PlumX Metrics
Embed PlumX Metrics

Lithogeochemical Analysis of the Heath Steele E Zone Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposit, Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick, Canada

SSRN, ISSN: 1556-5068
2024
  • 0
    Citations
  • 34
    Usage
  • 0
    Captures
  • 0
    Mentions
  • 0
    Social Media
Metric Options:   Counts1 Year3 Year

Metrics Details

  • Usage
    34

Article Description

The Heath Steele E zone (Zn-Pb-Cu-Ag) volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposit lies in the Heath Steele Belt of the Bathurst Mining Camp, northeast New Brunswick. The E zone lies within a complex sequence of felsic volcanic and related volcano-sedimentary rocks of the Middle Ordovician Nepisiguit Falls Formation (Tetagouche Group). The host sequence was subjected to locally intense deposit-related hydrothermal alteration, and polyphase deformation and middle- to upper-greenschist grade regional metamorphism both of which have hampered the stratigraphic interpretation in the area. Furthermore, the similarity among of the various volcano-sedimentary units in the host sequence precludes confident correlation among adjacent drill cores, based on macro-scale observations alone. For this reason, chemostratigraphy is employed to discriminate among the various volcano-sedimentary units, and for assessment of deposit related hydrothermal alteration using data acquired with a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (pXRF). The pXRF is a useful analytical tool for rapid acquisition of high-quality data for at least 30 elements with a level of resolution that surpasses most other techniques, thereby making it ideal for use in chemostratigraphic characterization and correlation.In this study, data acquired via pXRF analysis of eight drill cores facilitated: 1) the construction of immobile-element discrimination diagrams to show that the host felsic volcanic rocks in the E zone deposit are rhyodacite/dacite and rhyolite with a tholeiitic magmatic affinity, consistent with an intracontinental back-arc environment, 2) the chemostratigraphic analysis of the E zone indicates that volcanic rocks of the hanging wall and footwall have similar compositions implying that they represent the same volcanic unit, suggesting the possibility that the volcanic units on both side of the sulfide body may be fold-repeats, 3) immobile element analysis has identified at least 5 volcanic units in the host sequence; the distribution of these units with respect to the massive sulfide lenses supports the fold-repeat interpretation, and 4) qualitative characterization of proximal footwall style hydrothermal alteration (mainly chlorite-carbonate and chlorite-pyrite-sericite assemblage) and more distal footwall alteration (K-feldspar-sericite and sericite-chlorite-pyrite assemblage) also support the fold-repeat interpretation of the alteration.

Bibliographic Details

Josue Jimenez-Gonzalez; James Walker; David R. Lentz; Peter Hall

Elsevier BV

Multidisciplinary; Heath Steele E zone; VMS deposit; portable XRF spectrometry; lithogeochemistry; chemostratigraphy; Hydrothermal alteration

Provide Feedback

Have ideas for a new metric? Would you like to see something else here?Let us know