Mineralogy and Geochemistry Studies of the Sorkheh Sediment-hosted Stratiform Copper (SSC) Deposit, NW Iran

Subject Areas : Mineralogy

Shohreh Hassanpour ¹ , Saeedeh Senemari ²

1 - Department of Geology, Payame Noor University, Iran
2 - Department of Mining, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran

Received: 2016-08-08 Accepted : 2016-08-08 Published : 2015-09-23

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Abstract :

Ore-stage sulfides are zoned vertically and obliquely through the mineralized zones, from cupriferous sulfides at low stratigraphic levels to copper-rich mineralization above, with unreplaced pyrite remaining within the upper Miocene. The zoned sulfides and their replacement textures, configuration of the mineralized zones, and the position of ore stage mineralization adjacent to a stratigraphically defined redox transition from red beds upward into graybeds indicate an overprint of copper (and accompanying ore-stage metals) on originally pyritic gray beds. The influx of ore-stage metals, presumably in an oxidized low-temperature brine, terminated with a silicification event that effectively sealed the host sandstones. Consequently, these observations and the overall genetic interpretation are consistent with the general deposit-scale genetic model for early diagenetic SSC mineralization. The regional geologic context is also consistent with its classification as a SSC deposit and is hosted by sediments that were formed in association with evaporates at a low latitude in a Sabkha environment. Source of Sorkheh deposition has been indicated as a sedimentary arid type. Sandstones of the Sorkheh area tectonic settings are obtained in a passive continental margin.