Mineralogy and mineral chemistry of the ABM replacement-style volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit, Finlayson Lake district, Yukon, Canada

Abstract

The ABM deposit is a bimodal-felsic, replacement-style volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit (VMS) that is hosted by back-arc affinity rocks of the Yukon–Tanana terrane in the Finlayson Lake VMS district, Yukon, Canada. Massive sulfide zones occur as stacked and stratabound lenses subparallel to the volcanic stratigraphy, surrounded by pervasive white mica and/or chlorite alteration. Remnant clasts of volcanic rocks and preserved bedding occur locally within the massive sulfide lenses and indicate that mineralization formed through subseafloor replacement of pre-existing strata. Three mineral assemblages occur at the ABM deposit: (1) a pyrite–chalcopyrite–magnetite–pyrrhotite assemblage that is associated with Cu–Bi–Se–Co-enrichment and occurs at the center of the massive sulfide lenses; (2) a pyrite–sphalerite assemblage, which occurs more commonly towards lens margins and is enriched in Zn–Pb–Ag–Au–Hg–As–Sb–Ba; and (3) a minor assemblage comprising chalcopyrite–pyrrhotite–pyrite stringers associated with pervasive chlorite alteration, which occurs mostly at the sulfide lens margins. Petrographic observations of preserved primary, zone refining, and metamorphic textures in combination with in situ geochemistry show that the pyrite–sphalerite assemblage formed at lower temperatures (< 270 °C) than the other two mineral assemblages (~ 270–350 °C), and that mineral chemistry in all mineral assemblages was affected by greenschist facies metamorphism, although the effects are limited to recrystallization, small-scale remobilization (< 1 m) and trace element redistribution.

Fluid Flow, Mineralization and Deformation in an Oceanic Detachment Fault: Microtextural, Geochemical and Isotopic Evidence From Pyrite at 13°30′N on the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge

“…The link between deformation and sulfide geochemistry remains a key area of research, especially given that many world‐class VMS deposits (e.g., Kidd Creek, Canada) are located in greenschist facies metamorphic terranes where post‐formation deformation is likely to occur and may lead to the remobilization of metals (e.g., Denisova et al., 2023). To further investigate these features and to understand the influence of pyrite deformation on trace metal distribution in SMS/VMS deposits and ore deposits more widely, a combined geochemical and microstructural approach using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and geochemistry is needed.…”