Porphyry and Epithermal Au-Cu Systems of the Southern Caucasus and Northern Iran

Year 2024, Volume: 174 Issue: 174, 37 - 53, 13.08.2024

Alexander G. Tvalchrelidze

https://doi.org/10.19111/bulletinofmre.1394073

Abstract

This article presents tangible geological evidence for coexistence of porphyry copper and epithermal gold systems within single polygenic deposits and provides a paleothermophysical model for their origins. Brief metallogenic analysis of the Southern Caucasus and Northern Iran has shown that such deposits are confined to long-living calc-alkaline island arcs and were formed during their orogenesis. Examples of complex Sonajil (Iran), Gharta, and Merisi (Georgia) deposits are considered. Investigation has shown that for combined porphyry and epithermal ore formation some preconditions are suggested to exist: (i) Source of anomalous energy, which exceeds thermodynamics of the enclosing environment; (ii) Existence of temperature gradient, which determines conventional flows of fluids composed of endogenous and meteoric constituents (proven by rhythmical zoning of ore lodes); (iii) Stability of such conditions for a period of sulfide ore formation. However, such a process of sulfide ore formation cannot explain formation of high sulfidation gold deposits. Mass precipitation of free gold requires phreatic collapse in the ore conduit channel already after formation of hydrothermally altered rocks, and this event results in creation of either hydrothermal breccias, often with jigsaw-fit texture or brecciated vuggy silica where host rocks and hydrothermally altered rocks are cemented by a gold-bearing quartz matrix.

Keywords

Epithermal, Porphyry, Gold, Copper, Paleothermal Field.

Thanks

It is my pleasure to acknowledge the international team of economic geologists with whom I am successfully working and performing research for decades, and namely Dr Zurab Kutelia, Dr Revaz Kvatashidze, and Dr Irakli Narozauli (Georgia); Dr. Dmitry Pertel and Dr Paul Hanzl (Australia); Dr. Andrei Kharlashin (Russia), and many others. It is my sad duty to remember my late colleagues the friendships and llaboration with whom passed through my entire professional life, and namely: Prof. Dr Veniamin Gogishvili, Dr Tina Gogishvili (Georgia); Prof. Dr Bogdan Bogdanov (Bulgaria); Prof. Dr Mirko Vanĕček, Prof. Dr Zdenek Pouba (Czech Republic); Prof. Dr Valentin Naumenko, Dr Yuri Koptyukh (Ukraine); Dr Emin Suleymanov, Prof. Dr Vagif Ramazanov (Azerbaijan Republic); Dr Vladimir G. Zolotarev (Russia).

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