Articles
Publication Date: 2024
International Journal of Image and Data Fusion (19479832)
Porphyry deposits are typically associated with specific hydrothermal alteration zones. The identification of hydrothermal alteration patterns in porphyry deposits using remote sensing imagery is a cost-effective tool to identify zones of high potential zones. The West Zafarghand porphyry is located in the northeast of Isfahan, central part of the Cenozoic Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic arc. Lack of interpretation of the spatial pattern of hydrothermal alteration zones and their relationships to ore mineralisation in the study area has led us to use ASTER remote sensing data to detect alteration patterns. Delineating the extent of hydrothermal alteration zones and high-grade mineralised lithological units is a particular goal of this study. We used various image processing techniques such as False Color Composite, Band Ratio, Principal Component Analysis, Minimum Noise Fraction and Spectral Angle Mapper. Remote sensing results, field observations, petrographic surveys and XRD revealed argillic, phyllic and propylitic hydrothermal alteration zones in the central part of the study area. An overall accuracy of 90% and a kappa coefficient of 0.84 were achieved in this analysis. The spatial distribution of the NE-SW trending phyllic alteration zone discovered in this study could be considered an area of high potential for a comprehensive exploration campaign at this deposit. © 2024 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Publication Date: 2023
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences: X (25900560)9
The Barout Aghaji gold deposit is located ∼90 km northwest of Zanjan, within the Takab-Takht-e-Soleyman subzone of the Sanandaj-Sirjan metamorphosed-deformed zone. Ore-bearing quartz veins are hosted by Neoproterozoic amphibolite and Eocene to Oligocene granitic gneisses. Oligo-Miocene Upper Red Formation unconformably overlies the amphibolite and granitic gneisses. Field observations and petrographic studies show that two deformation stages occurred in this area. The first deformation stage was ductile, producing mylonitic and proto-mylonitic microstructures, but the second one was brittle, represented by sheeted quartz veins and veinlets. In the first stage, barren milky quartz veins occurred containing minor sulfide minerals, but dark to light gray ore-bearing quartz veins and veinlets are formed in the latter stage. The mineralized veins appear as massive microcrystalline quartz cut by sheeted quartz veins with comb, druse, and crustiform textures. The gold-bearing quartz veins contain as much as 3% sulfide minerals. Pyrite is the main sulfide mineral and is associated with minor chalcopyrite. Sulfides are commonly altered to hematite, goethite, and rarely malachite. Hydrothermal alteration around the quartz veins consists of silicification, pyritization, and sericitization. The whole-rock geochemistry of the collected samples from the granitic gneisses and quartz veins shows that Au is enriched in the quartz veins (average of 114 ppb) relative to host rocks (average of 22.5 ppb). Au shows strong positive correlations with As, Ba, Mo, Pb, Sc, Tl, Ag, and negative correlations with Cu, Bi, Se, and Te in the granitic gneisses. It also shows strong positive correlations with S, Hg, Th, Co, Bi, Pb, and Ag and negative correlations with P, V, Te, W, Sc, Zn in quartz veins. Four types of primary fluid inclusions were identified, including type I, two-phase aqueous-rich fluid inclusions (liquid > vapor; LV); type II, two-phase vapor-rich fluid inclusions (gas > liquid; VL); type III, three-phase fluid inclusions containing CO2 with clathrate formation (L1L2V); and type IV three-phase fluid inclusions (aqueous, vapor, and solid; LVS). The homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions in auriferous quartz veins range from 199 −446 with a mode of 270–300 °C. Salinities range from 0.8 to 49.02 wt% NaCl Equiv. with two distinct populations at 0.8–8.5 and 31.1–49.02 wt% NaCl Equiv. The large variations in the homogenization temperatures and salinities can be attributed to the cooling and isothermal mixing of fluids. The δ34S values for four pyrites separated from auriferous quartz veins range from +2.9 to +7.1‰, with an average of 4.5‰. δ34S values of fluids in equilibrium with pyrite were calculated from +3.5 to +7.3‰, with an average of 5.4‰, indicating a metamorphic source for the sulfur using temperatures estimated from the fluid inclusion study. The Field observations, vein textures, mineralogy, ore geochemistry, fluid inclusion studies, and sulfur isotope data indicate that gold mineralization in the Barout Aghaji area has many similarities to orogenic and intrusion-related gold deposits, such that low salinity fluids derived from metamorphic rocks are mixed with high salinity fluid inclusions possibly derived from granitic gneisses during syn to post tectonic magmatism. © 2023 The Author(s)
