Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T02:09:15.945Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Trace-element geochemistry of pyrite and arsenopyrite: ore genetic implications for late Archean orogenic gold deposits in southern India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Pranjit Hazarika ,
Biswajit Mishra  and
Kamal Lochan Pruseth
Pranjit Hazarika
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India Department of Geological Sciences, Gauhati University, Guwahati 781014, India
Biswajit Mishra*
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India
Kamal Lochan Pruseth
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India
*
*E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The distribution of Au and associated trace elements in pyrite and arsenopyrite from late Archean Hutti and Hira-Buddini orogenic gold deposits, eastern Dharwar Craton, southern India was investigated by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. X-ray element maps acquired by electron probe microanalyser reveal oscillatory zoning of Co and As indicating the crystallization of pyrite and arsenopyrite in an episodic fluid flow regime in which fluid salinity fluctuated due to fault-valve actions. The absence of any relationship between Au and As in pyrite obviate the role of As in the incorporation of Au into pyrite, particularly here and may be generally the case in orogenic gold deposits. On the other hand, positive correlations of Au with Cu, Ag and Te suggest possible influence of these chalcophile elements in the enhanced gold concentrationin sulfides. Pb-Bi-Te-Au-Ag bearing micro-particles (<2 μm) are observed exclusively in micro-fractures and pores in arsenopyrite. The absence of replacement features and element gradient suggests direct precipitation of Pb, Bi, Te, Au and Ag from a fluid that was unreactive towards arsenopyrite. An intermittent fall in fluid pressure caused by the fault-valve action would have resulted in the sporadic precipitation of Au, Pb, Ag, Bi and Te.

Keywords

pyritearsenopyritegoldtrace elementsHuttiHira-Buddini
Type
Research Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 81 , Issue 3 , June 2017 , pp. 661 - 678
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2017

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anand, R. and Balakrishnan, S. (2010) Pb, Sr and Nd isotope systematics of metavolcanic rocks of the Hutti greenstone belt, Eastern Dharwar craton: Constraints on age, duration of volcanism and evolution of mantle sources during Late Archean. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 39, 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anand, R., Balakrishnan, S., Kooijman, E. and Mezger, K. (2014) Neoarchean crustal growth by accretionary processes: Evidence from combined zircon-titanite U-Pb isotope studies on granitoid rocks around the Hutti greenstone belt, eastern Dharwar Craton, India. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 79, 72–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cabri, L.J., Newville, M., Gordon, R.A., Crozier, E.D., Sutton, S.R., McMahon, G. and Jiang, D.T. (2000) Chemical speciation of gold in arsenopyrite. The Canadian Mineralogist, 38, 1265–1281.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chouinard, A., Paquette, J. and Williams-Jones, A.E. (2005) Crystallographic controls on trace-element incorporation in auriferous pyrite from the Pascua epithermal high-sulfidation deposit, Chile—Argentina. The Canadian Mineralogist, 43, 951–963.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ciobanu, C.L., Cook, N.J., Utsunomiya, S., Kogagwa, M., Green, L., Gilbert, S. and Wade, B. (2012) Letter. Gold-telluride nanoparticles revealed in arsenic-free pyrite. American Mineralogist, 97, 1515–1518.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cook, N. J. and Chryssoulis, S.L. (1990) Concentrations of invisible gold in the common sulfides. The Canadian Mineralogist, 28, 1–16.Google Scholar
Cook, N.J., Ciobanu, C.L. and Mao, J. (2009) Textural control on gold distribution in As-free pyrite from the Dongping, Huangtuliang and Hougou gold deposits, North China Craton (Hebei Province, China). Chemical Geology, 264, 101–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cook, N.J., Ciobanu, C.L., Meria, D., Silcock, D. and Wade, B. (2013) Arsenopyrite-pyrite association in an orogenic gold ore: tracing mineralization history from textures and trace elements. Economic Geology, 108, 1273–1283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Craig, J.R. and Vokes, F.M. (1993) The metamorphism of pyrite and pyritic ores: an overview. Mineralogical Magazine, 57, 3–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Craig, J.R., Vokes, F.M. and Solberg, T.N. (1998) Pyrite: physical and chemical textures. Mineralium Deposita, 34, 82–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Curtis, L.C. and Radhakrishna, B.P. (1995) Hutti Gold Mine into the 21st Century. Geological Society of India, Bangalore, 176 pp.Google Scholar
Deditius, A.P., Utsunomiya, S., Renock, D., Ewing, R.C., Ramana, C.V., Becker, U. and Kesler, S.E. (2008) A proposed new type of arsenian pyrite: composition, nanostructure and geological significance. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 72, 2919–2933.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deditius, A.P., Utsunomiya, S., Ewing, R.C., Chryssoulis, S.L., Venter, D. and Kesler, S.E. (2009) Decoupled geochemical behavior of As and Cu in hydrothermal systems. Geology, 37, 707–710.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deditius, A.P., Reich, M., Kesler, S.E., Utsunomiya, S., Chryssoulis, S.L., Walshe, J. and Ewing, R.C. (2014) The coupled geochemistry of Au and As in pyrite from hydrothermal ore deposits. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 140, 644–670.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffin, W.L., Powell, W.J., Pearson, N.J. and O'Reilly, S. Y (2008) GLITTER: Data reduction software for laser ablation ICP-MS. Pp. 204–207 in: Laser ablation-ICP-MS in the earth sciences: Current practices and outstanding issues (P. Sylvester, editor). Mineralogical Association of Canada Short Course Series, 40. Mineralogical Association of Canada, Québec.Google Scholar
Hazarika, P., Mishra, B., Chinnasamy, S.S. andBernhardt, H.J. (2013) Multi-stage growth and invisible gold distribution in pyrite from the Kundarkocha sediment-hosted gold deposit, eastern India. Ore Geology Reviews, 55, 134–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hazarika, P., Mishra, B. and Pruseth, K.L. (2015a) Diverse tourmaline compositions from orogenic gold deposits in the Hutti-Maski greenstone belt, India: implications for sources of ore-forming fluids. Economic Geology, 110, 337–353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hazarika, P., Pruseth, K.L. and Mishra, B. (2015b) Neoarchean greenstone metamorphism in the Eastern Dharwar Craton, India: Constraints from monazite U-Th-Pbtotal ages and PT-pseudosection calculations. Journal of Geology, 123, 429–461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hazarika, P., Mishra, B. and Pruseth, K.L. (2016) Scheelite, apatite, calcite and tourmaline compositions from the late Archean Hutti orogenic gold deposit: Implications for analogous two stage ore fluids. Ore Geology Reviews, 72, 989–1003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johan, Z., Marcoux, E. and Bonnemaison, M. (1989) Arsénopyriteaurifere: mode de substitution de Au dans le structure de FeAsS. Comptes Rendus de ‘Académie des Sciences, 308, 185–191.Google Scholar
Kolb, J., Rogers, A., Meyer, F.M. and Vennemann, T.W. (2004) Development of fluid conduits in the auriferous shear zones of the Hutti Gold Mine, India: evidence for spatially and temporally heterogeneous fluid flow. Tectonophysics, 378, 65–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kolb, J., Rogers, A., Meyer, F.M. and Siemes, H. (2005) Dominant coaxial deformation of veins during the interseismic stage of the fault-valve cycle: micro-fabrics of laminated quartz veins of the Hutti gold mine, India. Journal of Structural Geology, 27, 2043–2057.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kretschmar, U. and Scott, S.D. (1976) Phase relations involving arsenopyrite in the system Fe-As-S and their application. The Canadian Mineralogist, 14, 364–386.Google Scholar
Krienitz, M.S., Trumbull, R.B., Hellmann, A., Kolb, J., Meyer, F.M. and Wiedenbeck, M. (2008) Hydrothermal gold mineralization at the Hira-Buddini gold mine, India: Constraints on fluid evolution and fluid sources from boron isotopic compositions of tourmaline. Mineralium Deposita, 43, 421–434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Large, R.R., Maslennikov, YY, Robert, F., Danyushevsky, L.V and Chang, Z. (2007) Multistage sedimentary and metamorphic origin of pyrite and gold in the giant Sukhoi Log deposit, Lena gold province, Russia. Economic Geology, 102, 1233–1267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Large, R.R., Danyushevsky, L., Hollit, C., Maslennikov, Y, Meffre, S., Gilbert, S. and Foster, J. (2009) Gold and trace element zonation in pyrite using a laser imaging technique: implications for the timing of gold in orogenic and Carlin-style sediment-hosted deposits. Economic Geology, 104, 635–668.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, W., Borg, S.J., Testemale, D., Etschmann, B., Hazemann, J.L. and Brugger, J. (2011) Speciation and thermodynamic properties for cobalt chloride complexes in hydrothermal fluids at 35-40 C and 600 bar: an in-situ XAS study. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 75, 1227–1248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marcoux, E., Bonnemaison, M., Braux, C. and Johan, Z. (1989) Distribution de Au, Sb, As et Fe dansl’ arsénopyriteaurifere du Châtelet et de Villeranges (Creuse, Massif Central français). Comptes Rendus de ‘Académie des Sciences, 308, Sér. II, 293–300.Google Scholar
Maslennikov, YY, Maslennikova, S.P., Large, R.R. and Danyushevsky, L.V (2009) Study of trace element zonation in vent chimneys from the Silurian Yaman-Kasy volcanic-hosted massive sulfide deposit (Southern Urals, Russia) using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS). Economic Geology, 104, 1111–1141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McPhail, D.C. (1995) Thermodynamic properties of aqueous tellurium species between 25 and 350°. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 59, 851–866.Google Scholar
Migdisov, A.A., Zezin, D. and Williams-Jones, A.E. (2011) An experimental study of Cobalt (II) complex-ation in Cl and H 2 S-bearing hydrothermal solutions. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 75, 4065–4079.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mishra, B. and Pal, N. (2008) Metamorphism, fluid flux, and fluid evolution relative to gold mineralization in the Hutti-Maski Greenstone Belt, Eastern Dharwar Craton, India. Economic Geology, 103, 801–827.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morey, A.A., Tomkins, A.G., Bierlein, F.P., Weinberg, R.F. and Davidson, G.J. (2008) Bimodal distribution of gold in pyrite and arsenopyrite: examples from the Archean Boorara and Bardoc shear systems, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia. Economic Geology, 103, 599–614.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pal, N. and Mishra, B. (2002) Alteration geochemistry and fluid inclusion characteristics of the greenstone hosted gold deposit at Hutti, eastern Dharwar craton, India. Mineralium Deposita, 37, 722–736.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, E.C. and Mavrogenes, J.A. (2014) Linking high-grade gold mineralization to earthquake-induced fault-valve processes in the Porgera gold deposit, Papua New Guinea. Geology, 42, 383–386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reich, M., Kesler, S.E., Utsunomiya, S., Palenik, C.S., Chryssoulis, S.L. and Ewing, R.C. (2005) Solubility of gold in arsenian pyrite. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 69, 2781–2796.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rogers, A.J., Kolb, J., Meyer, F.M. and Armstrong, R.A. (2007) Tectono-magmatic evolution of the Hutti-Maski Greenstone Belt, India: constrained using geochemical and geochronological data. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 31, 55–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rogers, A.J., Kolb, J., Meyer, F.M. and Vennemann, T. (2013) Two stages of gold mineralization at Hutti mine, India. Mineralium Deposita, 48, 99–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roy, A. (1979) Polyphase folding and deformation in the Hutti-Maski schist belt, Karnataka. Journal of Geological Society of India, 20, 598–607.Google Scholar
Sharp, Z.D., Essene, E.J. and Kelly, W.C. (1985) A re-examination of the arsenopyrite geothermometer: Pressure considerations and applications to natural assemblages. The Canadian Mineralogist, 23, 517–534.Google Scholar
Sibson, R.H., Robert, E and Poulsen, K.H. (1988) High-angle reverse faults, fluid-pressure cycling, and mesothermal gold-quartz deposits. Geology, 16, 551–555.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simon, G., Huang, H., Penner-Hahn, J.E., Kesler, S.E. and Kao, L. (1999a) Oxidation state of gold and arsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite. American Mineralogist, 84, 1071–1079.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simon, G., Kesler, S.E. and Chryssoulis, S. (1999b) Geochemistry and textures of gold-bearing arsenian pyrite, Twin Creeks, Nevada; implications for deposition of gold in Carlin-type deposits. Economic Geology, 94, 405–421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Srikantia, S.V. (1995) Geology of the Hutti-Maski greenstone belt. Pp. 8–27 in: Hutti Gold Mine-Into the 21st Century (L.C. Curtis and B.P Radhakrishna, editors). Geological Society of India, Bangalore.Google Scholar
Tarnocai, C.A., Hattori, K. and Cabri, L.J. (1997) ‘Invisible’ gold in sulfides from the Campbell mine, Red Lake greenstone belt, Ontario: evidence for mineralization during the peak of metamorphism. The Canadian Mineralogist, 35, 805–815.Google Scholar
Vasudev, V.N., Chadwick, B., Nutman, A.P. and Hegde, G.V. (2000) Rapid development of late Archean Hutti schist belt, northern Karnataka: implications of new field data and SHRIMP zircon ages. Journal of Geological Society of India, 55, 529–540.Google Scholar
Vaughan, D.J. and Craig, J.R. (1978) Mineral Chemistry of Metal Sulfides. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.Google Scholar
Wilkinson, II and Johnston, J.D. (1996) Pressure fluctuations, phase separation, and gold precipitation during seismic fracture propagation. Geology, 24, 395–398.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, S.A., Ridley, W.I. and Koenig, A.E. (2002) Development of sulfide calibration standards for the laser ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry technique. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, 17, 406–09.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wu, X. and Delbove, E (1989) Hydrothermal synthesis of gold-bearing arsenopyrite. Economic Geology, 84, 2029–2032.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Hazarika et al. supplementary material

Appendix A

Download Hazarika et al. supplementary material(File)
File 53.2 KB