Abstract
Copper mineralization in the Magadan oblast (Northeast of Russia) has been established in Middle–Upper Riphean quartz–chloritoid and chlorite shales of the of the Prikolymsky terrane. Compared to the upper crust, copper shales of the Oroek ore occurrence are noticeably enriched in a narrow range of trace elements: Cu, Ag, Au, Rh, and Se, with enrichment factors ranging from 10-fold (Se, Rh) to 100-fold (Ag, Au) and even 1000-fold (Cu) suggesting, apparently, their synchronous involvement in ore formation. In addition, the studied samples are slightly enriched in Cd, Li, Co, Zn, V, U, Sc, Y, and REE. Copper shales show relatively flat rare earth element (REE) patterns similar to the chondrite-normalized pattern and have no distinct positive or negative Eu anomalies and are dominated by light lanthanides. The Ce/Ce* and Eu/Eu* ratios indicate that ore formation proceeded under oxidizing conditions. The geochemical data we obtained show that the Riphean host rocks could serve as a source of trace elements and REE ore-forming fluids. In the ores, covelline and chalcocite are the main copper minerals; less common are roxbyite, idaite, nukundamite, spioncopite, chalcopyrite, silver-bearing (Ag about 1 wt %) bornite, and yarrovite, as well as native gold. Fluid inclusions in quartz suggest that copper mineralization was formed at temperatures of 212–190°C and a pressure of 1 kbar from hydrothermal solutions of medium salinity (from 13.8 to 12.4 wt % eq NaCl) and high density (0.95–0.98 g/cm3) saturated with chlorides of Ca, Mg, and K. The copper shales of the Prikolymsky terrane differ from sedimentary copper and copper shales of the African Copper Belt in low Co and Ni contents and from the Kupfershifer in low Pb and Zn contents. The results we obtained can be used for predicting new deposits.
Notes
The predominant minerals are highlighted in bold, the less common minerals are shown in regular font.
REFERENCES
A. S. Borisenko, “Cryometric study of salt composition of gas–liquid inclusions in minerals,” Geol. Geofiz., No. 8, 16–27 (1977).
A. V. Volkov, I. A. Novikov, A. A. Razumovskii, K. Yu. Murashov, and N. V. Sidorova, “Geochemical features and conditions of formation of cupriferous sandstones of the Orenburg Cis-Urals,” Litosfera 18 (4), 593–606 (2018).
I. G. Volkodav, A. I. Gorbunov, and V. F. Mekhanoshin, “Prospects of creation of new base metal base of Yakutia,” Razved. Okhr. Nedr., No. 10, 6–10 (1976).
B. I. Gongal’skii, Deposits of the Unique Metallogenic Province of Northern Transbaikalia (VIMS, Moscow, 2015) [in Russian].
A. N. Glukhov and E. E. Tyukova, “Prospects of the evolution of mineral-raw cupriferous base of the Magadan district,” Rudy Met., No. 5, 21–33 (2013).
V. A. Zharikov, N. S. Gorbachev, P. Lightfoot, and W. Doherty, “Rare earth element and yttrium distribution between fluid and basaltic melt at pressures of 1–12 kbar: evidence from experimental data,” Dokl. Earth Sci. 366 (2), 543–545 (1999).
N. P. Ermakov and Yu. A. Dolgov, Thermobarogeochemistry (Nedra, Moscow, 1979) [in Russian].
V. A. Kalyuzhnyi, Principles of Theory on Mineral-Forming Fluids (Nauk. dumka, Kiev, 1982) [in Russian].
A. M. Lur’e, Genesis of Cupriferous Sandstones and Shales (Nauka, Moscow, 1988) [in Russian].
D. A. Mineev, Lanthanides in Ores of Rare-Earth and Complex Deposits (Nauka, Moscow, 1974) [in Russian].
A. E. Miroshnikov and E. I. Kozlov, “Characteristics of the Upper Permian red-colored deposits of the eastern Orenburg Cis-Urals,” Litol. Polezn. Iskop., No. 2, pp. 50–56 (1966).
E. Roedder, Fluid Inclusions in Minerals, Rev. Mineral. 12 (1984).
S. R. Taylor and S. M. McLennan, The Continental Crust: Its Composition and Evolution (Blackwell, Oxford, 1988).
V. I. Shpikerman, Pre-Cretaceous Metallogeny of Northeast Asia (SVKNII DVO RAN, Magadan, 1998) [in Russian].
A. Bechtelet, R. Gratzer, and W. Puttmann, “Geochemical characteristic across the oxic-anoxic interface within the kupferschiefer of the Lubin–Sieroszowice mining district,” Chem. Geol. 185 (1), 9–31 (2002).
R. J. Bodnar and M. O. Vityk, “Interpretation of microthermometric data for H2O–NaCl fluid inclusions,” Fluid Inclusions in Minerals: Methods and Applications, Ed. by B. De Vivo and M.L. Frezzotti, IMA Short Course Volume (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Press, 1994), pp. 117–130.
P. E. Brown, “FLINCOR; a microcomputer program for the reduction and investigation of fluid-inclusion data,” Am. Mineral. 74 (11–12), 1390–1393 (1989).
P. R. L. Browne, “Hydrothermal alteration in active geothermal fields,” Kinetics of Gold Precipitation from Experimental Hydrothermal Sulfide Solutions, Econ. Geol. Monogr. 6, 320–327 (1989).
D. P. Cox, D. A. Lindsey, D. A. Singer, and M. F. Diggles, “Sediment hosted copper deposits of the world, deposit models and database,” US Geol. Surv. Open-file Rept. 50, (2007).
L. N. Greyling, Thesis of the Doctor of Philosophy in Science (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2009).
S. Hassanpour and S. Senemari, “Mineralogy and geochemistry studies of the Sorkheh sediment-hosted stratiform copper (SSC) deposit, NW Iran,” Iranian J. Earth Sci., No. 7, 89–105 (2015).
M. M. Herron, “Geochemical classification of terrigenous sands and shales from core or log data,” J. Sediment. Petrol. 58, 820–829 (1988).
M. Hitzman, R. Kirkham, D. Broughton, J. Thorson, and D. Selley, “The sediment-hosted stratiform copper ore system,” Econ. Geol. 100, 609–642 (2005). https://doi.org/10.5382/AV100.19
B. Jones and D. A. C. Manning, “Comparison of geochemical indices used for the interpretation of palaeoredox conditions in ancient mudstones,” Chem. Geol. 111, 111–129 (1994).
M. B. Konari, E. Rastad, and S. Kojima, “Volcanic redbed-type copper mineralization in the Lower Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary sequence of the Keshtmahaki deposit, southern Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone, Iran,” J. Mineral. Geochem 190 (2), 107–121 (2013).
L. Kun, Y. Ruidong, and Ch. Wenyong, “Trace element and REE geochemistry of the Zhewang gold deposit, southeastern Guizhou Province, China,” Chin. J. Geochem 33, 109–118 (2014).
S. Maghfouri, M. R. Hosseinzadeh, and M. Moayyed, “Geology, mineralization and sulfur isotopes geochemistry of the Mari Cu (Ag) Manto-Type deposit, northern Zanjan, Iran,” Ore Geol. Rev 81, 10–22 (2017).
W. F. McDonough and S. Sun, “The composition of the Earth,” Chem. Geol. 120, 223–253 (1995).
T. Monecke, U. Kempe, and J. Gotze, “Genetic significance of the trace element content in metamorphic and hydrothermal quartz: a reconnaissance study,” Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 202, 709–724 (2002).
T. Lyubetskaya and J. Korenaga, “Chemical composition of Earth’s primitive mantle and its variance: 1. Method and Results,” J. Geophys. Res. 112, B03211 (2007).
F. J. Pettijohn, P. E. Potter, and R. Silver, Sand and Sandstone (Springer, New York, 1972).
S. Rajabpour, A. Abedini, S. Alipour, and S. Yon, “Geology and geochemistry of the sediment-hosted Cheshmeh-Konan redbed-type copper deposit, NW Iran,” Ore Geol. Rev. 86, 154–171 (2017).
J. R. Ridley and L. W. Diamond, “Fluid chemistry of orogenic lode gold deposits and implications for genetic models gold in 2000,” SEG Rev. 13, 141–162 (2000).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors are sincerely grateful to S.A. Shubin for providing us the collection of samples from the Oroek ore occurrence.
Funding
The work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (project no. 13.1902.21.0018, agreement 075-15-2020-802).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Additional information
Recommended for publishing by N.A. Goryachev
Translated by D. Voroshchuk
Publisher’s Note.
Pleiades Publishing remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Savva, N.E., Volkov, A.V., Galyamov, A.L. et al. Copper Shales of the Prikolymsky Terrane (Northeast of Russia): Mineralogical and Geochemical Features and Ore-Forming Conditions. Russ. J. of Pac. Geol. 17, 531–548 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S181971402306009X
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S181971402306009X