Application of New Geochemical Analytical Techniques to the Understanding of the Genesis of Epithermal Au-Ag Deposits

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Geochemistry and Geochronology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2019) | Viewed by 12509

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Consulting Geologist, Auburn, AL 36832, USA
Interests: hydrothermal geochemistry of gold in volcanic settings; geology of epithermal deposits; aqueous and environmental geochemistry, bioremediation, and environmental geology

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Guest Editor
Department of Geology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Interests: igneous petrology; volcanology; tectonics; economic geology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Epithermal ores have accounted for approximately 12% and 20% of the respective historic total world gold and silver production. Although epithermal ores are spatially associated with coeval volcanism, debate on their formative processes has been ongoing during the 100+ years that they have been recognized as a distinct class of ore deposits. The discovery of new deposits and the advent of new analytical tools have led to recent advances in the understanding of the genesis of these deposits, but no consensus on the nature of or combination of genetic processes involved in their genesis has yet emerged. Consequently, a special issue of the peer-reviewed, open-access journal Minerals is proposed to provide a forum for presenting new data on epithermal ores, focusing primarily on new geochemical techniques and data.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Isotope investigations, particularly “non-traditional” stable isotopes (e.g., Cu, Fe, Ag, Te, etc.);
  • Fluid inclusion research involving newer micro-analytical tools;
  • Studies focused on the timing and duration of epithermal ore-forming systems;
  • Detailed textural or mineralogical investigations of epithermal ores, including nano-scale characterizations;
  • Research on the “porphyry-to-epithermal” transition including vapor-phase transport of volatile metals and metalloids such as Au, Ag, As, Se, Te, etc.

Thank you and we look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. James A. Saunders
Dr. Matthew E. Brueseke
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Epithermal gold-silver deposits
  • Geochemical analytical techniques
  • Non-traditional isotopes
  • Nanoparticles
  • Porphyry-to-epithermal transition

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 29158 KiB  
Article
The Distribution of Precious Metals in High-Grade Banded Quartz Veins from Low-Sulfidation Epithermal Deposits: Constraints from µXRF Mapping
by Erik R. Tharalson, Thomas Monecke, T. James Reynolds, Lauren Zeeck, Katharina Pfaff and Nigel M. Kelly
Minerals 2019, 9(12), 740; https://doi.org/10.3390/min9120740 - 29 Nov 2019
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 8280
Abstract
High-grade ore zones in low-sulfidation epithermal deposits are commonly associated with the occurrence of banded quartz veins. The ore minerals in these veins are heterogeneously distributed and are mostly confined to ginguro bands, which can be identified in hand specimen based on their [...] Read more.
High-grade ore zones in low-sulfidation epithermal deposits are commonly associated with the occurrence of banded quartz veins. The ore minerals in these veins are heterogeneously distributed and are mostly confined to ginguro bands, which can be identified in hand specimen based on their distinct dark gray to black color. Micro-X-ray fluorescence element maps obtained on representative samples of banded quartz veins show that Au occurs together with Ag minerals in some of the ginguro bands, but Au can also be present in quartz bands that are light gray to white and cannot be macroscopically distinguished from barren bands. The occurrence of compositionally distinct ginguro and gankin bands, the latter being a new term coined here for colloform quartz bands containing primarily electrum or native gold, can be explained by temporal changes in the composition of the ore-forming thermal waters or variations in the conditions of ore deposition. Textural relationships, including the dendritic shape of ore minerals that appear to have grown in a matrix of silica microspheres, suggest that the ginguro and gankin bands have formed as a result of rapid deposition associated with vigorous boiling or flashing of the thermal waters. Full article
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16 pages, 4318 KiB  
Article
Zircon U-Pb, Molybdenite Re-Os and Quartz Vein Rb-Sr Geochronology of the Luobuzhen Au-Ag and Hongshan Cu Deposits, Tibet, China: Implications for the Oligocene-Miocene Porphyry–Epithermal Metallogenic System
by Hanxiao Huang, Hong Liu, Guangming Li, Linkui Zhang, Huawen Cao, Qing Zhou, Xinxin Wang and Guoqiang Yan
Minerals 2019, 9(8), 476; https://doi.org/10.3390/min9080476 - 4 Aug 2019
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3756
Abstract
The Gangdese metallogenic belt in Tibet is an important copper and iron polymetallic, metallogenic belt in western China. The Luobuzhen epithermal Au-Ag and Hongshan porphyry Cu deposits, as two new discovery deposits in the last few years, are located in the western Gangdese [...] Read more.
The Gangdese metallogenic belt in Tibet is an important copper and iron polymetallic, metallogenic belt in western China. The Luobuzhen epithermal Au-Ag and Hongshan porphyry Cu deposits, as two new discovery deposits in the last few years, are located in the western Gangdese metallogenic belt. In this paper, we present quartz vein Rb-Sr isochron, zircon U-Pb and molybdenite Re-Os ages for a better understanding of the minerallogenetic epoch of the deposits. Geochronological data show that the Rb-Sr isochron age of a quartz vein in a Luobuzhen Au-Ag deposit is 21.1 ± 1.8 Ma (MSWD (mean standard weighted deviation) = 0.19), zircon U-Pb ages from diorite and granodiorite porphyry in Hongshan Cu deposit are 50.0 ± 0.4 Ma (MSWD = 0.94) and 23.7 ± 0.1 Ma (MSWD = 0.73), respectively, and a Re-Os isochron age of molybdenite in Hongshan Cu deposit is 23.0 ± 2.0 Ma (MSWD = 0.014). These data suggest that the Luobuzhen epithermal Au-Ag and Hongshan porphyry Cu deposits formed at ca. 23–21 Ma, which were controlled by the same magmatic hydrothermal events. Formation of both the Luobuzhen and Hongshan deposits were obviously earlier than the Miocene porphyry metallogenetic events in the Gangdese porphyry copper belt. Full article
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