Nickel anomalies and gold-quartz mineralization in dunite-harzburgite massifs of the Pervomaisko-Verkhoturinskaya area, Central Urals

Abstract

Along with some gold-quartz deposits hosted by dunite-harzburgite massifs elsewhere in the Urals, elevated Ni concentrations were revealed within the ore field of the Anna gold-(sulfide)-quartz deposit localized in weathered oxidized dunites and harzburgites of the Pervomaisky complex (συO2p) in the Pervomaisko-Verkhoturie district of the Central Urals. The spatial association of Au and Ni concentrations in dunites-harzburgites may be attributed to a partial inheritance of Ni-controlling tectonic dislocations by those hosting gold mineralization. Therefore, the combination of halos of Ni and Au concentrations in dunite-harzburgite massifs is a favorable indicator of areas prospective for discovery of goldquartz mineralization.