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Dynamics of shallow late-Variscan gold mineralization: the Le Châtelet Au-arsenopyrite quartz veins, Massif Central, France

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Abstract

The Le Châtelet gold deposit is unique among the mined deposits of the French Variscan basement in that the gold is not free but caught up in the arsenopyrite crystal lattice. Microstructural analysis shows that the Au-arsenopyrite quartz veins are hosted by north-trending dextral strike-slip faults resulting from NNE-SSW compression during the early Stephanian (around 300 Ma). Textural study indicates that vein emplacement was due to sequential dynamics related to spasmodic strike-slip movements along these brittle structures (seismic regime). The classic sequence begins with the slow crystallization of sulphide-free comb quartz followed by a co-deposition of microcrystalline quartz and needles of Au-arsenopyrite; the rapid crystallization of the Au-arsenopyrite-bearing microcrystalline quartz was due to a sudden drop in fluid pressure. The veins correspond to dilational jogs formed by a suction pump mechanism during a late phase of the Variscan orogeny; they were trapped in migmatite about 1 km below surface.

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  1. BRGM, B.P. 6009, F-45060, Orléans Cedex 02, France

    V. Bouchot, Y. Gros & P. Piantone

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  1. V. Bouchot
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  2. Y. Gros
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Bouchot, V., Gros, Y. & Piantone, P. Dynamics of shallow late-Variscan gold mineralization: the Le Châtelet Au-arsenopyrite quartz veins, Massif Central, France. Mineral. Deposita 29, 461–473 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00193507

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