Archaean hydrothermal fluid modified zircons at Sunrise Dam and Kanowna Belle gold deposits, Western Australia: Implications for post-magmatic fluid activity and ore genesis

2018 ◽  
Vol 103 (12) ◽  
pp. 1891-1905 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Wang ◽  
Heejin Jeon ◽  
Noreen J. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Hydrothermal Fluid ◽  
Gold Deposits ◽  
Magmatic Fluid ◽  
Ore Genesis

scholarly journals Critical role of caldera collapse in the formation of seafloor mineralization: The case of Brothers volcano

Geology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (8) ◽  
pp. 762-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornel E.J. de Ronde ◽  
Susan E. Humphris ◽  
Tobias W. Höfig ◽  
Agnes G. Reyes ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Hydrothermal Fluid ◽  
Porphyry Copper ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Massive Sulfide ◽  
Wall Rock ◽  
Hydrothermal Activity ◽  
Gold Deposits ◽  
Hydrothermal Systems ◽  
Magmatic Fluid ◽  
Caldera Collapse

Abstract Hydrothermal systems hosted by submarine arc volcanoes commonly include a large component of magmatic fluid. The high Cu-Au contents and strongly acidic fluids in these systems are similar to those that formed in the shallow parts of some porphyry copper and epithermal gold deposits mined today on land. Two main types of hydrothermal systems occur along the submarine portion of the Kermadec arc (offshore New Zealand): magmatically influenced and seawater-dominated systems. Brothers volcano hosts both types. Here, we report results from a series of drill holes cored by the International Ocean Discovery Program into these two types of hydrothermal systems. We show that the extent of hydrothermal alteration of the host dacitic volcaniclastics and lavas reflects primary lithological porosity and contrasting spatial and temporal contributions of magmatic fluid, hydrothermal fluid, and seawater. We present a two-step model that links the changes in hydrothermal fluid regime to the evolution of the volcano caldera. Initial hydrothermal activity, prior to caldera formation, was dominated by magmatic gases and hypersaline brines. The former mixed with seawater as they ascended toward the seafloor, and the latter remained sequestered in the subsurface. Following caldera collapse, seawater infiltrated the volcano through fault-controlled permeability, interacted with wall rock and the segregated brines, and transported associated metals toward the seafloor and formed Cu-Zn-Au–rich chimneys on the caldera walls and rim, a process continuing to the present day. This two-step process may be common in submarine arc caldera volcanoes that host volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits, and it is particularly efficient at focusing mineralization at, or near, the seafloor.

Oxidized and reduced mineral assemblages in greenstone belt rocks of the St. Ives gold camp, Western Australia: vectors to high-grade ore bodies in Archaean gold deposits?

2007 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Neumayr ◽  
John Walshe ◽  
Steffen Hagemann ◽  
Klaus Petersen ◽  
Anthony Roache ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Greenstone Belt ◽  
Gold Deposits ◽  
High Grade ◽  
Ore Bodies ◽  
Mineral Assemblages

scholarly journals Coupled partitioning of Au and As into pyrite controls formation of giant Au deposits

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. eaav5891 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Kusebauch ◽  
S. A. Gleeson ◽  
M. Oelze
Keyword(s):  
Partition Coefficients ◽  
Hydrothermal Fluid ◽  
Iron Sulfide ◽  
Gold Deposits ◽  
Hydrothermal Systems ◽  
Hydrothermal Fluids ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Mass Balance Model ◽  
Depositional Process ◽  
Partitioning Behavior

The giant Carlin-type Au deposits (Nevada, USA) contain gold hosted in arsenic-rich iron sulfide (pyrite), but the processes controlling the sequestration of Au in these hydrothermal systems are poorly understood. Here, we present an experimental study investigating the distribution of Au and As between hydrothermal fluid and pyrite under conditions similar to those found in Carlin-type Au deposits. We find that Au from the fluid strongly partitions into a newly formed pyrite depending on the As concentration and that the coupled partitioning behavior of these two trace elements is key for Au precipitation. On the basis of our experimentally derived partition coefficients, we developed a mass balance model that shows that simple partitioning (and the underlying process of adsorption) is the major depositional process in these systems. Our findings help to explain why pyrite in Carlin-type gold deposits can scavenge Au from hydrothermal fluids so efficiently to form giant deposits.

NOBLE GASES FINGERPRINT THE SOURCE AND EVOLUTION OF ORE-FORMING FLUIDS OF CARLIN-TYPE GOLD DEPOSITS IN THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE, SOUTH CHINA

2020 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 455-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-Ye Jin ◽  
Albert H. Hofstra ◽  
Andrew G. Hunt ◽  
Jian-Zhong Liu ◽  
Wu Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South China ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Gold Mineralization ◽  
Gold Deposits ◽  
Pore Fluid ◽  
Magmatic Fluid ◽  
Metamorphic Fluid ◽  
Independent Evidence ◽  
Golden Triangle ◽  
Carlin Type Gold Deposits

Abstract Precise constraints on the source and evolution of ore-forming fluids of Carlin-type gold deposits in the Golden Triangle (south China) are of critical importance for a better understanding of the ore genesis and a refined genetic model for gold mineralization. However, constraints on the source of ore fluid components have long been a challenge due to the very fine grained nature of the ore and gangue minerals in the deposits. Here we present He, Ne, and Ar isotope data of fluid inclusion extracts from a variety of ore and gangue minerals (arsenian pyrite, realgar, quartz, calcite, and fluorite) representing the main and late ore stages of three well-characterized major gold deposits (Shuiyindong, Nibao, and Yata) to provide significant new insights into the source and evolution of ore-forming fluids of this important gold province. Measured He isotopes have R/RA ratios ranging from 0.01 to 0.4 that suggest a maximum of 5% mantle helium with an R/RA of 8. The Ne and Ar isotope compositions are broadly comparable to air-saturated water, with a few analyses indicating the presence of an external fluid containing nucleogenic 38Ar and radiogenic 40Ar. Plotted on the 20Ne/4He vs. helium R/RA and 3He/20Ne vs. 4He/20Ne diagrams, the results define two distinct arrays that emanate from a common sedimentary pore fluid or deeply sourced metamorphic fluid end-member containing crustal He. The main ore-stage fluids are interpreted as a mixture of magmatic fluid containing mantle He and sedimentary pore fluid or deeply sourced metamorphic fluid with predominantly crustal He, whereas the late ore-stage fluids are a mixture of sedimentary pore fluid or deeply sourced metamorphic fluid bearing crustal He and shallow meteoric groundwater containing atmospheric He. Results presented here, when combined with independent evidence, support a magmatic origin for the ore-forming fluids. The ascending magmatic fluid mixed with sedimentary pore fluid or deeply sourced metamorphic fluid in the ore stage and subsequently mixed with the meteoric groundwater in the late ore stage, eventually producing the Carlin-type gold deposits in the Golden Triangle.

Investigation based on quantified spatial relationships between gold deposits and ore genesis factors in northeast Malaysia

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Mathew Gregory Tagwai ◽  
Onimisi A. Jimoh ◽  
Kamar Shah Ariffin ◽  
Mohd Firdaus Abdul Razak
Keyword(s):  
Gold Deposits ◽  
Spatial Relationships ◽  
Ore Genesis

GOLD: Magnetic and Electrical Signatures of the Granny Smith Gold Deposits, Western Australia

1994 ◽  
Vol 1994 (1) ◽  
pp. 331-340
Author(s):  
John H Coggon ◽  
Steven G. Massey ◽  
William J. Amann
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Gold Deposits
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