Geochemical and isotopic evolution of Neoarchean and Paleoproterozoic copper systems of the Carajás Province, PA

• Grant number: 16/13162-7
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: February 01, 2017
• End date: January 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Geology
• Principal Investigator: Roberto Perez Xavier
• Grantee: Roberto Perez Xavier
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências (IG). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Gustavo Henrique Coelho de Melo ; Lena Virginia Soares Monteiro ; Roberto Perez Xavier

Abstract

The Carajás Domain, located in the northern part of the Carajás Province, Pará, hosts several copper deposits, including: i) world-class (100-890 Mt) iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) deposits, situated in the northern and southern sectors of the domain and formed during multiple episodes in the Neoarchean (ca. 2.7 Ga Sequeirinho, Bacaba; ca. 2.57 Ga Salobo, Igarapé Bahia/Alemão) and Paleoproterozoic (ca. 1.88 Ga Sossego and Alvo 118); and ii) smaller (<50 Mt) Cu-(Au-W-Bi-Sn-Mo) deposits restricted to the Paleoproterozoic (1.88 Ga Breves, Estrela). The geological characterization combined with geochemical, isotopic (´18O, ´D, ´32S, ´13C, ´11B) and geochronological studies allowed a better comprehension of the genetic processes of these copper systems. Fluid mixing involving highly saline aqueous fluids (>30 wt % NaCl eq.) and diluted aqueous solution and/or low salinity (<10 wt % NaCl eq.) aquo-carbonic fluids has been suggested as the main mechanism of copper precipitation. However, the level of understanding of these systems remains heterogeneous and questions regarding the copper metallogenesis need to be deeper investigated, such as: i) Do the Neoarchean and Paleoproterozoic systems evolved through similar genetic processes?; ii) What are the sources of fluids, metals, sulphur and salinity in these systems?; iii) What are the role of the Neoarchean (ca. 2.7 Ga) and Paleoproterozoic (ca. 1.88 Ga) granite intrusions in the formation of these deposits?; iv) Which chemical and isotopic characteristics can be considered as footprints of the copper systems of different age? In this scenario, this research project aims to develop an integrated and comparative study on the evolution of the Neoarchean and Paleoproterozoic systems of the Carajás Domain. In this sense, studies involving fluid inclusion, stable and radiogenic isotopes, trace element geochemistry and geochronology are proposed for IOCG systems (e.g., Salobo, Igarapé Bahia/Alemão, Grota Funda e GT-46) and Cu-(Au-W-Bi-Sn-Mo) (e.g., Santa Lucia e Tarzan) deposits of the northern belt of the Carajás Domain. (AU)

Scientific publications

(5)

(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)

DE FREITAS TOLEDO, POLIANA IARA; NATIVIDADE MORETO, CAROLINA PENTEADO; XAVIER, ROBERTO PEREZ; GAO, JIANFENG; DA SILVA NOGUEIRA DE MATOS, JOSE HENRIQUE; COELHO DE MELO, GUSTAVO HENRIQUE. Multistage Evolution of the Neoarchean (ca. 2.7 Ga) Igarape Cinzento (GT-46) Iron Oxide Copper-Gold Deposit, Cinzento Shear Zone, Carajas Province, Brazil. ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, v. 114, n. 1, p. 1-34, FEB 2019. (16/13162-7)

DE MELO, GUSTAVO H. C.; MONTEIRO, LENA V. S.; XAVIER, ROBERTO P.; MORETO, CAROLINA P. N.; SANTIAGO, ERIKA. Tracing Fluid Sources for the Salobo and Igarape Bahia Deposits: Implications for the Genesis of the Iron Oxide Copper-Gold Deposits in the Carajas Province, Brazil. ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, v. 114, n. 4, p. 697-718, JUN 2019. (16/13162-7)

FERNANDES, KAMILA G.; XAVIER, ROBERTO P.; MORETO, CAROLINA P. N.; MELO, GUSTAVO H. C.; BOYCE, ADRIAN J.. The Hydrothermal Evolution of the Alvo Acai Cu (Au, Mo) Skarn Deposit, Carajas Province, Brazil. ECONOMIC GEOLOGY, v. 118, n. 2, p. 25-pg., 2023-03-01. (16/13162-7, 18/00066-5)

DE MELO, GUSTAVO H. C.; MONTEIRO, LENA V. S.; XAVIER, ROBERTO P.; MORETO, CAROLINA P. N.; ARQUAZ, RAUL M.; DELINARDO SILVA, MARCO ANTONIO. Evolution of the Igarape Bahia Cu-Au deposit, Carajas Province (Brazil): Early syngenetic chalcopyrite overprinted by IOCG mineralization. ORE GEOLOGY REVIEWS, v. 111, AUG 2019. (16/13162-7)

COELHO DE MELO, GUSTAVO HENRIQUE; SOARES MONTEIRO, LENA VIRGINIA; HUNGER, RAPHAEL BIANCHI; FREITAS TOLEDO, POLIANA IARA; XAVIER, ROBERTO PEREZ; ZHAO, XIN-FU; SU, ZHI-KUN; NATIVIDADE MORETO, CAROLINA PENTEADO; GOES PEREIRA DE JESUS, SILVANDIRA DOS SANTOS. Magmatic-hydrothermal fluids leaching older seafloor exhalative rocks to form the IOCG deposits of the Carajas Province, Brazil: Evidence from boron isotopes. Precambrian Research, v. 365, OCT 2021. (16/13162-7)