| Title | Genesis of the Island Gold Deposit, Ontario, Canada: implications for gold mineralization in the Wawa Subprovince of the Superior Province |
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| Author | Jellicoe, K; Ciufo, T J; Lin, S; Wodicka, N ; Wu, N; Mercier-Langevin, P; Yakymchuk, C |
| Source | Economic Geology vol. 117, no. 7, 2022 p. 1597-1612, https://doi.org/10.5382/econgeo.4963 |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2022 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20220457 |
| Publisher | Society of Economic Geologists |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; digital; on-line |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Ontario |
| NTS | 41; 42 |
| Lat/Long WENS | -88.0000 -80.0000 51.0000 44.0000 |
| Subjects | mineralogy; geochronology; gold; mineral deposits; mineralization; isotopes; sulphur isotope ratios; structural analyses; zircon dates; Wawa Subprovince; Superior Province |
| Illustrations | geological sketch maps; stereonets; photographs; schematic diagrams; tables; plots; geochronological charts |
| Program | Targeted Geoscience Initiative (TGI-6) Ore systems |
| Released | 2022 11 01 |
| Abstract | The Island Gold deposit represents an uncommon example of known economic mineralization in the Wawa subprovince, which has been tectonically correlated with the neighboring Abitibi subprovince that
hosts worldclass orogenic gold deposits. The Island Gold deposit is hosted in dacite, gabbro, and tonalite-trondhjemite, and accompanied D2 deformation. The main ore zone dips steeply toward the south and consists of early shear-hosted laminated
quartz veins and late extensional veinlets; both vein sets host gold mineralization. A set of shallowly dipping extensional quartz veins in the Goudreau zone located north of the main ore zones also host economic gold mineralization. Multiple sulfur
isotope analysis of pyrite associated with gold-bearing alteration envelopes in the main ore zone indicates no involvement of sulfur affected by mass-independent fractionation, which rules out sulfur (± gold) sourced from nearby banded iron formation
or metasedimentary material. However, a single analysis of pyrite from an auriferous Goudreau zone vein indicates the involvement of sulfur that underwent mass-independent fractionation, which suggests a different fluid source. Zircon U-Pb
geochronology of pre- and postmineralization rock samples at Island Gold restricts the timing of mineralization to between ca. 2724 and 2672 Ma. Including previous results of detrital zircon geochronology, gold mineralization occurred between ca.
2680 and 2672 Ma. This age range is similar to the timing of gold mineralization at the Hemlo deposit in the Wawa subprovince but is slightly older than the bulk of orogenic gold mineralization in the neighboring southern part of the Abitibi
subprovince. Multiple sulfur isotopes indicate that gold mineralization at Island Gold results from fluids of igneous affinity associated with second-generation transpressional deformation. The ore-controlling structures were developed in bends in
regional shear zones focused around relatively competent premineralization plutons. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
This contribution presents data (structural geology, zircon U-Pb geochronology, and multiple sulfur isotope analyses) for the Island Gold deposit located
northeast of Lake Superior in Ontario. The timing and potential source of fluids for the gold mineralization are investigated, and comparisons are made with the Hemlo deposit, another major currently producing gold deposit in the Wawa subprovince,
and with the neighbouring, well-endowed Abitibi subprovince. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 331284 |
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