The Late Ordovician--Early Silurian (~455--435 Ma) Northparkes system is a group of silica--saturated, alkalic porphyry deposits and prospects which developed within the Macquarie Island Arc. The system is host to a spectacular and diverse range of rocks and alteration--mineralization textures that facilitate a detailed understanding of its evolution, in particular into the nature and controls of porphyry--related propylitic alteration.The first intrusive phase at Northparkes is a pre--to early--mineralization pluton that underlies all the deposits and varies in composition from a biotite quartz monzonite (BQM) to alkali feldspar granite (AFG).Prior to total crystallization, this pluton was intruded by a more primitive quartz monzonite (QMZ) that marks the onset of a fertile fractionation series. Towards its upper levels, the QMZ is porphyritic and locally rich in Cu sulfides. Subsequently, a complex series of syn--mineralization quartz monzonite porphyries (QMP) were emplaced. The QMP intrusions have a distinct pipe--like morphology and are ubiquitously K-feldspar altered with a crystal--crowded porphyritic texture. The textures of the QMPs and common occurrence of porphyry--cemented contact breccias indicate they were forcibly emplaced and of relatively

Propylitic alteration, characterized by the occurrence of chlorite and epidote, is typically the most extensive and peripheral alteration facies developed around porphyry ore deposits. However, exploration within this alteration domain is particularly challenging, commonly owing to weak or nonexistent whole-rock geochemical gradients and the fact that similar assemblages can be developed in other geologic settings, particularly during low-grade metamorphism. We document and interpret systematic spatial trends in the chemistry of chlorite and epidote from propylitic alteration around the E48 and E26 porphyry Cu-Au deposits of the Northparkes district, New South Wales, Australia. These trends vary as a function of both distance from hydrothermal centers and alteration paragenesis. The spatial trends identified in porphyry-related chlorite and epidote at Northparkes include (1) a deposit-proximal increase in Ti, As, Sb, and V in epidote and Ti in chlorite, (2) a deposit-distal increase in Co and Li in chlorite and Ba in epidote, and (3) a pronounced halo around deposits in which Mn and Zn in chlorite, as well as Mn, Zn, Pb, and Mg in epidote, are elevated. Chlorite Al/Si ratios and epidote Al/Fe ratios may show behavior similar to that of Mn-Zn or may simply decrease outward, and V and Ni concentrations in chlorite are lowest in the peak Mn-Zn zone. In comparison to porphyry-related samples, chlorite from the regional metamorphic assemblage in the district contains far higher concentrations of Li, Ca, Ba, Pb, and Cu but much less Ti. Similarly, metamorphic epidote contains higher concentrations of Sr, Pb, As, and Sb but less Bi and Ti. These chlorite and epidote compositional trends are the net result of fluid-mineral partitioning under variable physicochemical conditions within a porphyry magmatic-hydrothermal system. They are most easily explained by the contribution of spent magmatic-derived ore fluid(s) into the propylitic domain. It is envisaged that such fluids experience progressive cooling and reduction in fs2 during outward infiltration into surrounding country rocks, with their pH controlled by the extent of rock-buffering experienced along the fluid pathway.

In porphyry ore deposit models, the propylitic alteration facies is widely interpreted to be caused by convective circulation of meteoric waters. However, recent field-based and geochemical data suggest that magmatic-derived fluids are likely to contribute to development of the propylitic assemblage. In order to test this hypothesis, we determined the oxygen and hydrogen isotope compositions of propylitic mineral separates (epidote, chlorite, and quartz), selected potassic mineral separates (quartz and magnetite), and quartz-hosted fluid inclusions from around the E48 and E26 deposits in the Northparkes porphyry Cu-Au district, New South Wales, Australia. In addition, the strontium isotope composition of epidote was determined to test for the potential contribution of seawater in the Northparkes system given the postulated island-arc setting and submarine character of some country rocks. Oxygen isotope geothermometry calculations indicate potassic alteration occurred between ~600° and 700°C in magmatic/mineralized centers, persisting to ~450°C upon lateral transition into propylitic alteration. Across the propylitic facies, temperature progressively decreased outward to <250°C. These temperature estimates and additional data from chlorite geothermometry were utilized to calculate the oxygen and hydrogen isotope composition of the fluid in equilibrium with the sampled minerals. Results show that propylitic fluids spanned a range of compositions with δ18O between 0.5 and 3.7‰ and δD between –49 and –17‰. Comparison of these results with the modeled compositions of meteoric and/or magmatic fluids during their evolution and isotopic exchange with local country rocks shows that a magmatic fluid component must exist across the propylitic halo during its formation. Strontium isotope data from propylitic epidote provide initial (based on formation at ~450 Ma) 87Sr/86Sr values in the range of 0.704099 to 0.704354, ruling out the presence of seawater as a second fluid in the system. Although we cannot exclude magmatic-meteoric mixing, especially toward the fringes of the system, our results support a model in which magmatic-derived fluid is the primary driver of propylitic alteration as it undergoes cooling and chemical equilibration during outward infiltration into country rocks. This is consistent with chemical mass transfer calculations for Northparkes and published chemical-thermodynamic models that only require a magmatic fluid for the production of propylitic assemblages. In view of this and supporting data from other deposits, we suggest that magmatic fluids are essential drivers of propylitic alteration in porphyry systems.