Evidence of multiple halogen sources in scapolites from iron oxidecopper- gold (IOCG) deposits and regional Na-Cl metasomatic alteration, Norrbotten County, Sweden

• Main Authors: Bernal, Nelson, Gleeson, Sarah, Smith, Martin, Barnes, Jamie, Pan, Yanuming
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2017
• Subjects: F600 Geology; F670 Geochemistry; F620 Mining geology; Gruvberget; Northern Sweden; Norrbotten
• Online Access: http://eprints.brighton.ac.uk/16450/; http://eprints.brighton.ac.uk/16450/1/Bernal%20et%20al%202016.pdf

Scapolites from barren regional Na-Cl metasomatic assemblages (RM), iron oxide-copper-gold deposits (IOCG), scapolite altered metabasic rocks (IOCG-M), and from IOCG-proximal alteration/Na-skarns (IOCG-PS) from Norrbotten County in Northern Sweden have been analysed for halogen content and Cl stable isotope composition. The aim of the study was to constrain the source of halogens within alteration assemblages, and to investigate the possible fractionation of Cl isotopes between scapolite and the hydrothermal fluid. Scapolite separates were analyzed for Cl, Br, and major oxide concentrations using electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA) and micro-X-ray fluorescence (XRFM) spectrometry. Chlorine was extracted from the scapolite separates via pyrohydrolysis and then analysed for their stable Cl isotope compositions by isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). All samples of scapolite investigated in this study are marialitic in composition. One of the scapolites from the Gruvberget deposit (IOCG-PS) had a Cl/Br molar ratio of 2,363, which is the highest amongst all scapolites reported in the literature to date. Cl/Br molar ratios lower than seawater (650), were identified in two IOCG-PS scapolite samples (Cl/Br=554 and 271), as well as in two IOCG-M scapolites (Cl/Br=393 and 565). Three RM scapolites had Cl/Br molar ratios very close to, or slightly higher than, seawater values (639 to 770). Samples with Cl/Br molar ratios less than seawater are inferred to have halogens derived from evaporative residual brines; whereas samples with molar ratios higher than seawater may have halogens derived from fluids that have dissolved halite and/or are from magmatic systems. Considering the wide variation of the Cl/Br molar ratios in the IOCG-PS and IOCG-M scapolites compared to the restricted composition of the regional alteration (RM), it is proposed that the hydrothermal fluids interacted with several different protoliths to generate the IOCG alteration.