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Sulfur isotope and trace element data from ore sulfides in the Noranda district (Abitibi, Canada): implications for volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit genesis

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Abstract

We examine models for volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) mineralization in the ~2.7-Ga Noranda camp, Abitibi subprovince, Superior Province, Canada, using a combination of multiple sulfur isotope and trace element data from ore sulfide minerals. The Noranda camp is a well-preserved, VMS deposit-rich area that is thought to represent a collapsed volcanic caldera. Due to its economic value, the camp has been studied extensively, providing a robust geological framework within which to assess the new data presented in this study. We explore previously proposed controls on mineralization within the Noranda camp and, in particular, the exceptional Au-rich Horne and Quemont deposits. We present multiple sulfur isotope and trace element compositional data for sulfide separates representing 25 different VMS deposits and “showings” within the Noranda camp. Multiple sulfur isotope data for this study have δ34SV-CDT values of between −1.9 and +2.5 ‰, and Δ33SV-CDT values of between −0.59 and −0.03 ‰. We interpret the negative Δ33S values to be due to a contribution of sulfur that originated as seawater sulfate to form the ore sulfides of the Noranda camp VMS deposits. The contribution of seawater sulfate increased with the collapse and subsequent evolution of the Noranda caldera, an inference supported by select trace and major element analyses. In particular, higher concentrations of Se occur in samples with Δ33S values closer to 0 ‰, as well as lower Fe/Zn ratios in sphalerite, suggesting lower pressures and temperatures of formation. We also report a relationship between average Au grade and Δ33S values within Au-rich VMS deposits of the Noranda camp, whereby higher gold grades are associated with near-zero Δ33S values. From this, we infer a dominance of igneous sulfur in the gold-rich deposits, either leached from the volcanic pile and/or directly degassed from an associated intrusion.

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Acknowledgments

ERS was supported by the Geological Survey of Canada’s Targeted Geoscience-3 Abitibi Project, a Society of Economic Geologists Graduate Student Fellowship, a GEOTOP bourses d’études des cycles supérieurs, and an NSERC Discovery Grant to BAW. The McGill Stable Isotope Laboratory is supported by NSERC through Research Tools and Infrastructure and Discovery Grants to BAW as well as operating funds from FQRNT through GEOTOP. We appreciate the laboratory assistance of André Pellerin, Lang Shi, and Mary McDonough. Many thanks also to Ian Jonasson for provision of samples, without which this study would not have been possible, and for numerous productive discussions. We would like to thank the two anonymous Mineralium Deposita reviewers, Editor-in-Chief Georges Beaudoin, and Associate Editor Karen Kelley for their comprehensive reviews of this paper, as well as J. Franklin, J. Goutier and P. Mercier-Langevin for previous reviews, all of which significantly improved the quality of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill University, 3450 University Street, Montreal, QC, H3A 2A7, Canada

    Elizabeth R. Sharman, William G. Minarik & Boswell A. Wing

  2. GEOTOP Research Center, C.P. 8888, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3P8, Canada

    Elizabeth R. Sharman, William G. Minarik & Boswell A. Wing

  3. Geological Survey of Canada, 601 Booth Street, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0E8, Canada

    Bruce E. Taylor

  4. Geological Survey of Canada, 490 rue de la Couronne , Québec, QC, G1K 9A9, Canada

    Benoît Dubé

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  1. Elizabeth R. Sharman
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Correspondence to Elizabeth R. Sharman.

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Editorial handling: K. Kelley and G. Beaudoin

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ESM 2

Box and whisker diagrams of trace element concentrations for pyrite from EPMA data separated by deposit showing 5th percentile, 95th percentile, and outliers (diamond indicates mean) (PDF 856 kb)

ESM 3

Box and whisker diagrams of trace element concentrations for pyrite from EPMA data separated by stratigraphic position showing 5th percentile, 95th percentile, and outliers (diamond indicates mean) (PDF 1032 kb)

ESM 4

Box and whisker diagrams of trace element concentrations for sphalerite from EPMA data separated by deposit showing 5th percentile, 95th percentile, and outliers (diamond indicates mean) (PDF 719 kb)

ESM 5

Box and whisker diagrams of trace element concentrations for sphalerite from EPMA data separated by stratigraphic position showing 5th percentile, 95th percentile, and outliers (diamond indicates mean) (PDF 808 kb)

ESM 6

Box and whisker diagrams of trace element concentrations for chalcopyrite from EPMA data separated by deposit showing 5th percentile, 95th percentile, and outliers (diamond indicates mean) (PDF 645 kb)

ESM 7

Box and whisker diagrams of trace element concentrations for chalcopyrite from EPMA data separated by stratigraphic position showing 5th percentile, 95th percentile, and outliers (diamond indicates mean) (PDF 628 kb)

ESM 8

Box and whisker diagrams of trace element concentrations for pyrrhotite from EPMA data separated by deposit showing 5th percentile, 95th percentile, and outliers (diamond indicates mean) (PDF 468 kb)

ESM 9

Box and whisker diagrams of trace element concentrations for pyrrhotite from EPMA data separated by stratigraphic position showing 5th percentile, 95th percentile, and outliers (diamond indicates mean) (PDF 447 kb)

ESM 10

Box and whisker diagrams of trace element concentrations for galena from EPMA data separated by deposit showing 5th percentile, 95th percentile, and outliers (diamond indicates mean) (PDF 417 kb)

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ESM 12

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ESM 13

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Sharman, E.R., Taylor, B.E., Minarik, W.G. et al. Sulfur isotope and trace element data from ore sulfides in the Noranda district (Abitibi, Canada): implications for volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit genesis. Miner Deposita 50, 591–606 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-014-0559-7

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