Economic

Geology
Vol 91, 1996,pp. 1209-1224

U-PbGeochronology
andNd andPb IsotopeCharacteristics
of theAu-Ag-Rich
EskayCreekVolcanogenic
Massive
SulfideDeposit,BritishColumbia
FIONA CHILDE

MineralDeposit
Research
Unit,Department
of Eclrth(l•l(tOceanSciences,
University
of BritishColumbia,
6339Stores
Road,
Vancouver,British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4

Abstract

The EskavCreekdeposit
is anAu-Ag-rich
volcanogenic
massive
sulfidedeposit
located
withinthe Iskut
River
area
oFnorthwestern
British
Columbia.
AtEskay
Creek
beds
ofAu-Ag-rich
clastic
sulfides
andsulfosalts
hostedwithinthecontact argillite
areunderlainbythevariably alteredEskayrhyolite, whichhosts stockwork
mineralization,
andoverlainby the barrenhanging-wall basalt.The Eskayrhyolitehasyieldeda Middle
Jurassic
U-Pbzirconageof 175_+2 Ma.Interaction textures between theEskay rhyoliteandcontact argillite,
whichimplyeraplacement of the rhyolitepriorto lithification
of the argillite,alongwithprobable local
derivation
ofbedded sulfideclastsindicate
a MiddleJurassic ageformineralization, some7 to 16m.y.younger
thanintrusion-related
LowerJurassic mineralization withinthe region.The datapresented in thisstudy
demonstratethat thereis a second andsignificantperiodof Jurassic mineralization withinthe IskutRiver
area.

Initiale•dvaluesof 5.5 to 6.9 for the Eskayrhyoliteandhanging-wall

basaltlie withinthe fieldfor
uncontaminated island-arc volcanic rocks and are consistent with formation in a subduction-related environ-
ment.Ratiosof immobile elements andREE patterns for the Eskayrhyolitesuggesta tholeiitic
magmatic
affinity,
whereasunmineralizedrhyolite ofthesame age(174ñ•Ma;U-Pbzircon) ischaracterized
bya slightly
lessprimitive
Nd isotopesignature (4.3)anda transitional
to calc-alkaline
affinity.
Sulfidesandsulfosalts
fromclastic andrhyolite-hosted
mineralization
in andalongstrikefromthedeposit
exhibitahomogeneous Pbisotope signature.ThePbisotope compositionofEskay Creeksulfidesandsulfosalts
isinconsistent
withleachingof leadfromPaleozoic to Mesozoic arcassemblages whichmayoccurat depth
belowtheEskayCreekdeposit, butis consistent
withderivation froma Loweror MiddleJurassic source.
Introduction liteandhanging-wallbasaltto obtaina bettercharacterization
of the tectonicenvironment in whichthe depositandhost
THE EskayCreekdepositis locatedin the IskutRiverarea magmas formed;(3)compares thechemicalandisotopic
char-
(NTS 104B) of northwesternBritish Columbia. Within this
acteristics
of the Eskayrhyoliteto unmineralizedrhyoliteof
region,Paleozoie to Mesozoic island-areassemblagesof the thesameagewithintheEskayantidine;and(4)characterizes
allochthonous Stikineterraneare overlain by marinesedi- thePbisotope signature
of thedifferentstyles
of mineraliza-
mentary rocksof theMiddleto UpperJurassic Bowser Lake tionin, andalongstrikefrom,the deposit.
Groupandintruded byplutons oftheTertiaryCoastPlutonie
Complex. A widerangeof styles of baseandprecious metal- RegionalGeology
richdeposits occurs in theMesozoic arecomplexes andTer-
tiaryplutons in theIskutRiverarea.Theseinclude copper- The EskayCreek depositis locatedwithin Stikinia,an
richvolcanogenie massive sulfide,porphyrycopper-gold,gold allochthonous terrane of the Canadian Cordillera. Anderson
+ silvervein,silver-zinc-lead vein,andgold-silver skarnde- (1989) dividedthe Stikineterranein the Islmt River areainto
posits(Macdonald et al., 1996).The EskayCreekdeposit four unconformity-bounded, tectonostratigraphicelements:
(Fig.1)isanAu-Ag-rieh volcanogenie massivesulfide
deposit (1) Paleozoic island-arc rocksof the Stikineassemblage; (2)
hosted withina bimodal volcanic sequence andis distinct
in Mesozoic island-arcassemblages composed oftheUpperTri-
bothstyleandmineralogy fromanyotherknowndeposits in assicStuhiniGroupandthe Lowerto MiddleJurassic Ha-
the Iskut River area. Mineralization consists of stockwork zeltonGroup; (3)Middleto UpperJurassic sedimentary rocks
zones hosted withinrhyolite, overlainbyargillite
andsiltstoneof theBowset LakeGroup,anoverlap assemblage occurring
whichhostelastic sulfide andsulfosalt mineralization,
mainly on Stikiniaandthe adjacentCacheCreekterrane;and (4)
in the 2lB zone (Blackwell,1989;Brittonet al., 1989;Roth, Tertiaryigneous andmetamo•t)hic rocksoftheCoastPlutonic
1995).Therhyoliteandsedimentary unitsarein turnoverlain Complex(Fig. 1).
bybarrenpillowed to massive basalt.
The 2lB zonecontains TheIskutRiverareaishostto various stylesof mineraliza-
1.08millionmetrictons(Mt) grading 65.5g/tgold,2,930g/t tion.In additionto EskayCreek,copper-rich volcanogenic
silver,5.6percent zinc,and0.77percent copper (Homestakemassive sulfidedeposits (e.g.,Granduc; Childeet al., 1994),
Canada, Inc.,FeasibilityReport, August 1993);miningofthe pmphyrydeposits (e.g.,KerrandSulphurets; Macdonald et
2lB zonebeganin January 1995. al., 1996;Kirkhamand Margolis,1995)andAu ___ Ag-rich
Thispapersumlnarizes theresults ofa multi-isotope
study vein deposits(e.g.,SnipandBrucejackLake;Macdonaldet
which(1) precisely determines the ageof the EskayCreek al., 1996;Davieset al., 1994) are of economicinterest.Known
deposit, usingU-Pbzircongeochronology; (2) usesthe Nd agesof mineralization rangefrom Late Triassicto Eocene,
andtraceelement geochemical signatures
oftheEskay rhyo- withthemajorityofmineralization havingformedin theEarly

0361-0128/96/1866/1209-1655.00 1209
1210 CHILDE

SULPHURETS
CAMP
LEGEND
•F• Tertiary
COAST PLUTONIC COMPLEX

-• Middle
BOWSER Jurassic
LAKE GROUP

\ r-• EarlyJurassic
iNTRUSIVEROCKS +
+
__
[] EarlytoMiddle
HAZELTON Jurassic
GROUP

[] INTRUSIVE
Upper Tria,•lc
ROCKS

•[] STUHINI
Upper Triassic
GROUP
+
+
+

I Paleozoic•
STIKINEASSEMBLAGE km
I
+
+
+
+
+ +

FIG.1. LocationmapoftheEskay
Creekdeposit,
IskutRiverarea,northwestern
British
Columbia,
showing
themajor
stratigraphic
units,miningcamps,
deposits,
andoccurrences
(afterMacdonald
et al.,1996).

Jurassic(Childeet al., 1994;KirkhamandMargolis,1995; SalmonRiverFormation recordthefinalstages of arevolca-

Macdonaldet al., 1996). nismin the Stikineterraneandareoverlainby marinesedi-
The Lowerto Middle Jurassic HazeltonGroup,which mentaryrocksof the BowserLakeGroup.
hoststhe EskayCreek deposit,comprises subaqueous to Plutonscoevalwith both the Betty Creek and Salmon
marieto felsievolcanicandvoleanielastieRiverFormations
locallysubaerial, arepresent in theIskutRiverarea.Those
rocksandtheirintrusiveequivalents, andeonglomeratie to relatedto EarlyJurassic magmatism, including the 197to
argillaeeous,
andcalcareous sedimentaryrocks.Rocks of the 184 Ma TexasCreekplutonieandpremierporphyrysuites
HazeltonGrouphavebeenregionallymetamorphosed to (Alldrieket al., 1986;Macdonaldet al., 1992;P.D. Lewisand
lowergreenschist to subgreensehistfacies.Abruptfacies J.K.Mortensen, unpub.data),areassociated withsignificant
changes, a complex history,andlimitedagedeter- baseandprecious
structural metalmineralization (forexample, Ander-
minationshavehinderedthe understanding of the strati- son, 1989; Alldriek, 1991; Macdonaldet al., 1996). Plutons
graphichistoryof the HazeltonGroup.Stratigraphic see- relatedto the MiddleJurassic magmatie event,including
tionsbasedonregional mapping by Grove(1986),Anderson 181 to 176 Ma quartzdioriteto monzodiorite intrusions
and Thorkelson (1990), and Alldriek (1991) divide the Ha-
(M.L. BevierandR.G. Anderson,
pers.eommun.,1994;J.K.
zeltonGroupintofourformations;fromoldestto youngest Mortensen,pers.eommun.,1995),contain
noknownminer-
theseare the Unuk River,BettyCreek,Mount Dilworth, alization.
and Salmon River Formations. However, recent bioehrono-
logical(Nadaradj u, 1993)andgeoehronologieal (Maedonald Geologyof the EskayCreekArea
et al., 1996;thisstudy)information hasprovidednewcon-
straintsthat requiremodifications of the existingstrati- Hazelton Grouprocksin theEskayCreekareaarefolded
graphic divisions.
P.D.LewisandR.G.Anderson (pers.eom- around the gentlynortheasterly plungingEskayanticline.
mun.,1995)dividedthe HazeltonGroupintothreeforma- Stratain the hingeregion,in thevicinityof the deposit, are
tions, which are used in this paper. The basalJack dismembered byseveral
north-northeast-trending faults(Fig.
Formation,firstdefinedby Henderson et al. (199œ), is com- 2).ThecoreoftheEskay anticlineisoccupied bysedimentary
posedof pebbleto boulderconglomerate andfossiliferous rocksof the JackFormation. Overlying strataof the Betty
calcareous siltstone,contains
Hettangianto Sinemurian fos- Creek Formation include undated andesire breccias overlain
sils,andliesunconformably on rocksof the UpperTriassic byUpperPliensbachian sedimentary rocks(Nadaradju, 1993;
StuhiniGroup.The secondformationis the BettyCreek Figs.2 and3).Thebasalfootwall volcanic unitoftheSalmon
Formation, composed of andesitieto rhyolitievolcanic and RiverFormationconsists of intermediatecomposition volca-
epielastierocks, aswellasargillite,sandstone, conglomerate,nic tuff and breccia,and aphaniticamygdaloidal andesite
and calcareous sedimentary rockswhichmaybe asold as flowsor sills(Roth,1993).Overlyingthe footwallvolcanic
Sinemurian, andin at leastone localityasyoungasupper unit, within the Salmon River Formation, are at least two
Aalenian. The third formation is the Salmon River Forma- chemically distinct
rhyolites,shown in Figure3 astheEskay
tion,whichis composed primarilyof bimodalvolcanic and rhyoliteandtheeastlimbrhyolite(Rye,1992).The Eskay
tuffaeeousrocks,as well as locallycalcareous argilliteto rhyoliteoccurs alongthe westlimbandthroughthe fold
siltstoneof Aalenianto lowerBajoeianage.Rocksof the closure of theEskayanticline, hostsstringer-style
discordant
 ESKAYCREEKVMS DEPOSIT,B.Cß 1211

•IAsbmonFormotion
InlTu•ive,o•
I felsito '-;
-.'i:.'-.'
(10wet
..'?.'-;:
.:.'-:
Bajodon
-.'....-
toLower
Collovian)
E•:,v
•'o•
..::'.•....'.'....'... '.'.--
;.::i;i;
:!:i;
(Aalenien
to
Lower
Bejocion)•akuto•
from :'":':'12'A
R or•llite
&turbOtic Mocdonoldetd.,
1992)
::.':-'::...•:.•. //
• baf•Dgwallbasalt
o minerolized
- •'•"
z• :::';'.!,•';
:.;'-i
'.::
:'./!i:';!:
con•
_,• creek/a'er ".•_2•_
•. : ::
• foof•tlvolc•cunit

• Creek
Fom•r•.:'::.'.::'::.'.:..'::.'.::'::.'.'
.• ::'i:•.•
• o•lesite
•.•:om,,,•
ß•i•,•.•
brecoo
ovettoin
by
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
, ?.
;i.'::...-i:.'::..:;;"-..m•.'.
'...:.".
'.-•..'i:.': ,,.•'.
!•;:;.'.!:.;:;.'.!:.:;;'.!'.•.:.:.::i/•
%•,,v'-
(inpart
Hettongian

I:-]a•!l•eou•to•lo•era•
:'.'.'.':'..'.'A
.'.'.'.'.'.''v- • 17•+/2A4o

. . •-,,,_• ,-.._,

/,,, ,,3,
i!i!;:i
{i!;:i
!i{;:i
;.i!;:i{i!;:i
!i!::i
{i!;:i
{:!;:i
;" ,, --/
============================ ::•::.::..:-:.-" v
:..• :'.:.{ •'.:.-.'.ß'.:...'
ß
..'.:..: ..'.:..• .ß'.: ':'.: . V.VVV
::Z-Z:.'::.•:.'::-::.' :Z-::.'::-:::::-::.: ß
: ...' : .-,' : .-.' : .-.- : .-.- : .-.- ; vvvvv

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::.
'-'.: "-'-: "-'- '-"-'- 'ß"-'-: "-'- '. •':vv vv v
ßß::-:::
'
:z-z:.'::-::.'::.:'
.... ' ......
'" :::" VVVVVV

".': ".':ß".':-".':-"-': :v
.-..... .•t'v
ß.::.-:-.::.-:-.::.-:-.::.-:-.::.-: vv
: .-.-..
::Z.:::::.::.'::-':'
.........
.':':Z•
. - - . ß
....
vvvvvvvvvvv
'' '
ß"
' '''"' '""' '""-'"""' vv•vvvvv'v
':-' ".':-'/.':-' ".':' ' ".'l•,d' .'
.:. ::.-:-.::..:-.::.-:..::...•:•:.-
vvv
,.,. :.:.'.::.:.'.'.:.:.'.:.'.:• .'.:
.:.:...;.:...:.:-..:.:-.,•-_. ,,,,•¾.,,,,.•.•
,,•,:. ß

::.. 1,,T :::::-:::::-: ,".",• ¾."• y.

i-.'.-'.-.i•
-.'.
:..-{
.'.-'..-i
:.'. .•:•¾¾•:•. ....
:'•-..•.:'•-:-
":..'-
":- vvvvvvvv .... E..•mb
Rhyolite
SCALE
:::: 174+2/1Ate 800 400 0 4o0 800
'"i:•1•".:
-''.:-'". ' vv'vvvvvv'v
:::::::::::::::::::::::' •.•''•
.....' .....'..'...'....: .• .'... vvvvvvvv'"•'v meters

Fzc. 2. Geology
of the Proutplateau,showing
locationsof selected
mineralized
zonesprojected
to surface
(after
Edmunds andKuran,1991;Bartsch,
1993;andP. Lewis,pers.commun., 1996)ß

mineralization,and is the immediate footwall to stratiform to stratigraphy,

occuralongthelengthof thewestlimb(Fig.
mineralization. 2). Felsiteischemically
indistinguishable fromtheEskayrhy-
West limb olite(Rye, 1992;Bartsch,1993; Roth, 1993) andisinterpreted
to representsubvolcanic portionsof the Eskayrhyolite
The Eskayrhyoliteis characterized by aphaniticmassive (Bartsch, 1993;Edmunds et al., 1994).Alongmostof the
to flow-bandedand auto-brecciatedflowsand associatedtuffs, westlimb,the Eskay rhyolitegrades intoa blackmatrixbrec-
interpretedbyBartsch (1993)onthebasisof facies variationscia,whichinturngrades intocarbonaceous blacksiltstoneand
to representa linearflow domecomplex.In proximityto argillite, termedthe"contact argillite."
Blackmatrixbreccia is
stockwork mineralization,
therhyoliteshows moderate to ex- composed of matrix-supportedangular to subrounded, shat-
tremealteration rangingfromquartz-sericite-pyriteto chlo- tered,glassy, andflow-banded rhyoliticfragments in a black
rite-richassemblages.A seriesof north-northeast-trending siliceousmatrix(Fig.4a).Thistextureisinterpreted to have
rhyolitemasses,termedfelsite,whichareslightly discordantformedasa resultof intrusion of hotrhyoliteintounlithified
1212 CHILDE

West
Limb East
Limb

F]c. 3. Schematic stratigraphic

sections
fortheeastandwestlimbsof theEskayanticline.
F = fossil
locality,
Z = U-
Pb zirconsamplelocality.

argillaceoussedimentary rocks,implying thateraplacementanalogous to thehanging-wall basalthavenotbeenobserved

of the Eskayrhyoliteoccurred of the on the east limb.
priorto lithification
contactargillite.Argilliteis overlain
by pillowedto massive
basalt flowsandsillswhichformthehanging wallto mineral- Eskayporphyry
ization(Figs.2 and3). Pepcritic texturesat thecontact be- The Eskayporphyry (Figs.2 and3), locatedwithinthe
tweenbasalt andargilliteindicate eraplacement ofthehang- coreof the Eskayanticline, is an orthoclaseporphyriticto
ing-wallbasaltpriorto lithification of the contactargillite. megacrysticmonzodioritic intrusionwithinsedimentary rocks
Thefieldrelationships thereforeimplythattheEskay rhyolite of the JackFormationand andesiticvolcanicrocksof the
andhanging-wall basaltwereemplaced withina relativelyBettyCreekFormation. TheEskayporphyry hasbeendated
shorttimespan, during accumulation andpriortolithificationbyU-Pbzircon geochronology at184_+•Ma(recalculatedfrom
of the contactargillite. Macdonald et al., 1992)andis contemporaneous withintru-
East limb sion-related
LowerJurassic mineralizationin the IskutRiver
and Stewart areas.
Theeastlimbrhyolitehasa blackaphanitic matrix,well- Mineralization
preserved flow-banding
andsparse 1- to 2-ramquartzand
potassium feldspar
phenocrysts (Fig.4b). The presence of Mineralization at EskayCreekcanbebroadly dividedinto
blackmatrixbrecciaalongthelowermargin of thisrhyolite twomainstyles,stratiform anddiscordant. Stratiform miner-
indicateseraplacementintounlithifiedsedimentary rocks. alization occurs as beds of clastic sulfides and sulfosaltswithin
Rhyoliteisoverlain
byargillite
whichisinterpreted tobethe thecontact argillitein the21A,B, andC, hanging wall,and
stratigraphic
equivalent
of the contactargillite.Maficrocks northeast extension zones.Discordant, rhyolite-hosted vein
 ESKAYCREEKVMS DEPOSIT,B.C. 1213

CENTIMETRES IIIIIIIII IIIIIII•I

0 I 2 3 4 5 6 7

a
b CENTIMETRES

FIC.4. Photographs
of (a)blackmatrixbreccia,
showing
flow-bandedrhyolitefragment
in a blacksilicified
matrix;(b)
flow-bandedeastlimbrhyolitewithaphaniticmatrixandquartzandfeldspar
phenocrysts;(c) 2lB zoneargillite-hosted
elastic sulfide and sulfosalt mineralization.

mineralization,
whichmayin partrepresent
feederzonesto langerite,
andothersulfosalts
(Roth,1995).Well-preserved
clasticmineralization,occursbelowthe stratiformmineraliza- featuressuchas gradedsulfidebedswith sharplydefined
tionin the 109,Pumphouse andPathfinder zones,andalong bases, soft-sediment deformation of the sulfide beds and
strikeat the EmmaandMackayadits(Fig.2). channel structures attest to the clastic nature of the ore
At present,the 21Bzoneis the focusof miningat Eskay within a high-energy,channel-likeenvironment(Roth,
Creek.It is anelongatezone,approximately 900m long,60 1995).Theproximity of stockwork zonesto clasticmineral-
to 200mwideandI to 15m thick,composed ofwell-bedded izationandthe presence of alteredrhyolitefragments in-
fragmental sulfides, argillite,alteredrhyoliteand terbedded
sulfosalts, withsulfidefragments suggest localderivation of
baritehosted withinthecontactargillite(Brittonet al.,1989; clasticsulfidesand sulfosalts(Macdonald et al., 1996). The
Roth,1995;Fig. 4c). The mainore mineralsare sphalerite distribution and mineralogy of the mineralized zonesare
andtetrahedrite,withlesserfriebergite,galena,pyrite,bou- outlinedin Figure5; detaileddescriptions areprovided by
1214 CHILDE

LEGEND
Stratiform mineralization
hosted
incontact
argillite.
[] 21A
Zone:
stibaite.
re•ar<innebar
lens
21B& Northeast
Extension
Zones:

21C
Zone
•
,,• 21C
Zone:
Hang•
woll
(HW)
.Z.o•e:.
chalco•rite

Discordant mineralization
hosted
•;:.
in footwall
ß.:,'.
rhyolite.
21AZone:
•sseminetedstitmite-rea•gar.
21B
Zone
•--••
'•••-z• /
21AZone
• .. .... . _,•
[] Pumpbouse-Pa#•der
Zones:
:...:...:..:..:.:'::-.-:.
..., /
I 109Zone:
pydte-c•kopyrite•arbon
veins
,,._..
...... ß
,.

/
200 100 0 1oo 200

FIC.5. Projection
to surface
of mineralized
zonesat the EskayCreekdeposit
(courtesy
of Homestake
CanadaInc.).

Britton et al. (1989), Roth (1993), Edmunds et al. (1994),

tionswithinthezircons, combinedwithhighuraniumconcen-
and Roth (1995). trations,suggestthat sections
of somegrainsmayhavebe-
comemetamiet,andthereforesusceptible to leadloss.It is
U-Pb Geochronology thereforelikelythat highuraniumconcentrations and the
Zirconwasrecovered fromboththe Eskayandeastlimb possible resultingmetamietizationof thesezirconscontrib-
rhyolites;
heavymineralextraction proceduresandU-Pbzir- uted to their discordance.
conanalyticalprocedures followthoseof Mortensenet al. The'•ø?pb/2ø6pb
ages ofzircon
fractions
fromthisrockrange
(1995).Isotopicratiosweremeasured usinga modifiedsingle from173.5to 176.0Ma. A bestfit linethroughall fractions
collectorVG-54R thermalionizationmassspectrometeryields anupperintercept ageof177_+•
aMaanda lowerinter-
equipped UraniumandPbana- ceptageof 36+_•Ma.A '•ø:Pb/•ø6pb
witha Dalyphotomultiplier. weighted meanagefor
lyticalblankswerein the rangeof i to 3 and8 to 15 pg, all fractions yieldsan ageof 175 _ 2 Ma. The lackof any
respectively.Concordiainterceptagesandassociatederrors visiblecoresusingeitherbinocular microscopeor SEM back-
werecalculated model scatter
usinga modifiedYork-II regression imaging, combined witha restricted
rangeof '•ø:Pb/
(York,1969),andageswerecalculated usingthe decaycon- '2ø6pbages, suggeststhatthese zircons
donotcontain aninher-
stantsrecommended bySteigerandJ•iger(1977).Ageassign- itedcomponent. Thereforetheweighted meanageof 175_
ments followthetimescaleofHarland etal.(1990).Analytical2 Ma is considered to be the bestestimateof the ageof
resultsaregivenin Tablei andFigure6. crystallization
of thisrock.
Eskayrhyolite Eastlimbrhyolite
A smallquantityof prismatic zircons,with relativelyhigh Twopopulations of zirconswererecovered froma sample
magnetic susceptibility,andtypicallengthto widthratiosof of the eastlimb rhyolite(Fig. 2). The firstpopulation was
3:1,wererecovered fromtheEskayrhyolite(Fig.2). Zircons relatively nonmagnetic andconsisted of colorless,
subhedral,
werepaleto darkbrownin color,contained numerous color- slightly
resorbed equantto prismatic grains,50 to 100/•min
lessto opaqueinclusions, andhadpoorclarityandcloudy width,with lengthto width ratiosof 1:1 to 2.5:1. Zircons
patches. SEM analysis revealedthat pyriteandpotassiumfromthispopulation werecharacterized bycolorless rod-and
feldsparwerepresent asinclusionswithinsomeofthegrains bubble-shaped inclusions, moderateclarity,and occasional
(Fig.7a).Thesetwominerals cancontain up to severalhun- turbidcores.Zirconsfromthe secondpopulation consisted
dredpartsper millionleadwithintheircrystallattice,and of relatively highmagnetic susceptibility,
elongate,colorless,
thereforetheirpresence cansignificantly
contribute to the doublyterminated needles, typically
missing oneor bothter-
commonleadconcentration in a zirconanalysis.All of the minations, probablybrokenduringthe mineralseparation
zirconsrecovered fromthisrockwerepickedand divided process. Thesezircons hadwidthsof 25 to 50/•m, lengthto
intofivefractions.
Despitestrong abrasionof thezircons, all widthratiosof 5:1 to 10:1,wereveryclear,andcommonly
analysesarediscordant. Zirconsfromthisrockcontainhigh contained funnel-shaped tubesalignedparallelto the c axis
concentrationsof uranium(2,858-6,790ppm).Cloudypot- of thegrains(Fig.7b).Thesetubeswereusuallyfilledwitha
 ESKAYCREEKVMS DEPOSIT,B.C. 1215

TABLE 1. U-PbZirconAnalytical
Datafor the EskayandEastLimbRhyolites

Isotopic
ratios
(_+10.,
%)6 Isotopic
dates
(Ma,-----20')
6
Wt U Pb'2 '2ø•Pb/ pb4 20spb5
Fraction
1 (pg) (%)
(mg) (ppm) (ppm) '2ø4pb3 2ø•pb/23SU 207pb/s3s
U 238U/20spb
'207pb/SOspb 207pb/23s
U '207pb/'206pb

Eskayrhyolite(EC-GC-11)
A, f, M5, eq 0.045 2,858 71 975 216 8.5 0.02525 + 0.13 0.1726 + 0.32 0.04957 +_ 0.22 160.8 _+ 0.4 161.7 + 0.9 174.8 _+ 10.3
D, f, M5, eq 0.034 3,071 77 4,388 39 7.9 0.02573 _+ 0.11 0.1757 _+ 0.22 0.04954 q- 0.13 163.8 q- 0.3 164.4 _+ 0.7 173.5 +_ 6.1
E, f, M5, eq 0.052 2,198 84 2,317 118 8.2 0.02663 _+ 0.11 0.1821 + 0.14 0.04959 +_ 0.07 169.4 _+ 0.4 169.8 +__0.4 175.8 +_ 3.1
F, f, M5, eq 0.034 3,608 77 4,388 39 7.9 0.02554 ñ 0.10 0.1745 ñ 0.27 0.04955 _+ 0.18 163.8 _+ 0.3 163.3 +_ 0.8 173.5 +_ 6.1
G, m, M5, eq 0.010 6,790 173 2,450 45 8.1 0.02589 +_ 0.14 0.1770 _+ 0.27 0.04959 +_ 0.18 164.8 +_ 0.4 165.5 ñ 0.8 176.0 +_ 8.5

Eastlimbrhyolite
(EC-GC-03)
Morphology
1:subhedral,
equantto prismatic
A, m, N1, eq 0.062 444 112 1,446 33 11.5 0.02743 _+ 0.10 0.1885 q- 0.25 0.04984 q- 0.17 174.5 +_ 0.3 175.4 +_ 0.8 187.8 ñ 8.0
B, f, N1, eq 0.115 426 12 3,390 25 11.0 0.02729 + 0.10 0.1869 + 0.22 0.04968 _+ 0.15 173.6 _+ 0.3 174.0 ñ 0.7 180.2 +_ 6.8
C, m, M1, eq 0.115 434 12 4,312 20 11.3 0.02728 q- 0.10 0.1864 q- 0.21 0.04954 + 0.12 173.5 ñ 0.4 173.5 _+ 0.6 173.6 _+ 5.6
D, f, M2, eq 0.104 405 11 4,143 18 11.0 0.02749 +_ 0.10 0.1881 q- 0.20 0.04963 q- 0.19 174.8 _+ 0.3 175.0 _+ 0.7 177.9 _+ 5.5
L, f, N1, eq 0.123 313 9 5,693 12 11.5 0.02736 q- 0.11 0.1881 q- 0.20 0.04987 + 0.12 174.0 +_ 0.4 175.0 q- 0.6 188.7 _+ 5.7

Morphology
2: euhedral,
needles
I, f, M5, e* 0.134 1,725 46 2,947 118 18.4 0.02384 ñ 0.11 0.1628 ñ 0.13 0.04952 q- 0.07 151.9 q- 0.3 153.2 _+ 0.4 172.7 ñ 3.0
J, f, M5, e* 0.080 5,710 155 2,520 281 18.2 0.02461 ñ 0.13 0.1683 ñ 0.16 0.04989 + 0.07 156.7 + 0.4 157.9 +_ 0.5 175.8 +_ 3.4
K, f, M5, e 0.025 2,448 67 1,172 82 18.4 0.02477 q- 0.08 0.1693 q- 0.17 0.04956 q- 0.13 157.8 +_ 0.2 158.8 q- 0.5 174.5 + 6.0

1Allfractions
airabraded unlessmarkedby*; grainsize,intermediate
dimension:m = <134/•mand>74/•m, f = <74/•m;magnetic codes: Franzmagnetic
separator
sideslopeat whichgrainsarenonmagnetic,e.g.,N1 = nonmagnetic
at 1ø;fieldstrength
forall fractions
= 1.SA;frontslopeforall fractions
= 20ø;grain
character
codes:e = elongate,eq = equantto prismatic
.2Radiogenic
Pb
3Measured ratiocorrectedforspikeandPbfraetionationof 0.0043/A.M.U.
ñ 20%(Dalycollector)
4Totalcommon Pbin analysisbasedonblankisotopiccomposition
• RadiogenicPb
6CorrectedforblankPb,U, andcommon Pb(Staeey-Kramers modelPbcomposition atthe2øTPb/2ø6pb dateoffraction,
or ageof sample)

darkcolored, opaque substance. Asthezirconwasofexcellent havebeenenhanced bythehighuraniumconcentrations and

quality,theopaque materialisthe mostlikelysource of the highsurface tovolume ratioofthese grains. The•ø7pb/•ø•Pb
highmagnetic susceptibilityof thiszirconpopulation. SEM agesfor the threefractions rangefrom 172.7to 175.8Ma,
analysisof theopaquematerialrevealed quartz,a phyllosili-witha weighted meanof 174 _ 2 Ma. The restricted range
cate (muscovite?), a heavyrare earthyttriumphosphateof '2ø7pb/•ø•Pb agesandtheneedlemorphology suggestthat
(xenotime?), and possibly volcanicglass.The presence of thereisnoinherited component withinthiszirconpopulation,
rock-forming minerals, in particular
micas,isconsistentwith andthattheweighted meanageisa validestimate of theage
themagnetic susceptibilityof thesegrainsbeinghigherthan of crystallization of this o ulationof zirconTheinterpreted
is characteristic
for purezircon(Hutchison, 1974). ageof thisrhyoliteis 174_1Ma, reflecting the Pb/ Pbage
Fivefractionsof the equantto prismatic zircons(A, B, C, of concordant fraction C and errors calculated from the mini-
D, and L) were analyzed, followingstrongabrasion. The mum•ø6Pb/SasU age of this fractionand the maximum
2ø7Pb/2ø6Pb agesof thesefivefractions rangefrom173.6to weightedmeanageof zirconwiththe needlemorphology.
188.7 Ma; fraction C is concordantat 173.6 Ma. Turbid cores,
observed
withinsomeof theßzirconsin thispopulation
not Geochemistry
ß 207 06 --
selected for analysis,alongwttholder Pb/sPb agesthan Majorandtraceelements
fraction C indicate that the nonconcordant fractions contain
an inheritedcomponent; possiblesources to thisinherited Major,trace,and rareearthelementanalyses were con-
component includetheunderlying Paleozoic to Mesozoic arc ductedfortypicalsamplesoftheEskayandeastlimbrhyolites
assemblages. An interpreted ageof 174_+• Ma is obtained andthehanging-wall basalt(Table2).In theimmediate vicin-
fromthispopulation of zirconbased onthe2ø7pbœ2ø6pb age ity of the EskayCreekdeposit,the Eskayrhyoliteis highly
and associated•ø•Pb/eaSU and •2ø7pb/sø•Pb
errors of concordant alteredto quartz-sericite-pyrite
andchlorite; theintensityof
fraction C. alteration
decreases
withdistance awayfromzonesof miner-
Threefractions of zirconswiththeneedlelike morphologyalization (Bartsch,
1993).Although majorelementconcentra-
(I, J, andK) werealsoanalyzed. Due to thehighlengthto tionsare stronglyaffectedin alteredrocksassociated with
widthratioof the needles, the abrasion process is generally volcanogenic
massivesulfidedeposits,ratiosof immobile ele-
noteffective. FractionsI andJwerenotabraded andfraction mentssuchasTi, A1,Zr, andY remainessentially unchanged
K waslightlyabraded priorto analysis.
All threefractions are (for example,MacLeanand Kranidotis, 1987;Barrettand
discordant; thisfeatureis attributedto leadloss,whichmay MacLean,1994).The samples analyzed in thisstudy,there-
1216 CHILDE

0.O29
affinity(Fig.8b).Regionally, rhyolitefromtheSalmon River
Formation in theIskutRiverarearanges froma calc-alkaline
IEskoyrbyolite
•///*/ to tholeiiticaffinity(A. Kaip,pers.commun.,1995).The
Eskayporphyry, withZr/Yratiosof 6 to 13,hasa transitional
0.027
175
+/-2
Mo • 170 to calc-alkalineaffinity(Bartsch,
Rare earth elements
1993).

Rareearthelement(REE)concentrations arepresented in
0.025
Table2 andcompared withtherangeof REEconcentrations
determined fortheselithologies andtheEskayporphyry by
Bartsch (1993;Fig.9a,b, andc). TheEskayrhyoliteexhibits
a slightenrichment in thelightREE buta near-fiat pattern
o fortheheavyREE, anda negative curopium anomaly; rhyo-
litefromtheeastlimbsampled in thisstudyexhibits
a similar
207 235
REE pattern(Fig. 9a). Theserelativelyflat REE patterns
Pb/ U suggest thatbothrhyolites aretheproducts of primitive
tho-
leiiticmagmas, asa resultof eitherpartialmeltingof sialic
0.029
I East
limb
rbyolite
I 'so/// crustor fractional
itedcomponent
crystallization
of basaltic
magma. Aninher-
to the zirconin the eastlimbrhyoliteindi-
catesthatthisrhyolitecontains somecomponent of partial

• o.0:s . • eubedr•

•• ' shapedzircon
• subbedrolequont
toprismafir
zirron
o.o%.• , o.b ' 0.20

FIe. 6. U-Pb •rcon concor•a•a•ams for S•mon •ver Fo•afion

rhyo•tesfrom•e Eskay•fic•ne. (a).Esk• rhyo•te(EC-GC-11),sho•ng
weight• me• recession •ne for• fra•ons. (B).E•t •mb rhyo•te,show-
ingweightedme• recession •ne formo•holo• 2, e•e• nee•e-s•d
•rcon.

fore,arecompared in termsof immobileelementratioswith

moreextensive geochemical databasesfortheEskayandeast
limbrhyolites(Bartsch, 1993;BarrettandSherlock,
in review;
(Fig. 8). 8
In a plotof Zr vs.TiO2,theEskayandeastlimbrhyolites
havedistinctlydifferenttrends,
withtheEskayrhyolite having
significantly
lowerTiO2 concentrations and TiO•/Zr ratios
(Fig. 8a). The wide rangeof Zr and TiO• concentrations
observed withinthe Eskayrhyoliteappears to be theresult •
ofalteration.Masschange effects
haveproduced a dispersion
of pointstowardandawayfromthe originalongthe Eskay
rhyolitetrend(BarrettandSherlock, in review).Silicification
produces massgain,whichdilutesZr andTiO• concentra-
tions,whereas sericitization
andchloritizationproduce mass
loss,
which
residually
concentrates
Zrand
TiO•
(Barrett
andI
MacLean, 1994).
A Zr vs.Y diagramis usedto characterize
the magmatic
affinity
oftheEskay
and
east
limb
rhyolites.
Using
the
divi- b
sionssuggested by BarrettandMacLean(1994),the Eskay FIG.7. (a).SEMbackscatter imageoffeldspar inclusions
inzircon,Eskay
rhyolite,withZr/Y ratiosof 2 to 4.5, is mainlyof tholeiitic rhyolite(EC-GC-11).Scalebar = 10/zm. (b). Photomicrograph of zircon
magmatic affinity,whereasrhyoliteson the eastlimb,with witha needlelike morphology andfunnel-shaped inclusion
tube,eastlimb
Zr/Yratiosof4.5to8, areoftransitional tomildlycalc-alkalinerhyolite(EC-GC-03).Scalebar = 100
 ESKAYCREEKVMSDEPOSIT,B.C. 1217

TABLE
2. Major,Trace,andBareEarthElement,
andNd Isotope
DataforSamples
fromtheEskay
Anticline

Location Surface Surface C91-707, 181 m U-58, 15.2 m CA90-527, 54 m

U-Pbsampleno. EC-GC-03 EC-94-07 EC-GC-11 Detection
Lithology Eastlimbrhyolite Eastlimbrhyolite Eskay
rhyolite Eskayrhyolite Hanging-wall
basalt limit
X-rayfluorescence
SiO2(wt %) 69.89 77.32 76.38 80.81 46.70 0.006
A120• 15.74 12.15 13.30 10.77 17.61 0.0120
TiO2 0.27 0.21 0.07 0.07 1.94 0.0035
Fe203 1.06 1.10 1.31 1.28 9.63 0.003
MnO 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.14 0.003
MgO 0.19 bdl 0.93 0.83 13.06 0.0095
CaO 0.39 bdl 0.09 0.01 0.78 0.0015
Na.20 4.08 3.46 0.00 0.09 2.47 0.0075
K20 6.84 4.75 6.16 3.35 0.82 0.0025
P•O• 0.02 0.03 0.01 0.04 0.34 0.0035
BaO 0.25 bdl 0.05 0.12 0.13 0.0017
LOI 1.00 0.71 2.20 2.84 6.92
Cu (ppm) 55 9 20 43 75 2
Zn 32 56 55 16 129 2
Co 28 34 39 28 47 10
Ni 12 bdl 0 2 66 3
Cr 157 bdl 5 bdl 397 15
V 19 bdl 7 18 360 10
Zr 325 321 162 152 92 1
Y 69 46 92 61 30 1
Rb 100 76 188 109 12 1
Sr 59 47 32 9 62 i

Neutron activation

La (ppm) 36.3 18.1 4.9 0.1

Ce 71 56 13 1
Nd 28 34 9 1
Sm 6.71 8.58 3.12 0.01
Eu 1.13 bdl 0.89 0.05
Tb 1.5 1.8 0.7 0.1
Yb 7.26 7.41 3.18 0.05
Lu 0.89 1.01 0.43 0.01
Th 7.5 13.1 0.3 0.1
U 2.6 8.9 bdl 0.1
Au bdl 263 9 2
Ag bdl 4 bdl 2
As 1 121 bdl 1
Co 22 31 89 0.1
Cs 1.1 2.4 2.7 0.2
Hf 8.2 5.4 1.7 0.2
Sb 1.4 52.6 4.5 0.1
Se 1.9 1.1 45.8 0.1
Ta 1.5 2.6 bdl 0.3

Massspectrometry
Sm(ppm) 6.28 8.60 3.62
Nd 27.26 30.39 10.88
147Sm/144Nd 0.1394 0.1712 0.2011
14•Ndfi44Nd
(incas.) 0.512791+ 4 X 10 • 0.512888_+11 X 10 • 0.512997+ 7 x 10-•
ENd[174
Ma) +4.3 +5.5 +6.9
T•m (Ma) 542 634

bdl = below detection limit

melting.Althoughcharacterized by similarmajorandtrace (Fig. 9b). A steeperREE patternfor the Eskayporphyry

elementchemistry,rhyolitefromthe southern portionof the
eastlimbsampled in thisstudyhasa markedly moretholeiitic
REE patternthanthat of the rhyolitesamples reportedby
Bartsch(1993),suggesting the presenceof a second,chemi-
callydistinctrhyolite,alongthe eastlimb of the anticline
indicatesa moreevolved magmatie affinitythandothe Eskay
andeastlimb rhyolites(Fig. 9e).
Samples of the hanging-wall
basaltanalyzed in thisstudy
and others(Bartseh,1993;Barrettand Sherlock,in press)
yieldZr/Yratiosbetween2 and4, consistent witha tholeiitie
1218 CHILDE

fromthe down-going slaband/orthe volcano-sedimentary

pile,thusreflecting
thesubductionprocess(DePaolo,1988).
0.3 In contrast,
lavasproduced withincontinental
nicarcshavelowerinitialeNavalues,
marginvolca-
reflecting
contamination
from more evolvedcontinentalbasement(Faure, 1986, and
referencestherein).
Initial eNavaluesof 4.3 to 6.9 for SalmonRiver Formation
rhyoliteandbasaltin theEskayanticline indicatederivation
o
fromjuvenilesource regions andareconsistent withforma-
o 100 200
Zr (ppm)
• 400
tionin a subduction-related
environment (Fig.10).A slightly
a moreevolvedsignature for the Eastlimb rhyolite,relative
eastlimbrhyolites J to theEskayrhyolite,maybe reflecting a greatercomponent
• (Bartsch
(1993) and this study)J
Eskayrhyollteand felsite J of contaminationbysubduction-related sediments or partial
(Barrett and Sherlock (In
pre•) andthisstudy)
meltingof sialiccrustalthan in the Eskayrhyolite.Initial
(Navaluesdetermined in thisstudyfallwithinthe rangeof
knownvaluesfor LowerJurassic felsicvolcanicrocksof
the HazeltonGroupandLowerto MiddleJurassic felsicto
intermediateintrusiverocks(Samson et al., 1989;Jackson,
1990; M.L. Bevierand R.G. Anderson,pers. commun.,
1994;Fig. 10);thereis no comparable published database
for maficrocksor MiddleJurassic felsicvolcanicrocksof
the HazeltonGroup.

0 100 200 300 400 LeadIsotopeSystematics

b zr(pprn)
Leadisotope compositionsweredetermined for21 sulfide
FIG. 8. Traceelementplotsfor Eskayandeastlimbrhyolites.
A. Zr vs. and sulfosalt samples from the 2lB, HW, 109, NEX, and
TiO2. B. Zr vs. Y. Pathfinder zones,theEmmaandMackay adits,andstockwork
mineralization withinthefootwallvolcanic unit,fromdirectly
belowthe deposit.The Eskayrhyoliteis toopervasively al-
magmatic affinity.High MgO,Cr, andNi contents indicate teredto yieldreliablewhole-rock leadisotope data.Minerals
derivation fromrelatively unfractionated mantlemelts(Bar- analyzed in thisstudyincludedgalena, boulangerite,sphaler-
rettandSherlock, inpress). However, theessentiallyfiatREE itc, chalcopyrite,
andpyrite(Table3). Analytical procedures
patternfor the hanging-wall basaltdisplays enrichment in forsulfideandsulfosalttraceleadanalyses aregivenin Childe
lightREE relativeto normalMORB,andis comparable to (inprep.).Theprincipal objectiveof thisportionof thestudy
thatof transitional-MORB (SunandMcDonough, 1989;Fig. was to determine if the various zones of stratiform and discor-
9c).Thesedatasuggest minorenrichment of thebasalts rela- dantmineralization at the depositandalongstrikefromit
tive to normal MORB.
arecharacterized by specificPb isotope signatures (Figs.2
Neodymium IsotopeSystematics and 4).
TheNd isotope ratiosoftheEskayandeastlimbrhyolites In Figure11 the leadisotopesignature of EskayCreek
andthe hanging-wall basaltweredetermined to constrainmineralization isplottedrelativeto fieldsdefinedbyAlldrick
furtherthecharacteristics of themagmas andtheirpotential et al. (1987)for LowerJurassic andTertiarymineralization
source regions.Isotopicanalyses wereconducted byR.Th•ri- in the Stewart area.These fieldsrepresent datafor sulfides
aultatthegeochronology laboratory oftheGeological Survey (mainly galena) associatedwith a varietyof stylesof mineral-
of Canada. Analytical
procedures aredescribed by Th•riault ization from more than 50 locations within the Iskut River
(1990).Abundances of SmandNd determined by isotope and Stewartareas;alsoincludedwithin thesefieldsare lead
dilution haveanuncertainty of 1 percent or less.Uncertaintyisotopeanalyses of potassium feldsparfromdatedintrusive
for calculatedeNavaluesis ___0.5 eNaunits.Initial eNavaluesfor rocks(Alldricket al., 1987;Godwinet al., 1988;J.K. Mor-
theEskay andeastlimbrhyolites are5.5and4.3,respectively, tensen,unpub.data).Thesedatashowan evolution of lead
whereas the hanging-wall basalthasa valueof 6.9 (Table2). to moreradiogenic valuesfromthe LowerJurassic to the
The rangeof initialeNavaluesdetermined for MORB is Tertiaryin thisportionof the Stikineterrane.EskayCreek
about8 to 12(DePaolo, 1988).Lavasproduced withinmod- leadanalyzed inthisstudyhasa restricted rangeofvalues and
ern islandarcsformedon oceaniccrust,with no evidencefor partially ovedaps the mostradiogenic portionof the Lower
continentalcontaminationsuch as the Isu, New Britain, and Jurassic field.Sulfidesandsulfosalts fromthedifferentzones
Marianaarcs,yieldinitialeNavaluesof 2 to 10 (DePaoloand andstyles ofmineralizationin andalongstrikefromtheEskay
Wasserburg, 1977;NohdaandWasserburg, 1981;Hawkes- Creekdepositexhibita remarkably homogeneous leadiso-
worthet al.,1993).Theshiftto slightly moreevolved (lower) topesignature (Fig.11,insert).Thissignature is foundover
eNavalues forisland-arc magmas relative
to MORBappears a broadareaextending fromthe EskayCreekdeposit, 4.5
to be the resultof contamination fromcomponents derived km southto the Mackayadit.
 ESKAYCREEKVMS DEPOSIT,B.C. 1219

lOOO lOOO
o EC-GC-03, east limb rhyollte

'1
o EC-GC-03, east limb rhyolite
[] U-5•, 15.2 m, Eskay rhyolite [] U-5•, 15.2 m, Eskay rhyolite

shaded area represents field shaded area representsfield

fo• rhyolltesfrom the west limb fo• the Eskay porphyry
reported by Bartsch (1993) reported by Bartsch (1993)
lOO lOO

lO lO

norm:chon
I I i I I

La Ce Pr Nd Sm Eu(Gd)Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu La Ce Pr Nd Sm Eu(Gd)Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu

lOOO
o EC-GC-03. east limb rhyolite
[] U-5•, 15.2 m, Eskayrhyollte
shaded area represents field
for rhyolltesfrom the east limb
reported by Bartsch (1993)
lOO
1000
o EC-GC-03, east limb rhyolite
[] U-58,15.2m, Eskayrhyollte
ß CA90-527, 54m,
hangingwall basalt
shaded area represents field
100
fo• hangingwall basalts
reported by Ek•tsch (1993)

lO 10

La Ce Pr Nd Sm Eu(Gd)Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu La Ce Pr Nd Sm Eu(Gd)Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu

FIc. 9. Chondorite-normalized
REEdiagrams showingEskay
andeastlimbrhyolites
andhanging-wall
basalt,
compared
withdatafieldsfor samples
reported
by Bartsch
(1993).

Discussion al., 1990)overlaps

the isotopic ageof the Eskayporphyry.
Regional
implications Basedonthesedata,mineralization at EskayCreekcouldbe
relatedto the Eskayporphyry, a felsicintrusive
bodycoeval
TheStikineterraneisa complex
volcanic
arccharacterizedwiththeTexasCreekplutonicandpremierporphyry suites,
bya widerangeof styles
andagesof mineralization.
Within knownmineralizing intrusivesuitesin the IskutRiverand
the Iskut River area, mineralizationrelated to the Hazelton Stewartareas(Alldrick et al., 1986; Macdonaldet al., 1996).
Groupconsists primarilyof LowerJurassic epithermaland However,the ageof 175ñ 2 Ma determined for the Eskay
mesothermal goldñ silverdeposits andporphyry copper- rhyolitein this studydemonstrates that mineralization at
golddeposits. The MiddleJurassic EskayCreekdeposit EskayCreekformedin the MiddleJurassic andis 7 to 16
formedfroma sea-floor exhalative systemwhichproduced m.y.younger thantheEskayporphyry. Basedontheagesof
well-bedded clastic
gold-andsilver-rich sulfides
andsulfosaltsknownmineraldeposits in the IskutRiverarea,the period
withinargilliteandin proximity to rhyolite-hostedstockworkof time nearthe LowerJurassic-Middle Jurassic boundary
zones.Thisdegreeof precious metalenrichment withina appears to marka changein the metallogenic styleof the
volcanogenie massivesulfidesystem isnotonlyunique within HazeltonGroup,fromdeeper,intrusion-related mineraliza-
theStikineterrane, butalsowithintheknownancient geo- tion(approx.197-184Ma) to sea-floor volcanogenie mineral-
logicrecord. ization(approx.177-173 Ma).
Priorto thisstudy,theisotopic andbiochronological age
constraints on rockswithinthe Eskayanticline consistedof Chemical andisotopiccharacteristicsof hostrocks
a U-Pbzircon ageof18471 MafortheEskay porphyry(recal- Onthebasisofneodymium isotope
studies ofintrusive and
culatedfromMacdonald et al., 1992),upperPliensbachian volcanicrocks,Samson et al. (1989)suggested thatrocksof
ammonites, bivalves,
andcoralsfromsedimentary rocksin the HazeltonGfoupare the products of juvenile,mantle-
the BettyCreekFormation, andAalenian to possibly
early derived material
whichformedin avolcanic-arc setting,prob-
Bajocian radiolaria
fromthecontact argillite
intheimmediate ablyin anintra-oceanicenvironment. Recentstudies of mod-
vicinityof the2lB zone(Nadaraju, 1993).Thecurrently ac- em arcenvironments suggestthatextension, ratherthancom-
ceptedlowerstageboundary for the Aalenian(Harlandet pression, maybethedominant tectonicregimeatconsuming
1220 CHILDE

12 Metal source
.......... N.•OftB
I0 Presentlythere is no clear consensus
on the principal
source of metals within ancient and modern submarine volca-
8
nogeniemassive sulfidedeposits. The metalswithinthese
depositsmaybe leachedfromunderlying volcanicandsedi-
mentary strata,derivedfrommagmatic sources,orsomecom-
binationof thesetwoprocesses (forexample, Doe andZart-
man,1979;Lydon,1988;Stanton,1990;Large,1992;de
2 Ronde,1995;Hustonet al.,1995).A reviewbyLydon(1988)
I• =Eskay
Creek concludes thata leaching modelfor the derivationof metals
in volcanogenie massive sulfidedepositsis supportedby ex-
400 300 200 I00 0
perimentalandcomputer-based studies,
observationof sea-
Time floor basalts,and similaritiesof basemetal ratiosof mineral-
F•G. 10.
izationwith thoseof the dominanthostlithologies.
Initial e•a valuesand associatederrors for volcanicrocksfrom
Stable
theEskayanticline.ShownforreferencearefieldsforPaleozoic
to Mesozoic and radiogenicisotope studies
havebeen cited as evidence
arcassemblages of theStikine
terrane,
uncontaminated island-arcvolcanic forderivationofmetalsfromboththeleaching ofstratabelow
rocks(uIAV) ø'6'7,
andmidocean ridgebasalts(normalMORB) s, evolution the ore deposit(for example,Thorpeet al., 1981;Fehnet
curvesfor uIAV and normal MORB are shownin dashedand solid lines, al., 1983;Lydon,1988)and,to a lesserextent,magmatic
respectively.
HG = felsicvolcanic,
andmarieto felsicintrusive
rocksof the fluids (de Ronde, 1995 and references therein). Stanton
HazeltonGroup•'2'3,
SG= marie volcanic
andinOxtsiverocksoftheStuhini
GroupTM,SA= marie to felsicvolcanic
rocksof theStikine
assemblageTM (1990)arguedfor significantmagmatic inputfor metalsand
References:•Samson (1990),3M.L.BevierandR.G. fluidsto volcanogenie
et al. (1989),2jackson massivesulfidedeposits,
citingasevi-
Anderson.(pets.commun., (1994),
4Childe
(unpub. data),SNodahandWas- dence:(1) the concentration of mineralized
zonesat specific
setburg(1981),6DePaolo andWasserburg (1977),7Hawkesworth et al. horizons, asopposedto throughouta volcaniccycle;(2) the
(1993),SJahn
et al.(1980)).
apparent discrepancybetweenthe generally smallersizeof
basalt-hosted
volcanogenie massive sulfidedeposits relative
to largerandesitc-to rhyolite-hosted volcanogenie massive
platemargins (Smellie,1995).Withinthe immediate Eskay sulfidedeposits(giventhe abundance of sea-floor basalts);
Creekarea,the interpretation of rhyoliticmagmas erupting and (3) variationsin metalratiosin volcanogenie massive
alonglinearfissure ventzones,controlonthefaciesdistribu- sulfideorebodies relativeto potentialsourcerocks.Differ-
tionof volcanic andsedimentary rocksbyregional andlocal encesin the Se/Sratiosof pyritein Cu-richand Cu-poor
faultblocks, andthe transitionto deep-marine sedimentarymineralization areconsistent witha component of the sulfur
sequences followingthe cessation of volcanismhavebeen in volcanogenie massive sulfidedeposits beingderivedfrom
suggested to indicateformation in eithera back-arc
or intra- a magmatic hydrothermal sources(Hustonet al., 1995).
arc basinenvironment(Bartsch,1993). The trace and REE Leadisotope data,in combination withotherinformation,
chemistry, andNd signature of theEskayrhyolite andhang- maybe usedto constrain the source of lead,andby analogy
ing-wallbasaltareconsistent with formationin an island-arc othermetalsin volcanogenie massive sulfidedeposits (Gul-
environment. son,1986).In describing a modelfor the generation of ore
Thehanging-wall basaltischaracterizedbyatholeiiticmag- fluidsbyleachingof metals fromoceanic crust,Lydon(1988)
maticaffinity. BothREE andNd isotope dataindicateenrich- suggestedthatthe orecomponents to the fluidsarenotde-
ment of the basaltrelativeto normalMORB, consistent
with rived from the immediate footwall to mineralization, but
minorcontamination fromanenriched MORB-type source. ratherfromdepthsof 0.5 to 3 km belowthe palcosea floor,
REE patterns andZr/Yratiosindicate a tholeiitic magmaticwellbelowthe presentlevelof exposure in the Eskayanti-
affinityfor the Eskayrhyolite, whereas coevalrhyolites on cline.Basedon knownstratigraphy in the IskutRiverarea,
the east limb have transitional to calc-alkaline affinities. Re- the basement to the EskayCreekdepositat thesedepths
gionally otherrhyolites of the SalmonRiverFormation have maybe composed of volcanic
andsedimentary rocksof the
morecalc-alkaline affinities(A. Kaip,pers.commun., 1995). UpperTriassicStuhiniGroupandPaleozoic Stikineassem-
Rhyolites at EskayCreekmaybe theproducts of fractional blage,andtheirintrusive equivalents.
Leadisotope analyses
crystallizationof mariemagma, partialmeltingof sialiccrust, ofpotassium feldspar fromDevono-MississippianandUpper
or some combination of these two sources. Barrett and Sher- Triassicintrusiverocksfrom the Iskut River area,when calcu-
lock(in press)havenotedthat Nb/Zr ratiosareinconsistentlatedforwardto the MiddleJurassic, showsystematically less
withderivation of theEskayrhyolite entirelyasa product of radiogenicleadisotopecompositions thando EskayCreek
fractional
crystallizationofthehanging-wall basalt,indicatingsulfides(M.L. Bevierand R.G. Anderson, pers.commun.,
that thisunit mayhavesomecomponent of partialmelt. 1994;Childe,unpub.data;Fig. 11).Thesedataindicatethat
Zirconinheritance in rhyolitefromtheeastlimbimpliessome leachingof leadfromsuchsources wouldnot resultin the
component of crustalcontamination withinthisunit.A more isotopicsignature documented for EskayCreek sulfides.
evolved magmatic affinityandNd isotope signature for the EskayCreeksulfides partiallyoverlapthe clusterfor Lower
eastlimbrhyolitewouldsuggest thatthisrhyoliteeitheras- Jurassicintrusions andmineralization in the IskutRiverarea
similateda greater component ofpartialmelt,or slightly
less andpartiallylie in a regionthatismoreprimitive, indicating
juvenilesialiccrust,thandidthe Eskayrhyolite. derivationfromeithera Loweror MiddleJurassic source.
 ESKAY CREEK VMS DEPOSIT, B.C. 1221

T^BLE3. CommonLeadDatafor Sulfides

andSulfosalts
fromthe EskayAnticline

'2o•pb/2O4pb 207pb/•04pb 20spb/•04pb •ovpb/mSpb •0spb/2O6pb

Sample
no. Drillholelocation Zone Mineral
• (error)
s'4 (error)
s'4 (error)
s'4 (error)
3'4 (error)
3'4
Ela Surface Emmaadit gl 18.818 15.601 38.380 0.82905 2.0396
(0.003) (0.003) (0.008) (0.004) (0.009)
E2a Surface Emmaadit gl 18.824 15.611 38.396 0.92934 2.0398
(0.002) (0.002) (0.006) (0.004) (0.008)
E2b Surface Emmaadit py 18.834 15.618 38.409 0.82923 2.0394
(0.012) (0.009) (0.024) (0.009) (0.011)
E3a Surface Mackayadit gl 18.840 15.629 38.436 0.82958 2.0402
(0.011) (0.009) (0.024) (0.012) (0.019)
E4a CA-215,160.2m Pathfinder gl 18.876 15.651 38.495 0.82919 2.0394
(0.015) (0.012) (0.032) (0.010) (0.013)
E4b CA-215,160.2m Pathfinder cp 18.819 15.606 38.383 0.82927 2.0396
(0.003) (0.003) (0.008) (0.005) (0.008)
E5a CA-215,156.6m Pathfinder gl 18.823 15.606 38.366 0.82911 2.0383
(0.002) (0.002) (0.007) (0.004) (0.008)
E6a U-04,45.8m 109 gl 18.779 15.565 38.264 0.82884 2.0376
(0.009) (0.008) (0.020) (0.012) (0.014)
E6b U-04,45.8m 109 gl 18.799 15.588 38.319 0.82920 2.0383
(0.030) (0.025) (0.061) (0.008) (0.014)
E6c U-04,45.8m 109 sph 18.790 15.575 38.298 0.82891 2.0382
(0.009) (0.008) (0.020) (0.006) (0.011)
E7a U-06,7.5 m 109 gl 18.811 15.596 38.354 0.82911 2.0390
(0.005) (0.004) (0.011) (0.005) (0.008)
E7b U-06,7.5m 109 gl 18.809 15.597 38.345 0.82923 2.0387
(0.041) (0.034) (0.084) (0.014) (0.018)
ESa CA90-422,
52.1m HW gl 18.831 15.614 38.381 0.82919 2.0381
(0.012) (0.010) (0.024) (0.007) (0.011)
E8b CA90-422,
52.1m HW py 18.821 15.602 38.346 0.82894 2.0374
(0.008) (0.006) (0.020) (0.022) (0.021)
E9b U-56,32.0m 2lB sph 18.816 15.601 38.356 0.82913 2.0385
(0.026) (0.022) (0.055) (0.017) (0.012)
E9c U-56C,32.0m 21B py 18.817 15.598 38.351 0.82895 2.0381
(0.005) (0.004) (0.013) (0.010) (0.014)
E9d U-56, 32.0 m 21B boul 18.816 15.606 38.368 0.82939 2.0391
(0.003) (0.002) (0.008) (0.009) (0.012)
Ella Surface Footwall
volcanic gl 18.833 15.623 38.430 0.82952 2.0405
(0.004) (0.003) (0.009) (0.004) (0.009)
Ellb Surface Footwall
volcanic gl 18.822 15.608 38.381 0.82922 2.0391
(0.004) (0.003) (0.010) (0.005) (0.009)
E12a Surface Mackay
adit gl 18.826 15.608 38.382 0.82908 2.0388
(0.003) (0.003) (0.009) (0.005) (0.009)
E13a NEX 95-5,71 m NEX gl 18.833 15.621 38.424 0.82943 2.0402
(0.018) (0.016) (0.018) (0.009) (0.005)

Uppercase
letterandnumberrefers
tosample
number,
lower
caseletterrefers
tofraction
number
Mineral
abbreviations:
boul= boulangerite,
cp= chalcopyrite,
gl= galena, py= pyrite,
sph= sphalerite
Errorsarequoted
atthe23 (95%confidence)
level
Valuesarecorrected
forinstrument
fractionation
bynormalization
based
onreplicate
analyses
oftheNBS-981
standard

LeadleachedfromLowerJurassic intrusions
of the Texas bletodeterminewhichoftheselattertwopotential
reservoirs
Creekplutonicandpremierporphyrysuites,suchas the istheprincipal
source
of leadandothermetalsin the Eskay
Eskayporphyry,couldcontribute leadconsistentwith the Creekdeposit.
observed isotopic
signature of EskayCreeksulfides. How-
ever,for intrusions
of thisageto be a principal Modemanalogue8
source of
metalswithinthedeposit theywouldneedtohavebeensig- Studies
ofmodernsea-floor
hydrothermalventfieldsdocu-
nificantly
moreextensive at depththantheirexposurein the
mentthedevelopment
of sulfide
mounds andchimneys over-
Eskayanticlinemaysuggest. Alternatively,
leadderivedfrom
lyingstockwork
zoneshostedwithinalteredvolcanicrocks
a MiddleJurassic
magmaticsource
couldalsoproducethe (for example,Hanningtonet al., 1986;Herziget al., 1993;
leadisotope
signature
of EskayCreeksulfides.
A potential Gemmell,1995).Mineralizationat EskayCreekmayhave
source of MiddleJurassic
magmatic fluidsistheEskay rhyo- formedin a similarmanner, withdegradation of accumula-
lite.Withoutabetterknowledge
ofthebasement totheEskay tionsof sea-floor sulfides
producing the gradedsulfideand
Creekdeposit at thedepths
at whichleaching isbelievedto sulfosalt bedspreserved withinthedeposit.Recently discov-
takeplace,anda clearerunderstanding of the sourcesof eredexhalative, gold-rich
polymetallic
sulfidemineralization
metalstovolcanogeniemassive
sulfidedeposits,
it isnotpossi- within back-arebasinsof the western Pacific,such as the
1222 CHILDE

2.•2

2.•9
ß
ENFM 0Ma
•C•'
0•o• D
9B
9 H
•9 Jurassic
•
_Q 2,04 2.036

0,81•x'2J
e•or
0.8297
0.8287

Q- 2,03

c•,-
.• Eskay
Creek

2,02
• average error

direction
oferror
due to fracfionc•on
Cluster
2.01 • I
0,810 0.814 0.818 0,822 0.826 0.830 0,832

2ø7pb/2pb
Fro. 11. '2ø7pb/2ø6pb
vs.'2øspb/2ø•Pb
diagram
for sulfide
andsulfosalt
samples
fromthe Eskayanticline.
Shown
for
reference areLowerJurassic andTertiaryfieldsfor the IskutRiverandStewartareasof the Stikineterrane(Alldricket
al., 1987;Godwinet al., 1988;J.K.Mortensen, unpub.data),uppercrustalandorogene growthcurves(Zartmanand
Haines,1988),andfeldspar fromUpperTriassic (T) andDevonian (D) intrusive
rocksin the Stikineterrane,calculated
to 175Ma, assuming (=9.74)and(=3.78;M.L. BevierandR.G.Anderson, pers.commun., 1994;Childe,unpub.data).
B = 21 B zone,E = Emmaadit,F = footwall volcanic unit,H = hanging-wallzone,M - Mackayadit,N = northeast
extensionzone,P = pathfinder zone,9 = 109zone.Notethatmoreradiogenic samplesplotcloserto the originonthis
diagram.

Okinawaand Marianatroughs,and the Lau, Manus,and andaltered)dredged fromthedacitedomeexhibita tholeiitic

NorthFiji basins, maybe representative
of the tectonicset- to transitional
magmatie affinitybasedon Zr/Y ratios,and
tingsin whichsomeancient volcanogenie
massive sulfidede- tholeiitieREE patternsintermediatein slopebetweenthose
positsformed(Herziget al., 1993;Gemmell,1995). of the Eskayrhyoliteand hanging-wall basalt(Binnsand
Herziget al.(1993)havedocumented
thepresence ofgold- Scott, 1993).
rich (up to 29 ppm)sulfidechimneys, at waterdepthsof The mineralogy, goldconcentrations, andspatialassocia-
1,600to 2,000m, hosted withina sequence ofbasaltto rhyo- tionwithprimitivefelsievolcanic rocksof the PACMANUS
daciteon Valu Fa Ridgein the southernLau basin.This andValuFa Ridgedeposits, whichareflooredbyolderback-
regionrepresents an activeback-arespreading centerbuilt arecrustwithno component of continental basement, have
onremnant-arccrust behindtheTonga-Kermadec subduerionsimilarities to thoseof the EskayCreekdepositand may
zone.The grosssulfidemineralogy, presenceof iron-poor represent modemequivalents.
sphalerite andnativegoldin chimney samples,anda tholeiitic Conclusions
magmatic affinityof basaltanddacitefromValuFa Ridge
havestriking to thoseof theEskayCreekdeposit Rhyolite
similarities whichhostsstockwork mineralizationandunder-
(Sunkel,1990;Herziget al.,1993).Basaltandbasaltic andes- lieselasticsulfide-sulfosalt
mineralization attheEskay Creek
itc fromtheLaubasinshowa widerangeof endvalues (2.6- Au-Ag-rieh volcanogenie massive sulfidedepositeruptedat
9.2),whichhavebeeninterpreted to reflectmultiplesubduc- 175__2 Ma.Thisageis7 to 16m.y.younger thanmineraliza-
tioncomponents withina complex tectonicsetting;eNavalues tionassociated withtheLowerJurassic TexasCreekPlutonie
for basaltsfromValu Fa Ridge(7.7-8.1) are someof the andpremierporphyrysuites.A tholeiitiemagmatie affinity
mostprimitivewithinthe basinandare comparable to the andrelatively primitiveNdsignature forvolcanicrockswithin
hanging-wall basaltat EskayCreek(Volpeet al.,1988;Looke the footwalland hangingwall to mineralization at Eskay
et al., 1990). Creeksuggest thatthedeposit formedin anisland-are setting.
The PACMANUSdeposit,locatedin the easternManus TheEskay rhyolite,
whichhosts stockwork mineralization and
basin, lies within a back-arcbasin built on remnant-arccrust underlies stratiformmineralization, is characterized by a
behind the New Britain arc (Gemmell, 1995). Within this moreprimitive magmatie affinitythancontemporaneous rhy-
deposit sulfidesrichin goldandsilver(avg15 and230ppm, olites within the Iskut River area. Sulfides and sulfosalts from
respectively) arehosted by a volcanic sequence composed of argillite-hosted
stratiform
mineralization andrhyolite-hosted
andesitc, dacite,andrhyodacite betweena 1,650-and1,680- discordant mineralizationin andalongstrikefromthe Eskay
m waterdepthon the flanksof a dacitedome(Binnsand Creekdeposit arecharacterized bya homogeneous leadiso-
Scott,1993;Binnset al.,1995).Twosamples of dacite(fresh topesignature. Thissignatureisconsistent withderivation of
 ESKAYCREEK VMS DEPOSIT, B.C. 1223

lead,andpresumably
othermetals,fromeithera Loweror the easternManusBasin,PapuaNew Guinea:PACRIMCongress, 1995,
Proceedings,p. 49-54.
MiddleJurassic
source. Blackwell,J.D., 1989,EskayCreekproject:Exploration review,1932 to
1989:Blaekwell MineralExplorationConsultants Ltd.,Reportto Calpine
Acknowledgments Resources andConsolidated StikineSilverLtd., 5 p.
Thiscontributionrepresents doc- Britton,J.M.,Blackwell,
a portionof the author's J.D.,andSehroter, T.G., 1989,//21zonedeposits,
toralthesis, withthe MineralDepositResearch lumbia,1989:B.C.Ministryof Energy,MinesExploration
in association EskayCreek,northwestern BritishColumbia: in BritishCo-
andPetroleum Resources,
Unit (MDRU) Volcanogenic Massive SulfideDepositsof the p. 197-223.
Cordillera
Project, andEngi- Childe,
fundedbytheNaturalSciences F.,Barrett,
T.J.,an•MeGuigan,
P.J.,
1994,
TheGrandue
volca-
neeringResearch Councilof Canada(NSERC),the Science nogeniemassive sulfidedeposit,northwestern BritishColumbia:U-Pb
Councilof BritishColumbia, ages and Pb isotope
andelevenmemberminingand gramwithAbstracts, relations
labs.l:
Geological Societyof AmericaPro-
p. A-381.
mineralexplorationcompanies. Supportto the authorwas Davies,A.G.S.,Lewis,P.D., andMacdonald, A.J.,1994,Stratigraphic
and
partlythroughan NSERCdoctoralscholarship. structural
settingof mineraldepositsin the BracejackLakearea,north-
The author wishes to thank Ron Britten, David Kuran, westernBritishColumbia:
CanadaGeological
SurveyPaper94-A,p. 37-
Henry Marsden,and AndrewKaip of HomestakeCanada 43.
Ltd.forsharingtheirwealthofknowledge oftheEskayCreek DePaolo, D.J., 1988,Neodymium
Berlin,Springer-Verlag,187p.
isotopegeochemistry, an introduction:
deposit,andfor accessto maps,company reports,
anddrill DePaolo,D.J.,andWasserburg, G.J.,1977,The sources of islandarcsas
core.Thisstudybenefitedgreatlyfromthe workof Roland indicatedby Nd andSr studies:Geophysical Research Letters,v. 4, p.
Bartsch,PeterLewis,JamesMacdonald, andTina Rothas 465-468.
partof the MDRU Metallogenesis of the IskutRiverArea defloor
Ronde,C.E.J.,1995,Fluidchemistry
hydrothermal systems
andisotopic
and associated
characteristics
VMS deposits:
of sea-
Potentialfor
Project.The assistance
of RichardFriedmanin the analysis magmatiecontributions: Mineralogieal Association of CanadaShort
of U-Pbsamples andinterpretation
of U-Pbdataisgratefully CourseNotes,v. 23, p. 479-509.
acknowledged.RegTh•riaultisacknowledged forNdisotope Doe, B.R., and Zartman, R.E., 1979, Plumboteetonies:The Phanerozoie,in
analyses
of samplesfromEskayCreek.Geologicalsoftware Barnes,H.L., ed.,Geochemistryof hydrothermal
oredeposits,
2nd.:Wi-
ley,New York,p. 22-70.
developed
bythelateJ.C.Roddick
assisted
in theplotting
of Edmunds,F.C., andKuran,D.L., 1991,TOK-KAYandGNC 1991explora-
U-Pb data. M.L. Bevier and R.G. Anderson are thanked for
tionprogram,
geological
anddiamond
drillingprogram:
PrimeResources
access
to unpublished
isotope
datafromtheIskutRiverarea. Groupinternalreport.
JohnThompson, JimMortensen, andTim Barrett,andtwo Edmunds, F.C., Kuran,D.L., andRye,K.A.,1994,The geology
of the 21
Economic Geology
reviewers
arethankedfortheirthoughtful zonedeposits at EskayCreeknorthwestern
BlackHillsWesternRegional Conference
BritishColumbia,
on Precious
Canada:
Metals,Coaland
reviews,which have greatlyimprovedthis manuscript. the Environment, 5th,p. 154-175.
MDRU contribution number P-073. Fanre,G., 1986,Principles
of isotope
geology:
NewYork,JohnWileyand
Sons,Inc., 589 p.
April 17, September
24, 1996 Fern, U., Doe, B.R., and Delevaux,M.H., 1983, The distributionof lead
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