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Meta-evaporite in the Carajás mineral province, northern Brazil

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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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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Saga Consultoria, Av. Cristovão Colombo 519, sala 1202, Funcionários, Belo Horizonte, MG,, 30140-906, Brazil

    Walter Riehl

  2. Centro de Pesquisa Professor Manoel Teixeira da Costa, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG,, 31270-901, Brazil

    Alexandre Raphael Cabral

  3. Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN), Belo Horizonte, MG,, 31270-901, Brazil

    Alexandre Raphael Cabral

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  1. Walter Riehl
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Correspondence to Alexandre Raphael Cabral.

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Editorial handling: S. Hagemann

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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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