Abstract
This paper considers geochemical features of the Au-Ag epithermal mineralization at the Kayenmyvaam volcanic uplift (KVU) situated in the middle of the Chukchi segment which is part of the inner zone of the Okhotsk–Chukchi volcanogenic belt (OChVB). New evidence is presented concerning the composition and concentrations of trace elements, including REEs, in the ores of Au-Ag deposits (Arykevaam, Kyaenmyvaam, and Televeem). The ores were found to be enriched in a wide range of trace elements (Li, Se, Mo, Au, Ag, As, Sb, Cu, Pb, In, Cd, Tl, Zn, Bi, Te, and W). The enrichment ratios vary between a few times (Li, Se, Bi, Zn, Tl, In) to tens (Mo, Te, Pb, Cd), hundreds (As, Cu), thousands and tens of thousand times (Au, Ag, Sb). Comparative analysis of the distribution patterns of trace elements shows synchronous enrichment of the ores in similar sets of trace elements. The ores were found to be dominated by light “hydrophile” lanthanoids of the “cerium” group, slightly inclined near-chondrite patterns, without obvious europium maxima and minima, which have configurations similar to the REE patterns of volcanic rock sequences of the andesite–diorite series. The ore-forming fluids belonged to an NaCl–H2O hydrothermal system enriched in Cl relative to F; the Y/Ho ratios in the ores correspond with the range of ratios characteristic for present-day hydrothermal fluids in the backarc basins. The low Co/Ni ratios in the ores probably reflect a large involvement of meteoric near-surface fluids in the mineralization. The Ce/Ce* and Eu/Eu* ratios vary between slightly negative to moderately positive values (Ce/Ce* between 0.71 and 1.07) and (Eu/Eu* between 0.63 and 1.14). This combination of Ce/Ce* and Eu/Eu* corresponds to oxidizing conditions that were existent during the mineralization. The geochemical data indicate andesitic magmas and meteoric waters as the most likely sources of the fluids. The results classify the mineralization under study as belonging to the high sulfidation epithermal class.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Akinin, V.V. and Miller, E.L., The evolution of the calc-alkalic magmas of the Okhotsk-Chukotka volcanic belt, Petrology, 2011, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 237–277.
Bau, M., Rare-earth element mobility during hydrothermal and metamorphic fluid-rock interaction and the significance of the oxidation state of europium, Chem. Geol., 1991, vol. 93, pp. 219–230.
Belyi,V.F., Geologiya Okhotsko-Chukotskogo vulkanogennogo poyasa (The Geology of the Okhotsk–Chukchi Volcanogenic Belt), Magadan: SVKNII DVO RAN, 1994.
Bortnikov, N.S., Gamyanin, G.N., Vikent’eva, O.V., et al., The composition and origin of fluids in the hydrothermal system of the Nezhdaninskoe gold deposit, Sakha-Yakutiya, Russia, Geologiya Rudnykh Mestorozhdenii, 2007, vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 99–145.
Goryachev, N.A., Vikent’eva, O.V., Bortnikov, N.S., et al., The Natalkino worldclass gold deposit: REE distribution, fluid inclusions, stable oxygen isotopes, and the conditions during the formation of the ore (Northeast Russia), Geol. Rudn. Mestor., 2008, vol. 50, no. 5, pp. 414–444.
Jones, B. and Manning, D.A.C., Comparison of geochemical indices used for the interpretation of palaeoredox conditions in ancient mudstones, Chem. Geol., 1994, vol. 111, pp. 111–129.
Kravtsova, R.G., Geokhimiya i usloviya formirovaniya zolotoserebryanykh rudoobrazuyushchikh sistem Severnogo Priokhot’ya (The Geochemistry and the Conditions of Generation for the Gold–Silver Mineralizing Systems on the Northern Coast of the Sea of Okhotsk), Novosibirsk: Akad. Izd-vo Geo, 2010.
Kun, L., Ruidong, Y., Wenyong, Ch., et al., Trace element and REE geochemistry of the Zhewang gold deposit, southeastern Guizhou Province, China, Chin. J. Geochem., 2014, vol. 33, pp. 109–118.
McDonough, W.F. and Sun, S.S., The Composition of the Earth, Chem. Geol., 1995, vol. 120, pp. 223–253.
Malysheva, G.M., Isaeva, E.P., Tikhomirov, Yu.B., et al., Gosudarstvennaya geologicheskaya karta Rossiiskoi Federatsii (A Geological State Map of the Russian Federation), Scale 1 : 1 000 000 (third generation), Chukchi Series, Sheet Q-59 (Markovo), Explanatory Note, St. Petersburg: Kartograficheskaya Fabrika VSEGEI, 2012.
Mineev, D.A., Lantanoidy v rudakh redkozemel’nykh elementov i kompleksnykh mestorozhdenii (Lathanoids in Ores of Rare Earth and Complex Deposits), Moscow: Nauka, 1974.
Monecke, T., Kempe, U., and Gotze, J., Genetic significance of the trace element content in metamorphic and hydrothermal quartz: a reconnaissance study, Earth. Planet. Sci. Lett., 2002, vol. 202, pp. 709–724.
Oreskes, N. and Einaudi, M.T., Origin of rare-earth element enriched hematite breccias at the Olympic Dam Cu‒U‒Au‒Ag deposit, Roxby Downs, South Australia, Econ. Geol., 1990, vol. 85, no. 1, pp. 1–28.
Prokofiev, V.Yu., Volkov, A.V., Nikolaev, Yu.N., et al., The conditions for the generation of the epithermal Au-Ag mineralization in the Kaenmyvaam ore field, central Chukotka, Rudy i Metally, 2019, no. 1, pp. 52–57.
Sokolov, S.D., Bondarenko, G.E., Morozov, O.L., and Grigor’ev, V.N., The transition zone between the Asian continent and the northwest Pacific during Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous time, in Teoreticheskie i regional’nye problemy geodinamiki (Theoretical and Regional Problems of Geodynamics), Moscow: Nauka, 1999 (Trudy GIN RAN, no. 515), pp. 30–82.
Taylor, S.R. and McLennan, S.M., The Continental Crust: Its Composition and Evolution, Blackwell Scientif. Publs., Oxford, 1985.
Tikhomirov, P.L., Kalinina, E.A., Moriguti, T., Makishima, A., Kobayashi, K., and Nakamura, E., Trace element and isotopic geochemistry of Cretaceous magmatism in NE Asia: Spatial zonation, temporal evolution, and tectonic controls, Lithos, 2016, vol. 264, pp. 453–471.
Tikhomirov, P.L., Prokofiev, V.Yu., Kalko, I.A., Apletalin, A.V., Nikolaev, Yu.N., Kobayashi, K., and Nakamura, E., Postcollisional magmatism in western Chukotka and the early Cretaceous tectonic rearrangement of Northeast Asia, Geotektonika, 2017, no. 2, pp. 32–54.
Vinokurov, S.F., Europium anomalies at ore deposits and their genetic significance, Dokl. Akad. Nauk, 1996, vol. 346, no. 6, pp. 792–795.
Vinokurov, S.F., Kovalenker, V.A., Safonov, Yu.G., and Kerzin, A.L., Lanthanoids in quarts found in epitherma gold deposits: The distribution and genetic significance, Geokhimiya, 1999, no. 2, pp. 171‒180.
Vlasov, E.A., Prokoviev, V.Yu., Nikolaev, Yu.N., et al., A new finding of gold–telluride mineralization in Chukotka: The mineralogy and the conditions for the generation of the Televeem ore occurrence, Rudy i Metally, 2016, no. 4, pp. 48–50.
Volkov, A.V., Sidorov, A.A., Savva, N.E., Kolova, E.E., Chizhova, I.A., and Murashov, K.Yu., The geochemistry of volcanogenic mineralization in the northwestern segment of the Pacific Ore Belt: Northeast Russia, J. Volcanol. Seismol., 2017, vol. 11, no. 6, pp. 389–406.
Volkov, A.V., Sidorov, A.A., Prokofiev, V.Yu., Savva, N.E., Kolova, E.E., and Murashov, K.Yu., Epithermal mineralization in the Okhotsk–Chukchi Volcano-Plutonic Belt, J. Volcanol. Seismol., 2018a, vol. 12, no. 6, pp. 359–379.
Volkov, A.V., Savva, N.E., Kolova, E.E., Prokofiev, V.Yu., and Murashov, K.Yu., The DSvoinoe epithermal Au-Ag deposit, Chukotka, Geol. Rudn. Mestor., 2018b, vol. 60, no. 6, pp. 590–609.
Volkov, A.V., Prokofiev, V.Yu., Vinokurov, S.F., Murashov, K.Yu., Andreeva, O.V., Kiseleva, G.D., Volf-son, A.A., and Sidorova, N.V., The Valunistoe epithermal Au-Ag deposit, eastern Chukotka, Russia: Geological structure, mineralogical and geochemical features, and mineralization conditions, Geol. Rudn. Mestor., 2020a, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 107–133.
Volkov, A.V., Prokofiev, V.Yu., Sidorov, A.A., Galaymov, A.L., Wolfson, A.A., and Sidorova, N.V., Conditions for the Au-Ag epithermal mineralization in the Arykevaam volcanic field, central Chukotka, J. Volcanol. Seismol., 2020b, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 220–245.
Zharikov, V.A., Gorbachev, N.S., Latfutt, P., et al., The distribution of rare earth elements and yttrium between the fluid and the basaltic melt at pressures of 1–12 kbars (experimental evidence), Dokl. Akad. Nauk, 1999, vol. 366, no. 2, pp. 239–241.
Funding
This work was supported through a governmental assignment at the IGEM RAS.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Translated by A. Petrosyan
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Volkov, A.V., Volfson, A.A., Galyamov, A.L. et al. The Geochemical Features of Au-Ag Epithermal Mineralization at the Kayenmyvaam Volcanic Uplift, Central Chukotka. J. Volcanolog. Seismol. 16, 323–333 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0742046322050086
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0742046322050086