Exploration and Mining Geology最新文献

{"title":"Geology and Chemistry of the Low Ti Magnetite-bearing Heff Cu-Au Skarn and its Associated Plutonic Rocks, Heffley Lake, South-Central British Columbia","authors":"G. E. Ray, I. Webster","doi":"10.2113/GSEMG.16.3-4.159","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2113/GSEMG.16.3-4.159","url":null,"abstract":"The magnetite-rich Heff Cu-Au skarn lies in the Quesnel Terrane of south-central British Columbia, approximately 26 km northeast of Kamloops. The skarn formed close to the northern margin of the Heffley Creek pluton, and is hosted by Carnian (Late Triassic) Nicola Group limestone. The Late Triassic pluton (208.1 ± 6.1 Ma, U-Pb zircon) is a composite body of alkaline affinity that includes dioritic, gabbroic, and magnetite-rich clinopyroxene ± olivine ultramafic phases.\u0000\u0000The skarn has been discontinuously traced along strike for more than 1 km, and individual skarn layers are up to 40 m thick. The most common non-opaque minerals are garnet, clinopyroxene, and carbonate, with lesser epidote, biotite, amphibole, and chlorite. Apatite locally forms more than 3 vol.% of the rock. Compositionally the garnet is a low Mn grandite averaging Pyr3–Grs41–Adr56 mol.%.\u0000\u0000Mineralization consists of lenses, up to 10 m thick, containing massive low Ti-V magnetite (avg. 0.03 wt.% TiO2 and 0.01 wt.% V2O3). Magnetite is associated with up to 20 vol.% pyrrhotite, lesser pyrite, and trace chalcopyrite and gold. There is a moderate enrichment in rare earth elements with assays up to 570 ppm La and 490 ppm Ce.\u0000\u0000The Heffley Creek pluton belongs to a suite of Late Triassic–Early Jurassic alkalic and Fe-rich intrusions that are widely developed throughout the Quesnel Terrane. Some host Cu-Au porphyry mineralization, but less commonly they are associated with magnetite-apatite veins such as at the Glen Iron mine and Magnet occurrence, or with magnetite-rich Cu-Au skarns such as the Heff occurrence.\u0000\u0000Although abundant low Ti magnetite is present in the Heff skarn, it does not appear to represent iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) type mineralization. Microprobe analyses completed during this study show that low Ti magnetite is not a unique feature of IOCG deposits, but also characterizes some other types of hydrothermal mineralization. In British Columbia these include some alkalic porphyry-related magnetite-apatite veins in the Quesnel Terrane, as well as the well-known Wrangellia-hosted Fe skarn deposits. Thus, low Ti magnetite appears to be a common signature of many magmatic hydrothermal deposits in contrast to the high Ti primary magnetite found in most igneous rocks.","PeriodicalId":206160,"journal":{"name":"Exploration and Mining Geology","volume":"182 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121241946","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Average Relative Error in Geochemical Determinations: Clarification, Calculation, and a Plea for Consistency","authors":"C. Stanley, D. Lawie","doi":"10.2113/GSEMG.16.3-4.267","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2113/GSEMG.16.3-4.267","url":null,"abstract":"The measurement of error in assays collected as part of a mineral exploration program or mining operation historically has been undertaken in a variety of ways. Different parameters have been used to describe the magnitude of relative error, and each of these parameters is related to the standard measure of relative error, the coefficient of variation. Calculation of the coefficient of variation can be undertaken in a variety of ways; however, only one produces unbiased estimates of measurement error: the root mean square coefficient of variation calculated from the individual coefficients of variation.\u0000\u0000Thompson and Howarth’s error analysis approach has also been used to describe measurement error. However, because this approach utilizes a regression line to describe error, it provides a substantially different measure of error than the root mean square coefficient of variation. Furthermore, because regression is used, Thompson and Howarth’s results should only be used for estimating error in individual samples, and not for describing the average error in a data set. As a result, Thompson and Howarth’s results should not be used to determine the magnitudes of component errors introduced during geochemical sampling, preparation, and analysis.\u0000\u0000Finally, the standard error on the coefficient of variation is derived, and it is shown that very poor estimates of relative error are obtained from duplicate data. As a result, geoscientists seeking to determine the average relative error in a data set should use a very large number of duplicate samples to make this estimate, particularly if the average relative error is large.","PeriodicalId":206160,"journal":{"name":"Exploration and Mining Geology","volume":"29 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116603105","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Distribution of gold in hypogene ore at the Ernest Henry iron oxide copper-gold deposit, Cloncurry district, NW Queensland","authors":"A. R. Foster, P. Williams, C. Ryan","doi":"10.2113/GSEMG.16.3-4.125","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2113/GSEMG.16.3-4.125","url":null,"abstract":"Petrographic studies, assay records, and laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometer (LA-ICP-MS) analyses of major sulfides suggest nearly all of the gold at the Ernest Henry Cu-Au deposit occurs in the form of native gold or electrum (95–65 wt.% Au); sylvanite and dissolved gold in cobaltite, chalcopyrite, and pyrite make only minor contributions. LA-ICP-MS analyses of the gold contents of chalcopyrite gave from 8 to 139 ppb (mean = 56 ppb), more than an order of magnitude lower than those experimentally determined in chalcopyrite in equilibrium with native gold at the estimated mineralization temperatures (350°–450°C). Gold content is more variable in pyrite (1–400 ppb, mean = 77 ppb) and highest in narrow growth zones of a subordinate type of complexly zoned pyrite wherein it is associated with elevated As, Ag, Sn, Sb, Te, and Bi. Deposition of gold-electrum was closely associated with, but preceded some of the chalcopyrite deposition, as indicated by microtextures and lower bulk Au: Cu ratios in late-stage chalcopyrite-rich veins. Gold grains have maximum dimensions from <1 to 50 micrometers, and are heterogeneously distributed with most occurring in microscale clusters. Fifty-five out of 76 grains recorded in polished sections are in contact with both chalcopyrite and pyrite, and many of the rest are in sites where such a relationship could exist in the third dimension. The dominant textural sites are intergrowths with chalcopyrite in microveinlets cutting pyrite, and on faces of pyrite grains in contact with chalcopyrite. Scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis, and proton induced X-ray emission studies show that pyrite associated with gold includes complexly zoned, weakly zoned, arsenian, and arsenic-poor types. The textures are compatible with the possibility that most gold was deposited electrochemically as native metal on pyrite surfaces. The textural distribution of gold has important metallurgical implications given that the ore processing circuits at Ernest Henry and most other sulfide copper mines are designed to exclude pyrite (and arsenic) from concentrates.","PeriodicalId":206160,"journal":{"name":"Exploration and Mining Geology","volume":"52 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124151477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Iron Oxide Copper-Gold-type Polymetallic Mineralization in the Contact Lake Belt, Great Bear Magmatic Zone, Northwest Territories, Canada","authors":"A. Mumin, L. Corriveau, A. Somarin, L. Ootes","doi":"10.2113/GSEMG.16.3-4.187","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2113/GSEMG.16.3-4.187","url":null,"abstract":"The Contact Lake Belt forms the NW-trending flank of a collapsed andesite stratovolcano complex adjacent to a subvolcanic intrusion within the northern, 1.87 to 1.85 Ga, Great Bear magmatic zone, Northwest Territories, Canada. It belongs to the Port Radium-Echo Bay historical district that hosts past producers of U, Ag, Cu (± Ra, Ni, Co, Bi) from polymetallic sulfide and arsenide veins. A re-examination of the belt has revealed widespread IOCG-type polymetallic mineralization exposed in numerous veins, stockworks, breccias, and replacement zones within extensive areas of polyphase hydrothermal alteration. The effects are most visible and intense in andesite, but also affect associated synvolcanic intrusions. A weak, pervasive chlorite-epidote-carbonate-sericite alteration is observed in the least-altered volcanic rocks. Subsequent hydrothermal alteration that is progressively superimposed on earlier facies includes: sericitic (sericite, quartz); phyllic (sericite, quartz, pyrite); potassic (K feldspar); earthy and specular hematite; K feldspar-scapolite-albite-magnetite-actinolite-apatite as veins, stockwork, and pegmatitic recrystallization; K feldspar-tourmaline-Fe-oxide-silica-sulfides; and massive albitites locally laced with amphibole. Hydrothermal breccias and diatremes occur locally throughout the belt. The style, size, overprinting relationship, mineralogy, and chemical composition of alteration zones and mineralization support the current IOCG exploration model for polymetallic mineralization in the Contact Lake Belt, as well as for mineralization elsewhere in the Port Radium-Echo Bay district and the Great Bear magmatic zone overall.","PeriodicalId":206160,"journal":{"name":"Exploration and Mining Geology","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114868750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Review of Iron Oxide Copper-Gold Deposits, with Focus on the Wernecke Breccias, Yukon, Canada, as an Example of a Non-Magmatic End Member and Implications for IOCG Genesis and Classification","authors":"J. Hunt, T. Baker, D. Thorkelson","doi":"10.2113/GSEMG.16.3-4.209","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2113/GSEMG.16.3-4.209","url":null,"abstract":"New data indicate Wernecke Breccia-associated iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) deposits likely formed from moderate-temperature, high-salinity, non-magmatic brines. The breccias formed in an area underlain by a sedimentary sequence that locally contained evaporites (potential source of chloride and possibly sulfur) and was thick enough to produce elevated fluid temperatures. Metals (Fe, Cu, Co, U) were probably derived from host strata, transported as chloride complexes, and precipitated due to changes in fluid temperature and pressure during brecciation. These new data suggest that the spectrum of genetic models for IOCG deposits that typically invoke formation from magmatic or hybrid magmatic–non-magmatic fluids should be expanded to include those systems that formed in a non-magmatic environment. Modifications to the definition of IOCG systems are proposed that reflect the degree of involvement of magmatic and/or non-magmatic fluids and the nature of the mineralizing environment. A division into magmatic, non-magmatic, and hybrid magmatic–non-magmatic IOCG types is suggested. Typical magmatic end-member IOCG deposits include Lightning Creek and Eloise, Australia. Hybrid magmatic–non-magmatic IOCG examples include Ernest Henry and Olympic Dam, Australia. The Wernecke Breccia and Redbank deposits are suggested as possible representatives of non-magmatic IOCG end members. End-member magmatic IOCG deposits have similarities to some porphyry deposits, whereas non-magmatic IOCG end members share characteristic with some sediment-hosted Cu deposits, suggesting that the range of IOCG deposits may form a link between intrusive- and sediment-related deposits.","PeriodicalId":206160,"journal":{"name":"Exploration and Mining Geology","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125058970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fe Skarn, Iron Oxide Cu-Au, and Manto Cu-(Ag) Deposits in the Andes Cordillera of Southwest Mendoza Province (34°–36°S), Argentina","authors":"M. Franchini, R. D. Barrio, M. J. Pons, I. Schalamuk, F. Rios, L. Meinert","doi":"10.2113/GSEMG.16.3-4.233","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2113/GSEMG.16.3-4.233","url":null,"abstract":"Several Fe, Fe-Cu, and Cu-Ag prospects hosted by Mesozoic carbonate-rich sedimentary rocks that were intruded by diorite stocks define an approximately 20 × 200 km belt along the Andes Cordillera of southwest Mendoza province, Argentina (34°–36°S). This belt includes the Hierro Indio and Vegas Peladas Fe skarns, Las Choicas, and several other Cu-(Ag) prospects.\u0000\u0000The main features of the Fe skarns include: association with mantle-derived middle Miocene (~15–11 Ma) diorite stocks and sills; widespread alteration including epidote ± amphibole ± magnetite endoskarns, and zoned garnet (Grs0–66 Adr32.5–100) ± magnetite ± pyroxene (Di24–50 Jo2–9 Hd74–41) exoskarns formed from oxidized, saline, high-temperature brines (530°–660°C; 60–70 wt.% NaCl equiv.); and magnetite-hematite orebodies associated with quartz ± epidote ± calcite ± actinolite formed at lower temperatures (290°–436°C) from saline fluids (32–50 wt.% NaCl equiv.) of magmatic origin.\u0000\u0000West of the Fe skarn belt, the Valle Hermoso district covers more than 300 km2 and hosts several poorly known Cu-(Ag) prospects (estimated 30 Mt with 1.5% Cu and 20 g/t Ag). These prospects share many characteristics with the iron oxide copper-gold-type systems and manto-type Cu deposits of northern and central Chile. One of the prospects (Las Choicas) is located at the apex of a regional 015°-trending anticline, along the contact of stratified calcareous sandstone and limestone (Neocallovian-Oxfordian) with a diorite pluton. This pluton has positive Ta and Nb anomalies (on normalized diagrams) and a high Ti content, features uncommon in Miocene diorites associated with Fe skarns and of magmas derived from sub-arc mantle sources. Alteration at Las Choicas includes early widespread chlorite + calcite ± albite ± scapolite ± ilmenite or titanite ± apatite, and local actinolite ± hematite ± biotite alteration of diorite and sedimentary rocks along contacts. Later Cu mineralization (1%–10% Cu) is associated with calcite ± albite ± quartz alteration in fractures, vein networks, and crackle breccias. Mineralization is zoned from bornite ± chalcopyrite ± millerite with Zn, As, Mo, Ag, and U anomalies in the main orebody, through chalcopyrite-rich breccias with Zn anomalies, and chalcopyrite ± tetrahedrite vein networks with Sb, As, Ag, and Zn anomalies in the uppermost zone, to a Cu-depleted pyrite-rich envelope with Co anomalies, and finally to late, barren calcite veins in distal zones.","PeriodicalId":206160,"journal":{"name":"Exploration and Mining Geology","volume":"99 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121493491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Gold-Rich Louvicourt Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposit, New Brunswick: A Kuroko Analogue in the Bathurst Mining Camp","authors":"S. Mcclenaghan, D. Lentz, C. Beaumont-smith","doi":"10.2113/GSEMG.15.3-4.127","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2113/GSEMG.15.3-4.127","url":null,"abstract":"The Louvicourt Au-Ag-Cu-Zn-Pb sulfide deposit is hosted by a Middle Ordovician calc-alkaline sequence of aphyric rhyolite flows and associated fragmental rocks at the top of the Flat Landing Brook Formation. The Zr/TiO 2 (average = 0.110) and Y/TiO 2 (average = 0.021) ratios in the footwall felsic volcanic rocks are consistent with known values for the Reids Brook member. The deposit consists of two concordant lenses of semi-massive to massive sulfides, approximately 150 m long and up to 9 m thick, which represent a fold repetition of a single exhalative horizon. The deposit contains a geologic resource of 136 000 tonnes grading 1.2% Pb, 1.0% Zn, 0.4% Cu, 90.9 g/t Ag, and 0.96 g/t Au; the deposit locally contains elevated Au (2.9 ppm) and Ag (320 ppm) contents. A laterally continuous iron formation that contains barite caps the deposit, and is gradational vertically and laterally into laminated siltstone. The exhalite confirms the stratiform nature of this deposit, but a large percentage of sulfides occur as late replacements of altered felsic fragmental rocks in the footwall. Abundant examples of colloform pyrite and perlitic and spherulitic textures in volcanic clasts are well preserved. The base- and precious-metal content of the Louvicourt deposit is atypical of the Bathurst Mining Camp (BMC). Reported assay data ( n = 27) indicate an average Pb/Zn ratio of 2.6, the highest in the BMC (average = 0.39). Lead exhibits a strong Spearman Rank correlation ( r’ = 0.92) with base metals throughout the sequence, indicating a preponderance of galena in both the stockwork and stratiform zones. The Ag and Au contents in this deposit are among the highest in the BMC and exhibit a Au-Ag-Cu-Pb association. Barite-rich exhalative pyrite exhibits a moderate Au correlation with Ag ( r’ = 0.77; n = 10) and Cu ( r’ = 0.76) and occurs in portions of the exhalative sulfides that are enriched in Pb. Chemical exhalative rocks are conformably overlain by trachy-andesitic volcaniclastic (possibly pyroclastic) rocks that are assigned to the Little River Formation. These are enriched in Nb (average = 38.4 ppm) and P 2 O 5 (average = 0.17 wt.%), and have much lower Zr/TiO 2 (average = 0.056) and Y/TiO 2 (average = 0.0062) relative to rocks higher in the hanging wall. The intermediate volcanic rocks are conformably overlain by massive to pillowed basalt flows and related hyaloclastite that have Nb/Y = 0.60 and high TiO 2 contents (average = 2.8 wt.%). This chemistry is consistent with rocks of the Brunswick Mines member (Little River Formation), except that these rocks are considerably enriched in P 2 O 5 (average = 0.82 wt.%). This syngenetic exhalative deposit is unique for the BMC with a high Pb/Zn and elevated Au and Ag contents, as well as an epithermal signature (Sb-Ag-Au-Tl-Hg), analogous to high sulfidation volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits. Its intimate relationship with an emergent felsic dome (Flat Landing Brook Formation), chlorite-silicate-oxide-sulfide ","PeriodicalId":206160,"journal":{"name":"Exploration and Mining Geology","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2006-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115847918","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Chemostratigraphy of Volcanic Rocks Hosting Massive Sulfide Clasts Within the Meductic Group, West-Central New Brunswick","authors":"S. Mcclenaghan, D. Lentz, L. Fyffe","doi":"10.2113/GSEMG.15.3-4.241","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2113/GSEMG.15.3-4.241","url":null,"abstract":"The Eel River area in the southwestern Miramichi terrane of New Brunswick contains a complete calc-alkaline suite of volcanic rocks that are interlayered with intervals of sedimentary and polylithic fragmental rocks, and are overlain by a thick sedimentary sequence. This package, collectively referred to as the Meductic Group, was deposited in a submerged volcanic arc setting interpreted to be part of the Popelogan arc. Rifting of this arc led to the development of the Tetagouche-Exploits back-arc basin, and formation of volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits in bimodal volcanic rocks of the Bathurst Mining Camp in the northeastern Miramichi Terrane. Unlike the Bathurst Mining Camp, volcanic rocks in the southeastern Miramichi Highlands form a continuous calc-alkaline suite characterized by increasing Zr/TiO 2 with increasing SiO 2 , in part resulting from progressive coupled assimilation and fractional crystallization of nested magma systems. Slumping of semi-consolidated volcanic and sedimentary rocks in topographically unstable areas resulted in numerous slumps and debris flows that are preserved throughout the Eel River area. In the early 1990s, the discovery of a large sulfide clast in a road cut along the Benton road sparked interest in the volcanogenic massive sulfide potential of the Eel River area. Subsequent drilling intersected smaller fragments, one clast of which graded 16.7% Zn, 5.6% Pb, 90 ppm Ag, and 220 ppb Au. The intersection of thin lenses of stratiform sulfides in another drillhole indicates favorable conditions for the preservation of massive sulfides. Their subsequent incorporation into synvolcanic debris flows resulted in the transport and deposition of sulfide clasts from hydrothermal vents to more distal locations. Similar to the Buchans deposits of Newfoundland, tracing these debris flows back to their source would be beneficial from an exploration perspective. Approximately 15 km to the southwest of the Eel River area, gold-bearing base metal sulfide clasts (11.1% Zn, 6.13% Pb, 0.19% Cu, 108 ppm Ag, and 1100 ppb Au) occur within intermediate-composition volcanic rocks at Monument Brook in eastern Maine.","PeriodicalId":206160,"journal":{"name":"Exploration and Mining Geology","volume":"11 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2006-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122221496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Physical Volcanological, Chemostratigraphic, and Petrogenetic Analysis of the Little Falls Member, Tetagouche Group, Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick","authors":"W. Downey, S. Mccutcheon, D. Lentz","doi":"10.2113/GSEMG.15.3-4.77","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2113/GSEMG.15.3-4.77","url":null,"abstract":"The Little Falls member of the Nepisiguit Falls Formation is situated in the northern part of the Brunswick Belt of the Bathurst Mining Camp and has been interpreted as the distal equivalent of proximal tuffaceous rocks that host the stratiform Brunswick No. 12 and No. 6 Pb-Zn massive sulfide deposits. It comprises fine-grained, greenish-gray tuffaceous sandstone in the lower part, and coarse-grained, crystal-rich tuffaceous sandstone in the upper part. Petrographic evidence suggests that these rocks have a turbiditic origin. The Little Falls member is underlain by the Vallee Lourdes member, mainly composed of relatively shallow-water calcareous rocks, and is conformably overlain by Mn-rich sedimentary rocks, mainly red argillites that host the Tetagouche Falls Mn-(Fe) deposit. All these rocks are considered to belong to the Nepisiguit Falls Formation, part of the Ordovician Tetagouche Group. Whole-rock geochemical data from the fine-grained tuffaceous sandstone and coarse-grained tuffaceous sandstone indicate that the two units of the Little Falls member are distinct. Zr and TiO 2 contents, and total rare earth element (REE) values are higher in the coarse-grained unit (average Zr/TiO 2 = 0.040, average ∑REE = 247 ppm, n = 6) than in the fine-grained unit (average Zr/TiO 2 = 0.048, average ∑REE = 158 ppm, n = 17), which can be attributed to the variation in crystal content between the two units. Both units are HREE-enriched and have elevated La/Yb relative to the typical Nepisiguit Falls Formation. Overall, the geochemical data combined with evidence from the bounding units suggest that the Little Falls member was deposited in relatively shallow water, possibly in a near-arc environment. The relationship of volcanic facies within the Nepisiguit Falls Formation and the geochemistry of these facies indicate strongly that fine grained, reworked tuffaceous rocks, regardless of whether they are the distal equivalents of proximal tuffaceous rocks, are not associated with the major ore-bearing horizons of the Bathurst Mining Camp.","PeriodicalId":206160,"journal":{"name":"Exploration and Mining Geology","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2006-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130553946","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Camelback Zn-Pb-Cu Deposit: A Recent Discovery in the Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick, Canada","authors":"J. Walker, J. I. Carroll","doi":"10.2113/GSEMG.15.3-4.201","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2113/GSEMG.15.3-4.201","url":null,"abstract":"Camelback is a small (≤200 000 tonnes), moderate grade (5%–7% Zn+Pb), volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit, which occurs within the Nepisiguit Falls Formation of the Ordovician Tetagouche Group. The host rocks are tuffaceous sedimentary rocks (Little Falls member) that overlie quartz-feldspar porphyritic tufflavas (Grand Falls member). The hanging-wall sequence comprises rhyolite of the Flat Landing Brook Formation, overlain by the Forty Mile Brook tholeiitic basalt. A dike of unaltered andesite was intersected beneath the massive sulfides, but was not found in the hanging-wall sequence in the vicinity of the deposit. The stratiform part of the deposit is made up of two, steeply south dipping, subparallel massive lenses that average approximately 4 m in thickness. Each lens is zoned, with an upper part consisting mainly of a pyrite and a basal part containing pyrite, sphalerite, and galena, with Ag values. The Au content in the massive sulfides is low (average = 52 ppb for 271 samples), but tends to be enriched in the massive pyrite near the top of each lens. Oxide facies iron formation is spatially associated with the massive sulfides, and has been traced up to 1800 m along strike. Footwall hydrothermal alteration is typical of VMS systems, and is characterized by depletion in K 2 O and Na 2 O, and enrichment in MgO and Fe 2 O 3 T with proximity to massive sulfides. The massive lenses are underlain by intensely chloritic, fine-grained, tuffaceous sedimentary rocks containing locally significant sulfide (chalcopyrite > pyrite > pyrrhotite) veins, which are interpreted to represent feeder zone mineralization. Unlike many VMS deposits, there is no evidence of silicification beneath the massive sulfides at the top of the feeder zone. The oxygen isotopic compositions (δ 18 O = −1.5‰ to −0.3‰) of hydrothermal chlorite coupled with sulfur isotopic compositions (δ 34 S ≈ 12‰) of the massive sulfides suggest that seawater was the dominant fluid in the hydrothermal system. Normalized rare earth element diagrams show flat Ce profiles and positive Eu anomalies, indicating that modified seawater was involved in ore formation; i.e., high-temperature (≥350°C), acidic, and reduced prior to entrainment into the hydrothermal cell. Although, seawater was the dominant fluid in the sulfide-forming system, δ 34 S values of stringer zone sulfides (8.5‰) coupled with elevated Sn (400 ppm) in one massive sulfide sample indicate that there was at least some magmatic component in the hydrothermal cell.","PeriodicalId":206160,"journal":{"name":"Exploration and Mining Geology","volume":"17 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2006-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114559287","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}