Ore Deposit Geology and its Influence on Mineral Exploration

Edwards, R. Lawrence; Atkinson, Keith

doi:10.1007/978-94-011-8056-6

Cited by 34 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Most giant placer gold deposits were deposited in foreland (commonly retroarc) basins in Mesozoic-Cenozoic convergent margins of the circum-Pacific (e.g., New Zealand, California, Alaska) through the erosion of Paleozoic to Mesozoic orogenic gold deposits (e.g., Henley and Adams, 1979;Edwards and Atkinson, 1986;Goldfarb et al, 1998). Similar Paleozoic margins were the source for additional large placer fields in Victoria (Hughes et al, 2004) and the Eastern Cordillera of South America (e.g., Haeberlin et al, 2003), although much of the central Asian Paleo-Tethyan margin was preserved by subsequent Himalayan continent-continent collision.…”

Section: Placer and Paleoplacer Goldmentioning

confidence: 99%

100th Anniversary Special Paper: Secular Changes in Global Tectonic Processes and Their Influence on the Temporal Distribution of Gold-Bearing Mineral Deposits

Groves¹,

Condie²,

Goldfarb³

et al. 2005

Economic Geology

198

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mineral deposit types commonly have a distinctive temporal distribution with peaks at specific periods of Earth history. Deposits of less redox-sensitive metals, such as gold, show long-term temporal patterns that relate to first-order changes in an evolving Earth, as a result of progressively declining heat production and attendant changes in global tectonic processes. Despite abundant evidence for plate tectonics in the early Precambrian, it is evident that plume events were more abundant in a hotter Earth.Episodic growth of juvenile continental crust appears to have been related to short-lived (<100 m.y.) catastrophic mantle-plume events and formation of supercontinents, whereas shielding mantle-plume events correlated with their breakup. Different mineral deposit types are associated with this cycle of supercontinent formation and breakup. Broadly synchronous with juvenile continental crust formation was the development of subcontinental lithospheric mantle, which evolved due to progressively declining heat flow and decreasing plume activity. Archean subcontinental lithospheric mantle has a distinct mineralogical composition and is buoyant, whereas later lithosphere was progressively more dense. Changes in the buoyancy of both oceanic lithosphere and subcontinental lithospheric mantle led to evolution of tectonic scenarios in which buoyant, roughly equidimensional, early Precambrian cratons were rimmed by Proterozoic or Phanerozoic linear elongate belts of neutral to negative buoyancy.Orogenic gold deposits, which formed over at least 3.4 b.y., had the highest preservation potential of any gold deposit type. The pattern of formation and preservation, from episodic to more cyclic, broadly mirrors that of crustal growth. Early Precambrian (mostly ca. 2.7 and 2.0-1.8 Ga) deposits, protected from uplift and erosion in the centers of buoyant cratons, are rare between ca. 1.7 Ga and 600 Ma due to the change to more modernstyle plate tectonic processes, with nonpreservation of deposits of this age due to uplift and erosion of more vulnerable orogenic belts. Volcanic-hosted massive sulfide (VHMS) deposits were accreted into the convergent margin terranes in which orogenic gold deposits were forming. Their temporal distribution, from strongly episodic to more cyclic peaks, also supports a model of selective preservation.The first appearance of iron-oxide copper-gold (IOCG) deposits at ~2.55 Ga closely follows development of early Precambrian subcontinental lithosphere mantle. Their genesis involved melting of metasomatized subcontinental lithosphere mantle, so they could not form until such metasomatized mantle evolved below cratons with buoyant lithosphere. Giant Precambrian paleoplacer gold deposits probably formed by effective fluvial sorting under extreme climatic conditions but were largely preserved due to early buoyant subcontinental lithospheric mantle below hosting foreland basins. Unequivocal intrusion-related gold deposits are related to complex felsic intrusions with a mixed mantle-crustal signature, which...

show abstract

Section: Placer and Paleoplacer Goldmentioning

confidence: 99%

100th Anniversary Special Paper: Secular Changes in Global Tectonic Processes and Their Influence on the Temporal Distribution of Gold-Bearing Mineral Deposits

Groves¹,

Condie²,

Goldfarb³

et al. 2005

Economic Geology

198

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Based on volcanic environments, associated volcanic rocks, alteration mineral assemblages in footwall rocks, and metal (1) Spooner (1980), (2) Hutchinson (1973), (3) Grenne et al (1980), (4) Gaal and Parkkinen (1993), (5) Edwards and Atkinson (1986), (6) Sangster and Scott (1976), (7) Knucky and Watkins (1982), (8) Franklin and Thorpe (1982), (9) Lambe and Rowe (1987), (10) Slack (1993), (11) Oshima et al (1974), (12) Takahashi and Suga (1974), (13) Thurlow and Swanson (1981), (14) Huston and Large (1989), (15) Leistel et al (1998). ratios, Morton and Franklin (1987) recognized two types of deposits: the Noranda-type, named after the very important Noranda district of Quebec (Canada); and the Mattabitype, named after the Mattabi deposit in the Sturgeon Lake district of Ontario (Canada). These deposits are hosted by thick volcanic sequences dominated by tholeiitic to calc-alkaline mafic-felsic rocks; the associated sedimentary rocks are immature greywackes and volcanic clastics.…”

Section: Noranda-type and Mattabi-type Depositsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Mineral Deposits

Misra¹

2000

103

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…This indicates a primary depth difference characteristic of hydrothermal deposits, as indicated by [24] and [25]. The alteration of ore grades according to the depth in a deposit is an old fact of experience that some elements, such as Zn, increase in depth, or vice versa, such as Pb and Ag, which is why in old Pb mining, the occurrence of sphalerite as a "mining end" was viewed.…”

Section: Mineralogymentioning

confidence: 98%

The Massive Sulfide Deposit of Siirt Madenköy, South-Eastern Turkey

Bal-Akkoca¹,

Çelebi²

2018

JMMCE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Siirt Madenköy massive sulfide ore deposit has been in operation since 2005. With its approx. 39 Mt reserves (2.40% Cu), it represents the largest Cu deposit and the largest mining operation in the country (1.5 Mt ore/year). The thickness of the adjacent rocks is composed of olivine-pyroxenite basalts pillow lava, which is spilite, interchangeable ore lenses of chalcopyrite and pyrite is about 170 m and reaches a depth of 350 m. The mid-Eocene aged porphyritic, strongly altered spilites are locally interspersed with diabase and covered by conglomerates. The ores appear massive, stock work and disseminated. Main ore minerals are idiomorphic pyrite, cataclastic chalcopyrite and fine-grained magnetite. The geochemical composition of the Cu ores of the Siirt-Madenköy deposit shows in places high levels of Cu, Fe and S, as important trace elements, As, Ba, Co and Ti are listed. In relation to Clarke values, Se, Bi, Cu, Mo and Co are strongly enriched, while Na, K and Ca as well as their coherent trace elements Rb, Sr and Cd are depleted due to hydrothermal alteration. The elemental distribution is characterized by log-normal distribution, proportionality effect, high Cu/Ni ratio and significantly positive correlation between the element pairs MgO-Ni, Cr-Ni and Co/FeO-Co. The dependence of Cu and SO 3 contents and Cu/FeO, SO 3 /FeO ratios are to be interpreted as an indication of the common origin of Cu, Fe and S. In general, Cu, Zn, Pb and S content decrease with depth, whereas those of Fe 3 O 4 increase. The variograms of the ore distributions are characterized by hole effect, trend and zonal anisotropy, which reflect alternation of ores with host rocks and changes in elemental contents. The Siirt Madenköy deposit is attributable to Cu and Zn ratios of the Cu class of ophiolitic massive sulfide deposits. Due to the very high Cu/Pb and Cu/Zn ratios, it can be described as an analogous deposit of the mid oceanic ridge, for example comparable to ores of Galapagos Ridge. The

show abstract

Ore Deposit Geology and its Influence on Mineral Exploration

Cited by 34 publications

References 0 publications

100th Anniversary Special Paper: Secular Changes in Global Tectonic Processes and Their Influence on the Temporal Distribution of Gold-Bearing Mineral Deposits

100th Anniversary Special Paper: Secular Changes in Global Tectonic Processes and Their Influence on the Temporal Distribution of Gold-Bearing Mineral Deposits

Understanding Mineral Deposits

The Massive Sulfide Deposit of Siirt Madenköy, South-Eastern Turkey

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Ore Deposit Geology and its Influence on Mineral Exploration

Cited by 34 publications

References 0 publications

100th Anniversary Special Paper: Secular Changes in Global Tectonic Processes and Their Influence on the Temporal Distribution of Gold-Bearing Mineral Deposits

100th Anniversary Special Paper: Secular Changes in Global Tectonic Processes and Their Influence on the Temporal Distribution of Gold-Bearing Mineral Deposits

Understanding Mineral Deposits

The Massive Sulfide Deposit of Siirt Madenk&#246;y, South-Eastern Turkey

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

The Massive Sulfide Deposit of Siirt Madenköy, South-Eastern Turkey