The Senegal-Mali Shear Zone: A Fluid Conduit for Atypical Orogenic Gold in the Birimian (2.

1 Ga) of West Africa James S. Lambert-Smith,1, P.J. Treloar,1 D.M. Lawrence,1 A. Rankin,1 A. Boyce,2 and P. Harbidge3
1

Centre for Earth & Environmental Science Research, Kingston University, Surrey KT1 2EE, United Kingdom 2 SUERC, Rankine Avenue, Scottish Enterprise Technology Park, East Kilbride G75 0QF, United Kingdom 3 Randgold Resources, La Motte Chambers, La Motte Street, St Helier, Jersey

Corresponding author: e-mail, J.Lambert-Smith@kingston.ac.uk

The Senegal-Mali shear zone (SMSZ) is a major crustal-scale terrane boundary in the Palaeoproterozoic Kdougou-Kniba Inlier (KKI) in Mali, West Africa. The Loulo and Gounkoto gold mines boast a combined resource of over 17 million ounces (Moz), making this one of West Africa's most important Au regions. The deposits are hosted along secondand higher-order shear zones within the Kofi Series metasediments. The presence of a 270 to 350C, low-salinity (<10 wt % NaCl equiv), CO2-N2-H2Srich metamorphic fluid is consistent with the well-established model for sediment-hosted orogenic gold genesis. However, a number of deposits in the KKI feature fluid chemistry and paragenetic characteristics uncommon in such deposits. Numerous deposits along the east of the SMSZ, including Gara (3.7 Moz at 4.1 grams per tonne [g/t]) and Gounkoto (5.76 Moz at 5.29 g/t), feature two distinct hydrothermal fluids: (1) a high-temperature, hypersaline, Na-Fe-Cl-Bbearing magmatic fluid and (2) a lower-temperature, low-salinity, CO2-N2-H2Srich metamorphic fluid. These fluids are thought to have mixed during mineralization. The deposits are characterized by As-poor, pyrite-dominated ore assemblages with accessory chalcopyrite, Ni sulfides, scheelite, and rare-earth element (REE) phosphates. Regional albite alteration is associated with early stages of mineralization. A strong boron anomaly extends along the strike of the shear zone; this is significant, as mineralization at Gara is associated with abundant tourmaline. In addition, mineralized ankerite veins show a magmatic 13C signal (14.4 to 4.5). These characteristics indicate a significant role for magmatic fluids in the mineralization process, which may represent a new subclass of orogenic gold deposit. The Bambadji permit area to the west straddles the SMSZ and contains numerous prospective Au targets in the Kofi Series metasediments and several iron oxide skarns hosted in dioritic intrusions in the Falm volcanic belt to the west. The Au targets show characteristics similar to both Gara and Gounkoto (Ni-rich sulfides and abundant REEs). In the Falm volcanic belt, the dioritic intrusions and Fe-rich breccias feature a magmatic fluid similar to that at Gara. The diorite bodies are thus potential sources for the magmatic fluid which influenced mineralization of both Fe and Au orebodies throughout the Bambadji and Loulo permits. The iron skarns show enrichment in light REEs, P, Cu, Au, U, Ni, Co, and As and are associated with widespread sodic alteration. This indicates potential affinities with iron oxide copper-gold or Kiruna-type ore deposits. The unusual paragenesis and fluid inclusion assemblages of these deposits, along with their close proximity to significant iron ore deposits, suggest that the role of magmatic fluids in the development of world-class orogenic gold deposits may have been underestimated.