Pine mineralization. This model has several advantages over the metamorphogenic model alone. It would provide the salinity (by dissolution of evaporites) and moderately oxidizing conditions (as a result of hematitization, i.e., reddening, of coarse continental rift sediments) necessary for copper transport, and the evolved meteoric water would have been an important cupriferous brine owing to the leaching of trace amounts of copper from the voluminous aquifers. Further reduction of the evolved fluid would also explain the updip deposition of native copper in association with dehematitized pumpellyite- and chlorite-dominant (i.e., reduced) hydrothermal mineral assemblages. At the same time, this influx of meteoric water from highlands adjacent to the Keweenaw rift basin would have provided a mechanism to move the deep-seated hot, dense ore brine upward along the aquifers of the Portage Lake Volcanics. On its ascent from deep portions of the rift basin, the gravity-driven evolved meteoric brine would have mixed with the fluid generated by burial metamorphism to form a hybrid evolved meteoric-metamorphogenic oreforming hydrothermal brine.

Close linkage of copper (and uranium) transport to diagenetic reddening of “upstream” basin sediments for sediment-hosted stratiform copper (and roll-type uranium) mineralization

Copper and uranium may be closely associated metals in sedimentary basins in which “upstream” sediments have been diagenetically reddened (e.g., sediment-hosted stratiform copper (SSC) deposits and roll-type uranium deposits) and the immediate hosts of mineralization are adjacent reduced sediments. The timing of leaching is closely linked to the process and timing of reddening, with descending meteoric water providing the oxygen needed for the reddening process. To leach and transport copper, the low-temperature pore solution must evolve to a brine, and importantly, its Eh must decrease to moderately positive levels (0.1 ± 0.1 V). For uranium, a simple oxidized solution is sufficient. Given the parallel Eh paths for copper and uranium and their close associations with diagenetic reddening, the dominant metal in sediment-hosted stratiform copper or roll-type uranium deposits is probably related closely to the source mineral and/or rock constituents of the reddened sediments.

Stratigraphy of the Proterozoic Revett Formation and Its Control on Ag-Pb-Zn Vein Mineralization in the Coeur d'Alene District, Idaho

The Proterozoic Revett Formation hosts most of the mesothermal Ag-Pb-Zn vein ore in the Coeur d’Alene district of northern Idaho. Although it had long been recognized that stratigraphy plays a fundamental role in determining where veins produce ore, the stratigraphy of the Revett Formation and its relationships to veins remained poorly known for most of the first 100 yr of mining in this district. In northern Idaho and western Montana, the Revett Formation contains informal lower, middle, and upper members. In the Coeur d’Alene district, most ore production south of the regionally significant Osburn fault came from the upper Revett Formation, and north of the fault, most production came from the upper and lower Revett Formation. Where vein structures intersect favorable strata, the veins contain rich ore; where vein structures cross unfavorable strata, they are poorly mineralized or barren. Quartzite is the most favorable host rock for base metal veins, and silicified blocky siltite is the most favorable host rock for silver veins. Both rock types are abundant in the Revett Formation, which accounts for the disproportionately large production from this unit. In the western portion of the Belt Supergroup, ore deposit types correlate with regional-scale thickness changes in the Revett Formation: sediment-hosted stratiform copper mineralization occurs in thin Revett Formation, whereas Coeur d’Alene veins occur in thick Revett Formation. Base metal veins in the Coeur d’Alene district occur in relatively thick, chemically reduced, relatively coarse grained Revett Formation, whereas silver veins occur in, or marginal to, areas with less thick, locally oxidized, relatively fine grained Revett Formation, demonstrating that district-scale metal zonation correlates with district-scale facies and thickness changes. The upper, middle, and lower Revett Formation thicken considerably southward across the Osburn fault, with the upper Revett showing over an order of magnitude thickness increase. Changes in thickness of the Revett Formation across the Osburn fault reflect a major, down-to-the-south, crustal-scale fault that was active during sedimentation and was periodically reactivated during the structural and metallogenic history of the district. We suggest that this fault and changes in stratigraphic thickness helped control fluid flow within and beyond the Coeur d’Alene district during mineralization events. Stratigraphic thickness and facies changes in the Revett Formation are greatest and most abrupt in the Coeur d’Alene district, indicating that this area was structurally complex during sedimentation. Presumably, this early structural complexity also enhanced subsequent Ag-Pb-Zn mesothermal vein formation.

A hydrogeologic model of stratiform copper mineralization in the Midcontinent Rift System, Northern Michigan, USA

AbstractThis paper presents a suite of two‐dimensional mathematical models of basin‐scale groundwater flow and heat transfer for the middle Proterozoic Midcontinent Rift System. The models were used to assess the hydrodynamic driving mechanisms responsible for main‐stage stratiform copper mineralization of the basal Nonesuch Formation during the post‐volcanic/pre‐compressional phase of basin evolution. Results suggest that compaction of the basal aquifer (Copper Harbor Formation), in response to mechanical loading during deposition of the overlying Freda Sandstone, generated a pulse of marginward‐directed, compaction‐driven discharge of cupriferous brines from within the basal aquifer. The timing of this pulse is consistent with the radiometric dates for the timing of mineralization. Thinning of the basal aquifer near White Pine, Michigan, enhanced stratiform copper mineralization. Focused upward leakage of copper‐laden brines into the lowermost facies of the pyrite‐rich Nonesuch Formation resulted in copper sulfide mineralization in response to a change in oxidation state. Economic‐grade mineralization within the White Pine ore district is a consequence of intense focusing of compaction‐driven discharge, and corresponding amplification of leakage into the basal Nonesuch Formation, where the basal aquifer thins dramatically atop the Porcupine Mountains volcanic structure. Equilibrium geochemical modeling and mass‐balance calculations support this conclusion. We also assessed whether topography and density‐driven flow systems could have caused ore genesis at White Pine. Topography‐driven flow associated with the Ottawan orogeny was discounted because it post‐dates main‐stage ore genesis and because recent seismic interpretations of basin inversion indicates that basin geometry would not be conductive to ore genesis. Density‐driven flow systems did not produce focused discharge in the vicinity of the White Pine ore district.

The Metal Potential of Carbonate Rocks in Ancient Reef Systems of Northeastern Asia

Carbonate organogenic buildups (reefs) are lithofacies barriers of marine basins separating sedimentation facies zones. Together with seafloor depressions, they make up two-facies systems that are favorable for the formation of stratiform lead, zinc, and copper deposits. Organogenic reefs are formed at the boundary between the littoral zone and the remaining shelf area, as well as on terraces separating the shelf and continental slope zones. The reefs control the stratiform copper mineralization in the first case and the MV-type lead–zinc mineralization in the second case. This work describes the following reef systems of northeastern Asia incorporating base metal deposits: Chencha (Late Riphean) system of the Zhuya–Patom Trough, West Yakutian (Early–Middle Cambrian), Tankhai–Ust'mil (Middle Cambrian), and Lena (Late Cambrian) systems of the Siberian Platform, and Urul'tun (Early Devonian) and Kamenka (Middle Devonian) systems of the Omulev and Kolyma blocks. The two-facies genetic model of the MV-type lead–zinc and stratiform copper deposits is substantiated.

The role of basin-scale transgression and sediment compaction in stratiform copper mineralization: implications from White Pine, Michigan, USA

We present a paleohydrologic model of stratiform copper mineralization in the Keweenawan Midcontinent Rift System. We attribute regional-scale mineralization in the basal facies of the transgressive Nonesuch Formation to compaction of the subjacent fluvial Copper Harbor Formation in response to deposition of the superjacent fluvial Freda Formation. The transgressive sequence focused compaction-driven discharge of cupriferous brines in the Copper Harbor Formation to the basin margins, where leakage into the overlying Nonesuch Formation drove redox-controlled copper precipitation. Intense fluid focusing atop a basement high formed the White Pine ore body. The timing of this simulated event is consistent with the inferred timing of stratiform mineralization. Our model satisfies mass-balance constraints at White Pine for a geologically plausible range of permeabilities and copper concentrations.