A Província Mineral de Carajás, situada a sudeste do Cráton Amazônico, concentra a maior parte dos depósitos de óxido de ferro-cobre-ouro (IOCG) de alta tonelagem do mundo. Apesar da grande quantidade de estudos geocronológicos, os atributos geológicos, assinaturas isotópicas e fatores responsáveis pela formação dessas grandes reservas minerais ainda são pouco compreendidos. O depósito Furnas (500 Mt @ 0,7% Cu) constitui um trend mineralizado de direção WNW-ESSE, com 9 km de extensão, situado na Falha Transcorrente do Cinzento. Apresenta expressiva relação espacial com dois corpos graníticos: o granito Cigano, paleoproterozoico, aflorante a leste, e o granito Furnas, de idade incerta e mais preservado da alteração hidrotermal apenas a oeste do depósito. As rochas hospedeiras são representadas por andalusita-muscovita-biotita xisto com estaurolita na zona de lapa e por anfibólio-granadabiotita xisto na zona de capa. A paragênese metamórfica do anfibólio-granada-biotita xisto é representada por núcleos de Fe-edenita com bordas hidrotermais de Fe-tschermakita, K-hastingsita, Fe-actinolita e K-Fesadaganaíta. Resquícios do granito Furnas, intensamente hidrotermalizados, são reconhecidos, com dificuldade, nos testemunhos de sondagem. Distintos estágios de alteração hidrotermal estão impressos nas rochas. O granito Furnas foi o único submetido à alteração sódica pervasiva inicial (albitização), sucedida por intensa silicificação, concomitante à milonitização e posterior alteração potássica (biotita), registradas, também, nas demais hospedeiras do depósito. Turmalinização posterior a concomitante à alteração potásica, foi sucedida pela cristalização de cristais milimétricos de almandina, comumente coalescentes, associados a frentes de alteração hidrotermal. O metassomatismo de ferro é representado pela formação de grunerita, seguida por cristalização de magnetita ao longo da xistosidade das rochas hospedeiras. Estágio hidrotermal tardio originou rochas grossas e isótropas a localmente foliadas, constituídas principalmente por K-hastingsita associada a halos externos de alteração clorítica e veios de quartzo, comumente mineralizados. Chamosita formada nesse estágio substituiu parcial a totalmente biotita, granada e anfibólios formados em estágios prévios. A mineralização, representada por calcopirita e bornita, ocorre em fronts de substituição nas rochas ricas em granada-grunerita-magnetita, em veios e vênulas interconectadas, configurando stockworks. Além disso, brechas com infill de sulfetos que contornam clastos constituídos por quartzo, possivelmente associado à eventos de silicificação prévios, são identificadas. Mineralização de cobre, subordinada e tardia, se associa a veios de quartzo-hastingsita-clorita-albita-carbonato, com texturas de preenchimento de espaços abertos, relacionados espacialmente às zonas de cloritização. As paragêneses reconhecidas nos distintos estágios, principalmente àquelas relacionadas à zona mineralizada, constituem uma assembleia de alta a moderada temperatura para o sistema hidrotermal relacionado à evolução do depósito Furnas. Os estilos de alteração relacionam-se a diferentes regimes deformacionais e níveis crustais, demonstrando sobreposição de eventos mineralizantes e de alteração em sistemas hidrotermais intermediários, tal qual o Furnas. / The Carajás Mineral Province, located at the southern portion of the Amazonian Craton, hosts great part of the high-grade iron-oxide-copper-gold deposits known in the world. Despite the significance of geochronological studies, the geologic features, isotopic signatures and processes responsible for the formation of these outstanding mineral resources is still poorly understood. The Furnas deposit (500 Mt @ 0.7% Cu) comprises a mineralized WNW-ESSE trend, with 9 km of extension, within the Cinzento Transcurrent Fault Zone. The deposit has notable spatial relationship with two granitic bodies: the Paleoproterozic Cigano granite, which outcrops at the east; and the Furnas granite, of uncertain age, that is well-preserved from the hydrothermal alteration only outcrops towards the west. The host rocks are represented by andalusite-muscovite-biotite schist with staurolite at the footwall and amphibole-garnet-biotite schist at the hanginwall zone. The metamorphic paragenesis of the amphibolegarnet-biotite schist is represented by Fe-edenite cores, which are rimmed by hydrothermal Fe-tschermakite, K-hastingsite, Fe-actinolite and K-Fe-sadaganaite. Relicts of the Furnas granite, highly hidrothermalized, can be barely recognized at the drillholes. Different stages of hydrothermal alteration are recognized in the Furnas Deposit. The Furnas granite underwent an early pervasive sodic alteration with albite. This was succeeded by intense silicification synchronous to milonitization, which was followed by potassic alteration with biotite, also recorded on the other host rocks. Turmalinization, later to coeval to potassic alteration, was followed by the crystallization of milimetric almandine crystals, generally coalescing, associated with hydrothermal alteration fronts. Iron metassomatism is represented by grunerite crystallization, followed by magnetite formation along the host rock foliation. A later hydrothermal stage originated coarse-grained rocks, isotropic to locally foliated, composed mainly of K-hastingsite associated with external haloes of clorite alteration and quartz veins, generally with copper mineralization. Chamosite, formed at this stage, replaced partial to totally biotite, garnet and amphiboles formed in previous hydrothermal alteration stages. Copper-gold mineralization is represented by chalcopyrite and bornite, which occur in replacement alteration fronts in the garnet-grunerite-magnetite-rich rocks, in veins, interconnected veinlets and stockworks. Besides that, breccias with sulfide infills that surround quartz clasts, probably associated with early silicification events, are also recognized. Late and subordinated copper mineralization is associated with quartz-hastingsite-chlorite-albite-carbonate veins with open-space filling textures that are spatially related to chlorite zones. The paragenesis of the distinct hydrothermal alteration stages, especially those related to the mineralized zone, constitute high to moderate temperature mineral assemblage formed in the Furnas hydrothermal system. Alteration styles are related with different deformation regimes and crustal levels, demonstrating overprinting of mineralizing and hydrothermal alteration events in intermediate hydrothermal systems, as the Furnas.

Graduation date: 2003 / Presentation date: 2002-06-03

Graduation date: 1996

Chlorite and corrensite are very common secondary minerals in very low-grade metamorphic or hydrothermally altered mafic rocks. Corrensite, although defined as a 1:1 regularly mixed-layered chlorite/smectite or chlorite/vermiculite, has been considered as a unique mineral phase and might thus be a potential index mineral for evaluating very low metamorphic grade. Many lenticular basaltic rocks, which are intercalated with unmetamorphosed to low-grade metamorphosed Tertiary sedimentary rocks, occur sporadically in the Western foothills and the Central Range in Taiwan. The lenticular basaltic rocks in the Western foothills (diagenetic zone) and the western flank of the Central Range (anchizone to epizone) were subjected to different degrees of hydrothermal alteration and/or metamorphism. However, only few occurrences of corrensite in these basaltic rocks were reported. In the present study, the occurrences and mixed-layering features of corrensite and coexisting chloritic minerals in the basaltic rocks were characterized by utilizing optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometry, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that most of these basaltic rocks contain abundant chloritic minerals occurring as replacements of mafic minerals or interstitial glass, or as vein- or vesicle-filling materials. The chloritic minerals include smectite, corrensite, chlorite, mixed-layered chlorite/smectite, or mixed-layered chlorite/corrensite. The compositions of chlorite, corrensite, and smectite are distinctive in terms of their Si/Al ratios, interlayer cations, and total cation numbers. Corrensite, chlorite, and mixed-layered chlorite/corrensite are common secondary mineral assemblages in the anchizone basaltic rocks, whereas only discrete chlorite occur in the epizone. The basaltic rocks in the diagenetic zone contain different assemblages, such as smectite only, chlorite + smectite + mixed-layered chlorite/smectite + mixed-layered chlorite/corrensite, or chlorite + corrensite + mixed-layered chlorite/corrensite. These different assemblages of chloritic minerals and other secondary mineral assemblages might reflect different stages of hydrothermal alteration. Corrensite was positively identified with TEM lattice-fringe imaging in the diagenetic rocks collected from Nangang, Poneikeng, Shanzijiao, Nanshihjiao, Hsiungkong, Shihsiouping, Fusing, and Northern Shihmen Reservoir areas, and in the studied anchizone rocks from Junghua, Kaopo and Baolai areas. The disappearance of corrensite clearly marks the boundary between the anchizone and epizone basaltic rocks. Corrensite, as a chemically and structurally unique mineral phase, is therefore a potential index mineral in very low-grade metamorphic rocks.

Deep drilling is required to reach the geothermal fluids extracted for generation of electricity; therefore, the different rock properties and the hydrothermal alteration of the lithologies being drilled become an important factor to a conventional geothermal industry. If the correct equipment required to complete drilling is not selected, the rate of penetration (ROP) can be suboptimal, potentially increasing the cost of the project. Mechanical characterisation of hydrothermally altered rocks from geothermal reservoirs will lead to an improved understanding of rock mechanics in a geothermal environment. Core samples obtained from the Ngatamariki, Rotokawa and Kawerau Geothermal Fields covered a wide range of lithologies (ignimbrite, rhyolite lava, sandstone, mudstone, andesite lava/breccia and tonalite) encountered during drilling. A suite of non-destructive and destructive laboratory tests along with petrographical analysis were conducted on the samples. Some key findings are that samples that originated from the shallow and low temperature section of the Kawerau geothermal field had higher porosity (15 – 56%), lower density (1222 – 2114 kg/m3) and slower ultrasonic wave velocities (1925 – 3512 m/s (vp) and 818 – 1980 m/s (vs)), than the samples from a deeper and higher temperature section of the field (1.5 – 20%, 2072 – 2837 kg/m3, 2639 – 4593 m/s (vp) and 1476 – 2752 m/s (vs), respectively). The shallow lithologies had uniaxial compressive strengths (UCS) of 2 – 75 MPa, and the deep lithologies had strengths of 23 – 211 MPa. Typically samples of the same lithologies that originate from multiple wells across a field have variable rock properties because of the different alteration zones from which each sample originates. To obtain a way to relate this rock property data back to the geomechanical model, we developed a method - Alteration Strength Index (ASI) - to address the effect of hydrothermal alteration on mechanical rock properties. The index constitutes three components; the mineralogy parameter, derived from petrological analysis, alteration index (degree of alteration) and an assessment of mineral hardness; the fracture parameter, assigned based on an assessment of structural damage; and the porosity parameter, which accounts for the effect of voids. This method can be used to estimate a range of rock strengths comparable to UCS, and the ASI calibrated against measured UCS for the samples produced a strong correlation (R2 of 0.86). From this correlation an equation was derived to convert ASI to UCS. Because the ASI–UCS relationship is based on an empirical fit, the UCS value that is obtained from conversion of the ASI includes an error of 7 MPa for the 50th percentile and 25 MPa for the 90th percentile with a mean error of 11 MPa. A sensitivity analysis showed that the mineralogy parameter is the dominant characteristic in this equation, and the ASI equation using only mineralogy can be used to provide an estimated UCS range, although the uncertainty becomes greater. This provides the ability to estimate strength even when either fracture or porosity information are not available, for example in the case of logging drill cuttings. To determine the usefulness of the ASI method with drill cuttings and drilling data we compared it to two methods; mechanical specific energy (MSE) and R/N-W/D chart, both developed for the oil and gas industry, in a geothermal context. We demonstrated how they can be used to estimate a range of rock strengths for hydrothermally altered lithologies for the 800 metre long 17 inch (432 mm) diameter section of well NM8 in the Ngatamariki Geothermal Field, New Zealand. We found that MSE and the R/N-W/D charts correctly ranked relative strength to ROP for three of six lithologies, while ASI correctly ranked all six lithologies. We also show that the strength values predicted by ASI correlate to ROP better than those based on MSE or R/N-W/D. We argue that ASI is more comprehensive than these methods because it provides a range of rock strength indices for a given hydrothermally altered lithology, is based on the geology, and does not require drilling parameters (ROP, WOB, RPM, and Torque) to estimate rock strength. This is particularly important in geothermal systems where lithologies can exhibit high variability in their physical characteristics and geothermal fields tend to have widely spaced wells. Using ASI we show how hydrothermal alteration affects drilling, and when used in conjunction with a predictive geologic model, how it will aid with optimisation of drilling practices through drill bit selection. Rock failure modes are difficult to predict, and are important to rock engineering environments, which include drilling. By using rock property and mineralogy information, four modes of failure were identified – axial splitting, single plane shearing, y shaped failure and multiple fracturing - in this research. The results of this study indicate that these easily measured rock properties can be inferred to have some control over the failure mode of a sample under uniaxial loading; however it would be useful to examine these samples further at the microstructural level to determine the role of microfracturing in the occurrence of failure modes. Further research in this field has the potential to aid in drilling optimisation through the utilisation of drill bits designed to fracture rocks in the ways that they are predisposed to fail.

This thesis documents hydrothermal alteration patterns exposed along major fault scarps at Pito Deep, a tectonic window into the upper ocean crust formed at the very fast-spreading (>140 mm/yr) East Pacific Rise. Two main study areas were examined, each covering at least five lateral kms across the sheeted dike complex, exposing > four km of relief. and revealing >70,000 years of spreading history. Hydrothermal alteration patterns reveal vertical and lateral variation in the degree of alteration, dominant secondary mineral assemblages, peak temperatures of alteration, and metal depletion on the scale of 10s to 100s of meters. Amphibole and chlorite are the most common secondary minerals and replace clinopyroxene, interstitial zones, and plagioclase. Mineral assemblages indicate alteration temperatures of 250-450°C were common throughout most of the sheeted dike complex. Geothermometry indicates a range in alteration temperatures from 902-505°C and 350-60°C for amphibole-plagioclase and chlorite thermometry respectively. The highest temperatures are recorded in both deformed and undeformed dikes indicating that deformation was not always synchronous with peak alteration temperatures.

Graduation date: 1997

Mémoire (M.Sc.T)-- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi 1986. / "Mémoire présenté en vue de l'obtention du diplôme de M.Sc.A. (sciences de la terre)" CaQCU Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 155-177). Also available online in Scholars' Bank; and in ProQuest, free to University of Oregon users.

Nesse estudo é relatada a descoberta de um grande número de gossans na província vulcânica Paraná, América do Sul, com base em observações de imagens de satélite e trabalho de campo associado à geoquímica e geofísica. Define-se, portanto um novo guia prospectivo para depósitos de ágata e ametista. A área de estudo está localizada na fronteira entre Brasil e Uruguai, e abrange o distrito mineiro de Quaraí e o distrito gemológico de Los Catalanes. Anomalias em imgens de satélite do Google Earth foram identificadas em pelo menos seis minas no distrito gemológico de Los Catalanes, caracterizado nos pampas da região como estruturas irregulares de cor verde intenso e por vezes com textura rugosa marrom. As anomalias ocorrem em vários níveis estratigráficos na sequência vulcânica, sendo denominadas gossans. Três seções cintilométricas realizadas sobre a mina Maurício, no distrito gemológico de Los Catalanes indicam taxas baixas emissões perto de 55 cps (DP = 4,7) no gossan em comparação com a média regional da colada Cordilheira (63 cps). Análises geoquímicas de rocha total de três amostras coletadas na mina indicam elevada perda ao fogo (4,5, 3,4, 4,5 peso%). Conteúdos de perda ao fogo acima de 2 peso% são considerados um forte indicador de alteração hidrotermal. No distrito mineiro de Quaraí, gossans foram estudados em cinco áreas, distribuídas entre as coladas Catalán, Cordillera e Muralha. Os depósitos de classe mundial de geodos de ametista e ágata estão nas coladas Catalán e Cordillera. Anomalias radiométricas negativas (superior a um desvio-padrão) ocorrem nesses gossans. O estudo detalhado de um gossan incluiu uma malha geofísica de 50 x 50 m (K, U, Th e taxa de emissão total) e análises geoquímicas de rocha total (ACME, Canadá). As análises geoquímicas de rocha total de 20 amostras coletadas dentro e fora do gossan classificam as rochas como andesitos basálticos, baixo-Ti, do tipo químico Gramado. As amostras dentro do gossan apresentam valores elevados de perda ao fogo (2,3, 2,8, 2,9, 2,8, 2,9, 2,4, 2,6, 2,6, 2,3 e 2,3 peso%), Enquanto fora do gossan os valores são mais baixos (0,8, 2,3, 0,5, 0,5, 1,6, 0,5, 0,6, 0,9, 1.3, 1,9 peso%). SiO2, K2O e Rb mostram correlação negativa forte com a perda ao fogo, enquanto o MgO tem um leve enriquecimento. A baixa cintilometria no gossan é definida principalmente pelo baixo K2O da rocha alterada. É relatado, portanto, a descoberta de gossans acima geodos de ametista nos depósitos de classe mundial da província vulcânica do Paraná e é apresentada uma primeira descrição da estrutura, um guia prospectivo para depósitos se adiciona. / We report the discovery of a large number of gossans in the intraplate Paraná volcanic province, South America, based on observations of satellite images and field work associated with rock geochemistry and geophysics. We thus define a straitforward propecting guide for agate and amethyst deposits. The study area is located on the border between Brazil and Uruguay, covering the Quaraí mining district and the Los Catalanes gemological district. Anomalies in Google Earth satellite images were identified above six mines in the Los Catalanes gemological district, characterized in the pampas of the region as irregular structures of intense green color and sometimes with brownish, rough texture. The vegetation, scintillometric and geochemical anomalies occur at several stratigraphic levels in the volcanic group. Three scintillometric sections performed on the Maurício mine in the Los Catalanes gemological district indicate low emission rates near 55 cps (sd = 4.7) in the gossan compared with the regional average of colada Cordillera (63 cps). Whole rock geochemical analyses of three samples collected within the underground mine indicate high loss on ignition (4.5, 3.4, 4.5 wt.%). LOI higher than 2% is considered a strong indicator of intense hydrothermal alteration in the gossan. In the Quaraí mining district, gossans were studied in five areas, two in colada Catalán, two in colada Muralha, and one in colada Cordillera. The world-class deposits of amethyst and agate geodes are in coladas Catalán and Cordillera. Negative radiometric anomalies (higher than one standard deviation) occur in these gossans. The detailed study of one gossan included a geophysical grid spacing of 50 x 50 m (K, U, Th and total emission rate) and whole rock geochemical analyses (ACME, Canadá). The whole rock geochemical analyses of 20 samples collected within and outside the gossan classify the rocks as basaltic andesites, low–Ti, Gramado chemical type. The samples inside the gossan display high values of loss on ignition (2.3, 2.8, 2.9, 2.8, 2.9, 2.4, 2.6, 2.6, 2.3 and 2.3 wt.%), while outside the gossan the values are lower (0.8, 2.3, 0.5, 0.5, 1.6, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 1.1, 1.3 and 1.9 wt.%). SiO2, K2O and Rb show strong negative correlation with loss on ignition, while MgO has a slight enrichment. The low scintillometry in the gossan is defined primarily by the lower K2O of the altered rock. We thus report the discovery of gossans above amethyst geodes in the world-class deposits of the Paraná volcanic province and present a first description of the structure, a straitforward prospecting guide for additional deposits.