Quick
Search: 
 
advanced search
 GSW Home    GeoRef Home    My GSW Alerts    Contact GSW    About GSW    Journals List    Help 
Economic Geology Signup for GSW Email News
JOURNAL HOME HELP CONTACT PUBLISHER SUBSCRIBE ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS

Economic Geology; May 1992; v. 87; no. 3; p. 667-685; DOI: 10.2113/gsecongeo.87.3.667
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by McGoldrick, P. J.
Right arrow Articles by Large, R. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
GeoRef
Right arrow GeoRef Citation

Geologic and geochemical controls on gold-rich stringer mineralization in the Que River Deposit, Tasmania

Peter J. McGoldrick, and Ross R. Large

Univ. Tasmania, Cent. Ore Deposit and Explor. Stud., Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

The Que River mine in western Tasmania was developed on a small (3.3 million metric tons) but high-grade (>20 wt % Zn + Pb) polymetallic massive sulfide deposit hosted by Cambrian volcanics and volcaniclastic sediments of the Mount Read Volcanics. The massive ore is surrounded by an extensive zone of low-grade stringer vein and disseminated mineralization. This stringer zone formed during hydrothermal alteration of andesitic lavas and related volcaniclastics in the stratigraphic footwall. The hydrothermal alteration mineral assemblage (sericite-silica-pyrite + or - base metal sulfides + or - potash feldspar) survived subsequent lower greenschist-grade regional metamorphism.Part of the stringer zone has elevated Au (up to about 5 ppm), Sb (up to 1,000 ppm), and Ba (up to 2,000 ppm) values. Much of the gold-enriched stringer zone occurs in a coarse polymictic volcaniclastic containing distinctive millimeter-size patches of cream-white alteration. In thin section the cream-white patches are seen to comprise intergrowths of coarse white mica and base metal sulfide. The gold-enriched zone is also characterized by the presence of solid inclusion-rich potash feldspar not observed elsewhere in the stringer zone.The entire stringer zone is crudely zoned with a Cu-bearing core beneath the central part of the massive orebody (Large et al., 1988) surrounded by a Pb-Zn-bearing stringer mineralization which merges with a distal Pb-Zn-Ag-Au-As-Sb-Ba stringer mineralization in the gold-enriched zone. Sulfur isotope signatures show a progression from lightest values in mineral separates from massive ore (delta 34 S pyrite ca. 8ppm) to heaviest values in gold-enriched zone samples (delta 34 S pyrite up to 17ppm).The gold-enriched stringer zone is interpreted to be the more distal part of the footwall alteration zone developed during formation of the main Que River massive sulfide orebody. Best development of this distal gold-bearing stringer mineralization occurred in the more permeable coarse volcaniclastics. It is interpreted that the Au was transported as a bisulfide complex and precipitated in the outer portions of the stringer when fluids were oxidized and cooled during mixing with seawater.

This record provided courtesy of AGI/GeoRef.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Reviews in Mineralogy and GeochemistryHome page
R. R. Seal II
Sulfur Isotope Geochemistry of Sulfide Minerals
Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, January 1, 2006; 61(1): 633 - 677.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Economic GeologyHome page
R. R. Large, R. R. Large, J. McPhie, J. B. Gemmell, W. Herrmann, and G. J. Davidson
The Spectrum of Ore Deposit Types, Volcanic Environments, Alteration Halos, and Related Exploration Vectors in Submarine Volcanic Successions: Some Examples from Australia
Economic Geology, August 1, 2001; 96(5): 913 - 938.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Economic GeologyHome page
J. B. Gemmell, J. B. Gemmell, and R. Fulton
Geology, Genesis, and Exploration Implications of the Footwall and Hanging-Wall Alteration Associated with the Hellyer Volcanic-Hosted Massive Sulfide Deposit, Tasmania, Australia
Economic Geology, August 1, 2001; 96(5): 1003 - 1035.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Economic GeologyHome page
C. Schardt, C. Schardt, D. R. Cooke, J. B. Gemmell, and R. R. Large
Geochemical Modeling of the Zoned Footwall Alteration Pipe, Hellyer Volcanic-Hosted Massive Sulfide Deposit, Western Tasmania, Australia
Economic Geology, August 1, 2001; 96(5): 1037 - 1054.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Economic GeologyHome page
H. Paulick, H. Paulick, W. Herrmann, and J. B. Gemmell
Alteration of Felsic Volcanics Hosting the Thalanga Massive Sulfide Deposit (Northern Queensland, Australia) and Geochemical Proximity Indicators to Ore
Economic Geology, August 1, 2001; 96(5): 1175 - 1200.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]




JOURNAL HOME HELP CONTACT PUBLISHER SUBSCRIBE ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2009 by Society of Economic Geologists