ENDAPAN MINERAL BIJIH

DAN HIDROTERMAL
PROGRAM STUDI GEOLOGI UNIVERSITAS INDONESIA

MINGGU 6: HIDROTHERMAL
DEPOSITS – EPITHERMAL LOW
SULPHIDATION
Hall, 2009

Felix M. H. Sihombing, S.T., MMinRes

 Outline Perkuliahan
Sebelum UTS Sesudah UTS
1. Pendahuluan endapan mineral bijih; 8. Hydrothermal deposit in submarine
terminologi penting; analogi dengan and sedimentary environment
migas, signifikansi geologi ekonomi 9. Chemical Precipitation
2. Sistem mineralisasi (Ore bearing 10. Physical Sedimentation
fluids, movement, deposition) 11. Supergene Enrichment
3. Orthomagmatic Deposit 12. Uranium and Thorium Deposits
4. Hydrothermal Deposit 13. REE Deposits
5. Mesothermal 14. Summary & Conclusion; Global
6. Epithermal Low Sulphidation distribution. Current and future
7. Epithermal High Sulphidation condition of ore geology
UTS (Field Trip)

UAS
 Klasifikasi Umum Endapan Mineral
(Ridley, Pg 15)

• magmatic – concentration as a
result of chemical and
mineralogical processes in
magmas;
• hydrothermal – concentration
as a result of precipitation from
heated aqueous fluids
migrating through crustal
rocks;
• sedimentary – concentration
by mechanical or chemical
processes at the time of
sedimentation;
• regolith – enrichment as a
result of weathering processes
EPITHERMAL SYSTEM

Hall, 2009
Hydrothermal Ore Deposits based on
temperature and depth (Robb, pg 7)
Robb, pg 119

• Epithermal: hydrothermal
ore deposits formed at
shallow depths (less than
1500 meters) and fairly low
temperatures (50–200 °C).
• Mesothermal:
hydrothermal ore deposits
formed at intermediate
depths (1500–4500 meters)
and temperatures (200–400
°C).
• Hypothermal:
hydrothermal ore deposits
formed at substantial
depths (greater than 4500
meters) and elevated
temperatures (400–600 °C).
 Outline Minggu 5 : HIDROTHERMAL DEPOSITS –
EPITHERMAL LOW SULPHIDATION SYSTEM
• Endapan Epitermal High Sulphidation
• Lingkungan geologi dan tektonik
• Proses mineralisasinya
• Batuan host rock nya, wall rocknya
• Alterasi batuan
• Tekstur penting
• Mineral penting
• Paragenesa mineralnya
• Kunci penting dalam eksplorasinya
• Variasi depositnya (Carlin type, MVT type)
• dll
• Summary
 Cu-Au Porphyry deposit
Merupakan endapan dari logam Cu-Au yang dibawa oleh larutan hidrotermal dan diendapkan
di bawah permukaan, berkaitan dengan batuan beku bertekstur porfiri (tidak harus
terendapkan di porfiri)

Grasberg
Mesothermal (Porphyry System) Epithermal

Ridley, pg 122

(Ridley, pg 122; Robb, pg 123)

 Au-Ag Epithermal LS deposit
Merupakan endapan dari logam Au-Ag yang dibawa oleh larutan hidrotermal hingga
mendekati permukaan, umunnyamembentuk vein bersama mineral-mineral lain

Meteoric Water

Magmatic
Water
Condensation

Sulfosalt

Vapour & Liquid

Sulfida

Boiling Zone

Hishikari, Japan
Sulfida Gosowong, Halmahera
Indonesia: Cibaliung, Banten;
 EPITHERMAL SYSTEM
(Ridley, pg 151)

• Epithermal deposits: Low-temperature (<300°C), precious- or base-metal deposits with

close temporal and spatial association with volcanic centres.
• Major product: Precious metal Au & Ag
• By-product: Hg, Sb; By/Co-Product: Pb, Cu and Zn.
• Two contrasting types of epithermal deposit: High Sulphidation Low Sulphidation
• Form in similar tectonic settings as porphyry deposits:
• in continental volcanic arcs, intra-oceanic island volcanic arcs and in areas of diffuse volcanism in
continental back-arc regions
• Both deposit types can form in volcanic arcs, but may not occured together (Ridley, pg 153)
• formed at shallow depths (< 2 km), many probably become eroded relatively rapidly after
formation
• The majority of known deposits are thus geologically recent (Cenozoic), and occur in
areas of active or recent arc volcanism
 National Geographic.com, cited from USGS

DISTRIBUSI
GLOBAL
Lo-S
Au Cu districts, deposits, and prospects with related magmatic arcs and orogenic belts in Indonesia

Garwin et al, 2005

 SULFIDATION STATE
(Ridley, pg 151)

• Sulfidation State: the oxidation state of sulfur in the ore fluid (Robb, pg 117)
• Sulfidation state is effectively a measure of the ratio of sulfur to
chalcophile elements in ore minerals.
• It controls the valence states of chalcophile elements, and hence
which sulfide and oxide ore minerals form.
• does not necessarily indicate the amount of sulfur present.
 Sulfidation state is related to oxidation state and pH
(Ridley, pg 153)

The sulfidation state of epithermal ores generally correlates with both

their oxidation state and their acidity:

• Low sulfidation deposits are: • High-sulfidation deposits are:

• The ores of low-sulfidation
deposits are reduced,
• sulfur is present dominantly as
reduced S(II) in sulfide minerals
• Gangue assemblages of these
deposits indicate a near-neutral
hydrothermal fluid
• Oxidised
• sulfur is present in part as
oxidized S(VI) in sulfate minerals
such as barite, anhydrite and
alunite or as native sulfur (S(0))
• Altered rock in and around ore is
strongly leached of many
elements, indicates interaction
with a strongly acidic
hydrothermal fluid
Robb, pg 118
 Main Difference Between Hi S and Lo S
(Vearncombe, 2013)

Low sulphidation High sulphidation

• Low sulphur
• Adularia-sericite
• Open-space veins dominant
• Veins, cavity filling (colloform,
druses), breccias
• Stockwork ore common
• Disseminated ore minor
• Replacement ore minor
• High sulphur
• Acid sulphate
• Veins subordinate, locally
dominant
• Wallrock replacement, breccias,
veins
• Stockwork ore common
• Disseminated ore dominant
• Replacement ore common
Sulfidation State in Mesothermal & Epithermal systems (Einaudi et at, 2003)
• Log fS2 – 1000/T diagram
defining the relative
sulfidation state of
hydrothermal fluids
•Log fS2 – 1000/T diagram, contoured for RS, illustrating fluid
environments in porphyry copper, porphyrycopper related
base-metal veins, and epithermal Au-Ag deposits in terms of
Sulfidation State in
a series of possible cooling paths that are influenced by
processes discussed in text. Fluid environments are based Mesothermal & Epithermal
on sulfide assemblages summarized in Table 4,
temperatures discussed in text, and sulfidation reactions systems (Einaudi et at, 2003)
from Barton and Skinner (1979).
•Arrow labeled "porphyry Cu-Au-Mo" refers to early- and
intermediate-age assemblages deposited at approximately
500 to 350°C and low to intermediate sulfidation states.
•Arrows labeled "N" and "O" represent deviations from the
main-line environment.
•Transition to late assemblages at high sulfidation states and
to porphyry-related "zoned base-metal veins" at or below
350°C is indicated by gray arrow labeled "T".
•Sulfide assemblages in the latter deposits describe a return
from very high sulfidation to the intermediate sulfidation
states of the "rock buffer".
•Similarly, HS epithermal deposits consist of an early Cu-rich,
high sulfidation state assemblage followed by a Au-rich
stage at intermediate sulfidation states.
•IS epithermal deposits (not shown) form at about 250 °C
and mostly at intermediate sulfidation states.
•LS epithermal gold veins are shown near 200 °C and at low
to intermediate sulfidation states near the rock buffer.
•Other porphyry-type deposits that form at low and even
very low sulfidation states (dark, thin arrows labeled
"Mount Pleasant" W-Mo and related Sn-Zn-Cu veins, and
parts of Henderson Mo (labeled "H"; see text) are shown for
contrast to porphyry Cu and related vein deposits
(Vearncombe, 2013)
Conceptual model for the styles of epithermal Au-Ag and porphyry Cu-Au mineralisaton developed in
subducton-related magmatic arc – back arc settings (Corbett, Ch 1)
Corbett, Fig 1.1
 Stockwork, Golden Cross Vein, La Guitarra

Vein, Hishikari Vein, Golden Cross

FORM © Noel White

 Chinkuashih La Coipa

Akeshi Sulfide vein, El Indio

FORM © Noel White

 La Guitarra Golden Cross

TEXTURES Dealul Crucii, Baia Mare Aginsky © Noel White

 Vuggy quartz

TEXTURES © Noel White

LOW SULPHIDATION DEPOSITS

Hall, 2009
 Low-sulphidation epithermal deposits
(Ridley pg 165)

• Mainly Au and Ag deposits

• many have concentrations of Pb, Zn and Cu in sulfide minerals
• Typically at greater distances (2–10 km) from volcanic centres than HS
deposits
• Analogue to modern geothermal system
• hosted by a greater variety of rock types compared to HS deposits
• the typical host sequences are bedded sequences of intermediate to felsic-
composition lavas and pyroclastic rocks
• One characteristic siting of these deposits is just outside of a caldera
rim fault
• The style and setting of mineralisation of low-sulfidation epithermal
deposits is itself very variable
• deposits may have formed through different processes, but because the
similarity of the alteration and ore mineralogy, categorised into LS deposits
 Geological settings of low-sulfidation ores
(Ridley pg 165)

• The most characteristic style and setting of low-sulfidation epithermal deposits is

in interconnected networks or swarms of steeply dipping small to large (up to 10 m
thick) veins
• the ore is in the veins and
• in immediately adjacent, hydrothermally altered wall-rock
• A structural control on the orientation and siting of veins is common
• multiple veins commonly have sub-parallel orientations in a deposit
• The veins and ore may be continuous along strike lengths of up to a couple of
kilometres, but although veins may be traceable to more than 1 km depth
• economic ore is only developed over restricted vertical intervals of about 500 m,
• and in some cases as little as 200 m
• The depths of mineralisation is estimated from fluid-inclusion data to be typically
between about 200 and 700 m below the water table, or rarely to about 1.5 km
depth
• Ore can also occur in breccia pipes, with the ore minerals in either the clasts or the
breccia matrix
https://www.goldnuggetsales.com/images/S22A.jpg http://www.sc.niigata-u.ac.jp/geology/hutton/a4_3.jpg
 vein
sinter

El Salvador
THE ORES AND THE ALTERATIONS
Ore – Ore Minerals
• We can divide the spectrum of sulfidation state of ores into:
• low-sulfidation ores, with arsenopyrite (FeAsS), chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) and
pyrrhotite (Fe7S8)
• intermediate-sulfidation ores, with pyrite (FeS2) in place of pyrrhotite and with
tennantite (Cu12As4S13) replacing arsenopyrite
• high-sulfidation ores, in which pyrite is important, enargite is the main arsenic-
bearing mineral (Cu3AsS4), and either bornite (Cu5FeS4) or covellite (CuS) is
typically the major Cu ore mineral.
• However, deposits with intermediate-sulfidation ore assemblages are
similar to those with low-sulfidation assemblages (Ridley, pg 153)
• intermediate-sulfidation generally combined into the low-sulfidation class
 Main low-sulfidation sulphide minerals:
arsenopyrite (FeAsS), chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) and
pyrrhotite (Fe7S8)

arsenopyrite (FeAsS) chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) pyrrhotite (Fe7S8)

By Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0, By Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0, By Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10138932 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10127517 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10156826
 Different Styles of Ore in LS
(Ridley, pg 165)

• Ore minerals are either:

• disseminated in the veins
• occur in massive pods
• disseminated in strongly altered
rock adjacent to veins
(Ridley, pg 167)

Schematic cross section through a low-sulfidation epithermal ore

system showing a hypothetical composite system containing
different styles of ore: vein ore, disseminated ore and hot-spring
ore, together with the distribution of alteration assemblages
(Hedenquist et al., 2000)
 Different Styles of Ore in LS
(Ridley, pg 165)
• Ore minerals are either:
• disseminated in the veins
• occur in massive pods
• disseminated in strongly altered rock adjacent to veins

(Ridley, pg 167)

Schematic cross section through a low-sulfidation epithermal ore

Hedenquist et al, 2000 system showing a hypothetical composite system containing
different styles of ore: vein ore, disseminated ore and hot-spring
LS deposition controlled by host-rock lithology, ore, together with the distribution of alteration assemblages
by structure, or by hydrothermal processes (Hedenquist et al., 2000)
Ore minerals disseminated
in the veins

https://www.goldnuggetsales.com/images/S22A.jpg

Hishikari, Japan
Anak Perak epithermal quartz vein gold prospect near Geumpang, Aceh province, Indonesia
©Michael Thirnbeck https://www.flickr.com/photos/thirnbeck/4297327056/in/photostream/
Stair-step terraces at Orakei
Korako Geothermal System are
the result of silica sinter
precipitating on fault scraps
http://exploringtheearth.com/2013/10/22/newzealandgeothermal/
 Ore: The Vein Ore
• Vein can extend up to 1km parallel to (Ridley, pg 165)
strike
• However the mineralised zone only
between 200-500m
• Extremely high-grade ore zones (with
greater than 30 ppm Au, and locally greater
than 1000 ppm) may be formed locally
along and within the depth range of some
veins (Bonanza)
• Ore veins are quartz-dominated with
adularia (low-temperature K-feldspar)
w/ variably calcite, chlorite and other
gangue minerals
• Many vein minerals are zoned vertically
• E.g. calcite and adularia only within
restricted depth intervals
• Many ore veins have approximately (Ridley, pg 167)
symmetrically developed bands with
different mineral assemblages on a
scale of order 1–10 centimetres
Schematic cross section through a low-sulfidation epithermal ore
• The bands are indicative of evolving or
oscillating physical and chemical conditions system showing a hypothetical composite system containing
during progressive vein fill from wall to different styles of ore: vein ore, disseminated ore and hot-spring
centre ore, together with the distribution of alteration assemblages
(Hedenquist et al., 2000)
 Ore: The Vein Ore
(Ridley, pg 165)
• The sulfide mineral assemblage in the
veins is very variable from deposit to
deposit, mainly related to sulfidation
state, e.g.:
• pyrite or marcasite being the dominant
sulfide in intermediate-sulfidation-state
ores
• Pyrrhotite (FeS) together with arsenopyrite
(FeAsS) in low-sulfidation-state ores
• The base-metal sulfide minerals galena,
sphalerite and chalcopyrite are common, as
are Mn minerals including the manganese
carbonate rhodochrosite
• Stibnite (Sb2S3) is an important mineral in
some deposits
• Gold ore mineral: Native Au or electrum (Ridley, pg 167)
(Au–Ag alloy) is the main host of Au.
• Silver ore mineral: electrum and the silver
sulfide acanthite (Ag2S) and silver sulfosalts
such as proustite (Ag3AsS3) and pyrargyrite Schematic cross section through a low-sulfidation epithermal ore
(Ag3SbS3). Can also occur as native silver system showing a hypothetical composite system containing
from secondary process different styles of ore: vein ore, disseminated ore and hot-spring
• Telluride are important hosts for the gold ore, together with the distribution of alteration assemblages
and silver in some deposits. (Hedenquist et al., 2000, cited in Ridley, pg 167)
 Ore – The Vein Textures
(Ridley, pg 178)

• The Vein gangue minerals are also characterised by

a number of distinct mineral textures…
• Vughs and euhedral crystal growth into space are
indicative of open ‘fissure’ space in the vein at the
time of mineral growth.
• Bands of fine-scale crustiform and colloform
growth are indicative of rapid precipitation of
minerals.
• Where the colloform bands involve a silica
mineral, we infer that silica was initially
precipitated from the fluid as fine-grained or
cryptocrystalline polymorphs such as chalcedony
or opal.
• Quartz pseudomorphic replacements of platy (Ridley, pg 178)
calcite are common and likewise indicate changing
physical and chemical conditions in the vein over Some textures of quartz in hydrothermal veins and their
interpretation (after Dong et al., 1995). The scales shown are
the time of mineral precipitation such that calcite relative and approximate only and are given to indicate typical
scales of grains and bands
first rapidly grew from solution as platy grains and
the solution later became undersaturated with
respect to calcite and was replaced by quartz.
Gosowong, Maluku

(Ridley, pg 178)
Many gangues are zoned vertically , e.g. calcite
and adularia only within restricted depth
intervals…
Ore minerals Gangue Minerals Vein Textures

http://www.mininggeologyhq.com/epithermal/
The vein gangue minerals are also characterised
by a number of distinct mineral textures…
Ore minerals Gangue Minerals Vein Textures

http://www.mininggeologyhq.com/epithermal/
 Ore: Disseminated Ores
(Ridley, pg 168)

• Ore minerals may also be

disseminated in strongly altered
rock adjacent to veins

(Ridley, pg 167)

Schematic cross section through a low-sulfidation epithermal ore

system showing a hypothetical composite system containing
different styles of ore: vein ore, disseminated ore and hot-spring
Hedenquist et al, 2000 ore, together with the distribution of alteration assemblages
(Hedenquist et al., 2000, cited in Ridley, pg 167)
Anak Perak epithermal quartz vein gold prospect near Geumpang, Aceh province, Indonesia
©Michael Thirnbeck https://www.flickr.com/photos/thirnbeck/4297327056/in/photostream/
 Ore: The Hot-spring Ores
(Ridley, pg 168)

• Hot-spring Ores are hosted in sub-

horizontal masses of porous silica
sinter or recrystallised banded
silica.
• The ore minerals include very fine-
grained (m) As, Sb and Hg
sulfides (e.g. cinnabar, realgar and
orpiment) disseminated in silica
sinters
• grey colour in hand specimens
(Ridley, pg 167)

Schematic cross section through a low-sulfidation epithermal ore system showing a

hypothetical composite system containing different styles of ore: vein ore, disseminated
ore and hot-spring ore, together with the distribution of alteration assemblages
(Hedenquist et al., 2000, cited in Ridley, pg 167)
 Silica sinters
(Ridley, pg 168)

• are porous silica masses that

precipitated in hot-spring pools
• as a result of evaporation and
cooling of the water that is fed into
the pool from below

(Ridley, pg 167)

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/rhynie/what.htm Schematic cross section through a low-sulfidation epithermal ore system showing a
hypothetical composite system containing different styles of ore: vein ore, disseminated
ore and hot-spring ore, together with the distribution of alteration assemblages
(Hedenquist et al., 2000, cited in Ridley, pg 167)
 vein
sinter

El Salvador
sinter
Stair-step terraces at Orakei
Korako Geothermal System are
the result of silica sinter
precipitating on fault scraps
http://exploringtheearth.com/2013/10/22/newzealandgeothermal/
• Silica sinter (an amorphous form of silicon dioxide) forms from the waters
that flow from hot springs near Shoshone Lake, Yellowstone National Park
• https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/yellowstone/geo_hist_sinter_age.ht
ml
GEYSERITE (siliceous sinter)
Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand
Geyserite is a variety of opal (silica)
that forms around hot springs and
geysers. It has a porous texture and
is very light in weight. It lines the
bores or tubes of geysers and is
deposited as mounds on the
adjacent ground, sometimes
forming spectacular cascades and
terraces.
http://www.therockgallery.co.uk/ge
yserite---taupo-volcanic-zone-new-
zealand-610-p.asp
A polished slab of recent sinter from New Zealand showing upright
moulds of plant stems coated by amorphous opaline silica.
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/rhynie/what.htm
Except enriched as ore, in general the sinter was devoid of metal
impurities, and so had no pigmenting agents http://nrs.ucdavis.edu/mcl/natural/geology/sinter/sinter2.htm
 Vein or sinter?
Veins have bilateral growth
symmetry, while sinters are
unilateral

Vein cross-cutting sinter.

Note that the banding in
the sinter is convex in only
one direction, which is the
direction of growth.
http://nrs.ucdavis.edu/mcl/natural
/geology/sinter/sinter2.htm
 Alteration
(Ridley, pg 168)
• Low-sulfidation epithermal veins have haloes up
to a few metres wide of argillic alteration facies
with illite and silicification
• Hosted in volumes of propylitic altered rock but
generally with clay minerals (especially smectite
as essential mineral)
• The alteration assemblages thus formed at slightly
lower temperature (200-275C) than the chlorite-
bearing propylitic assemblages around porphyry
deposits
• Regional propylitic alteration may have subtle
lateral and vertical zonation of the intensity and
mineral content
• E.g. smectite, interlayered smectite–illite and illite
zones
• Interpreted due to temperature variations (275-
150C)
• ore veins are typically in the highest
temperature zones (Ridley, pg 167)
• Argillic and advanced-argillic (acid-sulfate)
alteration above the ore zones of the veins
indicate that more acidic fluids were present
above the ore zones as a result of the same Schematic cross section through a low-sulfidation epithermal ore system showing a
chemical processes of condensation into water hypothetical composite system containing different styles of ore: vein ore,
of acid gases CO2, SO2 and H2S that operate at disseminated ore and hot-spring ore, together with the distribution of alteration
high-sulfidation epithermal deposits assemblages (Hedenquist et al., 2000, cited in Ridley, pg 167)
H2O + CO2 → H2CO3 → H+ + HCO3-
(Ridley, pg 167)
(Ridley, pg 167)
(Ridley, pg 167)
 Vertical Zoning in Alteration
(Ridley, pg 169)

A strongly developed
vertical zonation occur in
many deposits, (e.g.
Hishikari deposit, Japan):
• from propylitic to argillic
to low-temperature styles
of advanced-argillic
alteration
• Chalcedony or opal rather
than quartz is the
dominant silica mineral in
these types of alteration
• The zonation is evidence Cross section through the low-sulfidation Au–Ag epithermal veins of the Hishikari Deposit,
Japan (after Ibaraki and Suzuki, 1993). The veins are hosted in Pleistocene volcanic and
of increasing acidity of volcaniclastic rocks and formed at a few hundred metres below the palaeosurface. Ore is
the hydrothermal fluid over a restricted vertical extent of the sub-parallel veins in the set. There are sub-
horizontal zones of alteration around and above the veins with facies indicative of cool (~
upwards above the ore 100 C) acid-sulfate fluids close to the palaeosurface

zones
Potassic Phyllic Propylitic Argillic
Ore minerals Gangue Minerals Vein Textures

http://www.mininggeologyhq.com/epithermal/
Common alteraton minerals in
hydrothermal systems.
(Corbett, Ch 2)
Abbreviations: Ab - albite; Act - actinolite; Ad
- adularia; Al - alunite; And - andalusite; Bio -
biotite; Cb - carbonate; (Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe); Ch -
chlorite; Chab - chabazite; Chd - chalcedony;
Ch-Sm - chlorite-smectite; Cor - corundum;
Cpz - clinopyroxene; Cr - cristobalite; Ct -
calcite; Do - dolomite; Dik - dickite; Dp -
diaspore; Ep - epidote; Fsp - feldspar; Ga -
garnet; Hal - halloysite; Heu - heulandite; I -
illite; I-Sm - illite-smectite; K – kaolinite; Lau -
laumontite; Mt - magnetite; Mor - mordenite;
Nat - natrolite; Op - opaline silica; Pyr -
pyrophyllite; Q - quartz; Ser - sericite; Sid -
siderite; Sm - smectite; Stb - stibnite; Tr -
tremolite; Tri - tridymite; Ves - vesuvianite;
Wai - wairakite; Wo - wollastonite; Zeo -
zeolite.
Temperature ranges for
the formaton of
hydrothermal alteration
minerals
(Corbett, Ch 2)
GENESA ENDAPAN EPITERMAL
 GENESA : (a) Origin of the ore fluids and constraints on
their compositions
(Ridley, pg 174)

• The ore fluids before boiling are low-salinity fluids with a few weight per cent salts in
solution and low but finite contents of gases in solution, in particular CO2 and H2S
• Isotopes of O and H shows that geothermal waters in the Taupo Volcanic Zone and other
geothermal fields associated with arc volcanoes are dominantly of meteoric origin
• concentration ratios of gases in solution in the waters, most notably high ratios of N2/Ar
and He/Ar, show that these gases are mainly derived from magma
• Inferred that magma was supplying fluids through magmatic degassing into the
geothermal reservoir and that magmatic water is mixed into the ore fluid, even if only as
a minor fraction
• Isotope data allow that of the order of 10% by volume of the geothermal reservoir fluids may
be of magmatic origin
• Although there is a magmatic component in the geothermal waters, the ore fluid has a
different composition than that of high-sulfidation epithermal deposits or porphyry
deposits
• It is neutral or weakly alkaline and is not highly oxidised at and below the level at which it boils
as it rises
 Ore fluids and the environments of formation of
low-sulfidation epithermal deposits
(Ridley pg 168)

• The hydrothermal fluid in the adularia-bearing veins that are surrounded by a

zone with smectite-bearing propylitic alteration assemblages can be interpreted
to be:
• alkali chloride,
• near-neutral,
• relatively reducing waters
• 200–300°C temperature
• very low to low salinity (0.5–5 wt %)
• in some cases up to about 1 wt % gases in solution, especially CO2
• Similar temperatures are implied for formation of the alteration assemblages in
rock surrounding the veins
• Lower temperatures down to about 150°C a few hundred metres distant from
the veins
• Unlike porphyry and high-sulfidation epithermal deposits, saline brines with
greater than about 25 wt % salts are not recorded in these deposits
 GENESA : (b) Sources of metals and sulfur in ore minerals
(Ridley, pg 175)

• Low-sulfidation epithermal ores are in most cases polymetallic with significant

concentrations of Au, Ag, Cu, Pb and Zn. They are also sulfidic
• Ore metals and sulfide may in principle be in solution in both the magmatic-
hydrothermal fluid and in the convecting meteoric waters
• A magmatic-hydrothermal fluid derived from degassing arc magma would likely
have similar metal contents as fluids of high-sulfidation epithermal deposits and
porphyry deposits
• Metals could also have been leached from minerals in parts of the large volume
of rock that the heated geothermal waters interact with during convection in the
reservoir
• (common in VMS)
 GENESA : (c) Controls on the location and
development of ores
(Ridley, pg 175)
• The LS deposit may be positioned at:
• up-flow limbs of convection cells that extend down to a few kilometres in geothermal
fields Up-flow zones may be above localised heat sources such as ridges or domes on the
top of an underlying crystallising intrusion
• Permeable zone caused by faults
• Permeable zone caused by facies variations with permeability variation
• Within the up-flow zones, fluid flow is predominantly along open fractures,
which are progressively filled by mineral precipitates to form the ore veins
• Breccias and vein textures show that veins were in some cases active faults
during the period of ore formation
• we thus expect fractures and faults to form and to be periodically opened and re-
opened to form void space as a result of seismic activity in these volcanic arc
environments
 GENESA : (c) Controls on the location and development of ores
(Ridley, pg 175; 169)
• boiling is likely to be a very efficient
mechanism for ore deposition at shallow
crustal levels (Robb, pg 156)
• Boiling (phase separation) of the geothermal
water as it rises to within a few hundred
metres of the surface would cause ore
mineral saturation and precipitation. Due to:
• residual enrichment of solute
• partitioning of other volatile species
into the gas phase
• probable increase of pH in the remaining fluid,
effective in precipitating metal– chloride
complexes from solution
(Ridley, pg 170)
• The chemistry of an aqueous solution,
including its pH and oxidation state, will
evolve during progressive boiling because
volatile gases such as CO2 and H2S partition Interpretation of processes during Au–Ag mineralisation in the upper 2 km of the
into the gas phase low-sulfidation epithermal deposits such as at Waihi. The ore deposit is interpreted
• The vertical zonation of ore minerals in the to be in an up-flow zone of a regionally extensive geothermal field in which the fluid
veins can be explained as the result of has pervasively interacted with the reservoir rocks and in which a magmatic-
progressively increasing degrees of boiling of hydrothermal fluid was fed in from depth. Fluid boiling occurred on up-flow at depths
a chemically complex ore solution upwards in shallower than about 1 km, and was restricted to sub-vertical open conduits or
a fissure fissures. Boiling gave rise to mineral deposition in veins, with different minerals
precipitating at different depths and Au precipitated only after a certain degree of
• different minerals reach saturation after
different degrees of boiling boiling. Mixing between gases exsolved from the deep fluid on boiling and
groundwater gave rise to steam-heated acid waters on the periphery of the up-flow
zones (after Simmons and Browne, 2000).
 Ore fluids and the environments of formation of
low-sulfidation epithermal deposits
(Ridley pg 168)

• Depths of ore formation of less than about 1 km are implied by the geological settings of
vein formation and fluid-inclusion densities
• The ore veins were thus formed in broad zones of unusually high temperature at depths
of a few hundred metres. The depths are such that water-rich solutions would boil at
temperatures of 200–300 C
• The chemistry of an aqueous solution, including its pH and oxidation state, will evolve
during progressive boiling because volatile gases such as CO2 and H2S partition into the
gas phase
• The vertical zonation of ore minerals in the veins can be explained as the result of
progressively increasing degrees of boiling of a chemically complex ore solution upwards
in a fissure
• different minerals reach saturation after different degrees of boiling
• Gold is likely carried dominantly as a bisulfide complex in solution
• The partitioning of H2S into the gas phase on boiling will thus reduce Au solubility
• but changes in fluid pH may counteract this effect
• High-grade bonanza zones in veins may form where changes to the various chemical
parameters that control Au solubility during boiling reinforce each other to give a strong
decrease in solubility.
 The Boiling Zone

(Ridley, pg 170)

Boiling controlled by change of P and T

 Boiling of Hydrothermal Fluids
Boiling is a powerful and complex
mechanism. It is associated with
Lowering of temperature and pressure
It causes
▪ Loss of gases (mostly H2O, CO2, H2S)
▪ Increase in pH
▪ Increase in oxidation state (slight)
Champagne Pool, Waiotapu, New Zealand
 Gold deposition by boiling
Au(HS)2- + 2H+ + e- → Auo + 2H2S
reduction

Porgera, Zone 7
Papua New Guinea
Sleeper, Nevada
Adularia deposition by boiling
HS- + H+ → H2S
HCO3- + H+ → CO2 + H2O

Adularia crystals, Mexico

Hedenquist et al., 1998

Calcite deposition by boiling
Ca(HCO3)2 → CaCO3 + H2O + CO2

Hedenquist et al., 1998 Lattice texture

Silica deposition by cooling

Hedenquist et al., 1998

 Silica deposition
is affected by pH
• Neutral pH
– Quartz, chalcedony
and amorphous silica
deposit
– Spectacular textures!
• Acid pH
– Silica deposition
suppressed
– No siliceous veins

Low sulfidation vein texture, McLaughlin, California, USA

The vertical zonation of ore minerals in the veins can be explained as the result of
progressively increasing degrees of boiling of a chemically complex ore solution
upwards in a fissure
• different minerals reach saturation after different degrees of boiling

Ore minerals Gangue Minerals Vein Textures

http://www.mininggeologyhq.com/epithermal/
(Ridley, pg 178)
 The Boiling Zone

(Ridley, pg 170)

Boiling controlled by change of P and T

 GENESA : (c) Controls on the location and development of ores
(Ridley, pg 175)
• Boiling of the geothermal water as it
rises to within a few hundred metres
of the surface would cause ore
mineral saturation and precipitation
(Figure 3.38)
• The repeated bands of different
mineral assemblages in the veins,
including thin bands with high grades
of Au and Ag, indicate that there are
repeated episodes of ore precipitation
in the vein
• reflections of repeated and oscillatory
changes to physical and chemical
conditions in the veins. Some of
important changes:
• Hydrothermal eruptions and the
consequent changes in fluid pressure and
compositions
• partial boiling of the water in the fractures
• other similar disturbances to the
hydrological regime
 Ridley, pg 113

Distribution and orientations of major veins and fractures of the stockwork set. The San Juan: The pattern
includes radial and concentric veins. The vein orientations at the Sierrita–Esperanza are interpreted to be
related to regional tectonic stress, where the dike has similar orientation (Ridley, pg 113)
Boudinaged quartz vein (with strain fringe) showing sinistral shear
sense. Starlight Pit, Fortnum Gold Mine, Western Australia. (Wikipedia)
 http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~schlisch/structureslides/EEVA_Kar.jpg
Dextral En Echelon Array with Sigmoidal Veins
Structural Control (Vearncombe, 2013)
Structural control for epithermal vein formation

Three main structural settings of mineralised epithermal veins (Corbett, Fig 3.7)
 Variation in Epithermal Deposit
The style and setting of mineralisation of low-sulfidation epithermal deposits is itself very variable deposits may have formed through different
processes, but because the similarity of the alteration and ore mineralogy, categorised into LS deposits

Field characteristcs of different low sulphidaton epithermal Au-Ag styles (Corbett, table 1.3)
Conceptual model for the styles of epithermal Au-Ag and porphyry Cu-Au mineralisaton developed in
subducton-related magmatic arc – back arc settings (Corbett, Ch 1)
Corbett, Fig 1.1
Geothermal system are analogue to epithermal system
(Ridley, pg 172)

• Waters in the reservoirs of geothermal fields(0.5-3 km depth) are chloride

waters with low salinity, a near-neutral pH and are relatively reducing
• Similar to LS ore fluids
• reservoir waters in geothermal fields have temperatures of around 250–
300C at depths of a few hundred metres.
• Many geothermal fields have areas of advanced-argillic alteration
assemblages in the near subsurface, especially around hydrothermal
eruption vents and fumaroles
• Rocks drilled at 1–2 km depth below the depth of boiling have most
commonly propylitic or, more rarely, argillic or sericitic alteration
• many active geothermal fields are active ore-forming systems: showing,
enrichment of Au, Ag and other base metals in the geothermal fluids
 Direct link between hot-spring Au–Ag–Hg deposits and low-sulfidation epithermal veins
(Ridley, pg 176)

• Figures left and right below are drafted to imply a direct link between hot-spring Au–Ag–Hg deposits and low-
sulfidation epithermal veins
• The hot-spring deposits are formed where geothermal waters, which have retained sufficient concentrations of
metals on cooling, rise and reach the surface at temperatures of typically between about 70 and 95 C
• Ore mineral saturation at the surface is a result of fluid cooling and evaporation in mud pools or hotspring pools
• The primary minerals to crystallise in these pools are cryptocrystalline silica and As and Sb sulfide minerals
• These minerals recrystallise to the fine-grained silica sinter and sulfides that are characteristic of hot-spring
deposits in the geological record

(Ridley, pg 173)

(Ridley, pg 167)
Lingkungan Tektonik
 National Geographic.com, cited from USGS

DISTRIBUSI
GLOBAL
Lo-S
Au Cu districts, deposits, and prospects with related magmatic arcs and orogenic belts in Indonesia

Garwin et al, 2005

Next Week…
EPITHERMAL SYSTEM – High Sulfidation (Ridley Pg 151, Section 3.2.5)
Tugas:
JELASKAN LEBIH LANJUT MENGENAI ENDAPAN TIPE GREISEN!:
• KARAKTERISTIK UMUM DEPOSIT (komoditas utama, grade umumnya,
tipe batuannya, ciri ore nya secara umum)
GENESA
• ORE-NYA (ore mineral, gangue mineral, alterasi, veining) dan juga
Host-rock nya

• 1000-2000 kata diluar referensi. Kumpul di SCELE, dengan format

Microsoft word (*.docx).
• Hanya gunakan referensi textbook yang sudah ditentukan.
Referensi Utama:
• (Ridley) ➔ Ridley, John. 2013. Ore Deposit Geology. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press
• (Robb) ➔ Robb, L. 2013. Introduction to ore-forming processes. John Wiley & Sons.
• (Corbett) ➔ Corbett, G.J., 2017, Epithermal Au-Ag and porphyry Cu-Au exploration – short
course manual: unpublished, Sept
2017 edition, www.corbettgeology.com
• Barton, P.B. 1970. Sulfide Petrology.
http://www.minsocam.org/msa/OpenAccess_Publications/MSA_Special_Papers/MSA_SP_
3/MSA_SP3_187-198.pdf
• Einaudi et al. 2003. Sulfidation State of Fluids in Active and Extinct Hydrothermal
Systems: Transitions from Porphyry to Epithermal Environments
PRACS
HS ROCK SAMPLE DONATED BY
PT J Resources
Batuan Beku
Batuan Piroklastik
VEIN TEXTURE
 Endapan Epitermal LS
• Deskripsi sampel vein
berikut
• Perubahan apa yang
terjadi pada batuan beku
dan piroklastik berikut
ketika mengalami alterasi
• Plot pada gambar di
samping lokasi dari tiap
sampel yang kalian
pelajari
• Pada sampel dan lokasi
mana saja mineralisasi
dapat ditemukan