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Delineating the structural controls on iron oxide-Cu-Au deposit genesis through implicit modeling: A case study from the E1 Group, Cloncurry 3 District, Australia

Case, George, Blenkinsop, Thomas ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9684-0749, Chang, Zhaoshan, Huizenga, Jan Marten, Lilly, Richard and McLellan, John 2017. Delineating the structural controls on iron oxide-Cu-Au deposit genesis through implicit modeling: A case study from the E1 Group, Cloncurry 3 District, Australia. Characterization of Ore-Forming Systems from Geological, Geochemical and Geophysical Studies, Vol. 453. Geological Society of London,

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Abstract

Iron oxide–Cu–Au (IOCG) deposits encompass a range of ore body shapes, including strata-bound replacement ores and hydrothermal breccias. We use the implicit method to make a detailed three-dimensional geological model of a strata-bound IOCG in the Cloncurry District, the E1 Group, to elucidate structural controls on mineralization. This model is compared with the nearby, world-class, Ernest Henry breccia-hosted IOCG deposit. Cu–Au mineralization in the E1 Group occurs as structurally controlled, mainly strata-bound, replacement bodies hosted in metasedimentary and metavolcaniclastic rocks intercalated with barren meta-andesite. Replacement bodies in the E1 Group conform to a series of NNW-plunging folds formed in regional D2 during peak metamorphism. Folding was followed by local D3/regional D4 shortening, which formed a dextral, transpressional Riedel brittle to ductile system along the regional Cloncurry Fault Zone. Modelling suggests that much of the Cu–Au mineralization is controlled by synthetic R structures associated with this Riedel system. The deformation sequence at Ernest Henry is comparable, but differences in host rock rheology, permeability and fluid pressure may explain the variation in ore body types and total Cu–Au resource between the two deposits. The results carry implications for other districts containing these styles of IOCG mineralization.

Item Type: Book Section
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: Earth and Environmental Sciences
Subjects: Q Science > QE Geology
Publisher: Geological Society of London
Date of First Compliant Deposit: 14 December 2016
Date of Acceptance: 15 August 2016
Last Modified: 02 Nov 2022 09:57
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/96909

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