Advanced Applied Geology

Advanced Applied Geology

Petrological, geochemical, and mineralization characteristics of Chah Firozeh mine, Kerman

Authors
1 Department of Geology of Mineral and Water Resources, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
2 Faculty Member, Department of Geology of Mineral and Water resources, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
3 Department of Sedimentary and Petroleum Basins, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
4 Gohar Mess Mining and industries Development Company, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
The Chah-Firozeh deposit is located within the southern part of the Urumieh–Dokhtar magmatic arc, 35 km from Shahr-e Babak. The oldest igneous units consist of Eocene andesitic to dacitic lavas and pyroclastic tuffs, intruded by several quartz monzodioritic and dioritic bodies accompanied by compositionally similar and contrasting dikes. Porphyry Cu mineralization is chiefly associated with a quartz monzodiorite intrusion, while subsequent magmatic activity emplaced dioritic bodies and various dikes that locally disrupted the ore body. Major alteration types include magnetite-rich potassic, phyllic, and propylitic assemblages, with phyllic alteration overprinting the potassic zone. Intense silicic and magnetitic replacement occurs in potassic domains containing dense quartz–magnetite stockworks. Hypogene mineralization appears as disseminations, stockworks, and veinlets dominated by chalcopyrite, pyrite, and magnetite, accompanied by minor molybdenite, sphalerite, and galena; the strongest mineralization is coeval with potassic alteration. Limited supergene oxidation and secondary enrichment are present in near-surface zones. Geochemical data on major and trace elements indicate that the rocks, with SiO₂ contents of 53–63 wt%, MgO of 1.5–4.5 wt%, and FeOt of 3–7 wt%, belong to a calc-alkaline magmatic series linked to subduction. Enrichment of LREE (LaN/YbN ≈ 10–14), negative Eu anomalies, enrichment in LILE, depletion in HFSE, and Al₂O₃ contents exceeding 15 wt% in intermediate rocks suggest a mantle wedge source modified by metasomatism, followed by fractionation of mafic minerals. The uniformity of geochemical patterns supports a common magmatic origin and shared evolutionary history for both volcanic and intrusive units in the Chah-Firozeh porphyry system.
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Subjects

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