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Actinolite as a proxy for characterizing the thermal evolution of Iron-Oxide

Copper Gold deposits

Conference Paper · January 2021

DOI: 10.7185/gold2021.4716

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Irene del Real Contreras Martin Reich

Universidad Austral de Chile University of Chile
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University of Michigan Murdoch University
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 Goldschmidt 2021 Abstract
https://doi.org/10.7185/gold2021.4716

Actinolite as a proxy for

characterizing the thermal evolution
of Iron-Oxide Copper Gold deposits
IRENE DEL REAL1, MARTIN REICH2, ADAM SIMON3,
ARTUR DEDITIUS4, FERNANDO BARRA1, MARIA
ALEJANDRA RODRIGUEZ-MUSTAFA3 AND JOHN F.H.
THOMPSON5
1Universidad de Chile
2Universidad de Chile, Santiago
3University of Michigan
4Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University
5Petrascience Consulting

Presenting Author: idelreal@gmail.com

Iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) deposits are a globally

important source of Cu, Au and critical commodities, including
U, Co and REE that are essential to sustain a carbon-neutral
society. Despite their relevance, IOCG deposits remain an ill-
defined clan, with a range of characteristics that has complicated
development of the general genetic model needed to guide
exploration for new deposits. Here we focus, for the first time, on
the mineral actinolite – an ubiquitous alteration phase in IOCG
deposits – for temperature estimation at the mineral scale. We
constructed novel grain-scale temperature images by
computationally inverting compositional data from X-ray
wavelength dispersive spectrometry (WDS) maps. This
technique allowed visualization of inferred temperature gradients
at a micro-scale within individual actinolite grains. Results show
that Candelaria formed by the superposition of at least two
mineralization events with a late Cu-rich fluid (~550–700°C)
overprinting an early, iron oxide-apatite (IOA) type
mineralization event (675-800ºC). These distinct events were
caused by episodic injections of magmatic-hydrothermal fluids
from crystallizing magmas at depth. Our data provide the first
empirical evidence of grain scale temperature gradients in an
IOCG system, and supports the use of actinolite compositional
variations as a novel approach to understand the formation of
IOCG deposits, and a potential tool for vectoring in exploration.

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