Scientific Quarterly Journal of Geosciences

Scientific Quarterly Journal of Geosciences

Study of rock geochemistry in the Moalleman epithermal gold deposit, (Semnan province), Iran

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors
Department of Economic Geology, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran
Abstract
The Moalleman epithermal gold deposit is located 130 km southeast of Damghan, part of the Toroud-Chah Shirin volcanic-intrusive belt. The approximate reserve of this deposit is 4.2 million tons with an average grade of 1.1 grams per ton and is located in Eocene rocks such as tuff, sandy tuff, siltstone and marl. The east-west fault trend of the region separates this deposit from volcanic rocks and the dominant fault system is northeast-southwest. Mineralization occurs in 2 types of hypogene (chalcopyrite, magnetite, pyrite) and supergene (chalcocite, covellite) and is accompanied by different alterations such as silicic and propylitic alterations. The origin of mineralization is the intrusion of semi-deep magmatic masses along the faults. Geochemical compositions indicate that the rocks of the region are basic to intermediate in composition and include dacite, rhyolite, basalt, and andesite. Based on geological, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics, the Moalleman area is classified as an epithermal deposit.
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