How are IOCG deposits formed?

One of the biggest factors in the formation of IOCG deposits is the presence of ore fluids. Highly oxidized fluids such as a meteoric or ground waters. Brines of magmatic hydrothermal fluid or fluids that have reacted with metamorphic rocks, that are deep sourced and high temperature.

What is Iocg Mineralisation?

Iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) deposits (Hitzman et al., 1992) are a diverse family of mineral deposits characterised by the following features: (1) Cu with or without Au, as economic metals, (2) hydrothermal ore styles and strong structural controls, (3) abundant magnetite and/or hematite, (4) Fe oxides with Fe/Ti …

Is copper found in iron?

In many places around the world, such as Chile and Sweden, copper and gold have also been found near certain iron ores, a fact that has led researchers to believe that these “big three” were formed at the same time, deep down in the crust of the earth.

Does copper ore contain gold?

“A copper deposit can contain from one to 150 million tonnes, while the quantity of gold varies from ten tonnes to 2,500 tonnes per deposit,” continues Chiaradia.

How are porphyry copper deposits formed?

Porphyry copper deposits are copper ore bodies that are formed from hydrothermal fluids that originate from a voluminous magma chamber several kilometers below the deposit itself. In later stages, circulating meteoric fluids may interact with the magmatic fluids.

Where is chalcocite found?

Chalcocite is sometimes found as a primary vein mineral in hydrothermal veins. However, most chalcocite occurs in the supergene enriched environment below the oxidation zone of copper deposits as a result of the leaching of copper from the oxidized minerals. It is also often found in sedimentary rocks.

What does Cu Au mean?

Group 11, by modern IUPAC numbering, is a group of chemical elements in the periodic table, consisting of copper (Cu), silver (Ag), and gold (Au).

Is gold found in iron?

Gold in its natural mineral form almost always has traces of silver, and may also contain traces of copper and iron. The color of pure Gold is bright golden yellow, but the greater the silver content, the whiter its color is.

Is gold ever found with iron?

There are a number of different rocks and minerals that are found near gold or are part of gold deposits. Iron, Lead, Pyrite and Magnetite: These are heavier metals and minerals that are often associated with the location of gold deposits.

What ore is gold found in?

This is why gold is often found with quartz. These are known as primary gold deposits and to extract the gold the rock containing the veins of gold has to be dug up (mined), crushed and processed. Alluvial gold.

What elements are in copper ore?

Introduction. Chalcophile (ore/copper/bronze-loving): The chalcophile elements predominantly represent sulfide ores. The elements include antimony, arsenic, bismuth, cadmium, copper, gallium, germanium, indium, lead, mercury, polonium, selenium, silver, sulfur, tellurium, thallium, tin, and zinc.

What makes an IOCG deposit a magnetic deposit?

IOCG Exploration for IOCG’s can use a number of techniques, starting with the geophysical methods magnetics is a very valuable tool as IOCG systems are almost always have a magnetic signature and are caused by the abundant magnetite. On this magnetic image you can see Olympic Dam deposit standing out in reds and magentas.

What kind of ore is found in IOCG?

IOCG Iron Oxide Copper Gold Ore Deposits ore is often striking to look at and it is often very red from the hematite content, blue from bornite or yellow-green from various uranium oxides. You can see some of the oars from the Olympic Dam in this photo.

How old are iron oxide copper ore deposits?

IOCG Iron Oxide Copper Gold Ore Deposits goes with porphyries as they are also loosely associated with a large felsic intrusions and form at moderate depths, unlike the dominantly tertiary porphyries IOCG’s tend to be much older and are generally protoizoic in age from 1.1 to 1.8 billion years ago.

How is the crustal scale related to IOCG?

Crustal scale means that they penetrate well down into the crust often 20 km deep and they have strike lengths measured in tens or hundreds of kilometers. The key to the formation of IOCG’s that there has to be an abundance of oxidized groundwater in the country rock to mix with the magmatic water derived from the intrusion.

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