Subepithermal Au-Pd Mineralization Associated with an Alkalic Porphyry Cu-Au Deposit, Mount Milligan, Quesnel Terrane, British Columbia, Canada

At the Mount Milligan Cu-Au porphyry deposit, Quesnel terrane, British Columbia, Canada, barren and weakly mineralized, late-stage hydrothermal veins occur in volcanic rocks adjacent to zones of Cu-Au porphyry mineralization, and have overprinted the porphyry-stage veins. The earliest of the late-stage hydrothermal veins are barren and consist of quartz +/- pyrite +/- carbonate +/- chlorite +/- tourmaline. These veins are similar to "transitional" to late-stage hydrothermal veins in other alkaline porphyry Cu-Au deposits, and we consider these to be the equivalent of transitional (post-porphyry pre-epithermal) quartz-sericite-pyrite veins in calc-alkaline porphyry environments. A later generation of volumetrically minor, mineralized veins are composed of pyrite (Hg- and As-bearing) +/- quartz +/- carbonate +/- chlorite and contain early electrum, arsenopyrite, tetra-hedrite-tennantite,platinum-group element (PG E) tellurides, galena, sphalerite, barite, and chalcopyrite as inclusions in pyrite, and a later assemblage of electrum, PCE tellurides, arsenides and antimonides, galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and various Au-Ag-Te-Bi minerals in annealed fractures and open-space infillings in quartz and pyrite. Metal precipitation in these veins was temporally and spatially associated with the deposition and later recrystallization of pyrite. Primary fluid inclusions in quartz in the barren and weakly mineralized veins are two-phase (L+V), homogenize to liquid over a narrow range in T (similar to 170 degrees-270 degrees C; n = 96, 12 veins), and show a wide range in salinity (4.2 wt % NaCl equiv to 28.7 wt % CaCl2 equiv) when all samples are considered. However, individual veins show narrow ranges in salinity and homogenization temperature. LA-ICP-MS analyses indicate that the fluids were highly enriched in As (to 2,260 ppm), Sb (to 230 ppm), B (to 5,400 ppm), Au (similar to 1-2 ppm) and Pd (similar to 0.5-1 ppm) but depleted in Cu (<740 ppm; rarely > 80 ppm) compared to typical porphyry-stage fluids. Metal ratios in the fluids overlap with bulk rock metal ratios in the mineralized veins. The inclusions are interpreted to contain a contracted magmatic vapor (produced by boiling) that lost Cu during the formation of porphyry stage veins at depth. Fluids show decreasing B, As, Sb, and increasing Sr, Ca, and salinity with time. Stable C, O, and H isotope analyses of vein minerals indicate that mixing of this magmatic fluid with meteoric water was not responsible for metal deposition. Rather, metal precipitation was possibly the result of mixing of the magmatic-derived fluid with a heated saline groundwater. The precious and accessory metal mineralogy of the hydrothermal veins is similar to that found in low-to intermediate-sullidation epithermal systems. Fluid inclusion microthermometry and chlorite thermometry constrain the approximate formation conditions of the veins between similar to 200 and 1,500 bars and similar to 240 degrees and 280 degrees C. After the formation of the mineralized veins, circulation of low salinity, metal-depleted fluids occurred. These latest stage fluids may have formed by mixing of the saline magmatic fluid-groundwater hybrid with meteoric water. The results of this study suggest a genetic link between porphyry-stage events and the deposition of Au and Pc E in late-stage veins in an alkalic igneous environment. Recognition of hydrothermal processes involving the transport of Au-PGE-As-Sb-Bi-Te-B-rich fluids in the "subepithermal" regimes implies that low-sulfidation epithermal Au deposits may have been present in the shallower parts of the magmatic-hydrothermal complex and that there is potential for the discovery of PCE-rich epithermal veins in less deeply exhumed terranes. On the other hand, the formation of high-grade, low-sulfidation epithermal Au-PGE deposits may be prohibited if porphyry-epithermal transitional fluids precipitate ore metals through mixing with groundwater prior to reaching the level where meteoric water mixing and epithermal boiling normally occur.