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Distribution and composition of gold in porphyry gold systems: example from the Biely Vrch deposit, Slovakia

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Abstract

The Biely Vrch deposit in the Western Carpathians is assigned to the shallow, sulfide-poor porphyry gold deposit type and has an exceptionally low Cu/Au ratio. According to 3-D geochemical models, there is a limited spatial correlation between Au and Cu due to the primary introduction of gold by a salt melt and Cu by low-density vapor. Despite a rough spatial correlation of gold grades with quartz stockwork intensity, gold is hosted mostly by altered rock, exclusively in native form. Three main gold mineral assemblages were recognized here. In the deepest parts of the system, the K- and Ca-Na silicate gold assemblage is associated with minerals of high-temperature alteration (plagioclase, K-feldspar, actinolite), with gold grades and fineness depending on depth and potassium content of the host rock: K-silicate alteration hosts the lowest fineness gold (~ 914), whereas Ca–Na silicate alteration has the highest (~ 983). The intermediate argillic gold assemblage is the most widespread, with gold hosted mainly by chlorite, illite, smectite, and interstratified illite–chlorite–smectite minerals. The gold fineness is mostly variable (875–990) and inherited from the former gold mineral assemblages. The latest advanced argillic gold assemblage has its gold mostly in kaolinite. The extremely high fineness (~ 994) results from gold remobilization by late-stage aqueous magmatic-hydrothermal fluids. Uncommon bonanza-grade appears where the earlier gold mineral assemblages were further enriched by this remobilized gold. Primary precipitation of gold occurred during ascent and cooling of salt melts at 450 to 309 °C, mostly during retrograde quartz solubility.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency, contract No. 0537-10 and by VEGA grant 1/0560/15. Support by the EMED Slovakia, Ltd., is also acknowledged. We thank Richard Sillitoe and Tim Baker for their constructive reviews that have helped to improve the manuscript and editorial handling by Bernd Lehmann.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology of Mineral Deposits, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Peter Koděra, Jaroslav Kozák, Jana Brčeková, Michal Jánošík & Peter Uhlík

  2. Department of Mineralogy and Petrology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Martin Chovan

  3. Earth Science Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 840 05, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Jaroslav Lexa

  4. Earth Science Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Ďumbierska 1, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia

    Adrián Biroň

  5. Green View, Nevädzová 5, 821 01, Bratislava, Slovakia

    František Bakos

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  1. Peter Koděra
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Correspondence to Peter Koděra.

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Editorial handling: R. Moritz

Electronic supplementary material

ESM Tables 1 to 4 are compiled in a single Excel file. This file includes database of all studied gold grains from the Biely Vrch porphyry gold deposit, including host minerals, alteration assemblages, grain size, whole-rock XRD analyses, whole-rock assay data and WDS electron microprobe analyses of native gold. A summarizing statistic is also available.

126_2018_798_MOESM1_ESM.xls

ESM Table 1: Summary of analytical data from samples with identified gold, including logging data, WDS data of gold and data of whole-rock XRD analyses and assays. ESM Table 2: Database of all WDS analyses of gold, including grain size, host mineral and affiliation to alteration assemblages. ESM Table 3: Statistic data on grain size of gold in the bonanza sample DVE-11/394.5 (excluding those in ESM Table 2). ESM Table 4: Statistic data on host minerals of gold in individual samples, with affiliation to alteration assemblages. (XLS 156 kb)

ESM Figure 1:

Compilation of back-scattered electron images of native gold in various mineral associations. a Cluster of several gold grains in K-feldspar associated with magnetite of K-silicate alteration and illite-smectite replacing K-feldspar in shallow depth (DVE-1/58.5). b Gold grain hosted by kaolinite of the advanced argillic alteration (DVE-8A/72.5). c Gold grain attached to chalcopyrite associated with galena and rutile in chlorite replacing K-feldspar of K-silicate alteration (DVE-5A/349.5). d-e Gold enclosed in pyrite and in galena of intermediate argillic alteration (DVE-1/106.5). f Gold grain enclosed in titanite attached to K-feldspar and plagioclase as products of high temperature alteration (DVE-5A/478.2). Kfs K-feldspar, IS illite-smectite, Mag magnetite, Qtz quartz, Rt rutile, Kln kaolinite, Ccp chalcopyrite, Gn galena, Chl chlorite, Py pyrite, Ep epidote, Pl plagioclase, Ttn titanite (GIF 297 kb)

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Koděra, P., Kozák, J., Brčeková, J. et al. Distribution and composition of gold in porphyry gold systems: example from the Biely Vrch deposit, Slovakia. Miner Deposita 53, 1193–1212 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-018-0798-0

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