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Hydrothermal gold mineralization at the Hira Buddini gold mine, India: constraints on fluid evolution and fluid sources from boron isotopic compositions of tourmaline

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Abstract

We determined the boron isotope and chemical compositions of tourmaline from the Hira Buddini gold deposit within the Archean Hutti-Maski greenstone belt in southern India to investigate the evolution of the hydrothermal system and to constrain its fluid sources. Tourmaline is a minor but widespread constituent in the inner and distal alteration zones of metabasaltic and metadacite host rocks associated with the hydrothermal gold mineralization. The Hira Buddini tourmaline belongs to the dravite–schorl series with variations in Al, Fe/(Fe+Mg), Ca, Ti, and Cr contents that can be related to their host lithology. The total range of δ11B values determined is extreme, from −13.3‰ to +9.0‰, but 95% of the values are between −4 and +9‰. The boron isotope compositions of metabasalt-hosted tourmaline show a bimodal distribution with peak δ11B values at about −2‰ and +6‰. The wide range and bimodal distribution of boron isotope ratios in tourmaline require an origin from at least two isotopically distinct fluid sources, which entered the hydrothermal system separately and were subsequently mixed. The estimated δ11B values of the hydrothermal fluids, based on the peak tourmaline compositions and a mineralization temperature of 550°C, are around +1 and +10‰. The isotopically lighter of the two fluids is consistent with boron released by metamorphic devolatilization reactions from the greenstone lithologies, whereas the 11B-rich fluid is attributed to degassing of I-type granitic magmas that intruded the greenstone sequence, providing heat and fluids to the hydrothermal system.

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Acknowledgments

Oona Appelt is acknowledged for her help during electron microprobe work, and Ilona Schäpan provided assistance in the SIMS analyses. The authors would like to thank S.-Y. Jiang and an anonymous referee for their helpful comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Telegrafenberg, 14473, Potsdam, Germany

    M. -S. Krienitz, R. B. Trumbull & M. Wiedenbeck

  2. Institut für Mineralogie und Lagerstättenlehre, RWTH Aachen, 52056, Aachen, Germany

    A. Hellmann & F. M. Meyer

  3. Department of Economic Geology, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, 1350, Copenhagen K, Denmark

    J. Kolb

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  1. M. -S. Krienitz
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  2. R. B. Trumbull
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  5. F. M. Meyer
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Correspondence to M. -S. Krienitz.

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Editorial handling: Bernd Lehmann

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ESM Fig. 1

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High resolution image file (TIFF 8 MB)

ESM Table 1

Location and sample description from the Hira Buddini gold mine (XLS 23 KB)

ESM Table 2

Electron microprobe analyses and site assignments of tourmaline from the Hira Buddine gold mine (XLS 119 KB)

ESM Table 3

Boron isotope results on reference tourmalines (XLS 31 KB)

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Krienitz, M.S., Trumbull, R.B., Hellmann, A. et al. Hydrothermal gold mineralization at the Hira Buddini gold mine, India: constraints on fluid evolution and fluid sources from boron isotopic compositions of tourmaline. Miner Deposita 43, 421–434 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-007-0172-0

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