Hydrothermal alterations, geochemical vectoring, and their implications for the world-class Sossego IOCG deposit exploitation, Carajás Mineral Province, northern Brazil

Abstract

The IOCG-type world-class Sossego deposit is a complex within the Carajás Mineral Province, Amazonian Craton (northern Brazil), with high CuAu contents (Cu > 0.9 wt%) usually related to intensively hydrothermalized rocks. This deposit has the Pista, Sequeirinho/Baiano, and Sossego/Curral exploratory sectors. Their prevalent host lithologies are deformed or metamorphosed granitoids, felsic and mafic metavolcanics, and ultramafic rocks. Multivariate statistical analyzes of a broad whole-rock geochemical dataset (7834 samples) allow the characterization of the signatures of IOCG-style mineralization and constrain the conspicuous lithogeochemical units observed at the complex. Data treatment encompasses various diagrams based on the mineralogical association of these sectors and major and trace chemical elements that define parameters and limits for the characterization. The Pista sector reveals five lithogeochemical units, highlighting those with high silica and sodium and low iron values in areas closer to the ore zone. At the Sequeirinho/Baiano, nine units appear, where the distal portions to the ore zone reveal high sodium values; gradually changing to median values of sodium and calcium at the intermediate portion; and reaching high values of iron, calcium, and manganese closer to the mineralization. The Sossego/Curral sector has seven lithogeochemical units, where the more distal units to the mineralization zone have high sodium values, whereas those closer to the ore reveal enrichment in potassium, manganese, iron, and calcium. Implicit software-based 3D modeling and the AIOCG 1 and AIOCG 2 geochemical indices materialize these lithogeochemical units within vectors and visually show an enhanced geological overview of hydrothermal flows, their probable mineralogical paragenesis, and correlations with the mineralized zones. Hence, these results contribute to the Sossego Complex exploration, providing data for geometallurgical studies, mine operations improvement and predictability, safety increases, and better ore processing routines with expenditure reductions.