Mineral indicators of early magmatic to autometasomatic stages of the formation of Iron Oxide-Copper-Gold and Iron Oxide-Apatite mineralization in gabbroic rocks from Ildeus and Lucha intrusions (Stanovoy superterrane, Russian Far East)

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Abstract

Mesozoic subduction-related gabbroic and ultramafic rocks from the Ildeus and Lucha intrusions in the central part of the Stanovoy superterrane contain microinclusions of iron-titanium oxides (magnetite, titanomagnetite, ilmenite, rutile, and titanite), apatite, sulfates (barite) and sulfides (pyrite, pyrrhotite, and chalcopyrite). Earlier, we attributed these minerals to the indicator ITOASS (Iron-Titanium Oxide–Apatite–Sulfate–Sulfide) assemblage for the Iron Oxide-Copper-Gold (IOCG) and Iron Oxide-Apatite (IOA) mineralization. The ITOASS assemblage is associated with hematite, silver chlorides, and native gold. Host minerals for ITOASS microinclusions are mostly plagioclase, pyroxenes, and high-Al amphibole, suggesting the late-stage magmatic origin of them. Late-stage magmatic amphiboles carry textural and compositional evidence for early stages of metasomatic alteration of minerals of ITOASS assemblage, that possibly indicate hydrothermal-metasomatic (autometasomatic) stage of the evolution of IOCG-IOA-type ore systems. We conclude that microinclusions of the ITOASS assemblages can be used for regional prespecting of iron oxide copper-gold and iron-oxide mineralization in accretionary-collisional structures of the Russian Far East.

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P. К. Кеpezhinskas

Institute of Tectonics and Geophysics Far East Branch RAS

Email: nberdnikov@yandex.ru
Russian Federation, Khabarovsk

N. V. Berdnikov

Institute of Tectonics and Geophysics Far East Branch RAS

Author for correspondence.
Email: nberdnikov@yandex.ru
Russian Federation, Khabarovsk

V. О. Krutikova

Institute of Tectonics and Geophysics Far East Branch RAS

Email: nberdnikov@yandex.ru
Russian Federation, Khabarovsk

N. S. Konovalova

Institute of Tectonics and Geophysics Far East Branch RAS

Email: nberdnikov@yandex.ru
Russian Federation, Khabarovsk

N. V. Kozhemyako

Institute of Tectonics and Geophysics Far East Branch RAS

Email: nberdnikov@yandex.ru
Russian Federation, Khabarovsk

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2. Fig. 1. а — Location of the Stanovoy superterrane and the Ildeus-Lucha magmatic ore system within the geologic structures of the Russian Far East according to (Kepezhinskas et al., 2024; Кepezhinskas et al., 2025). Principal structural units: 1 — Siberian craton; 2 — Stanovoy superterrane; 3 — Mongol-Okhotsk belt (T3–J2); 4 — Neoproterozoic terranes; 5—8 — terrane collages accreted in PZ1 (5), PZ3 (6), P2–T2 (7) and K2–N (8); б — schematic geologic map of Ildeus-Lucha magmatic ore system area; в, г — internal structure of the Ildeus (c) and Lucha (d) basic-ultrabasic intrusions.

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3. Fig. 2. Petrographic and geochemical features of gabbroic rocks from the Ildeus and Lucha basic-ultrabasic intrusions: а — melanocratic gabbro, б — leucocratic gabbro (Dunitovy area); в-trace element distribution in gabbroic rocks from the Ildeus and Lucha intrusions normalized to primitive mantle (McDonough, Sun, 1995). Mineral abbreviations in figures and figure captions follow the IMA nomenclature (Warr, 2021).

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4. Fig. 3. ITOASS assemblage microinclusions in the Ildeus gabbro: а — subisometric segregation of pyrite with barite, rutile, and quartz in amphibole; б — pyrite segregation with ilmenite and titanite in amphibole matrix; в-ilmenite intergrowth with rutile in amphibole; г — composite inclusion of pyrite, pyrrhotite, and chalcopyrite with barite, rutile and ilmenite in amphibole matrix; д — inclusion of chalcopyrite, barite, and hematite (?) in amphibole matrix; е — microinclusion of silver chloride (+Cu) in amphibole. BSE images.

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5. Fig. 4. ITOASS microinclusions in the Dunitovy area of the Lucha intrusion: а — ilmenite intergrowth with apatite in association with pyrite and biotite in plagioclase; б — pyrite grain with magnetite, hematite (?), chalcopyrite, and pyrrhotite inlcusions in association with Fe-actinolite and actinolite in clinopyroxene; в — inclusion of ilmenite, pyrite, apatite, and chlorite in orthopyroxene; г — inclusion of pyrite, hematite (?), and barite in amphibole-plagioclase matrix; д — inclusions of titanomagnetite rimmed by titanite and ilmenite at the contact between amphibole and clinopyroxene grains; е — inclusions of ilmenite in quartz-amphibole matrix; ж — needle-like ilmenite in association with actinolite in amphibole; з — needle-like ilmenite and native iron in association with biotite in plagioclase; и — microparticle of Cu–Ag–Au alloy with minor nickel. BSE images.

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6. Fig. 5. Microinclusions of Cu-Ag-Au alloys (а – in amphibole, б — in plagioclase, в — in chlorite) in gabbroic rocks from the Dunitovy area of the Lucha intrusion. BSE images.

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7. Fig. 6. Initial stages of metasomatic alterations of gabbroic rocks from the Dunitovy area of the Lucha intrusion: а — replacement of Al-rich amphibole with amphibole with lower Al and Mg contents in association with magnetite, ilmenite, pyrite, and plagioclase; б — replacement of late-magmatic low-Ti amphibole with quartz, ilmenite, and high-Ti amphibole aggregate; в — composite magnetite-pyrite inclusion with ilmenite and quartz in late-magmatic amphibole; г — inclusions of apatite, magnetite, ilmenite, and actinolite in late-magmatic amphibole; д — pyrrhotite inclusion in magmatic high-Al amphibole (Amp1) in association with low-Al amphibole, Co-bearing pyrite, and Cr-bearing magnetite; е — pyrite inclusion in association with pyrrhotite, native iron and chlorargyrite composite with native silver in actinolite. BSE images.

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8. Fig. 7. Microinclusions of silver and bismuth chlorides in igneous rocks from the Dunitovy area of the Lucha intrusion: а — composite microinclusion of silver chloride and native silver in plagioclase; б, в — bismoclite microinclusions in plagioclase (б) and amphibole (в). BSE images.

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9. Fig. 8. Silver sulfide miciroinclusions in igneous rocks from the Dunitovy area of the Lucha intrusion: а — acanthite microaggregate underlain by iron and copper oxides in aphibole-orthopyroxene matrix; б — aggregate of platy acanthite micrograins in biotite; в — acanthite microinclusion in amphibole-plagioclase matrix; г — acanthite microinclusion at the contact between corundum and amphibole grains; д — aggregate of acanthite micrograins in quartz-amphibole; е — aggregate of idiomorphic acanthite micrograins underlain by iron and copper oxides in amphibole. BSE images.

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10. Fig. 9. Microinclusions of iron, lead, zinc, molybdenum and arsenic sulfides in igneous rocks from the Dunitovy area of the Lucha intrusion: а–в — galena microinclusions in amphibole (а), biotite (б), and plagioclase (в); г — sphalerite microinclusion in quartz-calcite matrix; д — molybdenite microinclusion in amphibole-plagioclase matrix; е — arsenopyrite microinclusion in quartz-calcite matrix. BSE images.

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11. Fig. 10. Variations of sulfur isotopes in IOCG and IOA deposits, oceanic island basalts and sedimentary pyrite (Hammerli et al., 2021), freshwater and modern marine sulfates (Rojas et al., 2018). The range of δ34S in magmatic rocks («mantle» sulfur) and variations of δ34S in Mantoverde, Diego de Almagro, Candelaria, Alcaparra, El Laco, Cerro Negro Norte and El Romeral IOCG-IOA deposits after (Rojas et al., 2018), Olympic Dam IOCG deposit after (Schlegel et al., 2017), sulfides from the Ildeus and Lucha intrusions after (Buchko et al., 2002).

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