Mineralogical, and Geochemical Investigation of Sulfide Mineralization in Ushiri Valley, Western Kohistan Island Arc, Pakistan: Implications for Genesis
Keywords:
Sulfide mineralization, hydrothermal alteration, S-O isotopes, magmatic-hydrothermal fluid.Abstract
The Ushiri Valley sulfide mineralization, a newly identified deposit in the Upper Dir region, is located in the western part of the Kohistan island arc, northern Pakistan. It is present within the massive amphibolites of Kamila amphibolites and granodiorite and granites of the Kohistan batholith. Three types of mineralization are identified such as 1) sulfide mineralization along quartz veins, 2) disseminated sulfide mineralization in the host rocks, and 3) supergene enrichment of mineralization along localized shear zones. The amphibolites, granodiorite and granites of the study area are extensively intruded by the quartz veins which generally hosing the sulfide mineralization in the form of mainly chalcopyrite and pyrite with a lesser amount of bornite, galena and sphalerite while malachite, azurite and limonite/hematite occur in the form of supergene enrichment. The host rocks adjacent to the mineralized quartz veins have the same sulfide mineral assemblage in disseminated form. The hydrothermal alterations in the form of saussuritization, sericitization, kaolinization, propylitization, and silicification are the common features of the mineralized host rocks within the sheared zones and at the contact zones of mineralized quartz veins and the host rocks. The geochemistry of the hydrothermally altered mineralized host rocks suggests that the mineralizing hydrothermal fluids were significantly enriched in FeO, K2O, and Cu, while the Pb, Zn, W, Cr, Ni, and Co were slightly enriched. The sulfur (δ34S) and oxygen (δ18O) isotopic data suggest the involvement of heavy fluids of magmatic origin related to the deep-seated intrusions, having the ability to form complexes with metals, could have been the source of high-temperature metalliferous fluids responsible for the precipitation of base metals sulfides within the quartz veins and associated host rocks which can be correlated with the porphyry system.
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