Vol 60, No 3 (2018)

The near-bottom part of the Yoko-Dovyren layered ultramafic-mafic intrusion host the Baikal deposit of Cu–Ni sulfide ores with Pt–Pd mineralization, whereas horizons and pockets of low sulfide ores with Pt–Pd mineralization occur at higher stratigraphic levels, including the boundary between strata of troctolite and gabbronorite, within these rocks, as well as in strata of peridotite at the lower part of the intrusion. This paper represents a new (for the Yoko-Dovyren intrusion) type of “refractory IPGE-mineralization” discovered in the lower peridotite ranging from two-pyroxene-plagioclase-bearing lherzolite. This mineralization occurs in thin intercalations of plagioclase lherzolite containing as much as 7% of alumochromite, up to 50 ppb Ru, 15 ppb Ir, and 60 ppb Pt. Crystals of cumulate alumochromite with 0.2–0.8 wt % TiO₂ contain hexagonal plates of Ir-osmium up to 5 m in size. Crystals of cumulate alumochromite with 1.2–2.8 wt % TiO₂ host pentagonal dodecahedrons of laurite up to 4 m in size. One of the alumochromite crystals with an inclusion of Os-poor laurite was found inside a crystal of cumulate olivine Fo86. Intergrowth of laurite and Ir-osmium enclosed in alumochromite with 1.1% TiO₂ was observed in one case. Laurite from Yoko-Dovyren contains 93–66%, predominantly 92–82%, RuS₂ endmember (n = 10); 3–20, predominantly 5–12%, OsS₂ endmember; 4–5% IrS₂ endmember; and up to 0.7% Pd and 0.5% Au. Ir-osmium is divided into two groups by composition. The first group is enriched in Os (58–73 wt %, on average 64 wt %) and Ru (3–8 wt %, on average 5 wt %), contains 24–34 wt % Ir (n = 4), up to 1.4 wt % Au, and no Pt. Compositions of the second group have 57–58 wt % Os, 27–30 wt % Ir, 1.5–5.5 wt % Ru, approximately 10 wt % Pt (n = 3), and up to 0.2 wt % Pd. The Cr# and Fe²⁺/(Fe²⁺ + Mg) values, which range within 58–69 and 61–72, respectively, are identical in alumochromite with both enclosed laurite and Ir-osmium. Alumochromite, relatively enriched in Ti, crystallized slightly later, suggesting later crystallization for hosted laurite. Occurrence of Ir-osmium seems to indicate a picritic magma undersaturated with sulfide sulfur during bulk crystallization of alumochromite Judging from the diagram from (Brennan and Andrews, 2001), intergrowths of laurite and Ir-osmium, evidence that their probable crystallization temperature did not exceed 1250°C. The presence of own minerals of Ru, Os, Ir in the rocks, containing the first ppb of these PGE shows startling degree of magmatic differentiation. In the matrix of plagioclase lherzolites, containing laurite and Ir-osmium, in association with phlogopite, pargasite, pentlandite, troilite and chalcopyrite there were found the smallest crystals of geversite, sperrilite, insizwaite, niggliite, naldrettite, zvyagintsevite, in association with serpentine and chlorite–native platinum, Pd-platinum, osarsite, irarsite, platarsite.

The paper discusses the geology of Zun-Ospa gold deposit, which is situated near the Ospino ophiolitic nappe in the southeastern part of the Eastern Sayan, and the ore composition therein. The deposit is related to the tectonic mélange zone and is characterized by distinct structural control. Three consecutive mineral assemblages formed within a temperature range of 380°–170°C: (i) native gold–quartz–pyrite, (ii) gold–quartz–polysulfide, and (iii) silver–sulfosalt. The ore was deposited from low-concentration (5.2–14.2 wt % NaCl equiv.) solutions without CO₂, with the predominance of Mg and Fe chlorides and an admixture of Na and K chlorides. The major ore minerals are pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, and sphalerite; identified subordinate minerals are pyrrhotite, pentlandite, heazlewoodite, fahlore (tennantite, freibergite), Ni and Ag sulfosalts (ullmannite, miargyrite, polybasite, stephanite), Ag sulfides (mckinstryite, argentite); Au minerals are represented by electrum, kuestelite, and native gold of medium to low fineness. The geological, mineralogical, geochemical, and isotopic characteristics of ore indicate a metamorphic–hydrothermal genesis of mineralization related to the formation of a mélange zone in the duplex strike-slip structure. The sources of ore components are host rock complexes that have been subjected to tectonic deformations, among which rocks of an ophiolitic association predominate, along with fragments of initial hydrothermal–sedimentary ore, granitic, terrigenous, and carbonate rocks. The Late Paleozoic (352 Ma) age of mineralization corresponds to the stage of postcollision shear deformations within the entire Central Asian Foldbelt.