Intrusion-Related Gold Deposits

in North Queensland

Gregg Morrison
Klondike Exploration Services, Townsville

GSQ Project final meeting

December 07, 2017

KLONDIKE
 IRGS NQ NQ Au total and >1Moz deposits
TOTAL Deposit 17 deposits +1Moz in Qld
CLAN DEPOSIT
Moz Moz
IRGS 19.8
5.1 Kidston 12 deposits +1Moz in NQ
7.0 Ravenswood
3.5 Mt. Leyshon
2.1 Red Dome
>40Moz total endowment NQ
1.1 Mungana
1.0 Mt. Wright >19 Moz in IRGS
Epithermal 8.9
3.6 Pajingo In all ~130 IRGS in NQ
2.2 Mt. Carlton
1.1 Wirralie
Some bi-product Cu
Orogenic granite-hosted 8.6 But no major Cu deposits
6.8 Charters Towers is unusual
1.0 Croydon

Orogenic turbidite-hosted 1.3

Placer (estimated) ~4 So NQ has a concentration

1.6 Palmer River alluvials
of IRGS
VMS total 0.3 c.f. Yukon-Alaska Cretaceous

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IRGS NQ The INTRUSION-RELATED CAMP
BRECCIA & ALTERATION IR
Pit outline
DEPOSIT = intrusion intimate
to hydrothermal system
and deposit
Mine
MLBX Porphyry MPBXf
IRGD
Intrusion-Related
MPBXc
Gold Deposit
Gold only commodity

Basement CAMP
raft All magmatic &
hydrothermal features
INTRUSION Southern related to an intrusive
Porphyry centre

CAMP IS WHOLE THING

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IRGS NQ: IRGS Mineral System Model with NQ Examples

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IRGS NQ Late Carboniferous tectonic setting

Cluster of IRGS in north Qld

Permo-Carboniferous age
Related to Kennedy Igneous Association

arc Townsville Mornington Island Belt

is oblique to the arc
Cauldron subsidence => extension
Rhyodacite composition
Au-Sn-W-Mo metallogeny

Connors arc
extensive under Bowen Basin
Andesite stratovolcanoes
Cu-Mo-Au metallogeny

So NQ Permo-Carboniferous
is an IRGS Province
in an off-arc setting

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NQ metallogenic districts

Morrison & Blevin 1997, AMIRA P425

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IRGS NQ IRGS CAMPS ON KENNEDY IGNEOUS

Permian
linears

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IRGS NQ Kennedy magmatism

• Early Carboniferous to mid Permian (345-260ma)

• Dominated by cauldron subsidence complexes i.e.
extension in continental crust
• I-type throughout with Permian A +/- S-type
• High SiO2 K2O & LILE, strongly fractionated
• Derived from homogeneous mainly Proterozoic lower crust
with limited mantle input, variations due to fractionation
• Distinct from NEO of same age which has andesitic
stratovolcanoes and is more conventional arc
• Metallogeny is Au Sn W U not Cu-Mo-Au like NEO

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 IRGS NQ igneous classification fractionation
Fractionation
represented by
Rb/Sr v SiO2
Increases with SiO2 ,
K and volatile
elements
Au is with the less
fractionated
intrusions,
but favours the
volatile phase in any
system
Therefore is best at
moderate fractionation
in mafic suites
This figure is of a
continental suite with
limited mafic
members, so the gold
is in Cu-Mo and
Mo-W-Bi associations
Blevin & Morrison 1997, AMIRA P425
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IRGS NQ: igneous classification redox fractionation
NQ Au deposits are in intrusive suites that have moderate fractionation
And slightly oxidised to slightly reduced geochemistry.
Most deposits are in magmatic-hydrothermal systems with Cu-Mo or Mo-W Bi cores

Blevin & Morrison 1997, AMIRA P425

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IRGS NQ Deposit Classification

Mesozonal veins and breccias dominate

Polymetallic systems but only 1-2 commodities

Bi-Te diagnostic of Permo-Carb IRGS

ENDOW
Environment & style n MENT Element Class Core Example
t Au

Epizonal Vein 8 0.26 Au PM Bi +/-Te Cu-Mo Wellington Springs

Epizonal Stockwork 3 0.15 Au As Bi Te Mo-W-Bi Mt Wandoo

Epizonal Breccia 5 32 Au BM Bi Te Mo-W-Bi Mt Wright

Mesozonal Skarn 2 66 Au PM Bi Te Mo-W-Bi Red Dome

Mesozonal Lode 5 0.5 Au PM Bi Mo-W-Bi Cardross

Mesozonal Vein 68 200 variable variable Ravenswood

Mesozonal Stockwork 4 2.3 Au PM Bi Te Cu-Mo Upper Cape

Mesozonal Breccia 26 270 Au PM Bi Te ALL Kidston, Mt Leyshon

Hypozonal Lode 1 Au As (BM) Cardigan Creek

Hypozonal Vein 10 2 Au PM Bi Mo-W-Bi Mareeba

Hypozonal Stockwork 1 16 Au PM Bi Mo-W-Bi Mountain Maid (Cardross)

BM (basemetals) =Cu-Zn-Pb; PM (polymetallic) = Cu-Pb-Zn+/- Bi, Te, Mo, W, Sn, As, Sb.
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IRGS NQ NQ Examples on IRMS model

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IRGS NQ System identification & interpretation
SYSTEM FINDERS

1. Geology interp of Minocc

2. ‘Jetrex’ topo silica + rhyol

3. Reverse mag anomalies

4. In-district geochem
including alluvials

SYSTEM INTERPRETERS

1. drill, drill, drill & interpret

2. Ore control domains

especially permeability

3. Metal zoning

Kidston- Morrison 2007

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IRGS NQ Ravenswood district metallogenic domains

Two parallel districts sit inside the gravity & mag boundary. Disrupted by NE fault
One driven by diorite on batholith side with Cu-Te geochem core(Ravenswood)
and other by rhyolite in Ordovician metaseds with Mo-W-Bi core (Mt Canton)

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IRGS NQ: Cardross region deposits wide range of metal associations

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IRGS NQ:Cardross metal variability relates to intrusion composition & zoning

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IRGS NQ Mt Leyshon reverse magnetic anomaly

Open pit intr. complex

A profound reverse anomaly is ascribed to hydrothermal magnetite

in the contact aureole of the mother intrusion pre-ore.
The reverse mag epoch (~320-280Ma) is useful thru NQ
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IRGS NQ Mt Wright soil and rock metal zoning

Pb-Zn
Zn-Ag-Pb

3km diameter soil anomaly Zn, Bi, 1km tall system, well zoned
Au only 5ppb on hill Au 0.1ppm at surface,
Best Au ore 500-800m below
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IRGS NQ Piccadilly: vein system zoning opportunity

Au vein only to start

More vein sets isolated
Mag shows intrusive centre
Geochem shows zoned system

 Only seeing ¼ of system!

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IRGS NQ CONCLUSIONS

• A distinct NQ IRGS province with +20Moz

• Existing work defines>130 systems
• ~30 explored well
• In current climate good targets can be
identified in system interpretation
• Especially via system facies geometry &
multi-element geochemical zoning

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