Hydrothermal alteration and mineralization of the prospects at the northern flank of the Baimka ore zone, Western Chukotka

Abstract

Background. Some papers describing the deposits and prospects in the Baimka ore zone (Baimka Trend), the Chukotka Autonomous Region have been recently published. It should be noted that those publications concern with the large Peschanka porphyry copper-molybdenum-gold deposit and Nakhodka ore field. At the same time, some copper prospects were found at the zone flanks and their nature is not clear. There are no data available in the literature that would clarify the mineralogy of hydrothermal alteration and ores at those prospects, including Top and Luchik located at the northern flank. To understand the nature of these prospects, we studied in depth mineralogy of hydrothermal alteration and ores.Aim. This study aims to describe mineralogy of metasomatic rocks and ores from the Top and Luchik prospects in the northern part of the Baimka zone, Western Chukotka.Materials and methods. Several dozen polished thin sections were microscopic studied at the Department of Mineralogy of Moscow State University using an optical microscope. The chemical composition of minerals was determined using electron microprobe at the Laboratory of Analytical Techniques of High Spatial Resolution, Department of Petrology and Volcanology, Moscow State University.Results. It was found that propylitic is the major hydrothermal alteration at the prospects studied here. Metasomatic rocks are cut by mineralized quartz and carbonate-quartz veins. Chalcopyrite and pyrite are the major ore minerals; galena, sphalerite, pyrite enriched in As and Sb, and marcasite are minor; Hg-bearing tetrahedrite-(Zn), native gold with the fineness of ~830, petzite, hessite, and acanthite are rare.Conclusions. The data obtained suggest that mineralization at the Top and Luchik prospect is attributed to the epithermal intermediate sulfidation type. Considering the occurrence of the epithermal mineralization in the upper part of the hydrothermal column and the porphyry mineralization in the Baimka zone, the porphyry mineralization is possible at depth at the Top and Luchik prospects.