Vol 60, No 5 (2018)

The paper considers the results of high-precision Pb–Pb isotopic analysis of 120 galena samples from 27 Au and Ag deposits of the South Verkhoyansk Synclinorium (SVS) including large Nezhdaninsky deposit (628.8 t Au). The Pb isotopic composition is analyzed on a MC-ICP-MS NEPTUNE mass-spectrometer from solutions with an error of no more than ±0.02% (2σ). Four types of deposits are studied: (i) stratified vein gold–quartz deposits (type 1) hosted in metamorphosed Upper Carboniferous–Lower Permian terrigenous rocks and formed during accretion of the Okhotsk Block to the North Asian Craton synchronously with dislocation metamorphism and related granitic magmatism; (ii) vein gold–quartz (Nezhdaninsky type) deposits also hosted in Lower Permian metasedimentary rocks; (iii) Au–Bi deposits localized at the contact zones of the Late Cretaceous granitic plutons; and (iv) Sn–Ag polymetallic deposits related to granitic and subvolcanic rocks of the Okhotsk Zone of the SVS. The deposits of types 2, 3, and 4 are postaccretionary. The general range of ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios is 18.1516–18.5903 (2.4%), 15.5175–15.6155 (0.63%), and 38.3010–39.0481 (2.0%), respectively. In ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb–²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb–²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb diagrams, the data points of Pb isotopic compositions of all deposits occupy restricted, partly overlapping areas along a general elongated trend. The various SVS Au–Ag deposits can be classified according to the Pb isotopic composition in accordance with all three Pb ratios. Deposits of the same type show distinct Pb isotopic compositions that strongly exceed the scale of analytical error (±0.02%). The differences in Pb isotopic composition within specific deposits are low and subordinate and have little effect on variations in the Pb isotopic composition of the SVS deposits. The μ₂ values (Stacey–Kramers model), which characterize the ²³⁸U/²⁰⁴Pb ratios of ore lead sources of the SVS deposits, widely vary from 9.7 to 9.38. The ω₂ values (²³²Th/²⁰⁴Pb) are 39.82–36.61, whereas the Th/U ratios are 4.04–3.86. The content of all three radiogenic Pb isotopes and μ₂ values of feldspars from SVS intrusive rocks are strongly distinct from those of galena of stratified gold–quartz and vein gold–quartz deposits and are identical to Pb of galena from Au–Bi and Sn–Ag polymetallic deposits, indicating a mostly magmatic origin for the Pb of these deposits. Detailed isotopic study of the Nezhdaninsky deposit shows different Pb isotopic composition of two consecutive mineral assemblages (gold–sulfide and Ag polymetallic): ~0.30, ~0.07, and ~0.22% for ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios, respectively. These differences are interpreted as a result of involvement of at least two metal sources during the evolution of an ore-forming system: (i) host Lower Permian terrigenous rocks and (ii) a magmatic source similar in Pb isotopic composition to that of Sn–Ag polymetallic deposits. The Pb isotopic composition and μ₂ and Th/U values show that lead of stratified gold–quartz deposits combines isotopic tracers of lower and upper crustal sources (Upper Carboniferous–Lower Permian terrigenous rocks), lead of which was mobilized by ore-bearing fluids. The high ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ratios and Th/U evolutionary parameter are common to all Pb isotopic composition of all studied Au–Ag deposits and SVS Cretaceous intrusive rocks and indicate that Pb sources were depleted in U relative to Th. Taking into account the structure of the region and conceptions on its evolution, we can suggest that the magma source was related to lower crustal subducted rocks of the Archean (~2.6 Ga) North Asian Craton and the Okhotsk terrane.

The phase state of the fluid in the H₂O–KF ± KCl ± NaF system is studied in the presence of quartz for an experimental assay of the mutual influence of various salts of the fluid-forming mixture on heterogeneous fluid equilibria. The fluid inclusions were synthesized in quartz by the fracture healing method from solutions with KF + KCl and KF + NaF mixtures at 1 or 2 kbar and 700, 750, or 800°C. The results of the fluid inclusion study indicate a heterogeneous state of the fluid and variation in the fluid composition during experiments as a result of its interaction with quartz. The increase in temperature and pressure, as well as variation in the proportions of the salt contents in the fluid-forming mixture, changed the course of chemical reactions. After all the experiments, a glassy phase was observed in some types of inclusions. It is known that aqueous KF or KCl solutions, the solubility of which increases during heating, are characterized by phase equilibria of systems of the first type (Valyashko, 1990), when liquid and vapor are equilibrated for a heterogeneous state of the fluid. In this case, some inclusions should homogenize to vapor. However, no similar inclusions were observed in contrast to denser fluid phases (liquids), which are typical of the upper heterogeneous area of systems of the second (P–Q) type. Some inclusions host solid phases, the solubility of which decreases as the temperature increases. The results of experiments in the presence of KF + NaF solutions showed that the amount of inclusions of heterogeneous entrapment increases at higher temperatures simultaneously with a decrease in the H₂O content of the glassy phase.