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Re-Os SULFIDE (BORNITE, CHALCOPYRITE, AND PYRITE) SYSTEMATICS OF THE CARBONATE-HOSTED COPPER DEPOSITS AT RUBY CREEK, SOUTHERN BROOKS RANGE, ALASKA

David Selby^1,, Karen D. Kelley², Murray W. Hitzman³ and Jerry Zieg⁴

¹ Department of Earth Sciences, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
² U.S. Geological Survey, Box 25046, Mail Stop 973, Denver, Colorado 80225
³ Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401
⁴ Nova Gold Resources Inc., Suite 2300, 200 Granville Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6C 1S4

Corresponding author: e-mail, david.selby{at}durham.ac.uk

New Re-Os data for chalcopyrite, bornite, and pyrite from the carbonate-hosted Cu deposit at Ruby Creek (Bornite), Alaska, show extremely high Re abundances (hundreds of ppb, low ppm) and contain essentially no common Os. The Re-Os data provide the first absolute ages of ore formation for the carbonate-hosted Ruby Creek Cu-(Co) deposit and demonstrate that the Re-Os systematics of pyrite, chalcopyrite, and bornite are unaffected by greenschist metamorphism. The Re-Os data show that the main phase of Cu mineralization predominantly occurred at 384 ± 4.2 Ma, with an earlier phase possibly at ~400 Ma. The Re-Os data are consistent with the observed paragenetic sequence and coincide with zircon U-Pb ages from igneous rocks within the Ambler metallogenic belt, some of which are spatially and genetically associated with regional volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits. The latter may suggest a temporal link between regional magmatism and hydrothermal mineralization in the Ambler district. The utility of bornite and chalcopyrite, in addition to pyrite, contributes to a new understanding of Re-Os geochronology and permits a refinement of the genetic model for the Ruby Creek deposit.