Abstract
Evidence for connecting evaporite-sourced high-salinity fluids with iron-oxide–copper–gold (IOCG) deposits in the Carajás mineral province has solely been based on boron-isotope compositions of tourmaline. Presence of meta-evaporitic rocks remains unrecognised. Here, we report laminated albitite, tourmalinite and banded albite–phlogopite rock, intercepted by exploratory drilling in a clastic metasedimentary sequence. These rocks represent evaporite precursors. Their location in the copper–gold prospects Açaí and Angélica, in the westernmost part of the Carajás mineral province, indicates that (i) evaporite-sourced fluids were regional and (ii) evaporite-bearing metasedimentary sequences may have been an important source of high-salinity fluids and/or sulfur for the IOCG deposits of the Carajás mineral province.
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Acknowledgements
Dr. Mônica Elizetti de Freitas kindly assisted us in carrying out reconnaissance EDS work at CDTN (Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear). Two reviewers, Dr. Santos and Dr. Buick, are thanked for their thoughtful comments that helped to improve the manuscript. The diligent editorial handling of Dr. Hagemann and Dr. Lehmann are gratefully acknowledged.
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Riehl, W., Cabral, A.R. Meta-evaporite in the Carajás mineral province, northern Brazil. Miner Deposita 53, 895–902 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-018-0810-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-018-0810-8