The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Sm-Nd and REE characteristics of tourmaline and scheelite from the Bjorkdal gold deposit, northern Sweden: evidence of an intrusion-related gold deposit?

Sm-Nd and REE characteristics of tourmaline and scheelite from the Bjorkdal gold deposit, northern Sweden: evidence of an intrusion-related gold deposit?
Sm-Nd and REE characteristics of tourmaline and scheelite from the Bjorkdal gold deposit, northern Sweden: evidence of an intrusion-related gold deposit?
The Björkdal quartz vein-hosted gold deposit is located ~25 km northwest of Skellefte in northern Sweden, within a Paleoproterozoic volcanosedimentary sequence at the margin of a quartz-monzodiorite granitoid. Northeast-trending (030°– 050°) quartz veins from the eastern open pit within the Björkdal deposit contain quartz, scheelite, tourmaline, calcite, and sulfides, with visible gold. Vein quartz shows undulatory extinction and sutured margins or is polycrystalline in form, features which suggest postcrystallization deformation. Coarse scheelite crystals (>5 mm) within the quartz veins are crosscut by thin veins of quartz, calcite, sulfides, and gold. The calcite in these crosscutting fractures is variably replaced by biotite or actinolite. Tourmaline from the quartz veins has low total REE contents (<1 × chondrite) and LREE-enriched patterns [(La/Sm) N = 2.8–4.5, (La/Yb)N = 1.8–5.1] with strong positive Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 3.9–17.4). In contrast, the scheelite has a bell-shaped REE pattern, enriched in MREE, but also with positive Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 1.4–2.4). The REE pattern of scheelite results from a strong crystallographic effect, largely due to the size of the Ca site and charge balance. Sm-Nd dating of scheelite from the Björkdal ore yields an age of 1893 ± 34 Ma, which coincides with a previously suggested age of the host intrusion. The ?Nd values of the scheelite (+1.8) and 87Sr/86Sr
initial ratios of the tourmaline (0.7013–0.7014) are also consistent with derivation of REE and Sr in these minerals from the Jörn granitoids. Overall, the petrographic, geochemical, and isotopic data strongly suggest that Björkdal is an intrusion-related gold deposit, and that there is no requirement for involvement of external postmagmatic hydrothermal fluids.
0361-0128
1415-1425
Roberts, S.
f095c7ab-a37b-4064-8a41-ae4820832856
Palmer, M.R.
d2e60e81-5d6e-4ddb-a243-602537286080
Waller, L.
1b66030e-2844-45a5-b7a0-bcaf6d4e6ca9
Roberts, S.
f095c7ab-a37b-4064-8a41-ae4820832856
Palmer, M.R.
d2e60e81-5d6e-4ddb-a243-602537286080
Waller, L.
1b66030e-2844-45a5-b7a0-bcaf6d4e6ca9

Roberts, S., Palmer, M.R. and Waller, L. (2006) Sm-Nd and REE characteristics of tourmaline and scheelite from the Bjorkdal gold deposit, northern Sweden: evidence of an intrusion-related gold deposit? Economic Geology, 101 (7), 1415-1425.

Record type: Article

Abstract

The Björkdal quartz vein-hosted gold deposit is located ~25 km northwest of Skellefte in northern Sweden, within a Paleoproterozoic volcanosedimentary sequence at the margin of a quartz-monzodiorite granitoid. Northeast-trending (030°– 050°) quartz veins from the eastern open pit within the Björkdal deposit contain quartz, scheelite, tourmaline, calcite, and sulfides, with visible gold. Vein quartz shows undulatory extinction and sutured margins or is polycrystalline in form, features which suggest postcrystallization deformation. Coarse scheelite crystals (>5 mm) within the quartz veins are crosscut by thin veins of quartz, calcite, sulfides, and gold. The calcite in these crosscutting fractures is variably replaced by biotite or actinolite. Tourmaline from the quartz veins has low total REE contents (<1 × chondrite) and LREE-enriched patterns [(La/Sm) N = 2.8–4.5, (La/Yb)N = 1.8–5.1] with strong positive Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 3.9–17.4). In contrast, the scheelite has a bell-shaped REE pattern, enriched in MREE, but also with positive Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 1.4–2.4). The REE pattern of scheelite results from a strong crystallographic effect, largely due to the size of the Ca site and charge balance. Sm-Nd dating of scheelite from the Björkdal ore yields an age of 1893 ± 34 Ma, which coincides with a previously suggested age of the host intrusion. The ?Nd values of the scheelite (+1.8) and 87Sr/86Sr
initial ratios of the tourmaline (0.7013–0.7014) are also consistent with derivation of REE and Sr in these minerals from the Jörn granitoids. Overall, the petrographic, geochemical, and isotopic data strongly suggest that Björkdal is an intrusion-related gold deposit, and that there is no requirement for involvement of external postmagmatic hydrothermal fluids.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 2006

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 46095
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/46095
ISSN: 0361-0128
PURE UUID: dc92c411-afbe-451b-9869-b0390b3eb649
ORCID for S. Roberts: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4755-6703

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 22 May 2007
Last modified: 19 Mar 2022 02:33

Export record

Contributors

Author: S. Roberts ORCID iD
Author: M.R. Palmer
Author: L. Waller

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×