Tectonic environment and metallogenesis of the gold and copper deposits of the Tapajós and Carajás mineral provinces

• Grant number: 03/09916-6
• Support Opportunities: PRONEX Research - Thematic Grants
• Start date: October 01, 2004
• End date: January 31, 2009
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Geology
• Agreement: CNPq - Pronex
• Principal Investigator: Carlos Roberto de Souza Filho
• Grantee: Carlos Roberto de Souza Filho
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências (IG). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Pesquisadores principais: Bernardino Ribeiro de Figueiredo ; Jacinta Enzweiler

Abstract

This Thematic Project aims to establish and to compare plausible genetic models and tectonic settings to which Au-(Cu) and Cu-Au deposits of the Amazonian Craton are likely to be associated, with emphasis on those temporally and/or spatially related to felsic intrusions. In this context, the project is a combination of studies involving geochemical and geochronogical characterization of felsic intrusive rocks, description of hydrothermal alteration styles, paragenesis and ore mineral chemistry, isotopic composition and signature of mineralizing fluids, definition of mechanisms of ore deposition, and modelling of the evolution of hydrothermal systems through time. In this view, numerous Au-(Cu) deposits were selected as case studies in the Teles Pires-Peixeto Azevedo sector (MT) of the Tapajós Province, whereas the focus in the Carajás Province will be on the ill-defined but wealthy Cu-Au-Fe-oxide deposits of Sossego and 118. In both Mineral Provinces, the deposits selected as case studies are economically of significant importance. The Teles Pires-Peixoto Azevedo sector of the Tapajós Province includes an impressive number of Au-(Cu) deposits, host by Paleoproterozoic (1,8 -1,7 Ga) granitic rocks, from which some 160t of gold were extracted between 1980 and 1999. The Sossego and 118 Cu-Au-Fe-oxide deposits of the Carajás Province will become actual mines in 2003 and 2004, with total exploitable resources around 1.429 Mt @ 1,15% Cu. From the scientific standpoint, this research will contribute for a better understanding of the relation between fluid generation in granitic magmas and the evolution of hydrothermal-magmatic systems, with or without involvement of externaI fluids, and the deposition of Cu, Au and associated metals in the Tapajós and Carajás Mineral Provinces. From the economic perspective, the construction of a new and comprehensive geological record and the establishment of conceivable genetic models and related tectonic settings are of key importance to foster novel mineral exploration strategies and to encourage geologists to revisit and re-evaluate the potencial of known deposits. (AU)

Scientific publications

(9)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

COTTA, ALOISIO J. B.; ENZWEILER, JACINTA. Classical and New Procedures of Whole Rock Dissolution for Trace Element Determination by ICP-MS. GEOSTANDARDS AND GEOANALYTICAL RESEARCH, v. 36, n. 1, p. 27-50, MAR 2012. (03/09916-6)

BUENO COTTA, ALOISIO JOSE; ENZWEILER, JACINTA. Quantification of major and trace elements in water samples by ICP-MS and collision cell to attenuate Ar and Cl-based polyatomic ions. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, v. 24, n. 10, p. 1406-1413, 2009. (03/09916-6)

SOARES MONTEIRO, LENA VIRGINIA; XAVIER, ROBERTO PEREZ; HITZMAN, MURRAY W.; JULIANI, CAETANO; DE SOUZA FILHO, CARLOS ROBERTO; CARVALHO, EMERSON DE R.. Mineral chemistry of ore and hydrothermal alteration at the Sossego iron oxide-copper-gold deposit, Carajas Mineral Province, Brazil. ORE GEOLOGY REVIEWS, v. 34, n. 3, p. 317-336, NOV 2008. (03/09916-6)

MONTEIRO‚ L.V.S.; XAVIER‚ R.P.; DE CARVALHO‚ E.R.; HITZMAN‚ M.W.; JOHNSON‚ C.A.; DE SOUZA FILHO‚ C.R.; TORRESI‚ I.. Spatial and temporal zoning of hydrothermal alteration and mineralization in the Sossego iron oxide-copper-gold deposit‚ Carajás Mineral Province‚ Brazil: Paragenesis and stable isotope constraints. MINERALIUM DEPOSITA, v. 43, n. 2, p. 129-159, 2008. (03/09916-6)

MAGALHAES, LUCIOLA ALVES; SOUZA FILHO, CARLOS ROBERTO. Targeting of Gold Deposits in Amazonian Exploration Frontiers using Knowledge- and Data-Driven Spatial Modeling of Geophysical, Geochemical, and Geological Data. SURVEYS IN GEOPHYSICS, v. 33, n. 2, p. 211-241, MAR 2012. (03/09916-6)

LEITE, EMILSON PEREIRA; DE SOUZA FILHO, CARLOS ROBERTO. Artificial neural networks applied to mineral potential mapping for copper-gold mineralizations in the Carajas Mineral Province, Brazil. Geophysical Prospecting, v. 57, n. 6, p. 1049-1065, NOV 2009. (03/09916-6, 05/04453-3)

COTTA, ALOSIO J. B.; ENZWEILER, JACINTA. Determination of Cr, Cu, Ni, Sn, Sr and Zn Mass Fractions in Geochemical Reference Materials by Isotope Dilution ICP-MS. GEOSTANDARDS AND GEOANALYTICAL RESEARCH, v. 37, n. 1, p. 35-50, MAR 2013. (03/09916-6)

SAMPAIO, GERALDO MAGELA SANTOS; ENZWEILER, JACINTA. New ICP-MS Results for Trace Elements in Five Iron-Formation Reference Materials. GEOSTANDARDS AND GEOANALYTICAL RESEARCH, v. 39, n. 1, p. 105-119, MAR 2015. (03/09916-6)

TORRESI, IGNACIO; XAVIER, ROBERTO PEREZ; BORTHOLOTO, DIEGO F. A.; MONTEIRO, LENA V. S.. Hydrothermal alteration, fluid inclusions and stable isotope systematics of the Alvo 118 iron oxide-copper-gold deposit, Carajas Mineral Province (Brazil): Implications for ore genesis. MINERALIUM DEPOSITA, v. 47, n. 3, p. 299-323, MAR 2012. (03/09916-6)