The Rakkurijärvi prospect consists of a group of mineralized magnetite and lithic breccias within the ca. 2.05-to 1.90-Ga Proterozoic supracrustal sequence of the Kiruna district, northern Sweden. Potentially economic grades of Cu and Au, largely in the form of chalcopyrite and other sulfide assemblages, are hosted in brecciated magnetite and metavolcanic rocks. The extent of the mineralization is currently open, both downdip and along strike. The deposit was discovered through an integrated geophysical and geochemical program focused on iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG)-style mineralization. It is hosted by brecciated greenschist facies metavolcanic rocks within and adjacent to an east-northeast-trending shear zone. The dominant characteristics of the deposit are consistent with the IOCG class and include magnetite and lithic breccias hosted in a metavolcanic sequence, with matrices of albite, actinolite, and calcite surrounded by halos of sodic (albitescapolite) and potassic (scapolite-K-feldspar-biotite) alteration. A distinctive accessory mineral assemblage includes apatite, titanite, and allanite. The paragenesis and textural evolution of the deposit includes early Narich alteration accompanying massive magnetite alteration. The Na-rich alteration is overprinted by potassic alteration (also associated with magnetite), although the paragenesis is complex and multiple generations of both sodic and potassic alteration are recognized. Alteration of lithic clasts to magnetite confirms a metasomatic origin, as opposed to an orthomagmatic origin, for the magnetite mineralization. Re-Os analyses of two separates of molybdenite intergrown with magnetite, interpreted as cogenetic with the sulfide assemblage, yield mineralization ages of 1853 ± 6 and 1862 ± 6 Ma.Reconnaissance bulk-rock chemistry of the host volcanic rocks is consistent with an intermediate volcanic protolith, but much of the original character of the rocks is masked by albitization and incipient iron, sodic, and potassic alteration. The data also indicate significant element mobility during metasomatism and, in particular, the addition of Ti to the rock mass in biotite and as titanite. The compositions of secondary minerals are consistent with alteration and mineralization caused by highly saline fluids of relatively low F activity. The stable isotope characteristics of calcite, with δ 18 OSMOW ranging from 9.43 to 19.89 per mil and δ 13 CPDB ranging from -11.69 to +4.88 per mil, suggest that the fluids of the calcite and sulfide stage were derived from a magmatic source but had interacted extensively with local sedimentary and volcanic rocks. MethodsAll field and geophysical data were provided by Anglo American Exploration BV. Core logging was carried out onsite by the authors and Anglo American field staff. Preliminary sample characterization was by transmitted and reflected light microscopy and was followed by examination using either a Hitachi S2500 scanning electron microscope at the Natural History Museum, London, or a JEOL 6310 SEM at the Universit...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.