Extreme shifts in pyrite sulfur isotope compositions reveal the path to bonanza gold.

ABSTRACT: Pyrite is the most common sulfide mineral in hydrothermal ore-forming systems. The ubiquity and abundance of pyrite, combined with its ability to record and preserve a history of fluid evolution in crustal environments, make it an ideal mineral for studying the genesis of hydrothermal ore deposits, including those that host critical metals. However, with the exception of boiling, few studies have been able to directly link changes in pyrite chemistry to the processes responsible for bonanza-style gold mineralization. Here, we report the results of high-resolution secondary-ion mass spectrometry and electron microprobe analyses conducted on pyrite from the Brucejack epithermal gold deposit, British Columbia. Our δ³⁴S and trace element results reveal that the Brucejack hydrotherma

SUBMITTER: McLeish DF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11127056 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature