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1.
Alteration and primary geochemical dispersion associated with the Bulletin lode-gold deposit, Wiluna, Western Australia 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
The Bulletin lode-gold deposit is within the northernmost part of the Norseman–Wiluna greenstone belt in the Archaean Yilgarn Block, Western Australia. It is located within a brittle–ductile shear zone and hosted by tholeiitic metavolcanic rocks. Syn-metamorphic wallrock alteration envelops the gold mineralisation and is pervasive throughout the entire shear zone and extends up to 150 m into the undeformed wallrocks. Alteration is characterised by the sequence of distal chlorite–calcite, intermediate calcite–dolomite, outer proximal sericite and inner proximal dolomite–sericite zones. The thickness of the alteration envelope, and the occurrence of dolomite in the alteration sequence, can be used as a rough guide to the width, extent and grade of gold mineralisation, because a positive correlation exists between these variables. Mass transfer evaluations indicate that chemical changes related to the wallrock alteration are similar in all host rocks: in general, Ag, As, Au, Ba, CO2, K, Rb, S, Sb, Te and W are enriched, Na and Y are depleted, and Al, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Nb, Ni, P, Se, V, Zn and Zr are immobile, while Ca, Si and Sr show only minor or negligible relative changes. The degree of mobility of each component increases with proximity to gold mineralisation. The largest potential exploration targets are possibly defined by regional As (>6 ppm) and Sb (>0.6 ppm) anomalies. These anomalies, if real, extend laterally for >150 m from the mineralised shear zone into areas of apparently unaltered rocks. Anomalies defined by Te (>10 ppb), W (>0.6 ppm), carbonation indices, local enrichment of Sb (>2.0 ppm) and As (>28 ppm), and potassic alteration indices also form significant exploration targets extending beyond the HJB shear zone and the Au anomaly (>6 ppb) and, locally, into apparently unaltered rock. Gold, itself, has a restricted dispersion, with an anomaly extending for 1–35 m from ore, and being restricted to within the shear zone itself. Amongst individual geochemical parameters, only As and Sb define significant, consistent and smooth trends (vectors) when laterally approaching the ore. However, the respective dimensions of individual geochemical anomalies can be used as an extensive, though stepwise, vector towards ore. 相似文献
2.
Andreas G. Mueller Gregory C. Hall Alexander A. Nemchin Holly J. Stein Robert A. Creaser Douglas R. Mason 《Mineralium Deposita》2008,43(3):337-362
The Granny Smith (37 t Au production) and Wallaby deposits (38 t out of a 180 t Au resource) are located northeast of Kalgoorlie,
in 2.7 Ga greenstones of the Eastern Goldfields Province, the youngest orogenic belt of the Yilgarn craton, Western Australia.
At Granny Smith, a zoned monzodiorite–granodiorite stock, dated by a concordant titanite–zircon U–Pb age of 2,665 ± 3 Ma,
cuts across east-dipping thrust faults. The stock is fractured but not displaced and sets a minimum age for large-scale (1 km)
thrust faulting (D2), regional folding (D1), and dynamothermal metamorphism in the mining district. The local gold–pyrite
mineralization, controlled by fractured fault zones, is younger than 2,665 ± 3 Ma. In augite–hornblende monzodiorite, alteration
progressed from a hematite-stained alkali feldspar–quartz–calcite assemblage and quartz–molybdenite–pyrite veins to a late
reduced sericite–dolomite–albite assemblage. Gold-related monazite and xenotime define a U–Pb age of 2,660 ± 5 Ma, and molybdenite
from veins a Re–Os isochron age of 2,661 ± 6 Ma, indicating that mineralization took place shortly after the emplacement of
the main stock, perhaps coincident with the intrusion of late alkali granite dikes. At Wallaby, a NE-trending swarm of porphyry
dikes comprising augite monzonite, monzodiorite, and minor kersantite intrudes folded and thrust-faulted molasse. The conglomerate
and the dikes are overprinted by barren (<0.01 g/t Au) anhydrite-bearing epidote–actinolite–calcite skarn, forming a 600-m-wide
and >1,600-m-long replacement pipe, which is intruded by a younger ring dike of syenite porphyry pervasively altered to muscovite
+ calcite + pyrite. Skarn and syenite are cut by pink biotite–calcite veins, containing magnetite + pyrite and subeconomic
gold–silver mineralization (Au/Ag = 0.2). The veins are associated with red biotite–sericite–calcite–albite alteration in
adjacent monzonite dikes. Structural relations and the concordant titanite U–Pb age of the skarn constrain intrusion-related
mineralization to 2,662 ± 3 Ma. The main-stage gold–pyrite ore (Au/Ag >10) forms hematite-stained sericite–dolomite–albite
lodes in stacked D2 reverse faults, which offset skarn, syenite, and the biotite–calcite veins by up to 25 m. The molybdenite
Re–Os age (2,661 ± 10 Ma) of the ore suggests a genetic link to intrusive activity but is in apparent conflict with a monazite–xenotime
U–Pb age (2,651 ± 6 Ma), which differs from that of the skarn at the 95% confidence level. The time relationships at both
gold deposits are inconsistent with orogenic models invoking a principal role for metamorphic fluids released during the main
phase of compression in the fold belt. Instead, mineralization is related in space and time to late-orogenic, magnetite-series,
high-Mg monzodiorite–syenite intrusions of mantle origin, characterized by Mg/(Mg + FeTOTAL) = 0.31–0.57, high Cr (34–96 ppm), Ni (22–63 ppm), Ba (1,056–2,321 ppm), Sr (1,268–2,457 ppm), Th (15–36 ppm), and rare earth
elements (total REE: 343–523 ppm). At Wallaby, shared Ca–K–CO2 metasomatism and Th-REE enrichment (in allanite) link Au–Ag mineralization in biotite–calcite veins to the formation of the
giant epidote skarn, implicating a Th + REE-rich syenite pluton at depth as the source of the oxidized hydrothermal fluid.
At Granny Smith, lead isotope data and the Rb–Th–U signature of early hematite-bearing wall-rock alteration point to fluid
released by the source pluton of the differentiated alkali granite dikes. 相似文献
3.
Brian Townley Pierrick Roperch Verónica Oliveros Andres Tassara César Arriagada 《Mineralium Deposita》2007,42(7):771-789
In the Carolina de Michilla district, northern Chile, stratabound copper mineralization is hosted by Jurassic volcanic rocks
along the trace of the Atacama fault system. In this study, we present the overall effects of hydrothermal alteration on the
magnetic properties of rocks in this district. Two types of metasomatic alteration associations occur, one of regional extent
and the other of local hydrothermal alteration associated with copper mineralization (e.g., Lince–Estefanía–Susana). Regional
alteration is interpreted as a low-grade “propylitic association” characterized by an epidote–chlorite–smectite–titanite–albite–quartz–calcite
association. The local hydrothermal alteration is characterized broadly by a quartz–albite–epidote–chlorite–calcite mineral
assemblage. The most pervasive alteration mineral is albite, followed by epidote and, locally, actinolite. These minerals
contrast sharply against host rock minerals such as chlorite, calcite, zeolite, prehnite, and pumpellyite, but alteration
is constrained to mineralized bodies as narrow and low contrast alteration halos that go outwards from actinolite–albite to
epidote–albite, to epidote–chlorite, and finally to chlorite. Hydrothermal alteration minerals, compared to regional alteration
minerals, show iron-rich epidotes, a lower chlorite content of the chlorite–smectite series, and a nearly total albite replacement
of plagioclase in the mineralized zones. Opaque minerals associated with regional alteration are magnetite and maghemite,
and those associated to hydrothermal alteration are magnetite, hematite, and copper sulphides. We present paleomagnetic results
from nine sites in the Michilla district and from drill cores from two mines. Local effects of hydrothermal alteration on
the original magnetic mineralogy indicate similar characteristics and mineralogy, except for an increase of hematite that
is spatially associated with the Cu–sulphide breccias with low magnetic susceptibilities. Results indicate that it is impossible
to magnetically differentiate mineralized bodies from unmineralized lavas, except for pyrite-rich hydrothermal breccias. In
conclusion, for stratabound copper deposits of the Michilla type, the overall effect of hydrothermal alteration on the paleomagnetic
properties of rocks is of low contrast, not clearly discernable even at a small scale. From an exploration point of view,
magnetic exploration surveys should not discern mineralized bodies of Cu–sulphide breccias except in detailed ground surveys
due to the small size of contrasting bodies. Unoriented drill cores with primary ore mineralization record a characteristic
remanent magnetization of reverse polarity. Taking into account the azimuth and dip of the drill cores, we were able to compare
the magnetization of the mineralized bodies with the characteristic directions from sites drilled in situ from Late Jurassic–Early
Cretaceous intrusives mostly. The characteristic direction recorded by the Pluton Viera is similar to the magnetization of
the ore bodies of the Estefania mine. If copper mineralization mostly postdates the tilt of the volcanic flows, the low paleomagnetic
inclinations suggest an age for the mineralization near 145 Ma, the time of the lowest paleolatitude for the South American
plate during the Mesozoic. 相似文献
4.
Lena V. S. Monteiro Roberto P. Xavier Emerson R. de Carvalho Murray W. Hitzman Craig A. Johnson Carlos Roberto de Souza Filho Ignácio Torresi 《Mineralium Deposita》2008,43(2):129-159
The Sossego iron oxide–copper–gold deposit (245 Mt @ 1.1% Cu, 0.28 g/t Au) in the Carajás Mineral Province of Brazil consists
of two major groups of orebodies (Pista–Sequeirinho–Baiano and Sossego–Curral) with distinct alteration assemblages that are
separated from each other by a major high angle fault. The deposit is located along a regional WNW–ESE-striking shear zone
that defines the contact between metavolcano–sedimentary units of the ∼2.76 Ga Itacaiúnas Supergroup and tonalitic to trondhjemitic
gneisses and migmatites of the ∼2.8 Ga Xingu Complex. The deposit is hosted by granite, granophyric granite, gabbro, and felsic
metavolcanic rocks. The Pista–Sequeirinho–Baiano orebodies have undergone regional sodic (albite–hematite) alteration and
later sodic–calcic (actinolite-rich) alteration associated with the formation of massive magnetite–(apatite) bodies. Both
these alteration assemblages display ductile to ductile–brittle fabrics. They are cut by spatially restricted zones of potassic
(biotite and potassium feldspar) alteration that grades outward to chlorite-rich assemblages. The Sossego–Curral orebodies
contain weakly developed early albitic alteration and very poorly developed subsequent calcic–sodic alteration. These orebodies
contain well-developed potassic alteration assemblages that were formed during brittle deformation that resulted in the formation
of breccia bodies. Breccia matrix commonly displays coarse mineral infill suggestive of growth into open space. Sulfides in
both groups of deposits were precipitated first with potassic alteration and more importantly with a later assemblage of calcite–quartz–epidote–chlorite.
In the Sequeirinho orebodies, sulfides range from undeformed to deformed; sulfides in the Sossego–Curral orebodies are undeformed.
Very late, weakly mineralized hydrolytic alteration is present in the Sossego/Currral orebodies. The sulfide assemblage is
dominated by chalcopyrite with subsidiary siegenite, and millerite. Pyrrhotite and pyrite are minor constituents of ore in
the Sequerinho orebodies while pyrite is relatively abundant in the Sossego–Curral bodies. Oxygen isotope partitioning between
mineral pairs constrains temperatures in the deposit spatially and through time. In the Sequeirinho orebody, the early sodic–calcic
alteration stage was characterized by temperatures exceeding 500°C and values for the alteration fluid of 6.9 ± 0.9‰. Temperature declines outward and upward from the zone of most intense alteration.
Paragenetically later copper–gold mineralization displays markedly lower temperatures (<300°C) and was characterized by the
introduction of 18O-depleted hydrothermal fluids −1.8 ± 3.4‰. The calculated δDH2O and values suggest that the fluids that formed the early calcic–sodic alteration assemblage were of formational/metamorphic or
magmatic origin. The decrease of values through time may reflect influx of surficially derived waters during later alteration and mineralization events. Influx
of such fluids could be related to episodic fluid overpressure, resulting in dilution and cooling of the metalliferous fluid,
causing deposition of metals transported as metal chloride complexes. 相似文献
5.
Andreas G. Mueller 《Mineralium Deposita》2007,42(7):737-769
Five Cu–Au epidote skarns are associated with the Mt. Shea intrusive complex, located in the 2.7–2.6 Ga Eastern Goldfields
Province of the Archean Yilgarn craton, in greenstones bounded by the Boulder Lefroy and Golden Mile strike-slip faults, which
control the Golden Mile (1,435 t Au) at Kalgoorlie and smaller “orogenic” gold deposits at Kambalda. The Cu–Au deposits studied
are oxidized endoskarns replacing faulted and fractured quartz monzodiorite–granodiorite. The orebodies are up to 140 m long
and 40 m thick. Typical grades are 0.5% Cu and 0.3 g/t Au although parts are richer in gold (1.5–4.5 g/t). At the Hannan South
mine, the skarns consist of epidote, calcite, chlorite, magnetite (5–15%), and minor quartz, muscovite, and microcline. Gangue
and magnetite are in equilibrium contact with pyrite and chalcopyrite. The As–Co–Ni-bearing pyrite contains inclusions of
hematite, gold, and electrum and is intergrown with cobaltite and Cu–Pb–Bi sulfides. At the Shea prospect, massive, net-textured,
and breccia skarns are composed of multistage epidote, actinolite, albite, magnetite (5%), and minor biotite, calcite, and
quartz. Gangue and magnetite are in equilibrium with Co–Ni pyrite and chalcopyrite. Mineral-pair thermometry, mass-balance
calculations, and stable-isotope data (pyrite δ34SCDT = 2.5‰, calcite δ13CPDB = −5.3‰, and δ18OSMOW = 12.9‰) indicate that the Cu–Au skarns formed at 500 ± 50°C by intense Ca–Fe–CO2–S metasomatism from fluids marked by an igneous isotope signature. The Mt. Shea stock–dike–sill complex postdates the regional
D1 folding and metamorphism and the main phase of D2 strike-slip faulting. The suite is calc-akaline and comprises hornblende–plagioclase
monzodiorite, quartz monzodiorite, granodiorite, and quartz–plagioclase tonalite porphyry. The intrusions display a wide range
in silica content (53–73 wt% SiO2), in ratio (0.37–0.89), and in ratio (0.02–0.31). Chromium (62–345 ppm), Ni (23–158), Sr (311–1361 ppm), and Ba (250–2,581 ppm) contents are high, Sr/Y
ratios are high (24–278, mostly >50), and the rare earth element patterns are fractionated . These features and a negative niobium anomaly relative to the normal mid-ocean ridge basalt indicate that the suite formed
by hornblende fractionation from a subduction-related monzodiorite magma sourced from metasomatized peridotite in the upper
mantle. The magnesian composition of many intrusions was enhanced due to hornblende crystallization under oxidizing hydrous
conditions and during the subsequent destruction of igneous magnetite by subsolidus actinolite–albite alteration. At the Shea
prospect, main-stage Cu–Au epidote skarn is cut by biotite–albite–dolomite schist and by red biotite–albite replacement bands.
Post-skarn alteration includes 20-m-thick zones of sericite–chlorite–ankerite schist confined to two D3 reverse faults. The
schists are mineralized with magnetite + pyrite + chalcopyrite (up to 0.62% Cu, 1.6 g/t Au) and are linked to skarn formation
by shared Ca–Fe–CO2 metasomatism. Red sericitic alteration, marked by magnetite + hematite + pyrite, occurs in fractured porphyry. The biotite/sericite
alteration and oxidized ore assemblages at the Shea prospect are mineralogically identical to magnetite–hematite-bearing gold
lodes at Kambalda and in the Golden Mile. Published fluid inclusion data suggest that a “high-pressure”, oxidized magmatic
fluid (2–9 wt% NaCl equivalent, , 200–400 MPa) was responsible for gold mineralization in structural sites of the Boulder Lefroy and Golden Mile faults. The
sericite–alkerite lodes in the Golden Mile share the assemblages pyrite + tennantite + chalcopyrite and bornite + pyrite,
and accessory high-sulfidation enargite with late-stage sericitic alteration zones developed above porphyry copper deposits. 相似文献
6.
Osvaldo M. Rabbia Laura B. Hernández David H. French Robert W. King John C. Ayers 《Mineralium Deposita》2009,44(8):849-866
Mineralogical, textural, and chemical analyses (EPMA and PIXE) of hydrothermal rutile in the El Teniente porphyry Cu–Mo deposit
help to better constrain ore formation processes. Rutile formed from igneous Ti-rich phases (sphene, biotite, Ti-magnetite,
and ilmenite) by re-equilibration and/or breakdown under hydrothermal conditions at temperatures ranging between 400°C and
700°C. Most rutile nucleate and grow at the original textural position of its Ti-rich igneous parent mineral phase. The distribution
of Mo content in rutile indicates that low-temperature (∼400–550°C), Mo-poor rutile (5.4 ± 1.1 ppm) is dominantly in the Mo-rich
mafic wallrocks (high-grade ore), while high-temperature (∼550-700°C), Mo-rich rutile (186 ± 20 ppm) is found in the Mo-poor
felsic porphyries (low-grade ore). Rutile from late dacite ring dikes is a notable exception to this distribution pattern.
The Sb content in rutile from the high-temperature potassic core of the deposit to its low-temperature propylitic fringe remains
relatively constant (35 ± 3 ppm). Temperature and Mo content of the hydrothermal fluids in addition to Mo/Ti ratio, modal
abundance and stability of Ti-rich parental phases are key factors constraining Mo content and provenance in high-temperature
(≥550°C) rutile. The initial Mo content of parent mineral phases is controlled by melt composition and oxygen fugacity as
well as timing and efficiency of fluid–melt separation. Enhanced reduction of SO2-rich fluids and sulfide deposition in the Fe-rich mafic wallrocks influences the low-temperature (≤550°C) rutile chemistry.
The data are consistent with a model of fluid circulation of hot (>550°C), oxidized (ƒO2 ≥ NNO + 1.3), SO2-rich and Mo-bearing fluids, likely exsolved from deeper crystallizing parts of the porphyry system and fluxed through the
upper dacite porphyries and related structures, with metal deposition dominantly in the Fe-rich mafic wallrocks. 相似文献
7.
Nicholas C. Williams 《Mineralium Deposita》2007,42(1-2):65-87
The Callie deposit is the largest (6.0 Moz Au) of several gold deposits in the Dead Bullock Soak goldfield of the Northern
Territory’s Tanami Region, 550 km northwest of Alice Springs. The Callie ore lies within corridors, up to 180 m wide, of sheeted
en echelon quartz veins where they intersect the 500-m-wide hinge of an ESE-plunging F1 anticlinorium. The host rocks are the Blake beds, of the Paleoproterozoic Dead Bullock Formation, which consist of a > 350-m-thick
sequence of lower greenschist facies graphitic turbidites and mudstones overlying in excess of 100 m of thickly bedded siltstones
and fine sandstones. The rocks are Fe-rich and dominated by assemblages of chlorite and biotite, both of which are of hydrothermal
and metamorphic origin. A fundamental characteristic of the hydrothermal alteration is the removal of graphite, a process
which is associated with bleaching and the development of bedding-parallel bands of coarse biotite augen. Gold is found only
in quartz veins and only where they cut decarbonized chloritic rock with abundant biotite augen and no sulfide minerals. Auriferous
quartz veins differ from barren quartz veins by the presence of ilmenite, apatite, xenotime, and gold and the absence of sulfide
minerals. The assemblage of gold–ilmenite–apatite–xenotime indicates a linked genesis and mobility of Ti, P, and Y in the
mineralizing fluids. Geochemical analysis of samples throughout the deposit shows that gold only occurs in sedimentary rocks
with high FeO/(FeO+Fe2O3) and low C/(C+CO2) ratios (> 0.8 and < 0.2, respectively). This association can be explained by reactions that convert C from reduced graphitic
host rocks into CO2 and reduce ferric iron in the host rocks to ferrous iron in biotite and chlorite. These reactions would increase the CO2 content of the fluid, facilitating the transport of Ti, P, and Y from the host rocks into the veins. Both CO2 and CH4 produced by reaction of H2O with graphite, effervesced under the lower confining pressures in the veins. This would have partitioned H2S into the vapor phase, destabilizing Au–bisulfide complexes; the loss of CO2 and H2S from the aqueous phase caused precipitation of gold, ilmenite, apatite, and xenotime. It is proposed that this process was
the main control on gold precipitation. Oxidization of iron in the very reduced wall rocks, resulting in reduction of the
fluid, provided a second mechanism of gold precipitation in previously decarbonized rocks, contributing to the high grades
in some samples. Although sulfide minerals, especially arsenopyrite, did form during the hydrothermal event, host rock sulfidation
reactions did not play a role in gold precipitation because gold is absent near rocks or veins containing sulfide minerals.
Sulfide minerals likely formed by different mechanisms from those associated with gold deposition. Both the fold architecture
and subsequent spatially coincident sinistral semibrittle shearing ensured that the ore fluids were strongly focused into
the hinges of the anticlines. Within the anticlines, a reactive cap of fine-grained, graphitic, reduced Fe-rich turbidites
above more permeable siltstones and fine sandstones impeded fluid flow ensuring efficient removal of graphite, and the associated
effervescence of CO2 from the fluid caused the precipitation of gold. Exploration for similar deposits should focus on the intersection of east–west
shear zones with folds and Fe-rich graphitic host rocks. 相似文献
8.
The Alvo 118 iron oxide–copper–gold (IOCG) deposit (170 Mt at 1.0 wt.% Cu, 0.3 g/t Au) lies in the southern sector of the
Itacaúnas Shear Belt, Carajás Mineral Province, along a WNW–ESE-striking, 60-km-long shear zone, close to the contact of the
~2.76-Ga metavolcano-sedimentary Itacaiúnas Supergroup and the basement (~3.0 Ga Xingu Complex). The Alvo 118 deposit is hosted
by mafic and felsic metavolcanic rocks and crosscutting granitoid and gabbro intrusions that have been subjected to the following
hydrothermal alteration sequence towards the ore zones: (1) poorly developed sodic alteration (albite and scapolite); (2)
potassic alteration (biotite or K-feldspar) accompanied by magnetite formation and silicification; (3) widespread, pervasive
chlorite alteration spatially associated with quartz–carbonate–sulphide infill ore breccia and vein stockworks; and (4) local
post-ore quartz–sericite alteration. The ore assemblage is dominated by chalcopyrite (~60%), bornite (~10%), hematite (~20%),
magnetite (10%) and subordinate chalcocite, native gold, Au–Ag tellurides, galena, cassiterite, F-rich apatite, xenotime,
monazite, britholite-(Y) and a gadolinite-group mineral. Fluid inclusion studies in quartz point to a fluid regime composed
of two distinct fluid types that may have probably coexisted within the timeframe of the Cu–Au mineralizing episode: a hot
(>200°C) saline (32.8‰ to 40.6 wt.% NaCl eq.) solution, represented by salt-bearing aqueous inclusions, and a lower temperature
(<200°C), low to intermediate salinity (<15 wt.% NaCl eq.) aqueous fluid defined by two-phase (LH2O + VH2O) fluid inclusions. This trend is very similar to those defined for other IOCG systems of the Carajás Mineral Province. δ
18OH2O values in equilibrium with calcite (−1.0‰ to 7.5‰ at 277°C to 344°C) overlap the lower range for primary magmatic waters,
but the more 18O-depleted values also point to the involvement of externally derived fluids, possibly of meteoric origin. Furthermore, sulphide
δ
34S values (5.1‰ to 6.3‰), together with available boron isotope and Cl/Br–Na/Cl data provide evidence for a significant component
of residual evaporative fluids (e.g., bittern fluids generated by seawater evaporation) in this scenario that, together with
magma-derived brines, would be the main sources of the highly saline fluids involved in the formation Alvo 118 IOCG deposit.
The restricted high temperature sodic alteration, the pervasive overprinting of the potassic alteration minerals by chlorite
proximal to the ore zones, ore breccias with open-space filling textures in brittle structures, microthermometric and stable
isotope data indicate, collectively, that the Alvo 118 IOCG system developed at structurally high levels and may be considered
the shallower representative of the IOCG systems of the CMP. 相似文献
9.
Basem A. Zoheir 《Mineralium Deposita》2008,43(1):79-95
The Betam gold deposit, located in the southern Eastern Desert of Egypt, is related to a series of milky quartz veins along
a NNW-trending shear zone, cutting through pelitic metasedimentary rocks and small masses of pink granite. This shear zone,
along with a system of discrete shear and fault zones, was developed late in the deformation history of the area. Although
slightly sheared and boudinaged within the shear zone, the auriferous quartz veins are characterised by irregular walls with
a steeply plunging ridge-in-groove lineation. Shear geometry of rootless intra-folial folds and asymmetrical strain shadows
around the quartz lenses suggests that vein emplacement took place under a brittle–ductile shear regime, clearly post-dating
the amphibolite-facies regional metamorphism. Hydrothermal alteration is pervasive in the wallrock metapelites and granite
including sericitisation, silicification, sulphidisation and minor carbonatisation. Ore mineralogy includes pyrite, arsenopyrite
and subordinate galena, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite and gold. Gold occurs in the quartz veins and adjacent wallrocks as inclusions
in pyrite and arsenopyrite, blebs and globules associated with galena, fracture fillings in deformed arsenopyrite or as thin,
wire-like rims within or around rhythmic goethite. Presence of refractory gold in arsenopyrite and pyrite is inferred from
microprobe analyses. Clustered and intra-granular trail-bound aqueous–carbonic (LCO2 + Laq ± VCO2) inclusions are common in cores of the less deformed quartz crystals, whereas carbonic (LCO2 ± VCO2) and aqueous H2O–NaCl (L + V) inclusions occur along inter-granular and trans-granular trails. Clathrate melting temperatures indicate low
salinities of the fluid (3–8 wt.% NaCl eq.). Homogenisation temperatures of the aqueous–carbonic inclusions range between
297 and 323°C, slightly higher than those of the intra-granular and inter-granular aqueous inclusions (263–304°C), which are
likely formed during grain boundary migration. Homogenisation temperatures of the trans-granular H2O–NaCl inclusions are much lower (130–221°C), implying different fluids late in the shear zone formation. Fluid densities
calculated from aqueous–carbonic inclusions along a single trail are between 0.88 and 0.98 g/cm3, and the resulting isochores suggest trapping pressures of 2–2.6 kbar. Based on the arsenopyrite–pyrite–pyrrhotite cotectic,
arsenopyrite (30.4–30.7 wt.% As) associated with gold inclusions indicates a temperature range of 325–344°C. This ore paragenesis
constrains f
S2 to the range of 10−10 to 10−8.5 bar. Under such conditions, gold was likely transported mainly as bisulphide complexes by low salinity aqueous–carbonic fluids
and precipitated because of variations in pH and f
O2 through pressure fluctuation and CO2 effervescence as the ore fluids infiltrated the shear zone, along with precipitation of carbonate and sericite. Wallrock
sulphidation also likely contributed to destabilising the gold–bisulphide complexes and precipitating gold in the hydrothermal
alteration zone adjacent to the mineralised quartz veins. 相似文献
10.
The Freda-Rebecca Mine is currently the largest gold producer in Zimbabwe. The ore deposit is hosted by two main shear systems
crosscutting the Rebecca diorite and Bindura granodiorite (2.65 Ga) as well as Shamvaian metasediments, which are affected
by contact metamorphism. Following the intrusion of the Bindura granodiorite, intensive hydrothermal alteration developed
preferentially in the dioritic part of the igneous complex (Rebecca diorite). The hydrothermal alteration started with an
extensive K-dominated hydrothermal metasomatism in the whole Rebecca diorite. It was followed by less penetrative hydrothermal
alteration developed preferentially near shear zones and veinlets. Hydrothermal metasomatism caused microcline and biotite
formation, prevailing in the Rebecca diorite. Two main stages of post-metasomatic hydrothermal alteration and mineralization
were distinguished, based on spatial relationships between different minerals and some geochemical aspects. In the first stage,
an actinolite-tourmaline-arsenopyrite mineralization formed, which is characterized by Ni-Co arsenopyrite associated with actinolite, tourmaline and quartz. The second, lower temperature stage gave a polyphase gold-rich mineralization that developed in four phases which are distinguished by different parageneses including:
Phase 1. Actinolite, chlorite, clinozoisite/epidote, quartz, calcite, arsenopyrite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite.
Phase 2. Chlorite, epidote, calcite, gold, native Bi, Bi-Pb sulfides, galena, chalcopyrite, fahlore, pyrite, Fe-gersdorffite.
Phase 3. Epidote, calcite, (Ni, Co, Fe) As S phases, Co-Fe-gersdorffite.
Phase 4. Chlorite, calcite, quartz.
The gold mineralization is exclusively associated with phase 2 and developed in three sulfide parageneses:
– Gold + Bi-Pb sulfides + bismuth + chalcopyrite + galena, associated with chlorite (Au 1).
– Gold + galena + pyrite, associated with calcite and chlorite (Au 2).
– Gold + pyrite + Fe-gersdorffite, associated with epidote, chlorite and calcite (Au 3).
The hydrothermal alteration and mineralization formed after the consolidation of the Rebecca diorite and Bindura granodiorite,
most probably in the postmagmatic cooling stage. The mineralization was emplaced either synchronously or subsequently to the
shear zones which crosscut the consolidated pluton. Not all shear zones are mineralized and different shear zones show different
amounts of mineralization and hydrothermal alteration. Thus, it is suggested that during the cooling stage of the pluton and
subsequent to the formation of the K-metasomatic zone (microcline + biotite), hydrothermal fluids preferentially followed
just forming or pre-existing shear zones. It cannot be excluded that this process developed in a plutonic porphyry copper-like
environment, in which the classically hydrothermal zonation did not form due to synchronous tectonic disturbance, which preferentially
drives the hydrothermal flow along shear zones. Mineral parageneses and data from chlorite geothermometry indicate that the
different stages and phases of hydrothermal alteration reflect cooling stages of the hydrothermal system, from >300 °C in
the first stage to about 150 °C in the last phases.
Received: 4 January 1999 / Accepted: 13 August 1999 相似文献
11.
The Jupiter gold deposit in the northeastern Eastern Goldfields Province of the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia is hosted
in greenschist facies metamorphosed tholeiitic basalt, quartz–alkali-feldspar syenite, and quartz–feldspar porphyry. Syenite
intrudes basalt as irregularly shaped dykes which radiate from a larger stock, whereas at least three E–W and NE–SW striking
quartz–feldspar porphyries intrude both syenite and basalt. Brittle–ductile shear zones are shallow-dipping, NW to NE striking,
or are steep-dipping to the south and west. Quartz ± carbonate veins that host gold at Jupiter occur in all lithologies and
are divided into: (1) veins that are restricted to the shear zones, (2) discrete veins that are subparallel to shear zone-hosted
veins, and (3) stockwork veins that form a network of randomly oriented microfractures in syenite wallrock proximal to shallow-dipping
shear zones. The gold-bearing veins comprise mainly quartz, calcite, ankerite, and albite, with minor sericite, pyrite, chalcopyrite,
galena, sphalerite, molybdenite, telluride minerals, and gold. Proximal hydrothermal alteration zones to the mineralised veins
comprise quartz, calcite, ankerite, albite, and sericite. High gold grades (>2 g/t Au) occur mainly in syenite and in the
hanging walls to shallow-dipping shear zones in syenite where there is a greater density of mineralised stockwork veins. The
Jupiter deposit has structural and hydrothermal alteration styles that are similar to both granitoid-hosted, but post-magmatic
Archaean lode-gold deposits in the Yilgarn Craton and intrusion-related, syn-magmatic, syenite-hosted gold deposits in the
Superior Province of Canada. Based on field observations and petrologic data, the Jupiter deposit is considered to be a post-magmatic
Archaean lode-gold deposit rather than a syn-intrusion deposit.
Received: 5 January 1999 / Accepted: 24 December 1999 相似文献
12.
The recently discovered Hanshan gold deposit in northern Gansu Province, northwestern China, is hosted by a WNW-striking
shear zone in Ordovician andesite and basalt. Mineralization consists of surface to near-surface oxidized ore (the yellow
sandy gossan type) and three types of primary ore, i.e. early-stage quartz-sericite-pyrite ores in stockworks, early-stage
disseminated ore, and the most important late-stage quartz ± calcite-sulfide veins. The ore system is characterized by variable
degrees of potassic and silicic alteration. Late-stage gold-related fluid inclusions have homogenization temperatures between
170 to 310 °C, with a peak around 260 °C and low salinities. The ore fluids had high contents of CO2, CH4, and N2. Sulfur isotope measurements of −1.9 to +1.7 per mil for hydrothermal pyrites could be consistent with a hydrothermal fluid
source from the mantle, but the oxygen and carbon isotope data from calcite and quartz suggest mixing between mantle and crustal
fluid sources. K-Ar ages for hydrothermal sericite from ore zones are 213.9 ± 3.1 and 224.4 ± 3.2 Ma. Due to the arid Cenozoic
climate, a yellow gold-bearing gossan developed, which consists of jarosite, gypsum, and relict quartz. It could be a widespread
and useful prospecting guide for gold in northwestern China.
Received: 1 February 1999 / Accepted: 1 August 1999 相似文献
13.
Several precious metal-bearing, low sulfidation epithermal veins occur in the rolling topography of the Osilo area, northern
Sardinia. The Sa Pala de Sa Fae and the Sa Pedra Bianca veins were subject to intense diamond drilling exploration in the
mid 1990 s. The veins extend for 1–3 km, dip steeply, and range from 1 to 10 m in width. High K-calc-alkaline volcanic deposits
containing plagioclase phenocrysts (along with lesser pyroxene, amphibole, magnetite, olivine and sanidine) form the main
host rocks. Gold grades in drill intersections range from <0.1 to <20 ppm, with silver-gold ratios of around 4 to 7. Mineralogical
studies show a systematic distribution of three hydrothermal mineral assemblages. At distances >50 m from the vein, the assemblage
albite + Fe-chlorite + illite + pyrite (± montmorillonite ± calcite ± K-feldspar) prevails regionally, and its formation is
attributed to minor metasomatism of the country rock involving the addition of water, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide.
At distances <10 m from the vein, the assemblage quartz + K-feldspar + pyrite ± illite dominates, forming an alteration envelope
that cross cuts regional alteration. Quartz and K-feldspar increase in abundance towards the vein. Quartz is the main vein
mineral, and it displays a range of morphologies and textures including crustiform colloform banding, quartz pseudomorphs
of platy calcite, breccias and coarse euhedral crystals. Electrum and argentite which are the main gold and silver minerals
deposited during the early stages of vein mineralization with rhomb-shaped crystals of K-feldspar (adularia). Pyrite, plus
lesser marcasite, arsenopyrite, stibnite and sphalerite, are the other sulfide phases in veins. Kaolinite ± halloysite ± jarosite
form a late assemblage overprinting earlier hydrothermal alteration. It is mostly restricted to shallow depths of a few meters,
except near veins. Most of this assemblage likely formed from weathering and oxidation of sulfides. Microthermometric measurements
were made on quartz-hosted, two-phase (liquid + vapor) inclusions, containing ∼75% liquid; mean homogenization temperatures
(∼750 measurements) range from 220 to 250 °C, and ice-melting temperatures (∼550 measurements) range from 0.0 to −2.3 °C.
The presence of co-existing vapor-rich and liquid rich inclusions, with quartz pseudomorphs of platy calcite, indicate that
boiling conditions existed. Slight vapor-bubble expansion of a few fluid inclusions subjected to crushing experiments indicates
inclusion fluids contained variable but low concentrations of dissolved gas. This study shows that gold-silver mineralization
formed in subvertical channels from ascending solutions at 250 °C at around 300 to 450 m below the paleo-water table in a
typical low-sulfidation epithermal environment. Hydrothermal solutions that produced vein mineralization and related alteration
were dilute (<4.1 equivalent wt.% NaCl and <4 wt.% CO2), near neutral pH, reduced and, at times, boiling.
Received: 19 May 1998 / Accepted: 8 March 1999 相似文献
14.
Petrographic, electron microprobe, and bulk-rock geochemical analyses indicate that the distribution and composition of ferromagnesian
silicates (biotite, garnet, and staurolite) in and adjacent to the metamorphosed Bleikvassli Zn–Pb–(Cu) volcanogenic massive
sulfide deposit, Norway, are dependent upon the competing effects of f O2–f S2 and host-rock composition. The enrichment in magnesium content of these silicates within the orebody and at distances of
as much as 5–10 m away is due to the increased f O2 and f S2 conditions imposed on the silicates in zones subject to minor hydrothermal alteration during regional metamorphism. Alternatively,
within pelitic country rocks at distances >5–10 m from ore, the host-rock chemistry controls the composition of metamorphic
silicate minerals. Also, country rocks within a few meters of ore are distinguished by the common presence of zinc-bearing
staurolite (up to 9 wt% ZnO) coexisting with biotite ± garnet. Rocks in the Bleikvassli deposit were hydrothermally enriched
in zinc and fluorine prior to metamorphism. The fluorine resides mainly in biotite, which is an additional contributing factor
to the magnesium enrichment of that mineral due to Fe2+–F avoidance. Our inference that the sulfidation–oxidation halo around the Bleikvassli ore deposit is only meters in width
contrasts with the view of Maiga (1983), who proposed the effects of sulfidation could be identified at distances >159 m from
ore. It is evident that the delineation of a sulfidation–oxidation halo bordering a metamorphosed massive sulfide deposit
must be done carefully in order to discriminate between the effects due to variations in primary rock composition versus those
resulting from a sulfur and oxygen fugacity gradient between the massive sulfides and the sulfur-poor country rocks.
Received: 1 March 1998 / Accepted: 3 May 2000 相似文献
15.
The changing XCO2 in fluids during the progressive metamorphism in Sanbagawa belt of the Cretaceous subduction zone, Japan, was estimated by a newly proposed method. The subduction zone meta-sediments are characterized commonly by four-phase assemblages in the CaO–NaAlO2–KAlO2–Al2O3 system with excess quartz and a CO2–H2O binary fluid phase. Using the common assemblage of calcite–albite–muscovite–clinozoisite, XCO2 of the fluid was estimated to be from about 0.0001–0.0005 (the lowest grade chlorite zone), through 0.004–0.01 (garnet zone), 0.01–0.05 (albite–biotite zone) to 0.06–0.2 (oligoclase–biotite zone).The paragenetic relationship of meta-sediments from the subduction zones was compared in a wide P–T range to cover the stability fields of aragonite and jadeite. As a result, an excellent P–T–XCO2 relationship was delineated to serve as a quantitative monitor for the evolving fluid composition during the progressive metamorphism in subduction zones. 相似文献
16.
Stephanos P. Kilias Jon Naden Ioannis Cheliotis Thomas J. Shepherd Heleni Constandinidou John Crossing Ioannis Simos 《Mineralium Deposita》2001,36(1):32-44
The Profitis Ilias gold deposit, located on the western part of Milos Island, Greece, is the first epithermal gold deposit
discovered in the Pliocene–Pleistocene Aegean volcanic arc. Estimated ore reserves are 5 million tonnes grading 4.4 g/tonne
Au and 43 g/tonne Ag. The deposit is closely associated with a horst and graben structure, and occurs in a series of steep
interconnected crustiform-banded quartz veins up to 3 m wide, extending to depths of at least 300 m. The mineralisation occurs
in three stages and is hosted by 3.5–2.5 Ma old silicified and sericitised rhyolitic lapilli-tuffs and ignimbrites. It consists
of pyrite, galena, chalcopyrite, electrum and native gold. Additionally, adularia occurs with quartz mainly in veins. Homogenisation
temperatures of primary liquid-rich inclusions vary from 145 to 399 °C for the ore stage, and 112 to 263 °C for the post-ore
stage. Salinities range between 0.1 and 11.4 wt% NaCl equiv. and 0.93 to 8.5 wt% NaCl equiv. for the ore stage and the post-ore
stage, respectively. Rare vapour-rich inclusions in ore stage quartz homogenise between 368 and 399 °C and estimates of eutectic
melting (−25 to −38 °C) indicate the presence of Ca and Mg in the ore fluids. Sample elevation versus fluid inclusion Th–salinity relationships show (1) a high-salinity trend, where moderate-temperature (300–250 °C) and moderate-salinity brines
(∼3 wt% NaCl equiv.) trend to high-salinity (up to 15 wt% NaCl equiv.) fluids with lower (∼25–50 °C) homogenisation temperatures,
and (2) a high-Th trend where moderate-salinity and moderate-temperature brines (200–250 °C; 3 wt% NaCl equiv.) develop into low-salinity (<1 wt%
NaCl equiv.), high-temperature (>350 °C) fluids. These trends are best explained by extreme boiling and vapourisation phenomena
between 200 and 250 °C. The 430–450 m asl (metres above sea level) level marks the transition between a lower liquid-dominated
segment of the system where only the steep high-salinity trend is seen, and an upper vapour-dominated segment where the high-Th trend or a combination of both are seen. There is a close spatial association between mineable gold grades and the upper
segment of the system. Depth-to-boiling curves suggest that the paleo-surface was ∼200 m above the present summit of Profitis
Ilias. Comparison of the mineralisation and fluid geochemistry at Profitis Ilias with that of the nearby modern geothermal
system indicates that the processes of metal mineralisation have probably been continuous since the Late Pliocene.
Received: 24 February 2000 / Accepted: 15 July 2000 相似文献
17.
Carbonation and decarbonation of eclogites: the role of garnet 总被引:3,自引:0,他引:3
Ruth Knoche Russel J. Sweeney Robert W. Luth 《Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology》1999,135(4):332-339
Carbonates are potentially significant hosts for primordial and subducted carbon in the Earth's mantle. In addition, the
coexistence of carbonate with silicates and reduced carbon (diamond or graphite), allows constraints to be placed on the oxidation
state of the mantle. Carbonate-silicate-vapor reactions control how carbonate + silicate assemblages may form from carbon-bearing
vapor + silicate assemblages with increasing pressure. In olivine-bearing rocks such as peridotite, considered the dominant
rock type in the upper mantle, the lowest-pressure carbonate-forming reactions involve olivine (±clinopyroxene) reacting with
CO2 (e.g., Wyllie et al. 1983). In eclogitic rocks, the essential mineral assemblage is omphacitic clinopyroxene + garnet, without
olivine. Therefore, alternative carbonate-forming reactions must be sought. The carbonation of clinopyroxene via the reaction
dolomite + 2 coesite = diopside + 2 CO2 was studied experimentally by Luth (1995). The alternative possibility that garnet reacts with CO2 is explored here by determining the location of the reaction 3 magnesite + kyanite + 2 coesite = pyrope + 3 CO2 between 5 and 11 GPa in multi-anvil apparatus. At the temperatures ≥1200 °C, carbonation of eclogitic rocks with increasing
pressure will proceed initially by reaction with clinopyroxene, because the pyrope-carbonation reaction lies at higher pressures
for a given temperature than does the diopside-carbonation reaction. Diluting the pyrope component of garnet and the diopside
component of clinopyroxene to levels appropriate for mantle eclogites does not change this conclusion. At lower temperatures,
appropriate for “cold” slabs, it is possible that the converse situation will hold, with initial carbonation proceeding via
reaction with garnet, but this possibility awaits experimental confirmation. Decarbonation of an eclogite under “normal mantle”
geothermal conditions by a decrease in pressure, as in an ascending limb of a mantle convection cell, would be governed by
the formation of clinopyroxene + CO2. At higher pressure than this reaction, any CO2 produced by the breakdown of magnesite reacting with kyanite and coesite would react with clinopyroxene to produce dolomite + coesite.
Release of CO2 from eclogite into mantle peridotite would form carbonate at sub-solidus conditions and produce a dolomitic carbonate melt
if temperatures are above the peridotite-CO2 solidus.
Received: 4 May 1998 / Accepted: 23 December 1998 相似文献
18.
Calculated phase equilibria involving minerals and H2O–CO2–NaCl fluid lead to predictions of how infiltration of rock by H2O–NaCl fluids with X
NaCl in the range 0–0.3 (0–58 wt% NaCl) drives the reactions calcite + quartz = wollastonite + CO2 and dolomite = periclase + calcite + CO2. Calculations focus on metamorphism in four aureoles that together are representative of the normal P–T conditions and processes of infiltration-driven contact metamorphic reactions. The effect of salinity on the spatial extent
of oxygen isotope alteration was also computed. The time-integrated input fluid flux (q°) that displaces the mineral reaction front an increment of distance along the flow path always increases with increasing
X
NaCl. For input fluids with salinity up to approximately five times that of seawater (X
NaCl ≤ 0.05), values of q° required to explain the spatial extent of decarbonation reaction are no more than 1.1–1.5 times that computed assuming the
input fluid was pure H2O. For more saline fluids, values of q° may be up to 1.4–7.9 times that for pure H2O. Except for reaction in the presence of halite and vapor (V), infiltration of H2O–NaCl fluids expands the region of oxygen isotope alteration relative to the size of the region of mineral reaction. The
expansion is significant only for saline fluids with X
NaCl ≥ ~0.1. Immiscible fluid phase separation and differential loss of the liquid (L) or V phase from the mineral reaction site increases the amount of reactive fluid required to advance the mineral reaction front
compared to conditions under which equilibration of minerals and fluid is attained with no loss of L or V. Decarbonation reactions driven by infiltration of fluids with even modest seawater-like salinity can explain the occurrence
of salt-saturated fluid and solid halide inclusions in contact metamorphosed carbonate rocks. 相似文献
19.
Andreas G. Mueller Gregory C. Hall Alexander A. Nemchin Darren O’Brien 《Mineralium Deposita》2008,43(8):873-889
The Pueblo Viejo deposit (production to 1996: 166 t Au, 760 t Ag) is located in the Dominican Republic on the Caribbean island
of Hispaniola and ranks as one of the largest high-sulfidation/acid-sulfate epithermal deposits (reserves in 2007: 635 t Au,
3,648 t Ag). One of the advanced argillic ore bodies is cut by an inter-mineral andesite porphyry dike, which is altered to
a retrograde chlorite–illite assemblage but overprinted by late-stage quartz–pyrite–sphalerite veins and associated low-grade
Au, Ag, Zn, Cd, Hg, In, As, Se, and Te mineralization. The precise TIMS U–Pb age (109.6 ± 0.6 Ma) of the youngest zircon population
in this dike confirms that the deposit is part of the Early Cretaceous Los Ranchos intra-oceanic island arc. Intrusion-related
gold–sulfide mineralization took place during late andesite–dacite volcanism within a thick pile (>200 m) of carbonaceous
sand- and siltstones deposited in a restricted marine basin. The high-level deposit was shielded from erosion after burial
under a late Albian (109–100 Ma) ophiolite complex (8 km thick), which was in turn covered by the volcano-sedimentary successions
(>4 km) of a Late Cretaceous–Early Tertiary calc-akaline magmatic arc. Estimates of stratigraphic thickness and published
alunite, illite, and feldspar K-Ar ages and closure temperatures (alunite 270 ± 20°C, illite 260 ± 30°C, K-feldspar 150°C)
indicate a burial depth of about 12 km at 80 Ma. During peak burial metamorphism (300°C and 300 MPa), the alteration assemblage
kaolinite + quartz in the deposit dehydrated to pyrophyllite. Temperature–time relations imply that the Los Ranchos terrane
then cooled at a rate of 3–4°C/Ma during slow uplift and erosion. 相似文献
20.
The Youjiang basin, which flanks the southwest edge of the Yangtze craton in South China, contains many Carlin-type gold deposits and abundant paleo-oil reservoirs. The gold deposits and paleo-oil reservoirs are restricted to the same tectonic units, commonly at the basinal margins and within the intrabasinal isolated platforms and/or bioherms. The gold deposits are hosted by Permian to Triassic carbonate and siliciclastic rocks that typically contain high contents of organic carbon. Paragenetic relationships indicate that most of the deposits exhibit an early stage of barren quartz ± pyrite (stage I), a main stage of auriferous quartz + arsenian pyrite + arsenopyrite + marcasite (stage II), and a late stage of quartz + calcite + realgar ± orpiment ± native arsenic ± stibnite ± cinnabar ± dolomite (stage III). Bitumen in the gold deposits is commonly present as a migrated hydrocarbon product in mineralized host rocks, particularly close to high grade ores, but is absent in barren sedimentary rocks. Bitumen dispersed in the mineralized rocks is closely associated and/or intergrown with the main stage jasperoidal quartz, arsenian pyrite, and arsenopyrite. Bitumen occurring in hydrothermal veins and veinlets is paragenetically associated with stages II and III mineral assemblages. These observations suggest an intimate relationship between bitumen precipitation and gold mineralization. In the paleo-petroleum reservoirs that typically occur in Permian reef limestones, bitumen is most commonly observed in open spaces, either alone or associated with calcite. Where bitumen occurs with calcite, it is typically concentrated along pore/vein centers as well as along the wall of pores and fractures, indicating approximately coeval precipitation. In the gold deposits, aqueous fluid inclusions are dominant in the early stage barren quartz veins (stage I), with a homogenization temperature range typically of 230°C to 270°C and a salinity range of 2.6 to 7.2 wt% NaCl eq. Fluid inclusions in the main and late-stage quartz and calcite are dominated by aqueous inclusions as well as hydrocarbon- and CO2-rich inclusions. The presence of abundant hydrocarbon fluid inclusions in the gold deposits provides evidence that at least during main periods of the hydrothermal activity responsible for gold mineralization, the ore fluids consisted of an aqueous solution and an immiscible hydrocarbon phase. Aqueous inclusions in the main stage quartz associated with gold mineralization (stage II) typically have a homogenization temperature range of 200–230°C and a modal salinity around 5.3 wt% NaCl eq. Homogenization temperatures and salinities of aqueous inclusions in the late-stage drusy quartz and calcite (stage III) typically range from 120°C to 160°C and from 2.0 to 5.6 wt% NaCl eq., respectively. In the paleo-oil reservoirs, aqueous fluid inclusions with an average homogenization temperature of 80°C are dominant in early diagenetic calcite. Fluid inclusions in late diagenetic pore- and fissure-filling calcite associated with bitumen are dominated by liquid C2H6, vapor CH4, CH4–H2O, and aqueous inclusions, with a typical homogenization temperature range of 90°C to 180°C and a salinity range of 2–8 wt% NaCl eq. It is suggested that the hydrocarbons may have been trapped at relatively low temperatures, while the formation of gold deposits could have occurred under a wider and higher range of temperatures. The timing of gold mineralization in the Youjiang basin is still in dispute and a wide range of ages has been reported for individual deposits. Among the limited isotopic data, the Rb–Sr date of 206 ± 12 Ma for Au-bearing hydrothermal sericite at Jinya as well as the Re–Os date of 193 ± 13 Ma on auriferous arsenian pyrite and 40Ar/39Ar date of 194.6 ± 2 Ma on vein-filling sericite at Lannigou may provide the most reliable age constraints on gold mineralization. This age range is comparable with the estimated petroleum charging age range of 238–185 Ma and the Sm–Nd date of 182 ± 21 Ma for the pore- and fissure-filling calcite associated with bitumen at the Shitouzhai paleo-oil reservoir, corresponding to the late Indosinian to early Yanshanian orogenies in South China. The close association of Carlin-type gold deposits and paleo-oil reservoirs, the paragenetic coexistence of bitumens with ore-stage minerals, the presence of abundant hydrocarbons in the ore fluids, and the temporal coincidence of gold mineralization and hydrocarbon accumulation all support a coeval model in which the gold originated, migrated, and precipitated along with the hydrocarbons in an immiscible, gold- and hydrocarbon-bearing, basinal fluid system. 相似文献