EconomicGeology

Vol. 86, 1991, pp. 1646-1656

The ShumakeVolcanicDome-HostedEpithermal, PreciousMetal Deposit,

Western Mojave Desert, California
ALLAN R. BLASKE,THEODOREJ. BORNHORST,
Departmentof GeologicalEngineering,Geology,and Geophysics,
MichiganTechnological
University,Houghton,Michigan49931

JAMESM. BRADY,TIMOTHY M. MARSH,AND SCOTTA. MCKITRICK

CactusGold MinesCompany,Star Route1, Box 52-W, Mojave, California 93501

Abstract

SeveralTertiary volcanic-hostedpreciousmetal depositsoccur in the Mojave block in

southernCaliforniawhich is boundedon the north by the Garlockfault and on the southwest
by the SanAndreasfault. The Middle Buttesvolcanicdomecomplexhostsseverallow-grade
goldandsilverorebodiesandis comprisedof Miocene-agecoalescing lava domes,flows,vent
breccias,andpyroclasticdepositslying unconformablyon Cretaceousbasementof the Sierra
Nevadabatholith. The volcanicrocksrange in compositionfrom andesitethroughrhyolite
and are cut by numerousfaults.
The Shumakedeposit,over5 milliontonsof ore with an averagegradeof 0.043 oz per ton
(1.5 ppm) Au and 0.4 oz per ton (14 ppm) Ag, is centeredaroundtwo large quartz veinsand
the interveningaltered rhyolites.The large veinsare characterizedby pyrite, arsenopyrite,
and silver sulfosalts,with minor basemetal sulfidesand gold. Gold in the altered rhyolite
occurswith stockworkquartz veinletsand an oxidationassemblage of iron oxides,scorodite,
and red kaolinite.Alterationof the rhyolitesis best characterizedby sericite,composedof
fine-grainedillite andmuscovite,andstockworkquartzveinletswith associated adularia.Fluid
inclusionsindicatethat the stockworkquartzformedaround210øC. The quartz,sericite,and
minor adulariaassemblage is underlainby propylitic alterationandoverlainin one part of the
depositby alunite and white kaolinite alteration.Thesemain-stagealterationswere followed
by an oxidationassemblage whichis interpretedto be relatedto collapseof the hydrothermal
system.The depositis dominatedby anomalousabundances ofAu, Ag, Hg, As,andSb.Spatial
geochemicalvariationssuggestthat the two massivequartzveinswere dominantcomponents
of the hydrothermalplumbingsystem.
The paleohydrologicsystemat the Shumakedepositis analogousto the adularia-sericite
type of volcanic-hosted epithermalpreciousmetaldeposits.Faultsandfracturesprovidedthe
pathwaysfor hydrothermalfluid movement.Vein texturessuggestepisodicmineralization
that can be explainedby seismicpumping of hydrothermalfluids. Since a closetemporal
relationshipexistsbetweenvolcanismand ore deposition,magmasprobablyprovidedheat to
the hydrothermalsystem.Thus,for the Shumakedeposit,faultingprovidedboththe pathways
anddrivingmechanism for the hydrothermalsystemwhile heatwasprovidedby magmas.

Introduction productionis estimatedto be at leastat 50,000 oz of

gold and 292,000 oz of silver.Originally,there were
THE Shumakedepositis locatedin Tertiary volcanic about 5.5 million tons of ore within the Shumake de-
rocksof the Middle Buttesvolcanicdomecomplexin posit,containing0.043 oz per ton (1.5 ppm) Au and
the westernMojave desert,Kern County,California 0.4 oz per ton (14 ppm) Ag.
(Fig. 1). High-grade preciousmetal veins were dis- The Shumakedeposit is the largest of the bulk
covered on Middle Buttes in the 1930s, and since mineable depositson Middle Buttes. It differs from
then havebeen sporadicallyexploited.Of the seven the other depositswhich are characterizedby alunite
low-grade orebodiesthat have been discoveredon and kaolinite (advancedargillic) alterationand silic-
Middle Buttessince1979 (Fig. 2), the Shumakede- ification whereasthe Shumakedeposit is dominated
positis the largest.Modern miningon the property by quartz, sericite,andminoradulariaalteration.The
beganin 1986 by the CactusGold Mines Company, other depositsare considerablysmallerin size com-
underthe managementof CoCa Mines,Inc., of Den- paredto the Shumakedeposit,with ore gradesranging
ver, Colorado.Mining of the Shumakedepositbegan from 0.039 oz/ton Au to 0.185 oz/ton Au (Table 1).
in 1988, recoveryis by heap leaching,and annual The objectiveof thisreportisto providea description

0361-0128/91/1288/1646-11
$3.00 1646
 SHUMAKE
DEPOSIT,
MOJAVE
DESERT,
CA 1647

is petrographically
similarto rocksof the SierraNe-
vada batholith.

•,+++++
Tehachapi
I Thesevolcaniccentershosta numberof gold-silver
deposits (TroxelandMorton,1962) thatwereworked
+++++++ Soledad
Mtn.+
+• sporadically from 1890 to 1950, the mostproductive

•++++++
'+++++•
++++++++
++'+
+ + Mojave
I1' Butte
Wi[Io•Springs
•tn. Rosamond
i
beingthe GoldenQueen mine on SoledadMountain.
This miningactivitywasfocusedonhigh-gradeveins
found along northwest-trendingfaults and shears
(Dibblee,1963).Risinggoldpricesandheapleaching
technology hasled to recentinterestin largetonnage,
low-gradedeposits.
MiddleButtesiscomposed of coalescingandover-
lappinglava domesand flowswith interbeddedpy-
roclasticdepositsandventbreccias(Fig. 2; Table 2).
The compositionof theserocksrangesfrom quartz
latite to rhyolite.Southeastof MiddleButtesvolcanic
complex,in the nearbyRosamondHills (Fig. 1), Ter-
tiary tuffs,tuffaceoussandstones,
conglomerates,
and
tuff-breccias
are interpretedaspartly derivedfrom
Middle Buttes. Volcanism occurred between 21.5
_ 0.8 and 16.9 _ 0.7 Ma (McCusker,1982) basedon
correlation with similar rocks at nearby Soledad
Mountain.
Middle Buttesis cut by a seriesof northeast-trend-
ing fault zones,parallelto the Garlockfault, which
hostgoldore.The ShumakeandSilverPrincedeposits
FIG. 1. Map of the westernend of the Mojave block and sur- andCactusvein are adjacentto the westernmost fault
rounding areas.Small crossesindicate rocksof the Sierra Nevada
batholith. Stippled area indicatesMesozoicintrusiverocksof the at the contactbetween the quartz monzonitebase-
SanGabriel Mountains.Tertiary volcanicand volcaniclasticrocks ment and the volcanics. Other ore zones are located
are shownin black.Boxindicateslocationof Figure 2. After Dib-
blee (1967).

L•FI•Flow Banded
Rhyolite

of the geology,mineralization,alteration,and geo-

::,•i•
: Pyroclastic
Deposits

chemistryof the Shumakedepositand provide the

frameworkfor a modelof the hydrothermalsystem.

GeologicSetting
The Mojave block subprovinceof the Basinand
Rangestructuralprovinceis boundedby the left-lat-
eral Garlockfault and the right-lateralSanAndreas
fault (Fig. 1). To the eastthe blockmergeswith the
BasinandRangestructuralprovinceandto the south
with the SaltonSeatrough.Northwest-trending, high-
anglefaultsand low-angle,detachment-typeexten-
sionalfaultsof mid-Tertiaryage (Wilkins,1984) are
characteristic of the Mojaveblock.Basaltto rhyolite
calc-alkalicvolcanismspanned17 to 22 Ma (Mc-
Cusker,1982). Middle Buttesis nearthe westernend
of the Mojaveblock, about11 km from the Garlock
faultsystem. The SoledadMountainvolcaniccomplex FIG. 2. Geologyof Middle Buttesshowinglocationof principal
is locatedto the east (McCusker,1982) and Willow bulk mineable epithermal precious metal deposits.Black: Shu-
SpringsMountainto the south(Fig. 1). All threecen- make, 1 = Silver Prince, 2 = CactusQueen mine, 3: Winklet,
4 = Crescent, 5 = Ella, and 6 = Trent. Cretaceousquartz mon-
ters are composedof volcanicdomes,flows,andpy- zoniteis unconformablyoverlainby Miocenerhyolite domesand
roclasticdepositsthat reston quartzmonzonitewhich pyroelasticdeposits.Numerousfaultsnot shownon map.Geology
rangesin agefrom 71 to 95 Ma (Dibblee,1963) and by the CactusGold Mines Companystaff.
1648 BLASKE ET AL.

TABLE1. Summaryof Epithermal Gold Depositson Middle Buttes

Tonnage
Deposit (metric tons) Grade (oz/ton) Alteration Comments
Winkler 125,000 0.185, Au Advancedargillic Deposit containedwithin flow-
banded rhyolite and rhyolite
domes
Ella 273,000 0.053, Au Advancedargillic, Deposit containedwithin the
silicification pyroclasticdepositson the
southeastern corner of
Middle Buttes
Trent 540,000 0.044, Au Advancedargillic, Similar to Ella
silicification
Crescent 400,000 Approx. 0.04, Au Silicification,advanced Strongly silicified rhyolite domal
argillic rocks
Silver Prince 800,000 0.039 Au; 1.0, Ag Bonanzavein, adularia- Faulted extension of the
sericite Shumake; mineralization
centered around the Cactus
vein and is similar to that of
the Shumakedeposit
Shumake 5,500,000 0.043, Au; 0.4, Ag Adularia-sericite, Largest deposit on Middle
stockwork veinlets, Buttes, mined actively from
bonanza vein 1989 to 1992
Cactus Queen mine Operated intermittentlybetween 1934 and 1962, mining the Cactusvein; produced92,000 oz Au and
2,320,700 oz Ag from Bonanzavein mineralization

on northeast-trendingfaults where they are inter- Shumake Deposit

sectedby northwest-trendingcrossfaults;ore is de- The Shumakedepositis hostedby altered rhyolite
posited in sigmoidbreccia zonesdeveloped in the domallavasandvent breccia.The rhyolitedomallavas
northwest-trendingstructures.Nearlyall of the rocks are divided into two types, symplecticand porphy-
at Middle Butteshavebeenaffectedby hydrothermal ritic, on the basisof texture (Table 2). The quartz
alteration.Massiveand brecciatedquartz veins are phenocrysts in porphyriticrhyolitearesubhedraland
commonlyfoundalongzonesof structuralweakness, slightlyembayed,rangingfrom 1 to 5 mmin diameter,
as is extreme sericite alteration. Alunite from altered
whereassymplecticrhyolitecontainslarge(5-10 mm
pyroclasticrocksat Middle Buttesyieldeda K-Ar age diam) roundedquartz phenocryststhat are strongly
of 18.36 _ 0.55 m.y. (Bottaro,1987), andthus,hy- embayed.Vent brecciawaseruptedthroughthe early
drothermalalterationappearsto have been tempo- domesof rhyolite (Fig. 4). Roundedfragmentsare
rally associatedwith volcanism. from 1 cm to over 60 cm, with typical sizesbetween
Methods of Study
2 and 15 cm, and are matrix supported.The lack of
symplectic
rhyolitefragments
indicate•thatthe vent
Data from surface,underground,and drill holes brecciawas emplacedbetween eruptionof the por-
were usedto draw geologiccrosssectionsand to de- phyritic and symplecticrhyolites.The vent breccia
termine alteration minerals and patterns. A total of forms a pipelike structure 120 m long, over 50 m
200 samplesfrom 18 drill holes, along three cross wide, and of unknowndepth. Basedon diamonddrill
sections(Fig. 3), at 20-ft downholesamplingintervals core, the vent breccia cuts the quartz monzonite
wereanalyzedfor 30 elementsby inductivelycoupled basement beneath the rhyolite domes. This vent
plasma spectrometry(ICP), mercury by flameless brecciaisinterpretedasanalogous to thosedescribed
atomicabsorptionspectrometry,and gold by fire as- by Sillitoe et al. (1985) at MontanaTunnels.Since
say.Digestionfor ICP was accomplishedwith 3-1-2 fragments in theventbrecciacontaintruncatedquartz
HC1-HNO3-H20 at 95øC for onehourby ACME An- veinlets,somehydrothermalactivitytookplacebefore
alyticalLaboratories,Ltd., Vancouver,B. C., Canada, emplacementof the vent breccia.
and is nearly completefor basemetalsbut slightfor Most faults and fractures within the deposit are
refractoryelements.Alterationmineralsin 50 samples orientedroughlyparallelto the SanAndreasandGar-
from four separatedrill holeswere studiedby X-ray lock fault systemsalthoughseveralsmallfaultsmay
diffractiontechniques. Petrographiccharacteristics
of be relatedto domebuildingevents.Veinletsandveins
rocks and alteration were studied in 45 thin sections. markmanyfracturesandfaults,respectively.Several
Sulfidemineralparagenesis wasdeterminedfrom 16 other large, postmineralization,northwest-trending
polishedmountsand fluid inclusionswere analyzed faults cut the basementand the Cactusvein (Fig. 4).
fromfour samples.Additionalinformationis givenin An intense network of small fractures are host to late
Blaske(1990). oxidation minerals.
 SHUMAKE DEPOSIT, MOJAVE DESERT, CA 1649

TABLE2. Features of Rock Units at the ShumakeDeposit and Middle Buttes

Phenocrystand rock
Unit fragment data Description Comments

Flow-bandedrhyolite No phenocrysts;
devitrified Flow-bandeddevitrifiedrhyolite, Remnantsof domesand flows erupted
glass light gray to red brown;bands from ventsonto pyroclastics;last
1-10 mm; breccia common eruptive phase;not foundin the
near edgesof domes;alunite Shumakedeposit;Bottaro (1987)
alteration pervasive
Pyroclasticdeposits Lapillioto block-sized Pyroclasticdepositsof cognate, Remnantsof depositspreservedby
fragmentsof quartz juvenile, and accidental overlyingflow-bandedrhyolite;
latite, rhyolite, and material in tuff cones at vent not found in the Shumakedeposit;
flow-bandedrhyolite; areas;bedding,bombsags, Bottaro (1987)
Ash-sizedcrystalshards and erosion channels
of quartz, plagioclase, observed;quartz-alunite
and biotite with alteration
devitrified ash
Quartz latite Quartz, feldspar,and Green to light gray quartz latite Not exposedon the surfaceof Middle
biotite; 15-25 percent porphyry;slightto moderate Buttes; not found in the Shumake
phenocrysts;avg 2-3 alteration deposit
mm diam
Symplecticrhyolite 25-35 percent White to light gray rhyolite Always altered on Middle Buttes;
phenocrysts;feldspar porphyry; quartz phenocrysts similar,freshfragmentsfoundin
(20%), quartz (3-9%), 1-10 mm long, strongly volcaniclasticdepositsin the
biotite, amphibole, embayed;feldspar Rosamond Hills
pyroxene, opaques(1- phenocrysts1-6 mm;biotite
2%); groundmass of altered to sericite;
devitrified glass groundmassaphaniticwith
abundant sericite; quartz
veinlets common
Vent breccia Roundedporphyritic Matrix supported;lithic Vent breccia pipe structurein center
rhyolite and quartz fragmentsapprox 10 percent of the Shumakedeposit;120 m
monzonitefragments;1- of unit; matrix is fine quartz long, 50 rn wide, depth into
to 60-cm diam, avg 2 to and feldspar(5-10/•m) with basement
15 cm; somefragments larger grainsasphenocrysts;
contain truncated quartz texturesdestroyedby sericite
veinlets
Porphyritic rhyolite 20-25 percent Similar to symplecticrhyolite; Most abundant unit in Shumake
phenocrysts;feldspar quartz phenocrysts1-6 mm depositand on the north half of
(20%), quartz (2-5%), and only slightlyembayed; Middle Buttes
biotite, amphibole, alteration as above
pyroxene, opaques
Quartz monzonite 40 percent K feldspar;25 Equigranularand holocrystalline; Basement,part of Sierra Nevada
percent plagioclase;25 rare porphyritic and batholith; compositionvariesto
percent quartz; up to 8 pegmatitic varieties granodiorite
percent biotite crystals
1-5 mm diam

Mineralization The Cactusveincanbe tracedfornearly2 kmalong

strike andover 400 m downdip.Much of the Cactus
Massive,2- to 5-m-thick, quartz veinsare located vein is brecciated and rehealed with later quartz
at the top andbaseof the deposit(Fig. 4). The Shu- which is sometimesbanded. These textures suggest
make vein, top, is subparallelto topographyand episodicmineralization.The quartzis characterized
strikesaboutN 70ø E and dips 20ø to 70ø W. The by a reticulatedor felted texture in contrastto the
Cactusvein is near the contactbetween the quartz veryfinequartzof the Shumakevein.The Cactusvein
monzonitebasementand the rhyolites and strikes is characterized by fine-grainedsulfides,typicallyless
aboutN 45ø E anddipsabout30ø SE.
The Shumakevein is composed of white, massive, than 5 but up to 15 percentof thevein.Arsenopyrite
fine-grained,granular, interlockingquartz and is and pyrite comprise 95 percentof the total sulfides.
sometimes chertyandbanded.Grainsizerangesfrom Remaining metallic mineralsinclude chalcopyrite,
1 to 10/•m andoccasionally up to 50/•m. The vein is chalco½ite, galena, tetrahedrite-tennantite,
covellite,
intensely fractured and oxidized, with fractures proustite,stromeyerite, andgold(Fig.5). Mostof the
coated with dark brown iron oxides. vein is oxidized; fracturesare coatedwith dark brown
1650 BLASKEET,4L.

•9600NE %x

/
60 Meters
N +++++++++
+++++++++
++
++

+++ +++
+++++

+"+'4-
+ + +

+ + + +

+ + +

VVVV•/
VVVVV x
vv VVVVV\'
VVVVVVV
VVVVVVVV

v vVvVWvVvW
9000 NE A' v
VVVVVVVVVVVVVV
VVV•/ VVVX/" ....
VV\ ½
Prince
Deposit v NE
V

•'1 Quartz
Monzonite Rhyolite •-• Symplectic
[• Porphyritic Rhyolite

• Vent
Breccio J• Veins
Quartz •.•ø•'
Drill
Hole
206Locotion

FIG. 3. Generalizedbed-rockgeologicmapof the Shumakedeposit.Numerousfaultsandfractures

not shown.Largely basedon drill hole data becauseof limited outcrop.Crosssectionlines include
drillholelocations
sampled
for geochemistry. StarredholeswerealsousedforXRD analysis of alteration
minerals.A-A'islocationof generalized
geologiccrosssection(Fig.4) andalterationcrosssection(Fig.
8). Northwestern sideof depositwaslargelycoveredby aeoliansands beforemining.

iron oxides, but local unoxidized zones contain abun-

approximately10 mm. Fine chertyquartzandadularia
dant disseminated sulfide minerals. are associated
with theseveinlets.Late vuggyquartz
Stockwork,oftenvuggy,quartzveinletsup to 5 veinletscut both massivequartz veinsand the sur-
mm wide are foundthroughoutthe mineralizedzone roundingrhyolite.At leastthree generations of these
withmoderatesericitealterationof adjacentrhyolite. veinletsindicatemultipleepisodesof fracturingand
Theseveinletsrangein thickness
fromhairlineup to silicification.
Gold and silverin the Shumakedepositis foundin
both veins and stockwork. Grades in the Cactus vein
rangefrom 1 to 25 ppm Au and 3 to 30 ppm Ag. The
•, Massive
QuartzVeins
Shumakevein carriesi to 2 ppm Au, with 10 to 100
•L• Symplectic
Rhyohte ppm Ag. Numeroussmallerveins(lessthan i m thick)
] VentBreccia occurthroughoutthe deposit;thosein the upperpart
'[• Porphyntic
Rhyolite are roughlyparallelto the Cactusvein andcarry un-
usuallyhigh silvervalues(up to 150 ppm) andup to
20 ppm gold. Most of the ore is in altered domal
rhyolitic lavasbetweenthe two major veins.Grades
+ + + + + of low-gradeore typically range up to 2 ppm gold.
Highestgold gradesare in the center of the deposit
and become lower toward the northeastern and
• + +

+ + southwesternends(Fig. 6). The Cactusvein dips to

the southwesternend of the depositwhere it is trun-
catedby a major fault. This fault separatesthe Shu-
make depositfrom what is termed the SilverPrince
depositto the southwest(Fig. 3). The highestsilver
FIG. 4. Generalized geologic crosssection of the Shumake valuesin the SilverPrince depositare in the Cactus
deposit. See Figure 3 for location. Discussionin text. vein.
 SHUMAKE
DEPOSIT,
MOJAVE
DESERT,
CA 1651

w
Early Late Oxidation
Pyrite
Marcasffe
Arsenopyrite
Sphalerite
(-- Chalcopyrite
ß-- Galena
(D Tet.
- Tenn.
o •' Chalcocite
Gold
Proustire
E E E --
0 -- 0 0
z Stromeyerite
o N/ Covellite

N
L_Goeth.-
• Sericite
Scorodite
Red
Limonite
Kaolinire O O -- O
'--'-- (D (D
X/ Adularia

•
•) Aiunite
Quartz: __

Massive
-- __

(./') Veinlets ?--- ?-- ---1 J

FIG. 5. Paragenesis of mineralassemblages from the Shumakedeposit.Hypogenesulfideminerals
are confinedto the Cactusvein and one small area within the altered rhyolite of the deposit.

Most gold in the depositis associated with a per- iron oxide and scoroditeas native gold particlesup
vasiveoxidationassemblage, alongfracturesandfill- to 10 •tmin diameter,typicallylessthan2 •tm.Within
ingsinsidelate vuggyquartzveinlets.Goldis within the Cactusvein,alongthe frontbetweenthe oxidized
and unoxidizedvein material, pyrite is commonly
rimmedby limonite,covellitereplacesother copper
minerals,andchrysocollais rare on fractures.In the
oxidizedzone mostprimary sulfideshave been re-
moved,exceptfor rare remnantgrainswith diameters
of lessthan 1 •tm. Goldis associated with the primary
sulfideassemblage in the Cactusvein. Within the
Shumakedepositgoldis alsohostedby vuggyquartz
veinletsasparticlesup to 10 •tmacrossandoccasional
dendritic crystallinemassesup to 200 •tm across.
9600 NE GOLD Fluid inclusionsof sufficientsize for analysisare
commonin vuggyquartz (late) and rare in massive
quartz(earlyto middle;Fig. 5). Relativelyisolated
inclusionsand thosealonggrowth planesare inter-
pretedasprimaryandrangein sizefrom5 to 10 •tm,
althougha few arebigger.Theyhaveconstant liquid
3000' -- I to vapor ratios, between 15 to 20 percentvapor by
volumeandlackevidencefor boiling.Thoseinclusions
2900'
--L•i
• locatedalongfracturesare secondary,and when in
doubt,an inclusionwasconsideredto be pseudosec-
9000 NE GOLD ondary.Primaryand pseudosecondary inclusions in
the vuggyquartzhomogenized at about210øC (Fig.
7). Secondary inclusionsfrommassive quartzhavea
similarrangebut are skewedto the highertempera-
ture end. Homogenizationtemperaturesapproximate
the eraplacementtemperaturesincepressurecorrec-

3000'
--_•'•,•.•'•'s
• tionsare probablysmall.

Alteration
8600 NE GOLD Hydrothermal
alterationis pervasive.
Earlyalter-
ationof the rocksis characterizedby pervasivesilic-
FIG. 6. Gold distributionon crosssectionsthrough the Shu-
make deposit. Section locationsare given in Figure 3. Contour
ification.Stronglysilicifiedrhyolite,with quartzce-
interval is 0.5 ppm. Arrowsindicatedrill hole locations.Elevations mentedbrecciaaroundthe margins,is locatedat the
are in feet above mean sea level. southernendof the deposit.Thisrockcontainsup to
1652 BLASKE ET AL.

as an envelopeup to 5 m thick aroundthe massive

Primary quartzveinsandassmallpodswithin the rhyolite,is
a soft,crumblymassof sericiteclaywith relict quartz
N=65
206.8' C A phenocrystsand booksof sericiteafter biotite. Ex-
treme sericitealterationrepresentsnearly complete
replacementof the originalrockcomponents. In areas
of extremesericitealterationquartzveinletsare rare.
The basementcrystallinerocksof the Shumakede-
posithavebeensericitically andpropyliticallyaltered.
Below the Cactus vein, sericite alteration decreases
in intensityand gradesinto the propyliticalteration.
Propylitic alteration is characterizedby chlorite,
Homogenization
Temperature(*C)
abundanteuhedralpyrite, slightsericitizationof pla-
gioclase,and rare calcite.
Advancedargillicalteration,limited to the eastern
edgeof the deposit,is comprisedof aluniteandwhite
Pseudosecondary kaolinitc(Fig. 8). Microscopicallythe aluniteresem-
.9 bles sericitebut is more tabular in appearancewith
•N=61
= 224.6"C B meangrain size of about 50 t•m. Kaolinitcoccursas
fine gray dustingin the rock, confirmedwith XRD
techniques.The advancedargillicallyaltered rocks
containtraceamountsof goldandare locatedoutside
of the orebodyitself. This alterationis interpreted as
• u3 0 u') 0 u') 0 tO 0 relatedto the upperpartsof the hydrothermalsystem
Z ('•
•-
u3
,--
r'-.
•--
o
('•
•
•
u5
('•
i•
•
o
1"3 that is mostly eroded away. Thus, Shumake-type
HomogenizotionTempefuture (øC) quartz, sericite, and minor adularia mineralization
mightexistbeneaththe otherknownsmallgold-bear-
ing acid sulfatedepositson Middle Buttes.Two of
thesenew explorationtargetswere drilledearly 1990
Secondary andconfirmdeeperquartzand sericitestockworkal-
teration,but the economicpotentialis stillunknown.
N=26
253.1 'C Alunite is hypogenebasedon a Tertiary K-Ar age.
Lightto darkbrowngoethiteandlimonitestaining
and scoroditecrustsand colloformgrowthsare per-
vasivethroughoutthe Shumakedepositas fracture
Z ed
•-
•
--
r•
•"
o
('•
c•
('•
u5
('•
i•.
•1
o
1"3
coatings
andfillingsinsidelatevuggyquartzveinlets.
Homogenization
Temperature(øC)
Remnantsulfidessuggest that muchof the oxidation
mayhavebeenreplacement
of preexisting
sulfides.
FIG. 7. Homogenizationtemperaturesof primary (A) and Red kaolinitc is most abundant from the surface down
pseudosecondary (B) fluid inclusions
from vuggyquartzveinlets, to about30 m aroundthe marginsof the depositand
and secondary(C) fluid inclusionsfrom fractured,massivevein
quartz from the Shumakedeposit. downto about100 m in the center (Fig. 8). Red ka-
olinitc(1Md) is a sticky,red, oftenlaminatedclay
usuallyoccurringas fracturecoatingsup to 10 mm
thick and often contains small amounts of sericite.
5 percent sulfides, mostly pyrite, marcasite,and
sphalerite,and containstrace amountsof gold and Flowpatterns
in theredkaolinitcsuchasflutings
and
low amounts of silver. The deposition of massive accumulation
of clayon the leewardsideof quartz
quartz veins, suchas the Cactusvein, began during crystals
projectingintoopenfractures showthatthe
thisearly silicification.However,growthof thisvein claywastransported
byascending fluidsassuspended
floccules.
wasprobablyepisodicthroughoutthe entire hydro-
thermal event, as indicatedby multiple generations
of quartz that are presentasbandedbrecciacement Geochemical Character
within the vein. Sericite and associated stockwork
quartzveinletsoccurthroughoutthe deposit(Fig. 8). A total of 200 samplesfrom the depositwere an-
BasedonX-ray diffractionstudies,the sericiteismus- alyzedby ICP for 31 elements.
All of thesamples
are
covite-illite(2M]). Sericiteoccursin fine-grainedfi- from abovethe oxidationboundary.All elementsap-
brousaggregates between 10 and 100 t•m long and proximatea lognormaldistribution,skewedto the
typicallyreplacesup to 25 percentof all components highvalueswiththerangeandgeometric means(log-
of the rockexceptquartz.Extremesericitealteration, normalized)for severalgivenin Figure9. The Shu-
 SHUMAKEDEPOSIT,MOJAVEDESERT,CA ] 653

Stockwork
Veinletsond Sericite .... Oxidation Boundary

Advonced
Argillic 30 Meters
RedKoolinite

:":z:•
Extreme
Sericite
':"\ \ \

FIG. 8. Generalizedcrosssectionof the types of alterationat the Shumakedeposit.Oxidation

boundaryis approximate locationof upperlimit of unoxidizedrocksandis coincidentwith present-
day water table. Sectionlocationis givenin Figure 3.

makedepositis characterized by extremelyhighab- At severalotherexplorationtargetsonthe western

solutevaluesof Au, Ag, Hg, As, andSb,whereasCu sideof MiddleButtes,the Cactusveincropsout and
andPb arehighrelativeto Clarkesfor theseelements. rhyolitic domal rocks and associatedalteration are
Trace elementinterrelationships andpatternswithin similar to the Shumakedeposit except that the ex-
the depositarecomplex.Mostlinearcorrelationcoef- treme sericiteenvelopeis not developedaroundthe
ficientsare not significant.
One of the strongercor- Cactusvein. The silicifiedrhyolite domesabovethe
relationsis betweenAg and Hg at 0.61; their con- Cactus vein in these targets contain only trace
touredcrosssectionsare similar(Fig. 10). Geochem- amountsof gold.The Shumakevein is missingfrom
ical variationsare the result of the hydrothermal thesetargetsdueto eithererosionor absence.Perhaps
systemsinceall hostrocksare chemicallysimilarto the Shumakevein played a critical role in the for-
one another. mation of ore-grademineralizationat the Shumake
The elements Au, As, and Cu tend to follow the deposit.If at leastpart of the Shumakevein formed
Cactusvein and occur within the altered rhyolite early, then it couldhaveactedasa barrier to hydro-
domesdirectlyabovethisvein (Fig. 10). High abso- thermalfluidmovement.Geochemical patternsof Hg,
lute valuesof Hg, Ag, Zn, Mn, Mg, V, andSr tend to As, Sb, andAg supportthisidea sincethey all show
follow the Shumake vein and also are found in the highsbeneaththe Shumakevein.
rhyolitesdirectlybelowthisvein.High Sbiscentered
on the breccia.The elementsFe, Ca, A1,K, P, Ti, Ni, Discussion
and Cr tend to be dispersedbut are higherin the
rhyolite(similarto K in Fig. 10). The amountsof Mn, Domes of rhyolitic lava were emplacedduring
Ag, andZn tend to be greaterin rhyolitesabovethe Miocenetime ontop of the Cretaceous plutonicbase-
Shumake vein and this enriched area correlates with ment at the Shumakedeposit.Pyroclasticrockswere
the areaof mostintenseironoxidestaining. Basement eruptedthroughtheseearlydomesandwere followed
rocksare characterizedby highestvaluesof Pb and closelyby the eruptionof subsequent rhyolitedomes.
Mo. Plangeochemical mapsof the Shumakedeposit Althoughsomehydrothermal alterationmayhaveac-
showthe samerelationships. The spatialgeochemical companiedthe early domes,the extensivealteration
variationssuggestthat the hypogenefluid movement within the Shumakedepositoccurredafter emplace-
wasdominatedby the Cactusand Shumakefracture mentof the rhyolitedomes.Sincethe hydrothermal
systems. systemwasactiveduringvolcanismon Middle Buttes,
1654 BLASKE ET AL.

100,000--
Fe Repetitionof this cycle producesintermittentfluid
50,000
flow. Faulting probablyprovidedboth the perme-
20,000 ability and the drivingmechanismfor hydrothermal
10,000- fluidsat the Shumakedeposit.
5000 Hydrothermalfluids movedupward throughthe
2000 Cactusvein andthen throughthe Shumakevein. Ini-
1000-- tial depositionof fine-grainedsilicain the upperparts
500
of the Shumakevein might have provideda barrier
to upwardmovementof hydrothermalfluids.The in-
200 terveningrhyolitesandveinsbecamesealedby pre-
100 cipitationof mineralsfrom the hydrothermalfluids
50
but were periodicallyopenedby faultingand asso-
20 ciated fracturing.This resultedin multiple genera-
10 tionsof veinlets(stockwork).Faulting and associated
5 fracturingandoxidationof the primarysulfideassem-
2
blagein the depositoccurredduringthermalcollapse
1 of the hydrothermalsystem.Oxidationis a resultof
0.5
upward-moving fluidsbasedon textures.This oxida-
tion producedthe goethite,limonite,and scorodite
0.2 that host mostof the gold and silverin the deposit,
0.1 as well as the red kaolinitc. However, much of the
0.05
oxidationassemblage mayreplacepreexisting sulfides
0.02 which are knownto hostgold.
0.01 - The Shumakedepositis similarin manybut not all
ß All Sorepies(N = 200) aspectsto the adularia-sericite-type volcanic-hosted
epithermal,preciousmetal depositof Heald et al.
-, Altered Rhyolite(N = 140)
(1987). Mineralogically,the Shumakedepositfitsthis
.• ShumokeVein (N = 19) modelwell, with no enargite,dominantsericite(illitc-
, Coctus Vein (N = 9) muscovite)alteration, and quartz-adulariaveinlets.
Rhyolitichost-rockcomposition andpaleohydrologic
• Quartz Monzonite (N = 32)
conditionsalsofit thisdeposittype. Alunite-whiteka-
FIG. 9. Absolute abundance of selected elements from the
olinitc (advancedargillic) alterationis not presentin
Shumakedepositasdetermined by ICP analysis.Rangeand geo- the zonesof gold mineralization.Rye et al. (1989)
metric meansfor all samplesand meansfor separaterock types. suggest thatsteam-heated acidsulfatealterationforms
above many adularia-sericitehydrothermalsystems
by the releaseof volatilesthroughboiling,similarto
basedon K-Ar agedates,perhapsthe heat sourcefor the model proposedby Buchanan(1981). By this
the hydrothermalsystemwas later rhyolite magma model, the Shumakevein might be the baseof the
chamberssuchasthoseofflow-bandedrhyolitedomes boiling horizonwithin the hydrothermalsystem,just
not eruptedin the Shumakedepositproper(Fig. 2). below the advanced argillic alteration. However,
The Cactusand Shumakeveins were likely the there is no evidencefrom the fluid inclusionsto sup-
dominantfluid pathways.The Cactusvein followsa portboiling.The closetemporalrelationshipbetween
fault between basement and volcanic domes. Periodic volcanismandore deposition,the porphyritictexture
tectonicactivityrelatedto the SanAndreasfault sys- of the domalhostrocks,and the geologicsettingin
temprobablykeptthishydrologicpathwayopendur- the vent area of a near-surfacedome complexbest
ing the entire life of the hydrothermalsystemconsis- matchthe acidsulfatetype of deposit.
tent with textural data. The Shumake vein and the
Conclusions
numerousfractures(now stockworkveinlets)are in-
terpretedasdirectlyrelatedto regionalfaulting,cre- Thisreportprovidesa descriptionof the Shumake
ating secondarypermeabilityfor fluid movement. volcanicdome-hostedgold deposit.
Vein texturessuggestthat hydrothermalfluid move-
ment wasepisodic.Fault-controlledepisodicminer- 1. The Shumakedepositishostedin rhyoliticdome
alizationcanbe explainedby seismicallyinducedmi- rocksand vent breccia rocksof Miocene age in the
grationof hydrothermalfluids(Sibsonet al., 1975; westernMojave desert. These rockswere erupted
Sibson,1981, 1987). Fluidsmigrateinto fracturepo- onto and rest unconformablyon Cretaceous-age
rosityof the largedilatantzonedevelopedaroundan quartzmonzoniteof the SierraNevadabatholith.
epicenterandfault failureexpelsthe fluidsupward. 2. Precious metal mineralization is hosted by
 SHUMAKE
DEPOSIT,
MOJAVE
DESERT,
CA 1655

50 pp• 40 pp?•-•
Molybd
Silver

5 ppm 2 ppm 20 ppm

Lea

2000 ppm 0.02 Wt.• •0ppm 10ppm

Distribution

FIG. 10. Absolutebulk-rock elemental abundance(ICP data) alongthe 9000 NE sectionthrough

the Shumakedeposit.Sectionlocationgivenin Figure 3. Contoursare in ppm (exceptpotassium)with
contourintervalgivenfor eachplot.Data distributionandgeneralizedgeologyareshownfor comparison.
CV = Cactusvein, PR = porphyriticrhyolite, QM -- quartz monzonite,SR = symplecticrhyolite, SV
= Shumake vein, VB = vent breccia.

quartz veins and stockworkveinlets. Vein mineral- laria. Extreme sericite alteration around the massive
izationis characterizedby arsenopyrite,pyrite, base veinsresultsin nearly completereplacementby ser-
metal sulfides,silversulfosalts, and gold. Stockwork icite. Above the silicic-sericite alteration is advanced
quartzveinletswithin the domalrhyolitescarrygold argillic alteration, alunite, and white kaolinite. Al-
in iron oxides, scorodite, and red kaolinite. Oxidation thoughrare in exposedrocks,advancedargillic al-
mineralsfollow fracturesand vuggyquartzveinlets teration is interpreted to be characteristicof the
and manymayhavebeen sulfidesprior to oxidation. preerosionconfigurationof the ore-formingsystem.
3. Alteration at the Shumakedeposit is zoned. This main-stage hypogenealterationwasfollowedby
Propyliticalterationat the baseof the depositis over- oxidationduringcollapseof the hydrothermal system.
lain by silicic-sericitealteration, replacementand 4. Mineralization and alteration were controlled
stockworkquartz and fine-grainedillite-muscovite. by structuralbreaksand abundantsmallerfractures.
Quartz veinlets also include minor amountsof adu- Elemental patterns suggestthat the veins were the
1656 BLASKE ET AL.

dominanthydrologicpathway.Permeabilitywas in- preciousmetaldeposit,KernCounty,California:Unpub.M.Sc.

thesis,MichiganTech. Univ., 247 p.
ducedby faulting. Bottaro, J. L., 1987, Geologyof the Middle Buttesvolcaniccom-
5. The importantgeologicfeature with regard to plex, Mojave district,Kern County, California:Unpub. M.Sc.
localizationof gold mineralizationat the Shumake thesis,California,SanJoseStateUniv., 94 p.
depositis a discontinuityat the contactbetween the Buchanan,L. J., 1981, Preciousmetal depositsassociatedwith
volcanic environments in the southwest: Geol. Soc. Arizona Di-
basementrocksandoverlyingrhyolitedomesthat fo- gest, v. 14, p. 237-262.
cusedthe paleohydrologicsystem.Faulting and as- Dibblee, T. W., Jr., 1963, Geology of the Willow Springsand
sociatedfracturingkept openthe hydrologicpathways Rosamondquadrangles,California: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull.
long enough to generate economicmineralization. 1089-C, 253 p.
Faultingwasthe drivingmechanismof hydrothermal -- 1967, Areal geologyof the westernMojave Desert, Cali-
fornia:U.S. Geol. SurveyProf. Paper 522, 153 p.
fluid movement. While heat for the hydrothermal Heald, P., Foley, N. K., and Hayba, D. O., 1987, Comparative
systemwasprovidedby magmabodies,faultingpro- anatomyof volcanic-hosted,epithermal deposits:Acid-sulfate
vided conduitsand pumpedthe heated ore-bearing and adularia-sericitetypes:ECON.GEOL.,v. 82, p. 1-26.
fluidsupward. McCusker,R. T., 1982, Geologyof the Soledadmountainvolcanic
complex,Mojave Desert, California:Unpub. M.Sc. thesis,Cal-
Acknowledgments ifornia, San JoseState Univ., 113 p.
We thank the CactusGold Mines Companyand Rye, R. O., Bethke,P.M., andWasserman,M.D., 1989, Diverse
originsof aluniteandacid-sulfate
alteration:Stableisotopesys-
CoCa Mines, Inc., for providingaccessto the mine, tematics:U.S. Geol. Survey Open-File Rept. 89-5, 33 p.
unpublishedreportsandmaps,drill hole logsandas- Sibson,R. H., 1981, Fluid flow accompanyingfaulting:Field ev-
sayresults,ICP geochemical data,andpermission to idence and models:Am. Geophys.Union, Maurice Ewing Ser.,
publishthismanuscript.
Financialsupportfor thisre- v. 4, p. 593-603.
-- 1987, Earthquakerupturingasa mineralizingagentin hy-
searchwasprovidedby the CactusGold MinesCom- drothermal systems:Geology, v. 15, p. 701-704.
panyandthe Departmentof Interior'sMineralInsti- Sibson,R. H., Moore, J. McM., and Rankin,A. H., 1975, Seismic
tute Programadministeredby the U.S. Bureauof pumping--a hydrothermaltransport mechanism:Geol. Soc.
Mines under grant Gl194126. An early draft LondonJour., v. 131, p. 653-659.
of the manuscriptwas improvedby commentsof Sillitoe, R. H., Grauberger, G. L., and Elliott, J. E., 1985, A dia-
S. D. McDowell andW. I. Rose.Reviewsby Economic treme-hostedgolddepositat MontanaTunnels,Montana:ECON.
GEOL.,v. 80, p. 1707-1721.
Geologyrefereesfurther improvedthe manuscript. Troxel, B. W., and Morton, P. K., 1962, Mines and mineral re-
September14, 1990;April 30, 1991 sourcesof Kern County, California: California Div. Mines
Geology, County Rept. 1,370 p.
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Wilkins, J., Jr., 1984, The distributionof gold and silverbearing
Blaske,A. R., 1990, Alteration, mineralization,and geochemistry depositsin the BasinandRangeprovince,westernUnitedStates:
of the Shumakedeposit:A volcanicdome-hostedepithermal Geol. Soc. Arizona Digest, v. 15, p. 1-27.