The Westwood Deposit, Southern Abitibi Greenstone Belt, Canada: An Archean Au-Rich Polymetallic Magmatic-Hydrothermal System—Part II. Hydrothermal Alteration, Mineralization, and Geologic Model

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Yergeau ◽  
P. Mercier-Langevin ◽  
B. Dubé ◽  
V. McNicoll ◽  
S. E. Jackson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydrothermal System ◽  
Greenstone Belt ◽  
Massive Sulfide ◽  
Alteration Zone ◽  
Intrusive Complex ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Abitibi Greenstone Belt ◽  
The North ◽  
Vms Deposits ◽  
Ore Zones

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.

The Westwood Deposit, Southern Abitibi Greenstone Belt, Canada: An Archean Au-Rich Polymetallic Magmatic-Hydrothermal System—Part I. Volcanic Architecture, Deformation, and Metamorphism

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Yergeau ◽  
P. Mercier-Langevin ◽  
B. Dubé ◽  
M. Malo ◽  
A. Savoie
Keyword(s):  
Fractional Crystallization ◽  
Greenstone Belt ◽  
Massive Sulfide ◽  
Hydrothermal Systems ◽  
Lava Flows ◽  
Intrusive Complex ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Abitibi Greenstone Belt ◽  
Intrusive Rocks ◽  
Ore Zones

Abstract The Westwood deposit (4.5 Moz Au) is hosted in the 2699–2695 Ma Bousquet Formation volcanic and intrusive rocks, in the eastern part of the Blake River Group, southern Abitibi greenstone belt. The Bousquet Formation is divided in two geochemically distinct members: a mafic to intermediate, tholeiitic to transitional lower member and an intermediate to felsic, transitional to calc-alkaline upper member. The Bousquet Formation is cut by the synvolcanic (2699–2696 Ma) polyphase Mooshla Intrusive Complex, which is cogenetic with the Bousquet Formation. The deposit contains three strongly deformed (D2 flattening and stretching), steeply S-dipping mineralized corridors that are stacked from north to south: Zone 2 Extension, North Corridor, and Westwood Corridor. The North and Westwood corridors are composed of Au-rich polymetallic sulfide veins and stratabound to stratiform disseminated to massive sulfide ore zones that are spatially and genetically associated with the calcalkaline, intermediate to felsic volcanic rocks of the upper Bousquet Formation. The formation of the disseminated to semimassive ore zones is interpreted as strongly controlled by the replacement of porous volcaniclastic rocks at the contact with more impermeable massive cap rocks that helped confine the upflow of mineralizing fluids. The massive sulfide lenses are spatially associated with dacitic to rhyolitic domes and are interpreted as being formed, at least in part, on the paleoseafloor. The epizonal, sulfide-quartz vein-type ore zones of the Zone 2 Extension are associated with the injection of subvolcanic, calc-alkaline felsic sills and dikes within the lower Bousquet Formation. These subvolcanic intrusive rocks, previously interpreted as lava flows, are cogenetic and coeval with the intermediate to felsic lava flows and domes of the upper Bousquet Formation. The change from fractional crystallization to assimilation- and fractional crystallization-dominated processes and transitional to calc-alkaline magmatism is interpreted to be responsible for the development of the auriferous ore-forming system. The Westwood deposit is similar to some Phanerozoic Au ± base metal-rich magmatic-hydrothermal systems, both in terms of local volcano-plutonic architecture and inferred petrogenetic context. The complex volcanic evolution of the host sequence at Westwood, combined with its proximity to a polyphase synvolcanic intrusive complex, led to the development of one of the few known large Archean subaqueous Au-rich magmatic-hydrothermal systems.

scholarly journals Geology, Fluid Inclusions and Stable Isotopes of the Xialiugou Polymetallic Deposit in North Qilian, Northwest China: Constraints on its Metallogenesis

Minerals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 478
Author(s):  
Yongjun Shao ◽  
Huajie Tan ◽  
Guangxiong Peng ◽  
Jiandong Zhang ◽  
Jianzhou Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Inclusions ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Massive Sulfide ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Polymetallic Deposit ◽  
The North ◽  
Vms Deposits ◽  
Forming Temperature ◽  
North Qilian Orogenic Belt ◽  
North Qilian

The Xialiugou polymetallic deposit is located in the North Qilian Orogenic Belt, Northwest China, of which the main ore-bearing strata are the Middle Cambrian Heicigou Group. The mineralization is zoned with “black” orebodies (galena–sphalerite), which are stratigraphically above the “yellow” orebodies (pyrite–chalcopyrite–tennantite) at the lower zone, corresponding to the alteration assemblages of quartz–sericite in the ore-proximal zone and chlorite in the ore-distal zone. The Xialiugou mineralization can be divided into three stages: (1) Stage I (pyrite); (2) Stage II (chalcopyrite–tennantite–sphalerite); and (3) Stage III (galena–sphalerite). Fluid inclusions data indicate that the physicochemical conditions that lead to ore formation were the medium–low temperature (157–350 °C) and low salinity (0.17–6.87 wt % NaCleqv), and that the ore-forming temperature tended to decrease with the successive mineralization processes. Taking the H–O isotopic compositions (δDV-SMOW = −51.0‰ to −40.5‰, δ18OH2O = −0.4‰ to 8.6‰) into consideration, the ore-forming fluids were most likely derived from seawater with a small amount of magmatic- and meteoric-fluids input. In addition, the combined S (−3.70‰ to 0.10‰) and Pb isotopic (206Pb/204Pb = 18.357 to 18.422, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.615 to 15.687, 208Pb/204Pb = 38.056 to 38.248) data of pyrite indicate that the ore-bearing volcanic rocks may be an important source of ore-forming materials. Finally, we inferred that the Xialiugou deposit shares similarities with the most important volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits (Baiyinchang ore field) in China and typical “black ore” type VMS deposits worldwide.

Archean mafic metavolcanics from the Rouyn–Noranda district, Abitibi Greenstone Belt, Quebec. 1. Mobility of the major elements

1982 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 2258-2275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Léopold Gélinas ◽  
Michel Mellinger ◽  
Pierre Trudel
Keyword(s):  
Greenstone Belt ◽  
Great Depth ◽  
Major Elements ◽  
Chemical Degradation ◽  
Type I ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Calcium Leaching ◽  
Abitibi Greenstone Belt ◽  
Metavolcanic Rocks ◽  
Metamorphic Facies

In a suite of Archean mafic pillows from the Rouyn–Noranda region of Quebec's Abitibi Greenstoné Belt, including both tholeiitic and calc-alkaline varieties spanning the prehnite–pumpellyite to upper greenschist metamorphic facies, three types of alteration can be defined: (I) chlorite–epidote–actinolite; (II) chlorite–epidote; and (III) chlorite ± sericite; the number of mineral phases decreases as a result of progressive hydration from type I to type III alteration. Albitization, resulting from substitution of [Formula: see text], in calcic plagioclase, is highly variable in type I alteration, but in types II and III the plagioclase is totally albitized and in some cases silicified. Chloritization is closely linked to increasing hydration and Ca leaching with MgO and FeO substituting for CaO in ferromagnesian minerals.Calcium was mobilized and carried by solutions, as evidenced by the variable concentration of epidote at the margins of pillows. This calcium leaching generated an excess of Al2O3 with respect to the combined molecular proportions of Na2O, K2O, and CaO, and is shown by the presence of corundum in CIPW norm calculations. In some pillows showing substitution of [Formula: see text], the fo2 of the invading fluid appears to have remained constant, being buffered by the pillow composition; this would be favored by a low water/rock mass ratio. As a result, the initial pillow Fe2O3/FeO ratio remained constant. In other pillows, the fo2 appears to have been imposed by the invading fluid rather than by the mineral assemblage: the FeO/MgO ratios are thus no longer representative of the magmatic composition whereas the ΣFeO/MgO is still representative of the pristine magmatic value.Two types of substitution of CaO by FeO and (or) MgO have been observed: (1) preferential substitution restricted to type I alteration, of FeO over MgO, similar to low-temperature substitution in modern-day sea-floor alteration; and (2) the more common substitution in type II and III alterations in which MgO predominates over FeO, similar to the high-temperature substitution taking place at great depth on the ocean floor.Although the samples were collected to test mineral heterogeneities caused by chemical degradation, more than 40% of the pillows sampled retained their pristine ΣFeO/MgO ratios. The various alteration patterns are independent of the initial tholeiitic or calc-alkaline lineage; this was confirmed using rare earth elements (REE) and inert trace elements such as Zr, Y, and Ti. The chemical changes in the mafic metavolcanic rocks do not obliterate their tholeiitic or calc-alkaline chemical affinities.

Enhanced resolution of geological structures from magnetic data: an example from the Abitibi Greenstone Belt of Northern Ontario

2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 963-974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludvik Prevec ◽  
William A Morris
Keyword(s):  
Structural Information ◽  
Magnetic Data ◽  
Intrusive Complex ◽  
Geological Structures ◽  
Surface Mapping ◽  
Northern Ontario ◽  
Abitibi Greenstone Belt ◽  
The North ◽  
Enhanced Resolution ◽  
Derivative Analysis

Structural information about that portion of the economically important Destor–Porcupine Deformation Zone and its associated faults, which lie buried under many metres of Clay Belt sediments in the region north of Matheson, Ontario, must rely principally on interpretation of geophysical data. In this area, the Archean greenstones of the Abitibi are crosscut by at least three generations of strongly magnetic diabase dykes. The predominant dyke set, the Matachewan, trend north–south, orthogonal to structures in the greenstones. Directional horizontal derivative analysis of the total magnetic field, which has a much sharper angular cutoff than that provided by standard Fourier-based filters, provides a method for separating the magnetic contributions from these two sources. This analysis revealed the existence of a previously unidentified fault (the Winslow fault) located to the north of, and parallel to, the economically significant Pipestone Fault. We also define a second new fault, the Carr fault, that is intimately associated with the existence of a buried felsic intrusive complex in Carr Township. Possible associations between these faults and previously known faults defined from surface mapping programs are explored.

Geochemical evolution in the Blake River Group, Abitibi Greenstone Belt, Superior Province

1980 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 1292-1299 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. E. M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Rare Earth ◽  
Volcanic Rock ◽  
Rare Earth Element ◽  
Greenstone Belt ◽  
Earth Element ◽  
Superior Province ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Abitibi Greenstone Belt ◽  
Rock Types ◽  
Element Fractionation

In well exposed, well developed greenstone belts of the Superior Province there is a clear progression from stratigraphically lower, geochemically primitive volcanic rock types (komatiites, tholeiites) to overlying geochemically evolved calc-alkaline volcanic rock types. In the western Blake River Group of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt the change from tholeiitic to calc-alkaline volcanics represents a geochemical discontinuity defined by an increase in incompatible elements and light/heavy rare-earth element fractionation in the overlying rocks. Quantitative modelling of the parameters of the discontinuity indicates that it can be explained by a change to very small amounts of melting of unmodified mantle lherzolite, although this is not a unique solution. In calc-alkaline suites showing high degrees of rare-earth element fractionation the calculated melt fraction required of unmodified mantle becomes unrealistically low and models involving a geochemically evolved source may have to be considered.

Conditions and timing of metamorphism in the southern Abitibi greenstone belt, Quebec

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 787-805 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. G. Powell ◽  
D. M. Carmichael ◽  
C. J. Hodgson
Keyword(s):  
Greenstone Belt ◽  
Regional Metamorphism ◽  
Geothermal Gradient ◽  
Fault Zones ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Metasedimentary Rocks ◽  
Abitibi Greenstone Belt ◽  
The North ◽  
Major Fault ◽  
Facies Transition

Regional metamorphism, ranging in grade from the subgreenschist-facies to the greenschist–amphibolite-facies transition, affects all Archean supracrustal rocks (>2677 Ma) in the Rouyn–Noranda area. Contact metamorphic minerals associated with the posttectonic Preissac–Lacorne batholith (2643 Ma) show no evidence of a regional retrograde event. Accordingly, the age of regional metamorphism can be bracketed between 2677 and 2643 Ma. Three reaction isograds were mapped in subgreenschist-facies metabasites, dividing the low-grade rocks into three metamorphic zones: the pumpellyite–actinolite zone, the prehnite–pumpellyite zone, and the prehnite–epidote zone. In addition, the pumpellyite–actinolite–epidote–quartz bathograd, corresponding to a pressure of approximately 200 MPa, occurs on both sides of the Porcupine–Destor fault. Low-pressure regional metamorphism is also indicated both by the occurrence of an actinolite–oligoclase zone, and the persistence of pre-regional-metamorphic andalusite. The coincidence of andalusite and the actinolite-oligoclase zone indicates that pressure was <330 MPa at the greenschist-amphibolite transition. The geothermal gradient during metamorphism was approximately 30 °C/km. Regionally, isograds dip shallowly to the north and trend subparallel to lithological and structural trends. Metamorphic minerals in metabasites define tectonic fabrics only near major fault zones and in zones of CO2 metasomatism. In biotite zone metasedimentary rocks the schistosity is defined by mica and amphibole. These textures indicate that metamorphism and fabric development were coeval. However, the actinolite–epidote isograd cuts the Porcupine–Destor fault, indicating that regional metamorphism postdates movement along this fault. The strong fabrics associated with the Porcupine–Destor and Larder Lake–Cadillac faults must have developed through a process dominated by flattening strain.

Hydrothermal Alteration Mineralogy and Geochemistry of the Archean World-Class Canadian Malartic Disseminated-Stockwork Gold Deposit, Southern Abitibi Greenstone Belt, Quebec, Canada

2019 ◽  
Vol 114 (6) ◽  
pp. 1057-1094 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphane De Souza ◽  
Benoît Dubé ◽  
Patrick Mercier-Langevin ◽  
Vicki McNicoll ◽  
Céline Dupuis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gold Deposit ◽  
Fault Zone ◽  
Hydrothermal Alteration ◽  
Greenstone Belt ◽  
Gold Mineralization ◽  
Amphibolite Facies ◽  
Alteration Zone ◽  
Gold Deposition ◽  
Abitibi Greenstone Belt ◽  
World Class

Abstract The Canadian Malartic stockwork-disseminated gold deposit is an Archean world-class deposit located in the southern Abitibi greenstone belt. It contains over 332.8 tonnes (t; 10.7 Moz) of Au at a grade of 0.97 ppm, in addition to 160 t (5.14 Moz) of past production (1935–1981). Although the deposit is partly situated within the Larder Lake-Cadillac fault zone, most of the ore occurs up to ~1.5 km to the south of the fault zone. The main hosts of the mineralized zones are greenschist facies turbiditic graywacke and mudstone of the Pontiac Group (~2685–2682 Ma) and predominantly subalkaline ~2678 Ma porphyritic quartz monzodiorite and granodiorite. These intrusions were emplaced during an episode of clastic sedimentation and alkaline to subalkaline magmatism known as the Timiskaming assemblage (<2680–2670 Ma in the southern Abitibi). The orebodies define two main mineralized trends, which are oriented subparallel to the NW-striking S2 cleavage and the E-striking, S-dipping Sladen fault zone. This syn- to post-D2 ductile-brittle to brittle Sladen fault zone is mineralized for more than 3 km along strike. The ore mainly consists of disseminated pyrite in stockworks and replacement zones, with subordinate auriferous quartz veins and breccia. Gold is associated with pyrite and traces of tellurides defining an Au-Te-W ± Ag-Bi-Mo-Pb signature. The orebodies are zoned outward, and most of the higher-grade (>1 ppm Au) ore was deposited as a result of iron sulfidation from silicates and oxides and Na-K metasomatism in carbonatized rocks. The alteration footprint comprises a proximal alteration envelope (K- or Na-feldspar-dolomite-calcite-pyrite ± phlogopite). This proximal alteration zone transitions to an outer shell of altered rocks (biotite-calcite-phengitic white mica), which hosts sub-ppm gold grades and reflects decreasing carbonatization, sulfidation, and aNa+/aH+ or aK+/aH+ of the ore fluid. Gold mineralization, with an inferred age of ~2664 Ma (Re-Os molybdenite), was contemporaneous with syn- to late-D2 peak metamorphism in the Pontiac Group; it postdates sedimentation of the Timiskaming assemblage along the Larder Lake-Cadillac fault zone (~2680–2669 Ma) and crystallization of the quartz monzodiorite. These chronological relationships agree with a model of CO2-rich auriferous fluid generation in amphibolite facies rocks of the Pontiac Group and gold deposition in syn- to late-D2 structures in the upper greenschist to amphibolite facies. The variable geometry, rheology, and composition of the various intrusive and sedimentary rocks have provided strain heterogeneities and chemical gradients for the formation of structural and chemical traps that host the gold. The Canadian Malartic deposit corresponds to a mesozonal stockwork-disseminated replacement-type deposit formed within an orogenic setting. The predominance of disseminated replacement ore over fault-fill and extensional quartz-carbonate vein systems suggests that the mineralized fracture networks remained relatively permeable and that fluids circulated at a near-constant hydraulic gradient during the main phase of auriferous hydrothermal alteration.

Pontiac metavolcanic rocks within the Cadillac tectonic zone, McWatters, Abitibi Belt, Quebec

1993 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 1521-1531 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Morin ◽  
Michel Jébrak ◽  
Marc Bardoux ◽  
Normand Goulet
Keyword(s):  
Rare Earth ◽  
Trace Element ◽  
Rare Earth Element ◽  
Greenstone Belt ◽  
Earth Element ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Tectonic Zone ◽  
Southern Boundary ◽  
Abitibi Greenstone Belt ◽  
Metavolcanic Rocks

The McWatters metavolcanic rocks are structurally bounded lenses within the Cadillac tectonic zone on the southern boundary of the Abitibi greenstone belt. They comprise komatiite, tholeiitic basalt and gabbro, and calc-alkaline andesitic lavas and volcaniclastic rocks cut by calc-alkaline dioritic and lamprophyric dykes. The McWatters basalts are mid-ocean-ridge basalt type tholeiites exhibiting low incompatible trace element contents and [La/Yb]N < 1. They may have formed via relatively high degree partial melting of a rare-earth element depleted mantle source. The andesites exhibit chondrite-normalized trace-element patterns with light-rare-earth and large-ion lithophile element enrichments and negative Nb and Ti anomalies, comparable to those of subduction-related calc-alkaline andesites. McWatters units are distinct from nearby Blake River Group rocks, despite comparable lithological assemblages and some common geochemical characteristics. The McWatters basalts exhibit lower Ti/Y, Zr/Y, and La/Yb than the Blake River tholeiites, whereas the McWatters andesites display lower Ti/Zr and higher Zr/Y than the Blake River calc-alkaline units. The McWatters tholeiites can be correlated with northern Pontiac Group tholeiitic units based on similar trace-element ratios and parallel rare-earth-element patterns. Thus, the McWatters tholeiites represent Pontiac rocks, underthrust beneath the southern Abitibi belt and appearing as isolated and retrograded lenses in the Cadillac tectonic zone. They may represent the remnants of an ocean basin that once separated the southern Abitibi greenstone belt from the Pontiac Subprovince.

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