WEST AFRICAN OROGENIC GOLD DEPOSITS: DO THEY FIT THE ... · Tectonic Settings of Epigenetic Gold Deposits . GROVES & GOLDFARB 2015 . QUESTIONS 1. Where have models for orogenic ...

WEST AFRICAN OROGENIC GOLD DEPOSITS: DO THEY FIT THE GLOBAL PARADIGM?

PETER J TRELOAR

KINGSTON UNIVERSITY

DAVID LAWRENCE, JAMES LAMBERT-SMITH, DIAMACOUR SENGHOR,

KEN KING, MICHAEL WIEDENBECK AND ADRIAN BOYCE

WHAT ARE OROGENIC GOLD DEPOSITS?

• The most abundant producer of gold on Earth

• Mesothermal rather then epithermal epigenetic ore deposits

• Temporally linked to periods of crustal growth in accretionary or collisional orogens

• Struturally controlled, steeply dipping ore lodes commonly located in allochthonous terranes characterised by strike slip faults

• Regional first order strike-slip structures provide the main control of deposit distribution with greatest ore fluxes in higher order shears, faults, and folds

• Generated in metamorphic terrains and hosted in greenschist facies mafic rocks, volcanic or intrusive, or clastic sediments

• The standard model suggests that they form from deep seated low salinity H2O - CO2 + CH4 + N2 metamorphic fluids that carry Au-Ag + As + B + Bi + Sb + Te + W (low base metal)

Herrington after Groves et. al. (2003. Econ Geol)

Tectonic Settings of Epigenetic Gold Deposits

GROVES & GOLDFARB 2015

QUESTIONS

1. Where have models for orogenic

gold mineralisation taken us?

2. Are models that imply a

metamorphic origin for orogenic

gold fluids correct?

3. What are the potential roles of

magmatic fluids in orogenic gold

deposits?

Regional geology of the KKI

Diale-Dalema Series

Kofi Series

Falémé Series

Loulo

Segala

Tabakoto

Sadiola

Yatela

Massawa

Sabodala

Yalea Open Pit 2010

Gounkoto Open Pit - 2014

GARA - ORE MINERALOGY

Loulo, West Mali: Gara stockwork in quartz-tourmaline rock Quartz and carbonate veins with pyrite

MULTI-STAGE TOURMALINE GENERATION AT GARA

400 µm

A B

C D

200 µm

400 µm

E-stage

tur

Py

PyM-stage tur

Py

Py

AnkE-stage tur

150 µm

L-stage

tur

Ank

Qtz

Ank

L-stage tur

MINERAL PARAGENESIS

Py

Cb

50 µm 50 µm

Gf

Cb

Py

Py

NiPy

Ni-Co sulphides at Yalea North

Mineral Paragenesis at Gara

YALEA MINERAL PARAGENESIS

Albitic QR alteration Ductile textures (rich in carbonate)

YALEA – KEY ORE MINERALOGY

Asp-I

Py-II

Asp -I

Py-II

LOULO, LOW SALINITY FLUID INCLUSIONS

Type 1 mono- or bi-phase CO2 inclusions (60-90%) Type 2 rare l+v H2O inclusions (<5%) Type 3 mixed CO2-H2O inclusions (5-12%)

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Ashan

ti (la

te T

e m

in.)

Ashan

ti M

ine

Prest

ea

Prest

ea

Konon

go

Dam

ang

Abawso

Sansu

Burkina

Fas

o ov

erview

Lara

fella

Dia

bato

u

Tapar

ko

Angov

ia

Min

eralised

gra

nito

ids

Banke

t Ser

ies

CH4-rich

H2O-CO2

H2O

CO2

LOW SALINITY FLUIDS

• This range of fluids is seen elsewhere in the Birimian

• Fluid immiscibility (Coulibaly et al., 2008) +/or post-entrapment modifications (e.g. Klemd et al., 1997)

• Low salinity H2O-CO2 fluids common for orogenic Au deposits and generally suggested to represent a metamorphic fluid source???

Summary of FI work from Ghana, Burkina Faso & Cote d’Ivoire

GARA HYPERSALINE FLUID INCLUSIONS (LAWRENCE ET AL. 2013

0

5

10

15

20

25

25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70

TDS (w.t. %)

Fre

qu

en

cy

GARA CRACKED HYPSERSALINE FLUID INCLUSIONS

GARA VS YALEA

Gara

• Tourmaline rich

• Fe-REE-As-Ni-Co-Au+Cu+W

• Pyrite dominant sulfide

• Aspy, cpy, gersdorffite, pentlandite, pyrrotite, cobaltite, monazite, xenotime, scheelite

• Qtz-cc veins

• Abundant High salinity fluid inclusions

Yalea

• Tourmaline poor

• Fe-As-Cu-W-Pb-Sb-Au-Ag

• Pyrite-arsenopyrite rich

• Asp + py + scheelite + late Cu minerals + Pb minerals (absence of tourmaline, REE and Ni-Co sulphides)

• Carb – phyllic alteration

• No high salinity fluid inclusions

Massawa

Diale-Dalema Series

Kofi Series

Falémé Series

Loulo

Segala

Tabakoto

Sadiola

Yatela

Massawa

Sabodala

Massawa deposit is hosted in: A. Volcaniclastic agglomerate B. Greywackes C. Graphitic schists D. Gabbro E. Feldspar Porphyrys some

mineralised and some not F. Ductile, carbonate-sericite-

quartz alteration zone

Three mineralising events 1. Ore stage 1 (replacive qtz, ser,

ank, pyr, aspyr, Au 2. Barren qz- molybdenite veins 3. Ore stage 2 (quartz-stibnite-

Au)

Main Ore Phase Stage 1:

A: Ankerite-sericite-quarz alteration; B: Asp after Pyr; C: Pyr after Asp; E: Asp after Pyr; F: Au in Asp; H: Au in qtz.

MINERAL PARAGENESIS

Qtz-Molybenite veining at Massawa: Stage 2

A: Qtz intergrown with stibnite; B: stibnite-chalcostibite-quartz; C: stibnite associated with aurostibite and native gold; D: Stibnite intergrown with sphalerite, gold and zinkerite

Dominant fluid inclusions in both qtz-stibnite veins (A and C) and quartz associated with stage one ore (B) are: Type 1 CO2-CH4 and Type 2 H2O-NaCl

0

5

10

15

20

25

-65 -64 -63 -62 -61 -60 -59 -58 -57 -56

Fre

qu

en

cy

Qtz-py-asp-Au

Qtz-stibnite-Au

Barren qtz-moly

0

4

8

12

16

20

-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20

Fre

qu

en

cy

Qtz-py-asp-Au

Qtz-stibnite-Au

Barren qtz-moly

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

-10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0

Fre

qu

en

cy

Qtz-py-asp-Au

Qtz-stibnite-Au

Barren qtz-moly

Barren qtz

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300 325 350

Fre

qu

en

cy

Qtz-py-asp-Au

Qtz-stibnite-Au

Barren qtz-moly

Barren qtz

n = 99

n = 112

(°C) (°C)

n = 65 n = 65

(°C) (°C)

(A) (B)

(C) (D)

NB Typical Metamorphic Fluids Type 1. Ore stage 1 15 – 33% Mol% CH4

Ore Stage 2 10 – 15% Mol% CH4

Type 2 2 – 8% NaCl

Type 1. T m(CO2) Type 1. T h(CO2)(L)

Type 2. T m(ice) Type 2. T h(L))

LOULO STABLE ISOTOPES: LAWRENCE ET AL 2013

Sulphur Isotope data overlap for all stages.

(NB diagenetic sulfides in the KKI have δ34S values of 6 – 15 ‰)

MASSAWA SULPHUR ISOTOPE DATA

0

2

4

6

8

10

-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5

Fre

qu

en

cy

δ34SV-CDT (‰)

LE stibnite

NZ quartz-sulphide veins

NZ disseminated sulphides

CZ Disseminated sulphides

CZ Molybdenite

CZ Stibnite

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 More

Fre

qu

en

cy

∂34S

Morila Sulphur Isotope Data Morila Interpreted as a Reduced Intrusion Related Gold System (RIRGS) McFarlane et al. 2011

STABLE ISOTOPES

Variation in sulfide S isotope compositions in sediment hosted orogenic gold deposits through time and seawater sulfate curve (Chang, 2008, Geology)

STABLE ISOTOPES

SMSZ - BORON SOIL CHEMISTRY

BORON ISOTOPE DATA – LAMBERT-SMITH 2014

CONCLUSIONS

• West African Orogenic Gold deposits do not have a one size fits all model – different mineralogies, fluid chemistries and isotope signatures

• Hypersaline fluids can be derived from metamorphic reactions

• Boron does not necessarily mean magmatic

• Not all orogenic gold deposits are sourced from metamorphic fluids

• The Gara and Yalea deposits at Loulo (bizarrely given the B and Cl levels) are likely sourced from metamorphic fluids

• S isotope data at Massawa, together with field relations, speak of magmatic fluids

• Morila is a RIRGS