Exploration For Orogenic Gold Deposits - Summary

SHORT COURSE
EXPLORATION FOR
OROGENIC GOLD DEPOSITS
MALAYSIA AND TAJIKISTAN
MARCH 2004
PRESENTER:
David I. Groves
INTRODUCTION
These short course notes mainly comprise published papers or papers in press, as these
adequately cover the range of topics presented in the short course. All of the critical figures are
presented in these papers and all of the critical concepts are covered. The papers contain
references to all the data and concepts discussed in the short course.
In this short course, orogenic gold deposits are defined to represent a coherent group of lode-
gold deposits which formed during compressional to transpressional deformation at convergent
plate margins in accretionary or collisional orogens (see cover of short course notes). They
include the majority of the gold deposits which have previously been termed gold-only, lode-
gold, mesothermal gold, turbidite-hosted, slate-belt hosted, greenstone-hosted, Archean-type or
Mother Lode-type deposits (see Groves et al., 1998, included in the short course notes). The
orogenic gold deposits are distinguished from the majority of other gold deposits (e.g. porphyry-
type, epithermal-type and volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS)-type) by one or more of : a)
overall lack of anomalous Cu, Zn, Pb concentrations, and absence of abundant Mo or Bi, b) high
Au:Ag ratios, normally >1 but rarely <0.1, c) high gold fineness, generally >900, d) abundance
of carbonate alteration for deposits in greenschist facies environments, e) low-salinity H2O-
CO2-CH4 fluid inclusions, with XCO2 >10 mole percent and 18O of fluids from 5-12 per mil,
and f) late structural timing, among other features. Some of the deposits termed intrusion-related
deposits (e.g. Sillitoe and Thompson, 1998: see Bibliography) are clearly not of the orogenic
group, simply in terms of their metal concentrations and ratios, but others could well be part of
the orogenic gold group. Further research is required to resolve this.
The orogenic lode-gold deposits are globally distributed, with mined deposits located on all
continents, except Antarctica. Over 70 significant provinces are known, as illustrated in Figure
1. As shown, Archaean, Palaeoproterozoic, Palaeozoic and Mesozoic belts host the majority of
deposits.
Figure 1 World map showing the age of crust and the location of significant orogenic gold provinces: adapted from Goldfarb et al. (submitted, fig.5)
Because of their strong tectonic control, the orogenic gold deposits tend to form provinces that
are elongate along the length of the orogenic belts in which they formed. This is best shown by
the distribution of Mesozoic and Palaeozoic deposits along orogenic belts of this age in Figure
2, and is discussed in detail in Goldfarb et al. (1998) in these short course notes. Similar
distributions exist in older belts, but these are less clear, as the orogenic belts have been
fragmented and reconstructed subsequently as part of the supercontinent cycle. As discussed in
the short course, tectonic reconstructions are required to determine the previous continuity of
the orogenic gold provinces in the Precambrian. These have exploration significance in that they
can define prospective parts of the Earth that once formed adjacent parts of the same orogenic
belts.
Figure 2 Distribution of orogenic gold provinces in largely circum-Pacific Mesozoic and

Palaeozoic orogenic belts: adapted from Goldfarb et at. (submitted, fig.8).
As the orogenic gold deposits are formed from deeply-sourced fluids as an integral part of the
tectonic processes operating during the latter part of convergent orogenesis, they can form at
varying depths in the crust within the hosting orogens. Thus, although most deposits,
particularly the world-class to giant deposits, hare hosted in greenschist-facies domains in
brittle-ductile environments, some deposits may be sited in amphibolite-, or even, granulite-
facies domains. This is the basis for the so-called continuum model which is described in
Groves et al. (1998) in the short course notes, based on an earlier formulation by Groves (1993:
in Bibliography), for example. In contrast, most of the other gold styles, such as porphyry and
epithermal styles, form at high levels of the crust in volcanic arc or back-arc environments.
These deposits are extremely vulnerable to erosion, with the result that they are abundant in
Cainozoic to Mesozoic belts, less common in Palaeozoic belts, and largely absent in
Precambrian terranes. In contrast, because of the deeper and later formation of the orogenic gold
deposits, and some anomalous Precambrian tectonic preservational-mechanisms discussed in
Goldfarb, Groves and Goldfarb (submitted: in the short course notes), they are distributed from
the Archaean to the Tertiary, as shown in Figure 3. The peaks of orogenic gold activity at ca
2800-2550Ma, 2100-1800Ma and 450-50Ma relate to the evolving tectonic process acting on a
cooling Earth, as discussed briefly in Goldfarb, Groves and Gardoll (submitted).
Figure 3 Temporal distribution of orogenic gold deposits using best approximations of gold
production and age for individual gold provinces: adapted from Goldfarb et al. (submitted, figs
3 and 4)
The broader aspects of the genesis of the orogenic god deposits, including tectonic setting,
structural controls and development of wallrock alteration (see Eilu et al. 1999, included with
the course notes for the latter), are well known. However, the ultimate source of the ore fluid
(derived from metamorphic devolatilisation of hosting supracrustal sequences, metamorphic
devolatilisation of subducted oceanic crust, magmatic fluids from granitoids or porphyries,
among other models, is still in debate. This is discussed in the short course. Most authors agree
that the gold is transported as a thiosulphide complex, to explain the low Cu, Zn, Pb and Ag
concentrations and the characteristic association with As, Sb, Te and W, and most agree that
desulfidation reactions are important, particulary for replacement deposits such as those in BIF,
but other depositional mechanisms are still debated. A review of the constraints is present in
Mikucki (1998), which is included in the short course notes.
As discussed in Groves et al. (2000) in the short course notes, the late timing of the orogenic
gold deposits means that, in most provinces, the geological maps and sections portray the
geometry of the gold-bearing systems at the time that they formed. This allows the use of
geology in exploration, on the assumption that the critical structural and host-rock controls are
represented by predictable geometries expressed on geological maps and sections. These can be
of high quality in well-prospected areas where there are good aeromagnetic and other
geophysical coverages. With the advent of digital map data and databases, it is now possible to
define those geological parameters which are critical controls on the location of gold provinces
and/or gold deposits and to use these in GIS-based geological prospectivity analysis. The
methodologies are described briefly in Groves et al. (2000) in the short course notes, with
specific emphasis on the Kalgoorlie Terrane of the Norseman-Wiluna Belt of the Yilgarn
Craton, Western Australia, the home of the giant Golden Mile orogenic gold deposit, but could
be applied anywhere in the world where there are high-quality geological data backed up by
interpretation of geophysical databases. The relevant stress mapping and prospectivity
methodologies are more intensively described by Ojala and Holyland (1997), Knox-Robinson
and Wyborn (1997) and Gardoll et al (2000) in the short course notes.
Once an anomaly has been identified during regional exploration, and drilling commences, it is
important to gain the maximum geological value from the drill core. In this respect, knowledge
of the zonal characteristics of typical wallrock assemblages in specific host rocks at specific
metamorphic grades is essential to provide vectors to ore. This, and the use of ultra-low-level
ore-related element geochemistry, as a vector to ore are discussed in the short course, and in the
paper by Eilu and Mikucki (1998), included in the course notes.
Geology is currently underused in gold exploration. It is the intention of this short course to
show that, with a good understanding of the fundamental processes operating to produce the
deposit style, including both deposit and genetic models, it is possible to use geological
relationships in a proactive and predictive way in gold exploration.

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SHORT COURSE

Figure 2 Distribution of orogenic gold provinces in largely circum-Pacific Mesozoic and

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