David H. Watkinson

Alteration and the role of fluids in Ni, Cu and platinum-group element deposition, Sudbury Igneous Complex contact, Onaping-Levack area, Ontario

SummaryA variety of alteration styles is associated with Cu, Ni and platinum-group element deposition in the Onaping-Levack area of the North Range of the Sudbury Structure. Two significant alteration assemblages are amphibole (actinolite) + epidote + chlorite + quartz ± albite ± K-feldspar ± calcite adjacent to Cu-rich veins in the Deep Copper Zone of Strathcona mine and the nearby Barnet property, and amphibole (actinolite to ferro-actinolite) + epidote + titanite + pentlandite + pyrite ±quartz ± magnetite in the Fraser mine Epidote Zone. The concentrically zoned Epidote Zone alteration has been further subdivided into facies that range from epidotized Footwall Breccia through actinolite-bearing rocks with few vestiges of original Footwall Breccia textures, to the most intensely altered magnetite-rich facies. Higher Fe3+ content in epidote in the most intensely altered rocks is compatible with the evolution of more oxidized fluids with time. Fe and Ni, in addition to Cu and PGE, have been mobilized. The 2- (L + V) and 3- (L + V + SC) phase fluid inclusions are similar in each of the deposit locations. Temperatures of first ice melting range from −64.9 to -42.3°C, indicating that the trapped fluids may be modelled in the system H2O-NaCl-CaCl2. Average salinities are high, between 20.8 to 34.4 NaCl wt.% eq., and show considerable overlap for each deposit. Isochores calculated from these data show a decrease in temperature range from the Epidote Zone (230 to 340°C) through Barnet (210 to 295°C) to the most distal Deep Copper Zone (175 to 280°C). The Cl-rich fluids deposited Cu and platinum-group elements in the Deep Copper Zone as a result of this thermal gradient. The high salinity fluid inclusions of the Sudbury North Range are similar to those from other high and intermediate temperature Cu-Ni-PGE deposits, and suggest that they were the result of late-stage hydrothermal activity within contact units of the Sudbury Igneous Complex.ZusammenfassungPlatingruppen-Elementen im Onaping-Levack-Gebiet der North Range der Sudburystruktur verbunden. Zwei signifikante Mineralassoziationen sind Amphibol (Aktinolith) und Epitot + Chlorit + Quarz + Albit ± K-Feldspat ± Calcit in der Nähe kupferreicher Gänge der Deep Copper Zone der Stratcona Mine und dem nahegelegenen BarnetVorkommen. In der Epidot-Zone der Fraser-Mine kommen Amphibol (Aktinolith -Ferroaktinolit) + Epidot + Titanit + Pentlandit + Pyrit + Quarz + Magnetit vor. Die konzentrisch zonierte Alteration der Epidotzone wurde weiter unterteilt in Facies, die von der epidotisierten Liegend-Brevkzie über Aktinolith-führende Gesteine mit Resten entsprechend der Entwicklung zunehmend oxidierter Fluide. Fe und Ni sind zusätzlich zu Cu und PGE mobilisiert worden. Die 2- (L + V) und 3- (L + V + SC) Fluid-Einschlüsse sind in jeder Lokalität ähnlich. Die Temperaturen des ersten Schmelzens von Eis schwanken von −64.9 bis −42.3 °C, und dies weist darauf hin, daß diese Fluide dem System H2O-NaCl-CaCl2 angehören. Die durschnittlichen Salinitäten sind hoch, zwischen 20.8 und 34.4 NaCl wt.% und zeigen beträchtliche Überschneidungen für jede Lagerstätte. Isochoren, die aus diesen Daten berechnet wurden, zeigen eine Abnahme der Temperaturen von der Epidot-Zone (230–340°C) durch Barnet (210–295°C) zu der am weitesten entfernten Deep Copper Zone (175–280°C). Die Cl-reichen Fluide lagerten, durch diesen thermalen Gradienten bestimmt, Kupfer-und Platingruppenelemente in der Deep Copper Zone ab. Die Fluid-Einschlüsse mit hoher Salinität der Sudbury North Range sind denen von anderen Kupfer-Nickel-PGE-Lagerstätten, die bei hohen bis intermediären Temperaturen gebildet wurden, ähnlich. Dies weist darauf hin, daß sie das Ergebnis von später hydrothermaler Aktivität in den Kontaktzonen des Sudbury-Komplexes sind.

Fluid-inclusion characteristics of hydrothermal Cu-Ni-PGE veins in granitic and metavolcanic rocks at the contact of the Little Stobie deposit, Sudbury, Canada

Abstract Cu- and precious-metal-enriched massive ore and veins occur at contacts of two Fe–Ni–Cu sulfide orebodies of the Little Stobie Mine, Sudbury, with metavolcanic rocks of the Elsie Mountain Formation, and the Murray granite. Veins contain chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, pentlandite, platinum-group minerals, quartz, carbonate, chlorite, amphibole and other minerals. A granitic dike, resulting from partial re-melting of the Murray Granite, cuts back into the Sudbury Igneous Complex near Little Stobie Mine, and contains barren veinlets with similar mineralogy but no sulfides. Quartz from ore veins contains fluid inclusions that were trapped during several stages. Early high-temperature fluids (at least 180–270°C in orebody 1 and 280–350°C in orebody 2) were extremely saline and occur as polyphase, isolated and fracture-controlled inclusions with halite, sylvite, Fe–Mn-, as well as Pb–Ba-chloride daughter minerals and other unknown solids. Late secondary aqueous inclusions are not chloride-saturated; they were trapped at a minimum of 80–150°C. Their microthermometric behavior may be modeled in the CaCl 2 –NaCl–H 2 O system with salinity of 21–27 CaCl 2 equiv. wt.%. Very late secondary inclusions have either Ca-rich saline, or very dilute (about 1 equiv. wt.% NaCl) compositions and homogenization temperatures of 200–300°C. With the exception of these very late secondary inclusions, the association of CO 2 –(CH 4 )-rich inclusions with aqueous ones was usually observed. The density of these carbonic fluids decreased from early to late stages. Microthermometric data from barren veins are fundamentally different from those of early inclusions from orebodies; this implies that these heavy-metal-rich fluids were responsible for ore deposition in veins. The minimum pressure of entrapment for early fluids was 1800–2200 bars. Late Ca-rich brines were trapped at lower minimum pressure (200–900 bars). High-pressure data are in agreement with the estimated minimum paleodepth of crystallization of South Range ores. Later fluids were probably trapped during the uplift of orebodies and their host rocks. Comparison of data to other Cu–PGE–Au-rich ore of the Sudbury Structure suggests that the presence of CO 2 -rich fluids in South Range deposits and their absence in North Range deposits may be related to different metamorphic histories. The high-temperature hydrothermal fluids were driven by the heat of the Sudbury Igneous Complex; these very saline fluids interacted with primary magmatic ores, remobilized metals and redeposited them along convenient structures such as fracture zones and breccias in and along various units near the footwall contact. The identification of such highly saline fluid inclusions with high heavy-metal content may be useful in the exploration for Cu–PGE–Au-enriched, footwall vein-type ores in the Sudbury Structure.

Platinum-group-mineral inclusions in chromite from the bird river sill, Manitoba

Platinum-group minerals (PGM) have been identified as inclusions in chromite from the Bird River Sill, Manitoba. The inclusions are small (<20 microns) and are commonly euhedral. The PGM inclusions are (Ru, Os, Ir) S2, laurite, and (Os, Ir, Ru alloy), rutheniridosmine: Laurites contain up to 2.99 wt. % palladium. Arsenic content is negligible and no platinum or rhodium has been detected. One platinum-group element alloy contains 0.96 wt. % rhodium but neither platinum nor palladium has been detected. Laurite inclusions in chromite from the ultramafic zone record two compositional trends; first increasing and then decreasing Ru/(Ru+Os+Ir) up section. PGM inclusions and other solid inclusions occur as discrete phases in chromite and are part of the chromite precipitation event. Increasing oxygen fugacity by wall rock assimilation or new magma injection initiates chromite precipitation, locally increasing the sulphur content of the magma to convert PGE alloys to sulphides.

40Ar/39Ar dating of micas from granites of NE Kibaran Belt (Karagwe-Ankolean), NW Tanzania

Abstract 40 Ar/ 39 Ar total gas ages of muscovites and biotites from granites associated with NE Kibaran belt (Karagwe-Ankolean) in NW Tanzanian are in the range of about 945-700 Ma, much less than the estimated age of the granites. Age gradients in the muscovite spectra are indicative of partial gas loss as a result of thermal overprinting. Evidence for at least two tectonothermal events, at ca. 950 Ma and ca. 700 Ma, is noted. The older of these correlates with the formation of tin-bearing pegmatites and hydrothermal veins in the Kibaran belt; the younger with vein emplacements in the Burundian and/or a deformational episode. Correlation of 40 Ar/ 39 Ar age data with K-Ar and Rb-Sr data from other parts of the Kibaran belt in Burundi, Rwanda and Zaire indicates that the NE Kibaran belt, east of the Western Rift, experienced a tectonothermal history similar to that of the western part of the during the late-Proterozoic.

Partial melting and melt segregation in footwall units within the contact aureole of the Sudbury Igneous Complex (North and East Ranges, Sudbury structure), with implications for their relationship to footwall Cu-Ni-PGE mineralization

We performed detailed field and drill core mapping of partial melting features and felsic rocks (footwall granophyres, FWGRs) representing segregated and crystallized partial melts within the contact aureole of the Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC) in the 1.85 Ga Sudbury impact structure. Our results, derived from mapping within the North (Windy Lake, Foy, Wisner areas) and East Ranges (Skynner, Frost areas) of the structure, reveal that partial melting was widespread in both felsic and mafic footwall units up to distances of 500 m from the basal contact of the SIC. Texturally and mineralogically, significant differences exist between rocks formed by partial melting within and between localities. In general, however, melt bodies are dominated by different quartz-feldspar intergrowths (e.g. granophyric, graphic) and miarolitic cavities up to 5 cm in diameter. Major and trace element compositions of Wisner and Frost FWGRs imply that they crystallized from melts dominantly derived from partial melting of felsic Levack Gneiss and Cartier granitoid rocks, as well as from gabbroic rocks only at Frost. These results accord with our observations on in situ partial melting features and crystallized melt of microscopic scale in both felsic and mafic rocks. We conclude that partial melting occurred at a pressure of 1.5 ± 0.5 kbar and at temperatures up to 750°C in the Wisner area and up to 900°C in the Frost and Windy Lake areas. Segregations of partial melt into veins and dikes are present in all localities, and were promoted by deformation of the Sudbury structure in the Penokean orogeny as indicated by dominant strike directions. Whereas veins and dikes reflect brittle conditions during melt migration, sheared melt pods in the Sudbury breccia matrix indicate ductile conditions during their crystallization. Our results suggest a close genetic association of partial melting, melt segregation, and hydrothermal processes responsible for remobilization of Cu–Ni–PGE sulphides into and within the SIC footwall.

Fluid-inclusion data for vein-type Cu-Ni-PGE footwall ores, Sudbury Igneous Complex and their use in establishing an exploration model for hydrothermal PGE-enrichment around mafic-ultramafic intrusions

Cu-Ni-PGE footwall ore deposits were studied in the McCreedy East and Whistle mines along the North Range, and the Lindsley and Little Stobie mines along the South Range of the Sudbury Igneous Complex. The footwall ores in these localities differ from typical magmatic Fe-Ni-Cu-PGE deposits in the Sudbury mining camp: they have higher Cu/Ni ratios, higher PGE content, vein-like appearance and ubiquitous association of ore with hydrous silicates. Results of comparative fluid inclusion petrography and microthermometry of footwall ores indicate that high temperatures (300°C to 480°C) and heavy-metal rich saline (up to about 40 NaCl equivalent wt% salinity) fluids were associated with the formation of the PGE-rich footwall ores at moderately high pressures (around 2 kbars). However, several, possibly independent fluid circulation stages were also found at the different localities and there also are differences in detailed characteristics for ore-forming fluids especially comparing data from the North Range and the South Range. Thus, in addition to the high temperature and salinity of fluids, there are local variations in the nature of hydrothermal processes. These differences may be related to the diverse origin of fluids (magmatic, metamorphic, and formational brines) and their differing extents of interaction with the compositionally different footwall lithologies.

The Cobalt Mining District: Silver Sources, Transport and Deposition

Cobalt, Ontario, is renowned for the 12.6 billion grams (445 million ounces) of silver produced from the area since discovery in 1903 by workers of the Timiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway. Native silver generally occurs with cobalt arsenides and sulfosalts in near-vertical carbonate veins cutting the Huronian sedimentary rocks of the Gowganda Formation, the Archean metavolcanics and/or the Nipissing diabase. All major deposits have been found within a few hundred meters of the unconformity between the Archean and Huronian rocks in general proximity to the Nipissing diabase and volcanogenic sulfide mounds within the Archean meta-volcanics. Silver has been mobilized from one or more of the local country rocks by hyper-saline brines and deposited in or near zones of mixing where the saline brines encounter paleometeoric water transported to depth along the unconformity or local structures. Previous work has shown that chloride complexes are the dominant ligands responsible for silver transport. These hypersaline brines, represented as halite-bearing fluid inclusions at room temperature, have been trapped as primary fluid inclusions within vein minerals. Pressure-temperature conditions of vein formation have been derived from mineral equilibria, maximum lithostat and fluid-inclusion studies. These data are consistent with vein formation occurring over the temperature range 300°C to 350°C, with pressures constrained between 60 Mpa and 136 Mpa (600 bars and 1360 bars).

Platinum-group minerals in fluid inclusions from the Marathon deposit, Coldwell Complex, Canada

SummaryPlatinum-group minerals (PGM) project into fluid inclusions that occur in chalcopyrite and cubanite from the Marathon deposit, Two Duck Lake gabbro, Coldwell Complex, Ontario. Semi-quantitative analyses of the micron-sized PGM were made by SEM-EDS; they reveal Ag-bearing intermetallic compounds of Pd3Sn-Pd3Pb-Pd3Te (i.e., atokitezvyagintsevite-keithconnite) and telargpalite (Pd2AgTe) on broken, irregular surfaces of the Cu-Fe-S minerals. Halite daughter minerals, and quenched brine occur in and around some opened fluid inclusions. These data confirm the hypothesis based on petrography and mineral compositions that saline fluids remobilized PGE, Cu, and other elements and precipitated them well after crystallization of sulfide and silicate magmas in the Marathon deposit.ZusammenfassungPlatin-Gruppenminerale (PGM) ragen in Flüzssigkeiteinschliisse, die im Kupferkies und Cubanit der Marathon Lagerstätte, Two Duke Lake Gabbro, Coldwell Komplex, Ontario, vorkommen, hinein. Semiqantitative Analysen der mikrongroßen PGM wurden mit einem SEM-EDS durchgeführt. Sie ergaben Ag-führende, intermetallische Verbindungen von Pd3Sn-Pd3Pb-Pd3Te (Atokit-Zvyagintsevit-Keithconnit) und Telargpalit (Pd2AgTe) auf zerbrochenen, irregulären Oberflächen der Cu-Fe-SMinerale. Steinsalz-Tochterkristalle und abgeschreckte Salzlösungen treten innerhalb und in der unmittelbaren Umgebung geöffneter Flüssigkeitseinschlüsse auf. Diese Daten bestätigen die Hypothese, basierend auf der Petrographie und der Mineralzusammensetzung, daß saline Fluida PGE, Cu und andere Elemente remobilisieren können, und daß d iese nach der Kristallisation der Sulfide und des Silikatmagmas in der Marathon Lagerstätte zur Ablagerung gekommen sind.

Contribution to the origin of the Serguza lead-zinc-pyrite deposit, Northern Iraq

The origin of the Serguza lead-zinc deposit of the Northern Thrust Zone has been suggested to be epigenetic, hydrothermal, structurally controlled by a post Tertiary major fault zone. Reinterpretation of previously obtained data and the evaluation of the present results have provided enough evidence to argue for a different mode of formation. Based upon trace element content of the ore minerals, dating of galena, ore and country rock texture, and the results of the detailed geochemical and geophysical prospecting in the area, it seems that the deposit is strata-bound, stratigraphically controlled within the Triassic dolomites. Its simple mineralogy, chemistry, and other features are comparable with other early Alpine strata-bound leadzinc deposits of the Mediterranean Belt.

Post-magmatic Remobilization of Platinum-Group Elements in the Kelly Lake Ni-Cu Sulfide Deposit, Copper Cliff Offset, Sudbury

Pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, and pentlandite are the dominant sulfide minerals in the 740 zone of the Kelly Lake orebody (Inco Ltd.), Copper Cliff Offset, Sudbury. Petrographic and quantitative electron microprobe analyses of minerals, from sulfide assemblages and host quartz diorite, of the 740 deposit have revealed three processes that have affected sulfide mineralization and associated sulfarsenide and platinum-group-mineral (PGM) distribution: magmatic, hydrothermal, and tectonic. Accessory, zoned cobaltite, and gersdorffite occur in sulfides as a result of these three processes, and PGM occur dominantly in hydrothermally remobilized and deformed ores. Where PGM are present in sulfarsenides they provided nuclei for sulfarsenide growth. Solitary PGM are orders of magnitude larger than those PGM found within sulfarsenide minerals. Five varieties of PGM occur, michenerite and sperrylite being the most common, with lesser froodite, hollingworthite, and ruarsite. The effect of a deformation is a localized fabric in the ore, revealed by pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite bands; pentlandite porphyroblasts also partially define the foliation. The deformed ore is also characterized by alteration of the adjacent quartz diorite, which produced an alteration assemblage including almandine garnet, Fe-rich biotite, and chlorite.