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Structural setting, wall rock alteration and gold mineralisation of the Mt. Percy gold deposit, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

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Abstract

Field mapping, drill-core logging, petrography, laser ICP-MS analysis on pyrite, chlorite geothermometry and geochemical analysis of hydrothermally altered rocks reveal two distinct styles of gold mineralisation at Mt. Percy. The first style is D2 shear zone-hosted and correlates with Fimiston-style mineralisation documented in the Golden Mile. Laser ICP-MS analyses on pyrite indicate high As concentrations (average of 5823 ppm for pyrite in Hannans Lake Serpentinite and 635 ppm in feldspar-quartz porphyry). Chlorite geothermometry reveals average temperatures of 262 ± 50 °C and 357 ± 50 °C in distal and proximal alteration zones, respectively. Geochemical analyses reveal (1) positive gold-silver and gold-antimony relationships; (2) lack of a base metal-gold relationship; (3) systematic increase of carbonatisation and alkali saturation indices from distal to proximal alteration zones; and (4) addition of K, Ca, Na and V, with corresponding depletion of Mg, Fe, P and REE. The second style is related to D4 sheeted quartz vein sets and correlates with Mt. Charlotte-style mineralisation documented in the Mt. Charlotte deposit. Laser ICP-MS analyses on pyrites reveal low As concentrations (average of 51 ppm for pyrites in feldspar-quartz porphyry and 870 ppm in Devon Consols Basalt). Chlorite geothermometry reveals an average temperature of 325 ± 50 °C on vein selvage in the Devon Consols Basalt. High-grade gold mineralisation (> 50 g/t Au) and extensive (< 50 m wide) hydrothermal alteration zones coincide with D2 shear zones and D4 fault-controlled sheeted quartz vein sets, and particularly in areas where both of these structures intersect porphyry stocks.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the following organisations/people for their help: Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines Ltd., particularly David Nixon, for co-sponsoring this research; staff and PhD students from the Centre for Exploration Targeting at the University of Western Australia (CET-UWA); the Centre for Microscopy and Micro Analysis (CMCA–UWA); and Walter Witt from CET-UWA for his proof-reading and valuable comments on the manuscript. A.G. Mueller, G. Tripp and J. Ridley are kindly acknowledged for helpful, detailed and critical comments and feedback on earlier versions of this manuscript. We publish with permission from the Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines Ltd. Paul Duuring also publishes with permission from the Director of the Geological Survey of Western Australia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Exploration Targeting, School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Jerry Dunga & Steffen G. Hagemann

  2. Earth Sciences Division, University of Papua New Guinea, PO Box 414, University PO, Port Moresby, 134, Papua New Guinea

    Jerry Dunga

  3. Independence Group NL, Suite 4, Level 5, South Shore Centre, 85 South Perth Esplanade, South Perth, WA, 615, Australia

    Daniel Sully

  4. Geological Survey of Western Australia, Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, 100 Plain Street, East Perth, WA, 6004, Australia

    Paul Duuring

  5. CODES, ARC Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 79, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia

    Leonid Danyushevsky

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Dunga, J., Sully, D., Hagemann, S.G. et al. Structural setting, wall rock alteration and gold mineralisation of the Mt. Percy gold deposit, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Miner Deposita 56, 1449–1470 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-020-00993-7

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