Re-Os systematics and age of pyrite associated with stratiform Zn-Pb mineralization in the Howards Pass district, Yukon and Northwest Territories, Canada

Kelley, Karen D.; Selby, David; Falck, Hendrik; Slack, John F.

doi:10.1007/s00126-016-0663-y

Cited by 19 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…The Re and Os ( 192 Os) abundances for the pyrite samples are 0.6 to 7.9 ppb and 29 to 106 (11-33) ppt, respectively (Table 2). These abundances are similar to pyrite reported in other metal deposits (Lawley et al, 2013;Zimmerman et al, 2014;Hnatyshin et al, 2015;Kelley et al, 2017). The 187 Re/ 188 Os and 187 Os/ 188 Os values of the pyrite range from 115.5 to 556.6 and from 1.0 to 2.8, respectively (Table 2).…”

Section: Rhenium-osmium Data For Yata Gold Deposit Pyritesupporting

confidence: 84%

Genetic relationship between hydrocarbon system evolution and Carlin-type gold mineralization: Insights from ReOs pyrobitumen and pyrite geochronology in the Nanpanjiang Basin, South China

et al. 2021

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The spatial association of hydrocarbons with metalliferous ore deposits is found worldwide and is particularly common to Carlin-type gold systems. Both liquid oil and pyrobitumen are found in Carlin-type gold deposits of North Nevada, USA and the Nanpanjiang Basin, South China. However, the temporal and genetic association of hydrocarbons and gold mineralization are still debated. To this end, using rhenium-osmium (Re-Os) geochronology of pyrobitumen and gold-bearing pyrite from the Laizishan and Banqi reservoirs and the Yata Carlin-type gold deposit in the Nanpanjiang Basin, we consider hydrocarbons played a critical role in the mineralization process. A Re-Os age of 228 ± 16 Ma obtained for highly mature pyrobitumen suggests that liquid oil cracking occurred during the Late Triassic in the Laizishan and Banqi reservoirs. This age is in agreement with the modelled thermal history of the Nanpanjiang Basin. Additionally, a broadly identical gold-bearing pyrite Re-Os age of 218 ± 25 Ma from Yata Carlin-type gold deposit which is in agreement with ages reported for other Carlin-type gold deposits in the Nanpanjiang Basin (e.g., in-situ SIMS U-Pb rutile = 213.6 ± 5.4 Ma, Re-Os arsenopyrite = 204 ± 19 Ma -235 ± 33 Ma and Rb-Sr illite = 212.8 ± 4.6 Ma) suggests the auriferous Carlin-type systems of the Nanpanjiang Basin also formed during the Late Triassic. Integrating our Re-Os data, with recent liquid hydrocarbon experimental data and fluid inclusion data from both reservoirs and gold deposits within the Nanpanjiang Basin, a methane (CH 4 ) dominated thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR) process, which introduced 3 hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) into basinal fluid and ultimately led to the deposition of gold-bearing pyrite by sulfidation, is considered to be the genetic link between of pyrobitumen and gold-bearing pyrite mineralization of the Carlin-type systems of the Nanpanjiang Basin.

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Section: Rhenium-osmium Data For Yata Gold Deposit Pyritesupporting

confidence: 84%

Genetic relationship between hydrocarbon system evolution and Carlin-type gold mineralization: Insights from ReOs pyrobitumen and pyrite geochronology in the Nanpanjiang Basin, South China

et al. 2021

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“…An early Re-Os geochronologic study on HEBS mineralization at the Nick prospect (Horan et al, 1994) determined a Devonian age for the HEBS, which only broadly agreed with established stratigraphic relationships. Since then, sulfide Re-Os geochronology has been refined and is suited for dating HEBS mineralization (Mao et al, 2002;Xu et al, 2011;Fu et al, 2016) and other sediment-hosted base-metal sulfide deposits (Pašava et al, 2010;Hnatyshin et al, 2015;Kelley et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Middle Devonian basin-scale precious metal enrichment event across northern Yukon (Canada)

Gadd

Peter

Hnatyshin

et al. 2020

Geology

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Hyper-enriched black shale (HEBS) Ni-Mo-Zn-Pt-Pd-Au-Re mineralization is geographically widespread across the Richardson trough in northern Yukon (Canada), where it discontinuously outcrops at the regional contact between the Road River Group and overlying Canol Formation. Stratigraphic relationships indicate that the contact is Middle Devonian, but there are no precise age constraints for the HEBS. We apply Re-Os geochronology to HEBS mineralization from two localities that are 130 km apart, the Nick prospect and the Peel River showing, to date directly the age of sulfide mineralization. The Nick prospect yields an isochron age of 390.7 ± 5.1 (2σ) Ma, whereas the Peel River showing yields an isochron age of 387.5 ± 4.4 (2σ) Ma. Within error, these ages are identical and overlap with the biostratigraphically constrained age of the sedimentary host rocks, indicating that mineralization and sedimentation were coeval. Significantly, the ages of the HEBS overlap those of Middle Devonian Kačák, pumilio, and Taghanic global-scale biotic events which are characterized by eustatic sea-level rise and black shale deposition. Linkage of the Yukon HEBS to one (or more) of these bio-events indicates that sea-level rise may have been requisite to formation of basin-scale HEBS mineralization in northwestern Canada during latest Eifelian and Givetian time.

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“…Hence, the trigger of fluid flow in the North Australian Zinc Belt may be regional or out-of-area structuraltectonic events that are apparent in the paleomagnetic and/or structural history of the North Australian Craton. Similarly, the formation of the Sullivan deposit (~ 1475 Ma; Slack et al 2020) coincides in time with a major bend on the North American apparent polar wander path (Elston et al 2002;Leach et al 2010), and the Howards Pass (~ 442 Ma; Kelley et al 2017) and Red Dog (~ 338 Ma; Morelli et al 2004) deposits are broadly associated with flexures in the Paleozoic North American polar wander path (Cocks and Torsvik 2011). This information may provide time constraints that can further refine the exploration search space in those regions.…”

Section: Other Criteria Bearing On Basin Fertilitymentioning

confidence: 87%

Zinc on the edge—isotopic and geophysical evidence that cratonic edges control world-class shale-hosted zinc-lead deposits

et al. 2022

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The North Australian Zinc Belt is the largest zinc-lead province in the world, containing three of the ten largest known individual deposits (HYC, Hilton-George Fisher, and Mount Isa). The Northern Cordillera in North America is the second largest zinc-lead province, containing a further two of the world’s top ten deposits (Red Dog and Howards Pass). Despite this world-class endowment, exploration in both mineral provinces during the past 2 decades has not been particularly successful, yielding only two significant discoveries (Teena, Australia, and Boundary, Canada). One of the most important aspects of exploration is to choose mineral provinces and districts within geological belts that have the greatest potential for discovery. Here, we present results from these two zinc belts that highlight previously unused datasets for area selection and targeting. Lead isotope mapping using analyses of mineralized material has identified gradients in μ (238U/204Pb) that coincide closely with many major deposits. Locations of these deposits also coincide with a gradient in the depth of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary determined from calibrated surface wave tomography models converted to temperature. Furthermore, gradients in upward-continued gravity anomalies and a step in Moho depth correspond to a pre-existing major crustal boundary in both zinc belts. A spatial association of deposits with a linear mid- to lower-crustal resistivity anomaly from magnetotelluric data is also observed in the North Australian Zinc Belt. The change from thicker to thinner lithosphere is interpreted to localize prospective basins for zinc-lead mineralization and to control the gradient in lead isotope and geophysical data. These data, when combined with data indicative of paleoenvironment and changes in plate motion at the time of mineralization, provide new exploration criteria that can be used to identify prospective mineralized basins and define the most favorable parts of these basins.

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Re-Os systematics and age of pyrite associated with stratiform Zn-Pb mineralization in the Howards Pass district, Yukon and Northwest Territories, Canada

Cited by 19 publications

References 51 publications

Genetic relationship between hydrocarbon system evolution and Carlin-type gold mineralization: Insights from ReOs pyrobitumen and pyrite geochronology in the Nanpanjiang Basin, South China

Genetic relationship between hydrocarbon system evolution and Carlin-type gold mineralization: Insights from ReOs pyrobitumen and pyrite geochronology in the Nanpanjiang Basin, South China

A Middle Devonian basin-scale precious metal enrichment event across northern Yukon (Canada)

Zinc on the edge—isotopic and geophysical evidence that cratonic edges control world-class shale-hosted zinc-lead deposits

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