Ore Geology Reviews 72 (2016) 37–42

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Ore Geology Reviews

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Review

Gold in iron oxide copper–gold deposits

Zhimin Zhu
Institute of Multipurpose Utilization of Mineral Resources, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Iron oxide copper–gold (IOCG) deposits contain economic or anomalous gold, and the gold distribution is impor-
Received 13 May 2015 tant both for its economic significance and ore genesis. However, the gold distribution in IOCG deposits and its
Received in revised form 2 July 2015 controlling factors remain unclear. The gold grades and tonnages of selected thirty-six deposits in some well-
Accepted 6 July 2015
defined IOCG provinces are compiled in this paper. The gold grades in these IOCG deposits range from 0.01 to
Available online 7 July 2015
1.41 g/t (averaging 0.41 g/t), and ~90% of them are less than 1 g/t. The gold tonnages range from 0.6 to 483 t (av-
Keywords:
eraging 64 t), but with the exception of the giant Olympic Dam containing gold of 2968 t. The Cu/Au ratios of IOCG
Gold distribution deposits are significantly variable, ranging from 0.7 to 64, but most values fall between 1.0 and 6.0. The gold is
Iron oxide copper–gold deposits present in three forms: 1) native gold, 2) electrum, and 3) gold–bismuth–antimony–tellurium alloy. The gold dis-
Host rocks tribution is controlled by gold contents in host rocks and the efficiency of precipitation mechanism (e.g., cooling,
Precipitation mechanism fluid–rock interaction and fluid mixing). In order to find gold-rich IOCG deposits, at province scale the most im-
portant thing is to focus on areas both with gold-enriched host rocks and efficient depositional mechanism and at
a deposit scale the exploration of gold-rich deposits should also focus on low-temperature deposits.
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2. Gold in IOCG deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3. Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.1. The source of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.2. The precipitation mechanism of gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.3. Implications for ore processing and exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Conflict of interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

1. Introduction Consequently, IOCG deposits have been considered as profitable explo-

ration targets during the past decades.
Since the discovery of the supergiant Olympic Dam deposit in IOCG deposits are a relatively newly defined clan of ore deposits
Australia in 1975, Iron Oxide Copper–Gold (IOCG) deposits have be- (Meyer, 1988; Hitzman et al., 1992; Barton and Johnson, 1996; Sillitoe,
come the largest producer of uranium (Hitzman and Valenta, 2005; 2003; Williams et al., 2005; Porter, 2010; Chen, 2013). They are a class
Skirrow, 2011), the third producer of copper (Sillitoe, 2012) and signif- of Cu ± Au deposits containing abundant low-Ti iron oxide (magnetite
icant producer of gold (Kerrich et al., 2000; Frimmel, 2008; Porter, and/or hematite) and extensive hydrothermal alkali (Na/Ca/K) alter-
2010). These deposits may also contain high contents of light rare ation. Such deposits also have strong structural controls, and a temporal
earth elements (LREEs), silver, molybdenum, nickel, cobalt, barium, but not a close spatial association with igneous rocks (Williams et al.,
fluorine and phosphorus (Williams et al., 2005; Barton, 2014). 2005). They formed in rift or subduction settings (Hitzman, 2000;
Barton, 2014) from the Late Archean to Pliocene (Groves et al., 2010).
According to the above definition, the carbonatite-related deposits
E-mail address: [email protected]. (e.g., Palabora in South Africa and Bayan Obo in China, Groves and

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0169-1368/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
38 Z. Zhu / Ore Geology Reviews 72 (2016) 37–42

Vielreicher, 2001; Smith and Wu, 2000), Kiruna-type or Chilean coastal Therefore, only thirty-six deposits from ten IOCG provinces worldwide
belt Fe deposits (Billström et al., 2010; Chen, 2013), skarn deposits (eg., are used in the dataset.
the Lower Yangtze Fe ± Cu deposits in China, Angara-Ilim Fe deposits in The gold grades of these IOCG deposits are between 0.01 g/t and
Siberia and Turgai Fe deposits in Kazakhstan, Meinert et al., 2005; 1.41 g/t (averaging 0.41 g/t), but cluster at low values with ~ 90% of
Groves et al., 2010; Yang et al., 2011), hybrid porphyry-IOCG Aitik Cu– the data below 1 g/t (Fig. 2-A). There is a roughly positive correlation
Au deposits in Sweden (Wanhainen and Martinsson, 2010), and Cu– between Cu content and its gold grade (Fig. 2-B). The deposits have a
Au deposits in Tennant Creek (Groves et al., 2010) are not IOCG deposits range of gold tonnage from 0.6 to 483 t (averaging 64 t), but with the
sensu stricto. Therefore, only eleven IOCG provinces sensu stricto exception of the Olympic Dam containing gold of 2968 t (Fig. 2-C).
(Fig. 1) have been recognized including: 1) Gawler Craton, South The Cu/Au ratios of IOCG deposits are significantly variable. The ratios
Australia (Hayward and Skirrow, 2010); 2) Carajás mineral province, range from 0.7 to 64, but most values fall between 1.0 and 6.0 (two of
Brazil (Xavier et al., 2012); 3) Mount Isa Inlier, Northern Australia them fall below 1.0 and six of them fall between 6.0 and 64) (Fig. 2-D).
(Duncan et al., 2014); 4) Central Andean Coastal Belt, Southern Peru The gold in IOCG deposits is present as three forms: (1) native gold,
and Northern Chile (Chen, 2010); 5) Kangdian Copper Belt, Southwest (2) electrum, and (3) gold–bismuth–antimony–tellurium alloy. Native
China and Northern Vietnam (Zhao and Zhou, 2011); 6) Khetri Copper gold and electrum commonly occur as inter-granular particles and
Belt, India (Knight et al., 2002); 7) Lufilian Arc, Zambia (Wilhelm, tiny inclusions in sulfide, hematite and gangue minerals (quartz, calcite,
2008); 8) Great Bear Magmatic Zone, Canada (Corriveau et al., 2010); barite and siderite) in many deposits, e.g., Ernest Henry (Figs. 13 and 14;
9) Southeast Missouri Iron Province, America (Seeger, 2000); Foster et al., 2007), Lala (photographs 1–5, Sun et al., 1994), Olympic
10) Fennoscandian Shield, North Finland (Billström et al., 2010); and Dam (Ehrig et al., 2012), Igarape Bahia (Tazava and de Oliveira, 2000),
11) West African Craton, Mauritania (Kolb et al., 2010). In the above Boss-Bixby (Seeger, 2000), Starra/Selwyn (Sleigh, 2002), Sin Quyen
provinces, most deposits have economic or anomalous gold (Hitzman (McLean, 2001), and Guelb Moghrein (Strickland and Martyn, 2001).
et al., 1992; Williams et al., 2005), and some case studies have been Native gold and electrum also occur as fine particles in fractures in sul-
carried out at Olympic Dam (Ehrig et al., 2012) and Ernest Henry fide and gangue mineral, e.g., Ernest Henry (Figs. 13 and 14; Foster et al.,
(Foster et al., 2007; Rusk et al., 2010). However, the gold distribution 2007), Lala (photograph 6, Sun et al., 1994), and Starra/Selwyn
in IOCG deposits and its possible controlling factors remain unclear, (Rotherham, 1997). However, Gold–bismuth–antimony–tellurium
partly owing to a lack of detailed compilation and studies on well- alloy is only reported from NICO and Olympic Dam (Fig. 5B, Goad
established IOCG deposits. et al., 2000; Ehrig et al., 2012).
In this contribution, the gold grades and tonnages of selected de-
posits in the above eleven IOCG provinces are summarized. The main
objective of this contribution is to discuss the gold distribution in IOCG 3. Discussion
deposits and its possible controls, as well as implication for exploration
and ore processing. Several important factors governing the grade and tonnage of gold
and copper in hydrothermal ore deposit are: (1) the availability of a
source of gold; (2) the solubility of gold in solution; (3) the flux of hy-
2. Gold in IOCG deposits drothermal fluid through the rock volume; and (4) the precipitation
mechanism (Skinner, 1997; Wood, 2002). Lines of evidence indicate
The data used in this contribution are mainly from a global compila- that IOCG deposits formed from variable but generally high tempera-
tion of well-established IOCG deposits in Williams et al. (2005), Cox and ture, high salinity, oxidized and S-poor hydrothermal fluids (Hitzman
Singer (2007), Porter (2010) and other references shown in Table 1. De- et al., 1992; Barton and Johnson, 1996; Kerrich et al., 2000; Barton,
posits without available gold grades (e.g., Gameleira in Carajás mineral 2014). Under these conditions, gold and copper would be transported
province, Boss-Bixby in Southeast Missouri Iron Province, Vi Kem in predominantly as chloride complexes (Williams-Jones et al., 2009;
North Vietnam and some deposits in Khetri Copper belt) are excluded. Pokrovski et al., 2013, 2014). Thus, for a given IOCG deposit where the

Fig. 1. Geographical distribution of IOCG provinces with selected deposits worldwide.

Modified after Porter (2010).
 Z. Zhu / Ore Geology Reviews 72 (2016) 37–42 39

Table 1
Tonnage and grades for selected IOCG deposits worldwide.

Deposit Tonnage (Mt) Cu (%) Au (g/t) Host rock Age Sources of data

1. Gawler Craton, South Australia

Olympic Dam 9576 0.82 0.31 Granite breccia Mesoproterozoic Porter (2010), Hayward and Skirrow
Carrapateena 203 1.31 0.56 Brecciated granitoids (2010) and Ehrig et al. (2012)
Prominent Hill 283 0.89 0.81 Volcanic rocks and sedimentary rocks
Hillside 170 0.70 0.20 Meta-sediments intrude by igneous rocks
Moonta/Wallaroo 10.1 3.70 0.42
Cairn Hill 11.4 0.37 0.11 Volcanic rocks and sedimentary rocks

2. Carajás mineral province, Brazil

Salobo 986 0.82 0.49 Metagraywacke and amphibolite Neoarchean Porter (2010) and Xavier et al.
Igarape Bahia/Alemáo 219 1.40 0.86 Siderite–chlorite breccia (2012)
Cristalino 500 1.00 0.30 Mafic to felsic volcanic rocks
Sossego/Sequeirinho 245 1.10 0.28 Brecciated metavolcanic rocks
Alvo 118 170 1.00 0.30 Metavolcanic rocks, granite and gabbro

3. Mount Isa Inlier, Northern Australia

Ernest Henry 226 1.10 0.51 Intermediate to felsic volcanic rocks Mesoproterozoic Porter, 2010 and Duncan et al., 2014
Osborne 27 1.40 0.80 Siliciclastic rocks and iron formation
Eloise 3.1 5.50 1.40 Meta-arkose and amphibolite
Mount Elliott 570 0.44 0.26 Amphibolite and trachyandesite
Starra/Selwyn 253 0.34 0.48 Biotite schist, amphibolite and iron stone

4. Central Andean Coastal Belt, Southern Peru and Northern Chile

Mina Justa, Peru 347 0.71 0.03 Andesite and volcanic sediments Mesozoic Sidder (1987), Porter (2010), Chen
Raúl-Condestable, Peru N32 1.70 0.30 Andesite lava, tuff (2010) and Lopez et al. (2014)
Monterrossas, Peru 1.9 2.00 0.93 Gabbro-diorite
La Candelaria, Chile 470 0.95 0.22 Andesite breccia
Manto Verde, Chile 410 0.58 0.11 Andesite lava
Cerro Negro, Chile 249 0.40 0.15 Andesite lava, tuff
Punta del Cobre, Chile N120 1.50 0.2–0.6 Andesite–basalt lava
El Espino, Chile 123 0.66 0.24 Volcanic–sedimentary rocks

5. Kangdian Copper Belt and Lao Cai district, Southwest China and North Vietnam
Dahongshan, China 192 0.90 0.18 Marble and meta-volcanic rocks Mesoproterozoic McLean, (2001), Zhao and Zhou
Lala, China 106 0.87 0.19 Albitite, mica-schist and quartzite (2011) and Zhu and Sun (2013)
Sin Quyen, Vietnam 52.8 0.91 0.44 Gneiss and schist

6. Khetri Copper Belt, India

Khetri 140 1.1–1.7 0.50 Quartzite and schist Neoproterozoic Knight et al. (2002)

7. Lufilian Arc, Zambia

Chimiwungo 761 0.64 0.01 Mafic–felsic plutonic and volcanic rocks Neoproterozoic Porter (2010) and Wilhelm (2008)
Malundwe 162 0.89 0.03
Mumbwa–Kitumba 87 0.94 0.05

8. Great Bear Magmatic Zone, Canada

Sue-Dianne 8.4 0.80 0.07 Rhyodacite ignimbrite Paleoproterozoic Corriveau et al. (2010)

9. Fennoscandian Shield, North Finland

Hannukainen 170.7 0.20 0.10 Mafic–felsic volcanic sequence and ironstone Paleoproterozoic Billström et al. (2010) and Niiranen
Laurinoja 4.56 0.88 1.00 et al. (2007)
Rautuvaara 2.8 0.48 0.20

10 West African Craton, Mauritania

Guelb Moghrein 33.4 1.12 1.41 Meta-carbonate rocks and metabasalt Neoarchean Kolb et al. (2010)

flux of fluid through the rock volume is constant, the main controls on spatial relationship with magmatic rocks. Moreover, lines of evidences
the gold distribution are the source, solubility and depositional mecha- have shown that IOCG deposits are formed from one or more fluids
nism of gold. (eg. Barton, 2014; Williams et al., 2010; Porter, 2010; McPhie et al.,
2011a, 2011b), including magmatic–hydrothermal fluids, basinal or
3.1. The source of gold surficial brines and metamorphic–hydrothermal fluids. As a conse-
quence, leaching gold from host rocks by the above fluids is a possible
The average gold abundance of the upper continental crust is 1.3 ppb mechanism. Such a model is supported by the similarity of element as-
(Rudnick and Gao, 2013). Even as co-products or by-products from the sociation between the ore and host rock in the Carajás mineral province
production of copper or other metals, the ores must contain amounts of (Xavier et al., 2012), the high initial Os isotope ratios of ores indicating a
gold no less than 0.1 ppm, 100-fold enrichment over upper continental crustal origin of ore metals in the Lala deposit and some deposits of the
crust. Therefore, to form Au-rich IOCG deposits, the source rocks must Central Andean Coastal Belt (Ruiz et al., 1997; Mathur et al., 2002; Zhu
be pre-enriched in gold. There are two possible sources for gold in hy- and Sun, 2013), as well as the high gold concentration in host rocks in
drothermal deposits: (1) volcano-sedimentary sequences including ba- the Mantoverde district of Chile, Candelaria district of Chile and the
salts, carbonaceous sedimentary rocks (Large et al., 2011; Gaboury, Lala district of China (Marschik et al., 2000; Rieger et al., 2010; Zhu,
2013; Pitcairn et al., 2015); and (2) felsic-intermediate magmas, 2011).
which release magmatic–hydrothermal fluids during magma crystalli- The gold grades of IOCG deposits vary significantly, but at a province
zation (Pollard, 2006; Groves et al., 2010; Richards and Mumin, 2013a, scale, the ranges of gold grades for most deposits are narrow (Table 1),
2013b). However, the IOCG deposits have a temporal but not a close e.g., Gawler Craton (gold grades range from 0.11 to 0.81 g/t), Carajás
40 Z. Zhu / Ore Geology Reviews 72 (2016) 37–42

Fig. 2. A. Frequency histogram of gold grades in IOCG deposits, B. Cu contents versus Au grades for IOCG deposits, C. Frequency histogram of gold grades in IOCG deposits, D. Frequency
histogram of Cu/Au ratios for IOCG deposits.

mineral province (gold grades range from 0.3 to 0.86 g/t), Mount Isa In- province (Xavier et al., 2012), the deposits were formed as a result of
lier (gold grades range from 0.26 to 1.4 g/t), Kangdian Copper Belt and mixing of at least two fluids including cool non-magmatic fluids and
Lao Cai district (gold grades range from 0.18 to 0.44 g/t), Central Andean hot deeply-sourced magmatic (and or metamorphic) fluids. In conclu-
Coastal Belt (except Mina Justa, gold grades range from 0.11 to 0.93 g/t), sion, cooling, fluid–rock interaction and fluid mixing are three main
Lufilian Arc (gold grades range from 0.01 to 0.05 g/t). The narrow range controls on gold and copper precipitation in IOCG deposits.
of gold grades at the province scale suggests that source rock might con- However, copper and gold show some different efficiency of precip-
trol the gold contents in IOCG deposits. itation mechanism in IOCG ore-forming fluids. As a consequence, differ-
ent deposits have different Cu/Au ratios (Rotherham, 1997; Davidson,
3.2. The precipitation mechanism of gold 2002). Grainger et al. (2002) noticed that in Carajás mineral province
the high-temperature deposits have lower gold grades and higher Cu/
In the IOCG deposits, AuCl− −
2 and CuCl2 are likely the main com- Au ratios (e.g., Salobo with gold grade of 0.49 g/t and Cu/Au ratio of
plexes that transport the gold and copper in high temperature hydro- 1.68), whereas the low-temperature deposits have the higher gold
thermal fluids (Williams-Jones et al., 2009; Pokrovski et al., 2013, grades and lower Cu/Au ratios (e.g., Igarape Bahia-Alemáo with gold
2014). Therefore, the solubility of metal (gold or copper) will be grade of 0.86 g/t and Cu/Au ratio of 1.63). In Mount Isa Inlier, the low-
governed by the reaction (Williams-Jones et al., 2009): temperature deposits also have higher gold grades and lower Cu/Au ra-
tios (e.g., Osborne with gold grade of 0.80 g/t and Cu/Au ratio of 1.75)
− −
MeCl2 þ 1=2H 2 O ⇌ Me þ 2Cl þ H þ þ 1=4O2 than high-temperature deposits (e.g., Ernest Henry deposit with a
gold grade of 0.51 g/t and Cu/Au ratio of 2.16). Skirrow (2010) found
(where Me is gold or copper). that the shallow low-temperature hematite-group IOCG deposits have
Under these conditions, the deposition of gold or copper will be pro- lower Cu/Au ratio than the deep high-temperature magnetite-group
moted by a decrease in the activity of Cl− and fO2 and an increase of pH. IOCG deposits. The gold and copper solubility as chloride complexes de-
As a consequence, cooling, decompression, phase separation, fluid–rock clines with decreasing temperature, but the CuCl− 2 focused to a narrow
interaction and fluid mixing are all possible mechanisms leading to gold temperature window whereas the AuCl− − −
2 did not (CuCl2 and AuCl2 sta-
and copper depositions. In the Andean Coastal Belt, the deposits were bilize as low as 300–250 °C). Below these temperatures, most Cu precip-
formed by cooling, fluid–rock interaction and fluid mixing (Chen, itates as sulfide but AuCl− 2 stabilizes over a wide temperature range;
2010). In the Mount Isa Inlier (Rotherham, 1997; Williams and Pokrovski et al., 2014). Therefore, low-temperature deposits likely
Skirrow, 2000; Williams et al., 2001), the Fennoscandian Shield have a higher gold grade but lower Cu/Au ratio than high-temperature
(Billström et al., 2010) and the Khetri Copper Belt (Knight et al., deposits. In addition, Cu/Au ratio can be significantly affected by super-
2002), the ore-forming fluid interaction with ironstone or carbonaceous gene processes (Williams et al., 2005) and this mechanism may ex-
rocks leads to mineralization. In the Gawler craton (Haynes et al., 1995), pound the high Cu/Au ratios (18.8–64) of IOCG deposits in Lufilian Arc
the Raul-Condestable (de Haller and Fontboté, 2009) and the Carajás (Lobo-Guerrero, 2010; Wilhelm, 2008).
 Z. Zhu / Ore Geology Reviews 72 (2016) 37–42 41

The efficiency of copper and gold deposition may also control the cor- the dominant source of gold, and cooling, fluid–rock interaction and
relation between copper and gold. As mentioned above, there is a roughly fluid mixing are main controls on gold and copper precipitation in
positive correlation between copper and gold for IOCG deposits (Fig. 2-B) IOCG deposits.
and this correlation suggests that the copper and gold were dominantly In order to find gold-rich IOCG deposits, at province scale it is essen-
transported in the same fluids and co-precipitated with sulfides (e.g., at tial to direct exploration to areas both with gold-enriched host rocks
Ernest Henry, copper and gold co-precipitated with chalcopyrite, Rusk and efficient depositional mechanism and at a deposit scale the explora-
et al., 2010). However, under some specific conditions, copper decouples tion of gold-rich deposits should also focus on low-temperature
with gold. At Olympic Dam, gold dominantly occurs as electrum as inclu- deposits.
sions in or attached to sulfide minerals (Ehrig et al., 2012). Ehrig et al.
(2012) found that gold has another two mineralogical associations: Conflict of interest
1) the hematite–quartz–barite assemblages, with the absence of sulfide,
may contain gold-only mineralization (364 Mt @0.75 g/t Au, No conflicts of interest to declare.
BHPBilliton, 2014). Gold occurs as inclusions in quartz, hematite and bar-
ite along the margins of breccias. The hematite–quartz–barite assem- Acknowledgments
blages indicate high oxidation state of fluid, and this leads to oxidation
of sulfide to sulfate. As a consequence, copper cannot precipitate as sul- This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of
fide, but gold can precipitate as inclusions in hematite, quartz, and barite, China (41102044) and Sichuan Youth Science and Technology Founda-
which resulted in gold-only mineralization. 2) The intense sericitic alter- tion of China (2012JQ0026). I would like to thank Dr. Zhang Rongqing
ation assemblages represent early locally preserved advanced argillic al- and Dr. Zhu Kongyang for the paper preparation and inspiring discus-
teration remnants within the hematite–quartz–barite zone. Gold occurs sions. I also thank Dr. Zhao Xinfu for polishing the manuscript. The
as inclusions in sericite and/or quartz containing with b0.3 wt.% Cu and manuscript was significantly improved by the comments from two
~N0.3 ppm Au. The advanced argillic alteration represents intense H+ anonymous reviewers and the editorial handling by Dr. Franco Pirajno.
metasomatism and acid leaching at low temperature. As mentioned
above, low-temperature deposits likely have a higher gold grade but References
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