Premium
Gold‐bearing Quartz Veins and Hydrothermal Alteration of the Paleozoic Epithermal System in the Francis Creek Area, North Queensland, Australia
Author(s) -
Harijoko Agung,
Watanabe Koichiro,
Motomura Yoshinobu,
Izawa Eiji
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
resource geology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.597
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1751-3928
pISSN - 1344-1698
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-3928.2002.tb00145.x
Subject(s) - geology , geochemistry , hydrothermal circulation , quartz , arsenopyrite , sulfide minerals , mineralization (soil science) , stibnite , chalcedony , mineralogy , galena , paleozoic , vein , breccia , volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposit , carboniferous , ore genesis , fluid inclusions , pyrite , chalcopyrite , sphalerite , calcite , structural basin , geomorphology , chemistry , paleontology , psychology , organic chemistry , copper , psychiatry , soil science , soil water
. The Francis Creek area located at the Sybil graben in North Queensland, Australia, has some features of epithermal gold mineralization such as gold‐bearing quartz vein and silica body hosted in rhyodacitic rocks of the Late Carboniferous Hells Gate Formation. In order to understand the nature of the paleo‐hydrothermal activity in this area and to aid exploration for an economic gold deposit in this area, we carried out hydrothermal alteration mapping surrounding the veins and silica body, over an area of about 7 times 5 km 2 . We defined two alteration zones and inferred the center of hydrothermal activity. Fluid inclusion shows the boiling feature, and the microthermometry analysis resulted in the trapping temperature of 240°C and low salinity. This temperature is consistent with the formation temperature of clay mineral in the host rocks. On the basis of whole‐rock composition, the silica body was identified as silicified rocks. Precious metal minerals such as electrum and acanthite coexist with sulfide minerals. Iodagylite was identified as a product of weathering. The sulfide minerals imply that the low‐sulfidation epithermal gold mineralization occurred in the Francis Creek area.