Abstract
The formation sequence of orebodies, chemical composition of gangue and ore minerals, fluid inclusions, REE patterns, 40Ar/39Ar isotopic age, and relationships of stable isotopes (C, O, S) in minerals of the Arkachan gold–bismuth–siderite–sulfide deposit have been studied. The deposit has been localized in the Kuranakh Anticlinorium of the Verkhoyansky Fold–Nappe Belt at the intersection of the near-meridional Kygyltas and the NE-trending North Tirekhtyakh faults. The orebodies are extended (>2 km) and steeply dipping zones of veins and veinlets are hosted in Carbonaceous and Permian sandstones and siltstones deformed in anticlines and cut through by dikes pertaining to diorite–granodiorite–granite association. The deposit was formed during hydrothermal-metamorphic, productive main gold, silver–polymetallic, and silver–antimony stages. The orebodies are largely composed of quartz and siderite; arsenopyrite, pyrite, and pyrrhotite are widespread; bismuthinite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, and bismuth sulfosalts (gustavite, cosalite, matildite) are less abundant. The REE patterns of carbonates and quartz are characterized by a negative Eu anomaly. Three types of fluid inclusions (FI) in quartz and carbonates are distinguished: (I) liquid H2O + CO2 ± CH4 + NaCl, (II) gaseous CO2 ± CH4, and (III) aqueous salt solutions. The homogenization temperature and salinity of FI I vary from 385 to 280°C and 18.8 to 26.2 wt % NaCl equiv, respectively, whereas in FI III these parameters vary from 261 to 324°C and 3.7 to 9.5 wt % NaCl equiv. The pressure is estimated at 1830 to 1060 bar. The δ18O of quartz II associated with siderite I, native gold, and sulfosalts changes from +13.6 to 16.3‰(SMOW); δ18O and δ13C of siderite I related to gold-ore stage vary from +13.6 to +17.7‰ (SMOW) and from–6.0 to–3.0 (PDB). A wide range of δ34S from–5.7 to 16.0‰ (CDT) has been obtained for sulfides. The isotopic 40Ar/39Ar age of muscovite is 101.9 ± 1.4 Ma. The isotopic compositions of C, O, and S in fluids and their REE patterns suggest that magmatic components are predominant. Metamorphic H2O, CO2, and occasionally CH4 are derived from the apical part of a hidden intrusion, whereas sulfur is delivered from country rocks as a result of heating.
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Original Russian Text © G.N. Gamyanin, O.V. Vikent’eva, V.Yu. Prokof’ev, N.S. Bortnikov, 2015, published in Geologiya Rudnykh Mestorozhdenii, 2015, Vol. 57, No. 6, pp. 513–545.
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Gamyanin, G.N., Vikent’eva, O.V., Prokof’ev, V.Y. et al. Arkachan: A new gold–bismuth–siderite–sulfide type of deposits in the West Verkhoyansky tin district, Yakutia. Geol. Ore Deposits 57, 465–495 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1075701515060045
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1075701515060045