Au‐Ag‐S‐Se‐Cl‐Br Mineralization at the Corrida Deposit (Russia) and Physicochemical Conditions of Ore Formation
The mineral and chemical compositions of ores from the Corrida epithermal Au-Ag deposit (Chukchi Peninsula, Russia) were studied using the optical and scanning electron microscopy with X-ray energy-dispersion microanalysis. The deposit was formed at the time close to the period when the basic volume...
| Published in: | Minerals |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/min11020144 https://doaj.org/article/9ca1382052144241a9b14d3543dac8a2 |
| Summary: | The mineral and chemical compositions of ores from the Corrida epithermal Au-Ag deposit (Chukchi Peninsula, Russia) were studied using the optical and scanning electron microscopy with X-ray energy-dispersion microanalysis. The deposit was formed at the time close to the period when the basic volume of acid magmas had been emplaced within the Okhotsk–Chukotka belt (84 to 80 Ma). The Au–Ag mineralization is distinguished with Au-Ag sulphides and selenides (uytenbogaardtite-fischesserite solid solution, Se-acanthite, S-naumannite) and Ag halides of the chlorargyrite-embolite-bromargyrite series. The ores were formed in two stages. Using microthermometric methods, it has been established that the ore-bearing quartz was formed in the medium-temperature environment (340–160 °C) with the participation of low-salt (3.55 to 0.18 wt.% NaCl eq.) hydrotherms, mostly of the NaCl composition with magnesium, iron and low-density СО 2 . According to our results of thermodynamic modeling at temperatures from 300 to 25 °C and data on mineral metasomatic alterations of the host rocks, the Au-Ag-S-Se-Cl-Br mineralization was formed at decreasing temperature and fugacity of sulphur (logƒS 2 from −6 to −27), selenium (logƒSe 2 from −14 to −35), and oxygen (logƒО 2 from −36 to −62), with near-neutral solutions replaced by acid solutions. Analysis of the obtained data shows that the Corrida refers to the group of the LS-type epithermal deposits. This deposit is a new example of epithermal deposits with significant quantities of Au–Ag chalcogenides (acanthite, uytenbogaardtite, fischesserite, naumannite and others). |
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