scholarly journals Development of Complex Ore Zones

2021 ◽  
Vol 666 (6) ◽  
pp. 062023
Author(s):  
E B Shevkun ◽  
A V Leshchinskiy ◽  
A Yu Plotnikov
Keyword(s):  
2004 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Lafrance ◽  
Jerry C DeWolfe ◽  
Greg M Stott

The Beardmore–Geraldton Belt occurs along the southern margin of the Archean Wabigoon subprovince, Superior Province, Ontario. The belt consists of shear-bounded interleaved metasedimentary and metavolcanic units. The units were imbricated from 2696 to 2691 Ma during D1 thrusting and accretion of the Wabigoon, Quetico, and Wawa subprovinces. Post-accretion D2 deformation produced regional F2 folds that transposed lithological units parallel to the axial plane S2 cleavage of the folds. During D3 deformation, the folds were overprinted by a regional S3 cleavage oriented anticlockwise of F2 axial planes, and lithological contacts and S2 cleavage were reactivated as planes of shear within dextral regional shear zones that generally conform to the trend of the belt. D3 is a regional dextral transpression event that also affected the Quetico and Wawa subprovinces, south of the Beardmore–Geraldton Belt. Gold mineralization at the Leitch and MacLeod-Cockshutt mines, the two richest past-producing gold mines in the Beardmore–Geraldton Belt, is associated with D3 shear zones and folds, overprinting regional F2 folds. The plunge of the ore zones is parallel to F3 fold axes and to the intersection of D3 shear zones with F2 and F3 folds.


Geophysics ◽  
1952 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 378-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Wait

The problem of an infinite cable carrying an oscillating current parallel to a conducting cylinder is solved. The homogeneous electrical properties of the media inside and outside the cylinder can be arbitrary. The special case is considered in detail where the exterior medium is a relatively poor conducting medium. The application to geophysical prospecting for massive sulphide ore zones is discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (12) ◽  
pp. 1443-1457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucie Mathieu ◽  
Rose-Anne Bouchard ◽  
Vital Pearson ◽  
Réal Daigneault

The Coulon deposit is a volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) system in the James Bay area, Superior craton, Quebec, that was metamorphosed to amphibolite-facies conditions. The chemistry and mineralogy of the VMS-related alteration halo proximal to the mineralized sulphide lenses are investigated, using samples collected in the field and 5583 chemical analyses provided by Osisko Ltd. Alteration is quantified using mass balance and normative calculations, and the application and performance of these methods in an exploration context are investigated. In VMS systems, altered rocks proximal to the ore zones are characterized by multi-element metasomatism, which is best quantified by mass balance methods that have been successfully applied in the study area. However, mass balance calculations necessitate the documentation of a precursor, which is not always possible in an exploration context; therefore, an alternative method (i.e., alteration indices) was also evaluated. In most VMS systems, proximal alteration is characterized by chlorite (chloritization), muscovite (sericitization), and quartz (silicification), while at the Coulon deposit, altered rocks contain mostly cordierite, biotite, sillimanite, and quartz. Alteration indices were calculated using observed and normative minerals, and provide satisfactory results similar to those obtained with mass balance calculations. Using these results, recommendations are made to estimate the intensity of alteration in the core shack using the proportions of observed minerals. Alteration indices are sensitive to the composition of precursors; and because of high-grade metamorphism, chloritization and sericitization are not precisely quantified. Recognizing these limitations is essential to successful quantification of alteration in areas metamorphosed to high-grade conditions.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Yergeau ◽  
P. Mercier-Langevin ◽  
B. Dubé ◽  
V. McNicoll ◽  
S. E. Jackson ◽  
...  

Abstract The Westwood deposit, located in the Archean Doyon-Bousquet-LaRonde mining camp in the southern Archean Abitibi greenstone belt, contains 4.5 Moz (140 metric t) of gold. The deposit is hosted in the 2699–2695 Ma submarine, tholeiitic to calc-alkaline volcanic, volcaniclastic, and intrusive rocks of the Bousquet Formation. The deposit is located near the synvolcanic (ca. 2699–2696 Ma) Mooshla Intrusive Complex that hosts the Doyon epizonal intrusion-related Au ± Cu deposit, whereas several Au-rich volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits are present east of the Westwood deposit. The Westwood deposit consists of stratigraphically stacked, contrasting, and overprinting mineralization styles that share analogies with both the intrusion-related and VMS deposits of the camp. The ore zones form three distinct, slightly discordant to stratabound corridors that are, from north (base) to south (top), the Zone 2 Extension, the North Corridor, and the Westwood Corridor. Syn- to late-main regional deformation and upper greenschist to lower amphibolite facies regional metamorphism affect the ore zones, alteration assemblages, and host rocks. The Zone 2 Extension consists of Au ± Cu sulfide (pyrite-chalcopyrite)-quartz veins and zones of disseminated to semimassive sulfides. The ore zones are spatially associated with a series of calc-alkaline felsic sills and dikes that crosscut the mafic to intermediate, tholeiitic to transitional, lower Bousquet Formation volcanic rocks. The metamorphosed proximal alteration consists of muscovite-quartz-pyrite ± gypsum-andalusite-kyanite-pyrophyllite argillic to advanced argillic-style tabular envelope that is up to a few tens of meters thick. The North Corridor consists of auriferous semimassive to massive sulfide veins, zones of sulfide stringers, and disseminated sulfides that are hosted in intermediate volcaniclastic rocks at the base of the upper Bousquet Formation. The Westwood Corridor consists of semimassive to massive sulfide lenses, veins, zones of sulfide stringers, and disseminated sulfides that are located higher in the stratigraphic sequence, at or near the contact between calc-alkaline dacite domes and overlying calc-alkaline rhyodacite of the upper Bousquet Formation. A large, semiconformable distal alteration zone that encompasses the North Corridor is present in the footwall and vicinity of the Westwood Corridor. This metamorphosed alteration zone consists of an assemblage of biotite-Mn garnet-chlorite-carbonate ± muscovite-albite. A proximal muscovite-quartz-chlorite-pyrite argillic-style alteration assemblage is associated with both corridors. The Zone 2 Extension ore zones and associated alteration are considered synvolcanic based on crosscutting relationships and U-Pb geochronology and are interpreted as being the distal expression of an epizonal magmatic-hydrothermal system that is centered on the upper part of the synvolcanic Mooshla Intrusive Complex. The North and Westwood corridors consist of bimodal-felsic Au-rich VMS-type mineralization and alteration produced by the convective circulation of modified seawater that included a magmatic contribution from the coeval epizonal Zone 2 Extension magmatic-hydrothermal system. The Westwood Au deposit represents one of the very few documented examples of an Archean magmatic-hydrothermal system—or at least of such systems formed in a subaqueous environment. The study of the Westwood deposit resulted in a better understanding of the critical role of magmatic fluid input toward the formation of Archean epizonal intrusion-related Au ± Cu and seafloor/subseafloor Au-rich VMS-type mineralization.


1991 ◽  
Vol 55 (381) ◽  
pp. 535-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sachinath Mitra ◽  
Tapan Pal ◽  
Taraknath Pal

AbstractChromites from two horizons of the Sukinda area (India) marked as ‘grey ore’ and ‘brown ore’ zones have been studied by 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, which revealed that both chromite types are oxidised and have a type of disordered spinel structure in which octahedral sites are occupied by Fe2+ ions.The spectra of the grey ore sample can be fitted to three doublets corresponding to Fe2+ (A), Fe3+ (A) and Fe2+ (B) sites. This sample is less oxidised than the brown ore, in which progressive oxidation in the magmatic (?) stage led to the complete conversion of Fe2+ in A sites to Fe3+. The spectra of the brown ore are characterised by two doublets correpsonding to two tetrahedral (A) sites of Fe3+ with different next-nearest neighbour configurations and a third doublet for Fe2+ at the B site. The brown ores have higher chromium and Fe3+ content and have lesser amounts of Ni and Al in comparison to the grey ores. Megascopically, the former shows larger crystal sizes. The high Fe3+ content in the brown ore suggests that this type of chromite was formed in a region of high ƒO2 in the magmatic environment. This perhaps occurred at the part of the mantle where the temperature was higher and the rate of cooling was slower than that of the grey ores which crystallised in the magmatic melt.


1989 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
L.G.B.T. Polomé

Most of the gold deposits in the Barberton Greenstone belt of South Africa are relatively small and in structurally complex geological areas.The mise-a-la-masse electrical technique, where a current electrode is earthed in a mineralised zone, was used on one of our exploration projects consisting of a sulphides/gold-bearing carbonaceous banded iron formation within a succession of mafic, ultramafic and sedimentary rocks. The technique was successful in delineating individual mineralised units within a broad lithological sequence. During the survey, electrical potential measurements were recorded on surface, in underground drives and in twenty five boreholes. Measurements were also repeated by earthing the mineralised zone in a number of boreholes. Major discontinuities were recognised within the ore zones and used to interpret geological structures. These were then used to define specific units for ore reserve calculations and the application of selected mining techniques.


2017 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 695-705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrei Y. Barkov ◽  
Gennadiy I. Shvedov ◽  
Roberta L. Flemming ◽  
Anna Vymazalová ◽  
Robert F. Martin

AbstractWe describe occurrences of palladoan melonite in intimate intergrowths with cobaltite-gersdorffite from the Neoproterozoic dunite-wehrlite-gabbro complexes of Kingash and Kuskanak, Eastern Sayans, Russia. The observed compositional trends of melonite are consistent with the overallvariations examined on the basis of numerous literature sources. The levels of Bi in NiTe2 are normally limited to ≤0.25 Bi atoms per formula unit (apfu), under natural conditions. Greater levels (≤0.5 Bi apfu) are associated with the (Pd + Pt) enrichment in the palladoanvarieties. The telluride–sulfarsenide intergrowths probably formed at Kingash and Kuskanak late in the crystallization history of the ore zones, from microdroplets of residual melt rich in semimetals (Te, Bi, As) and noble metals (Pd and Ag), below the solidus of the enclosing gabbroicrocks and within a narrow range of temperatures (500–550°C). On the basis of our observations made on specimens of melonite and synthetic Ni(Te,Bi)2–x (x = 0.6), we infer that the limit of incorporation of Bi into a melonitetype phase is ≤0.5 Bi apfu.


2018 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jovica Stojanovic ◽  
Slobodan Radosavljevic ◽  
Radule Tosovic ◽  
Aleksandar Pacevski ◽  
Ana Radosavljevic-Mihajlovic ◽  
...  

The Rudnik orefield is one of the well-known skarn-replacement and high-temperature hydrothermal Pb-Zn-Cu-Ag-Bi-W polymetallic sulfide deposits, and is a part of the Sumadija Metallogenic District, Serbia. It comprises ore bodies grouped into several major ore zones. The pseudostratified and platelike ore bodies have relatively high content of valuable metals. The average content varies in wide ranges: Pb (0.94-5.66 wt%), Zn (0.49-4.49 wt%), Cu (0.08-2.18 wt%), Ag (50-297 ppm), Bi (~100-150 ppm), and Cd (~100-150 ppm). Generally, a complex mineral association has been determined. Iron sulfides, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena and sulfosalts are abundant minerals in the ore. Carrier minerals of Bi and Ag are Bi-sulfosalts, such as galenobismutite, cosalite, Ag-bearing aschamalmite, vikingite, schirmerite and gustavite. Copper, Ag and Pb-Sb sulfosalts have been found only locally. Complex Ni-minerals (sulfides, arsenides and sulfoarsenid?s) with Fe, Co and Ag were formed under to the influence of present serpentine rocks and their yield of Ni, Co and Cr in the hydrothermal ore-bearing solutions. Significant scheelite mineralizations have been found in the Nova Jama, Gusavi Potok and Azna ore zones. The presence of Bi-sulfosalts and argentopentlandite suggests formation temperatures higher than 350, and lower than 445?C, respectively. Therefore, the mineralization was formed in the temperature range 350 to 400?C. The continuity of pyrite, pyrrhotite and siderite colloform bands in relic aggregates shows frequent changes of fS2 and fO2 in hydrothermal solutions. Isotopic composition of sulfur also confirms that the source of the ore-bearing fluids was magmatic. In addition, the enrichment of Bi and Ag indicates a magmatic origin. The appearance of Biminerals represents a significant genetic indicator for detection of increased Ag concentrations within the ore mineralizations. Typical gangue minerals are quartz, silicates, carbonates, oxides and different oxy-hydroxides. Special attention is given to the paragenetic relationships and the genetic significance of mineral associations as indicators of ore-forming conditions.


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