Identifying Hydrothermal Alteration: Geochemical Particulars based on Lithogeochemical Data from the Kahang Cu Porphyry Deposit, Central Iran

Subject Areas : Mineralogy

Hamid Harati ¹ , Ahmad Khakzad ² , Nematollah Rashidnejad Omran ³ , Peyman Afzal ⁴ , Marzieh Hosseini ⁵ , Simin Harati ⁶

1 - Department of Geology, Payame Noor University, PO Box 19395-3697, Tehran, Iran
2 - Department of Geology, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
3 - Department of Geology, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
4 - Department of Mining Engineering, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
5 - National Iranian Copper Industries Company (NICICO), Kerman, Iran
6 - Department of Geology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2016-06-01 Accepted : 2016-06-01 Published : 2013-03-21

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Abstract :

Kahang Cu Porphyry deposit is situated in the central part of a major Iranian magmatic belt, Urumieh-Dokhtar, in central Iran.There are several sub-volcanic stocks (e.g., porphyric granitoids rocks, quartz monzonite, diorite and monzodiorite-monzogranite)within Eocene volcanic and pyroclastic rocks consisting of basaltic, trachy-andesite and dacitic rocks. Hydrothermal alterations at the Kahang deposit have an extended range and exhibit a concentric zoning pattern including potassic, phyllic, argillic and propylitic from the center to the margin. The aim of this study was to identify geochemical particulars by geochemical applications in 184 rock samples in these potassic, phyllic and argillic alteration zones. The results of this study show that there are high values of K, Mg and Cu in the potassic zone (located in the central part), main Mo anomalous parts and high Cu values can be found in the phyllic zone (eastern part), and high values of Au, Ti and Al are concentrated in the argillic zone (western part) . Overall, the Kahang deposit hosts Cu, Mo and Au mineralization in these three zones