Economic Geology

Vol. 97, 2002, pp. 351–370

The Relative Roles of Folding and Faulting in Controlling Gold Mineralization

along the Deborah Anticline, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
PETER M. SCHAUBS*,† AND CHRISTOPHER J.L. WILSON
School of Earth Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia

Abstract
Gold mineralization along the Deborah anticline, Bendigo, Australia, occurs in quartz veins that are catego-
rized into two main groups: those associated with folds and those associated with faults. The relative chronol-
ogy of the structural development and quartz vein emplacement is characterized by the initial development of
the fold and the subsequent formation of bedding- and cleavage-parallel veins. Saddle reefs may have devel-
oped at this stage; reverse faults and their associated veins formed after folds had locked up. Major gold-host-
ing structures include saddle reefs, reverse faults, and composite fold-fault structures where reverse faults have
disrupted saddle reefs. Some reverse faults are interpreted to have propagated along preexisting structures,
such as bedding-parallel veins. Although gold is hosted in fold-related structures, the majority is found in veins
associated with later faults. Folds and fold-related veins strongly controlled the location of these later formed
reverse faults and their associated veins. A fault-based fracture system was superimposed on preexisting dila-
tional sites, such as bedding-parallel veins and saddle reefs, and it is possible that this allowed for the intro-
duction of a larger volume of fluids during faulting than was possible during folding.

Introduction events, including folding, faulting, vein emplacement, and in-

THE BENDIGO GOLD FIELD is the second largest (684 metric
tons) in Australia and has produced over 35 percent of the
gold within the Bendigo-Ballarat zone of the Western Lach-
lan fold belt, Australia (VandenBerg et al., 2000; Fig. 1). Prior
to the 1990s, in the majority of the literature pertaining to the
turbidite-hosted gold deposits of Bendigo, the gold field is
characterized as being the premier site for the formation of
spectacular saddle reefs and, therefore, there has been the
misconception that these are the major gold-bearing struc-
tures (i.e., Herman, 1914; Hills, 1940, p. 84). Where saddle
reefs have significant gold mineralization, they have generally
been breached by subsequent faulting and massive quartz
vein emplacement to form neck reefs. Much of the gold is lo-
cated in a variety of vein types other than saddle reefs, with
faults and their related veins containing the majority of gold
mineralization (Cox et al., 1991). Despite the misconception
concerning saddle reefs, early workers in the field, such as
Rickard (1892) and Pabst (1919), did recognize the impor-
tance of faults as sources of gold. The major difference be-
tween the Bendigo gold field and the next two largest gold
fields (Ballarat and Castlemaine) is the presence of saddle
reefs. The Ballarat and Chewton-Castlemaine gold fields
(Fig. 1B) have a more obvious association between reverse
faults and gold mineralization, and saddle reefs are not
prominent (Willman, 1995).
This paper analyses the various quartz vein types and their
relationship to folds, deformation fabrics and faults, based on
field observations made in underground workings of the Deb-
orah anticline, Bendigo. Descriptions of these quartz veins
and related fabrics, faults, and major quartz gold structures
are presented, as well as interpretations of the processes and
conditions under which they formed and how the structures
relate to gold mineralization. A relative chronology of geologic
† Corresponding
author, e-mail: Peter.Schaubs@csiro.au
*Present address: CSIRO Exploration and Mining, Australian Resources
Research Centre, P.O. Box 1130, Bentley, Western Australia 6102, Australia.
trusion of lamprophyre dikes, is also presented.
Geologic Setting
The Bendigo gold field of central Victoria lies in the west-
ern region of the Lachlan fold belt (Fig. 1A), which, itself, is
one of five Paleozoic structural zones within the Tasman fold
belt of eastern Australia (Gray, 1988). The Lachlan fold belt
is recognized as having been deformed in a thin-skinned tec-
tonic regime where major faults are steep at the surface but
become listric and feed into a probable detachment at depth
(Gray et al., 1991). The Western Lachlan fold belt has been
interpreted to be a propagating oceanic thrust system within
an accretionary wedge, where both the sedimentary rocks and
the deformation events to which they have been subjected
become progressively younger to the east (Gray, 1995; Gray
and Foster, 1997). The metasedimentary rocks, which form
the bulk of these areas, are typified by the Bendigo-Ballarat
zone and are predominantly quartz-rich turbidites consisting
of lower greenschist facies sandstone, slate, and siltstone.
The Bendigo-Ballarat zone is an 110-km-wide belt, bounded
by the Avoca and Heathcote faults on the west and east, re-
spectively (Fig. 1B). Major reverse faults within the zone in-
clude the Leichardt, Muckleford, Sebastian, Whitelaw, and
Fosterville faults. The area has been described as being
made up of a “monotonous” sequence of Ordovician tur-
bidites, which have been folded into one generation of tight,
upright chevron folds (Cas and VandenBerg, 1988; Vanden-
Berg et al., 2000). The Stawell zone to the west, is made up
of Cambrian turbidites and greenstones, in which six defor-
mation events have been recognized (Watchorn and Wilson,
1989). To the east of the Bendigo-Ballarat zone, in the Mel-
bourne zone, the rocks are predominantly Silurian- to De-
vonian-age turbidites, the folds are generally open (Gray,
1995), and steep reverse faults are less common than they
are in the Bendigo-Ballarat zone. It has been estimated that
the shortening was up to 70 percent in the Bendigo-Ballarat
zone (Gray and Willman, 1991a) and up to 50 percent in the

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352 SCHAUBS AND WILSON
FIG. 1. Regional maps. A. The Lachlan fold belt (LFB). B. The location of the Bendigo-Ballarat zone. Adapted from Gray
and Willman (1991a).
Melbourne zone (Gray, 1995). Granitic rocks in the Bendigo-
Ballarat zone are of Early and Late Devonian age, with the
largest bodies being the Late Devonian Harcourt and Cobaw
Granites (Fig. 1B). The fact that the Harcourt Granite cross-
cuts mineralized anticlines and reverse faults places a mini-
mum age of Late Devonian (360 Ma, Richards and Singleton,
1981) on the deformation and mineralization in the Bendigo
area. In the Bendigo gold field, 40Ar/ 39Ar ages from the
Whitelaw fault range from 443 to 417 Ma (Foster et al., 1999,
and references therein) and vein sericite associated with gold
has been dated at 439 ± 2 Ma (Foster et al., 1998). More de-
tailed geochronological information on the area may be found
in Bücher et al. (1996), Foster et al. (1996, 1998), and Bier-
lein et al. (1999). Lamprophyre dikes which crosscut folds,
the dominant cleavage and quartz veins, have been dated at
155 Ma using the K-Ar whole-rock method (McDougall and
Wellman, 1976). These dikes are generally found in the hinge
region of the folds and intruded along preexisting reverse
faults.
The stratigraphy of the Bendigo-Ballarat zone consists of
Ordovician metasedimentary rocks of the Castlemaine Super-
group (Fig. 2), including unbioturbated, but graptolitic, shale
and mudstone, along with quartz-rich sandstone to granule-
stones (Cas and VandenBerg, 1988). In the Bendigo area, the
rocks are part of the Sandhurst Group, which is made up of
the Lancefieldian (La3), Bendigonian (Be1-4), Chewtonian
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(Ch1-2), and Castlemanian (Ca1) biostratigraphic zones that
have been based on graptolite assemblages. Together, these
biostratigraphic units constitute a section approximately
1,450 m thick (Cas and VandenBerg, 1988). The dominant
units in the area, where the most intensive mining occurred
in Bendigo (including the Deborah anticline, Fig. 3) are those
of the sand-rich Bendigonian biostratigraphic unit (in partic-
ular, Be3 and Be2) that consists of <2 m sand units with in-
tercalated green to purple weathering slates (Willman and
Wilkinson, 1992). In general, the shale units become more
abundant up section.
The Bendigo gold field lies in the hanging wall of the west-
dipping Whitelaw fault, which is situated ~5 km to the east of
the Deborah anticline (Figs. 1 and 2). The Sebastian fault lies
5 km to the west of the city of Bendigo. Willman and Wilkin-
son (1992) divided the Bendigo gold field into two structural
domains. The Goldfield structural domain on the western
side is characterized by the exposure of mostly Bendigonian
(Be2-Be4) and Chewtonian units, which form asymmetric
chevron folds with wavelengths of 300 to 400 m and interlimb
angles of 40°, and together form a synclinorium. The Eastern
structural domain is bounded on the east by the Whitelaw
fault and is characterized by the exposure of the lowermost
Bendigonian (Be1) and Lancefieldian biostratigraphic units,
which form tight asymmetric folds, and have an enveloping
surface that dips to the west.
352
 Au MINERALIZATION ALONG THE DEBORAH ANTICLINE, BENDIGO, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA
FIG. 2. Map of Bendigo area, showing major biostratigraphic units and
faults. Map lies within a portion of the 1:100000 map accompanying the
Bendigo, and part of Mitiamo, Geological Survey of Victoria Report 99
(Cherry and Wilkinson, 1994).
The Deborah Anticline
The Deborah anticline, which is the focus of this paper, is
located within the Goldfield structural domain of the Bendigo
gold field and includes biostratigraphic units Be2-Be4 (Figs.
3 and 4). An unofficial stratigraphy has been established by
Bendigo Mining N.L. (Turnbull and McDermott, 1998; Fig.
4) for units along the Deborah anticline. It is a north-north-
west-trending, doubly plunging anticline with a length of >10
km and a width of 200 to 300 m (measured from adjacent syn-
clines). The axial surface is steeplydipping to the east-north-
east. Mining was concentrated in the northern 3 to 4 km,
which coincides with the domal culmination of the anticline
and where biostratigraphic unit Be3 is exposed on the sur-
face. At its northern termination, the Deborah anticline coa-
lesces with a minor syncline, where both become parasitic
folds on the larger Garden Gully anticline to the east (Fig. 3,
Willman and Wilkinson, 1992). The Deborah anticline is
bounded on the east by the Sheepshead anticline and lies in
the center of the main gold-producing anticlines of the
Bendigo region. The anticline itself is offset by a number of
both west- and east-dipping reverse faults, including the
Upper Deborah and Deborah faults.
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353
FIG. 3. Map of the Deborah anticline, showing more detail of the bios-
tratigraphic units and anticlines. Map modified from a portion of the Golden
Square 1:10000 map accompanying the Bendigo gold field, Geological Sur-
vey of Victoria Report 93 (Willman and Wilkinson, 1992).
Gold-bearing structures and quartz veins
There are three major types of quartz and gold-bearing
structures present along the Deborah anticline, as there are
along most other anticlines in the Bendigo gold field: (1) bed-
ding-parallel veins and associated saddle reefs, (2) reverse
faults, and (3) fault-modified saddle reefs (also known as neck
reefs). These structures have been divided into two major
groups of quartz-bearing structures along the Deborah anti-
cline (Figs. 4 and 5; Johansen, 1998). The first (Q1) includes
the Inner and Outer reefs (saddle reefs) and the Upper Deb-
orah fault. The second (Q2) is made up of the Kingsley’s Lode
and Rowe’s reefs (saddle reefs modified by reverse faults), the
Deborah fault (reverse fault with associated quartz veins),
and the Deborah Back (an east-dipping reactivated bedding-
parallel laminated quartz vein). Making up these mine-scale
structures are a number of different vein types (Fig. 6) in-
cluding bedding-parallel veins, saddle reefs, steeply dipping
extension veins, cleavage-parallel veins, fault veins, subhori-
zontally dipping extension veins, and en echelon veins. These
veins will be discussed in greater detail later in the paper. The
353
354 SCHAUBS AND WILSON
TABLE 1. Size, Relative Timing, and Gold Content of Vein Types Which Occur along the Deborah Anticline
(for a detailed description of the nature of the gold, sulfide, and gangue mineralogy in these veins see Schaubs, 1999)

Vein type Size (mm thick) Timing Gold content

Early folding and
Bedding-parallel veins 50–300 Moderate to high
reactivation during faulting
Middle-late folding, modified
Saddle reefs 300–1000 Moderate to high
by faulting
Steeply dipping
30–200 Middle-late folding Low to moderate
extension veins (BC)
Cleavage-parallel
50–500 Middle-late folding Moderate
veins
East-west striking
10–300 Syn-post folding Low to moderate
veins (AC)
Fold related en
10–30 Middle-late folding Barren to low
echelon veins
Neck-reefs and fault
300–1000 Faulting Moderate to high
parallel veins
Gently-dipping
10–300 Faulting Moderate to high
extension veins

En echelon veins 10–300 Faulting Barren

Undeformed
10–50 Post-faulting Barren
carbonate veins

emphasis for this paper is placed on the second group (Q2),
where the majority of the fieldwork was undertaken. Abbre-
viations for localities and levels within the underground work-
ings may be used in the text and figures (e.g., L13 ND=level
13 of the North Deborah mine, CD=Central Deborah mine,
D=Deborah mine). Fieldwork was carried out along an ap-
proximately 800-m strike length between the Central Debo-
rah, North Deborah, and Deborah shafts (Figs. 3 and 5) and
concentrated on the major gold-bearing structures that are lo-
cated in close proximity to the hinge of the anticline. Further
structural data south of the Deborah mine were collected
from drill core data.
Faulting
Within the Western Lachlan fold belt, there are at least
three orders of faults present. Tectonic zone bounding faults,
such as the Heathcote and Avoca faults (Fig. 1), represent the
first order, and intrazone faults, such as the Whitelaw and Se-
bastian faults (Fig. 2), represent the second order. Faults
within individual anticlines, such as the Deborah fault, repre-
sent the third order and contain the majority of mineraliza-
tion in the Bendigo gold field.
Mine-scale faults along the Deborah anticline may be
grouped into three general categories: (1) those that occur
along bedding-parallel laminated quartz veins, (2) those that
are also generally bedding-parallel but are more discrete, are
not associated with bedding-parallel veins, and commonly
occur along the interfaces between fissile slate layers and
more cohesive sandstone units, and (3) discordant faults that
crosscut bedding. Discordant faults offset folds, extend for
hundreds of meters, and show displacements of up to 20 m.
The major fault along the Deborah anticline is the Deborah
fault, which is locally associated with Kingsley’s Lode, a mod-
ified saddle reef (Fig. 4). The Upper Deborah fault is of a
scale similar to that of the Deborah fault and is located above
the Outer reef (Fig. 4).
An oblique fault that lies at a high angle to the strike of bed-
ding occurs at the north end of the Deborah anticline (South
Deborah cross course; Fig. 5) and also sporadically through-
out the Bendigo gold field. These faults, referred to as “cross
courses” in the literature (Sharpe and MacGeehan, 1990) are
commonly not mineralized and are interpreted to have
formed late in the deformation sequence.
Faults along the Deborah anticline may be either east or
west dipping with a reverse sense of displacement. Faults de-
form the dominant S1 cleavage and commonly offset exten-
sional quartz veins but rarely offset lamprophyre dikes. Cleav-
age is commonly dragged into faults, and kink bands in
cleavage are interpreted to be the result of motion between
two west-dipping reverse faults. West-dipping faults and all
other structures are commonly offset by east-dipping faults in
a stepwise fashion.
Zones of brecciation and cataclasis occur at the margins of
some laminated quartz veins and lamprophyre dikes. These
breccia zones may contain coarse clasts (0.5 mm) of slate,
sandstone, deformed quartz, and thin carbonate veins, within
a fine groundmass of carbonate. The presence of some unde-
formed quartz and carbonate along the same margins sug-
gests that open spaces were also present.
Slickenlines on fault surfaces are predominantly subparallel
with the maximum dip, indicating that dip-slip was the prin-
cipal direction of movement. Slickenlines on different

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 Au MINERALIZATION ALONG THE DEBORAH ANTICLINE, BENDIGO, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA
FIG. 4. Cross section of the North Deborah shaft. Modified from Turnbull
and McDermott (1998). Units Be2, Be3, and Be4 refer to the biostrati-
graphic units of Cas and VandenBerg (1988); L = level, Q = major quartz and
gold-bearing structures.
graphitic layers within the same laminated quartz vein have
different orientations, thus indicating that faulting occurred
in slightly varying directions during the slip history. Up to
three different slickenline orientations were recorded on
west-dipping faults: north, south, and west pitching. These
variable orientations are rare and were only recorded in three
places on nonbedding-parallel faults. The variable pitch of
slickenlines on fault surfaces indicates that some faults were
affected by a strike-slip component of movement in between
or following dip-slip movements (Fig. 7). Gently pitching
slickenlines were assumed to represent oblique-reverse
movement, because there is little evidence for normal move-
ment on faults along the Deborah anticline. If this is the case,
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355
then slickenlines record both dextral and sinistral transpres-
sion, because the lineations are subhorizontal. In central Vic-
toria, Gray and Willman (1991b) have documented both dex-
tral strike-slip (D2) and sinistral strike-slip (D3) motion from
overprinting crenulation cleavages in and adjacent to major
fault zones.
Host-rock fabric development
Turbidites in the Bendigo area are characterized by the
presence of close to tight upright chevron folds and a well-de-
veloped axial surface cleavage. Bedding is north-south strik-
ing and has dip angles of 18° to 88° but is generally 60° (Fig.
8A). The earliest tectonic fabric (S*), observed along the Deb-
orah anticline, predates this dominant axial surface fabric
(S1), which is commonly a crenulation cleavage (Fig. 9A). In
many other cases, large muscovite grains are consistently
aligned subparallel to bedding and at an angle to S1 (Fig. 9B).
Although it is generally parallel to bedding, the fabric is not
bedding but rather an early weakly developed tectonic (?)
fabric which is not very widespread. The dominant axial pla-
nar cleavage is referred to as S1 throughout the literature.
Therefore we have chosen the notation S*.
The dominant, penetrative S1 fabric is axial planar to the
major folds in the area but varies in its morphology between
the two major rock types. In slate and siltstone, S1 is a closely
spaced, pervasive cleavage defined by muscovite, graphite,
and carbonate. The orientation of this cleavage is variable be-
tween sandstone and slate with a dip angle of 45° to 90° (Fig.
8B). In sandstone, this cleavage is less obvious and is com-
monly spaced and discontinuous. Refraction of S1 from slate
to sandstone can be quite significant (up to 40°).
In slates adjacent to reverse faults and lamprophyre dikes,
there is evidence for the development of a spaced cleavage
(S2) that is quite variable in its orientation and morphology,
indicating that it is not a regional-scale deformation event but
is the result of very local faulting (only present within a few
meters of a fault zone). In some cases, this fabric is defined by
stringers of carbonate that define a fracture-type cleavage. In
other samples adjacent to lamprophyre dikes, a crenulation
cleavage is defined by muscovite and opaque minerals (Fig.
9B) and is associated with weakly deformed quartz-carbonate
veinlets. A spaced, discontinuous crenulation cleavage is also
observed at a high angle to S1 in slate adjacent to an ankerite
cataclasite on the margin of a lamprophyre dike. In some
cases, slate units adjacent to bedding-parallel veins contain
shear fabrics and crenulations, which offset bedding.
The Bendigo-Ballarat zone is thought to have undergone
one major period of deformation (Gray and Willman, 1991a,
1991b; Yang and Gray, 1994); however, the relative timing of
fabric formation with respect to gold mineralization is not
well constrained. Forde (1991) and Forde and Bell (1994)
recognized four fabrics in the area between Bendigo and Bal-
larat; they link gold mineralization to the formation of an S4,
east-west-striking vertical cleavage. This is not supported by
this investigation where we have recognized one major defor-
mation fabric (S1) and two less prevalent fabrics.
S* along the Deborah anticline is not pervasive and is sub-
parallel to bedding, suggesting that it might be related to lo-
calized thrusting or early buckling, which occurred at the
initiation of the major folding event (e.g., Fowler, 1996).
355
356 SCHAUBS AND WILSON

UPPER DEBORAH FAULT Q1

OUTER REEF

INNER REEF
BD4 DFDDH01
DFDDH02
L12ND
L13ND
L14ND
L15CD

Q2

0 100 200 m
Longitudinal projection of the
Deborah Anticline
FIG. 5. Longitudinal cross section of major mineralized areas and historic workings along the Deborah anticline. Black
dots represent where drill holes intersect cross section. Light gray areas are delineated ore reserves. BD = Big Deborah
mine, CD = Central Deborah mine, DFDDH = Deborah fault diamond drill hole, ND = North Deborah mine, Q = major
quartz and gold-bearing structures.

Windh (1995) reports evidence for possible thrusting at the
initiation of the main deformation event in the Hill End gold
field of New South Wales, based on the relationships between
laminated veins and their surrounding host rocks. Early bed-
ding-parallel fabrics have also been recognized in the Eastern
Lachlan fold belt but are more distinct than those recognized
in Bendigo (Powell and Rickard, 1985; Wilson and de
Houdeville, 1985). Wilson and de Houdeville (1985) interpret
this fabric to have formed during the initial buckling and
thrusting stages of folding, just prior to the formation of the
dominant axial surface cleavage (S1).
Characteristics of the Major Gold-Bearing Structures
The following sections relate to structures that are located
within the second group of quartz-bearing structures (Q2) of
the Deborah anticline (Figs. 4 and 5). These structures range
from being either fold controlled or fault dominated but are
commonly a combination of both. In many cases, the quartz

FIG. 6. A. Three-dimensional diagram of a doubly plunging anticline with a reverse fault intersecting the crest of the an-
ticline showing the major vein types identified along the Deborah anticline. B. Three-dimensional cartoon of relationships
between fold and faults at Rowe’s reef, level 14 ND.

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 Au MINERALIZATION ALONG THE DEBORAH ANTICLINE, BENDIGO, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA
A) B)
FIG. 7. Lower hemisphere equal-area projections of (A) fault orientations
(n = 78, π girdle 088/79) and (B) lineations observed on fault and bedding-
parallel vein surfaces.
A) B)
FIG. 8. Lower hemisphere equal-area projections of (A) bedding (n = 73,
π girdle 084/78) and (B) S1 cleavage (n = 58, π girdle 087/71).
lodes are made up of a range of structures that change along
strike. In general there is a greater volume of quartz associ-
ated with faults than with folds. In the following sections on
vein formation, observations concerning the presence of gold
as well as interpretations on its precipitation are made. The
reader is referred to Schaubs (1999) for a detailed description
on the nature of gold and sulfide minerals in the various vein
types.
Kingsley’s Lode
Kingsley’s Lode is a composite structure that is made up of
saddle reefs, reactivated bedding-parallel veins, cleavage-par-
allel veins, and steeply dipping extension veins. There is a
strong control of the Kingsley’s Lode architecture by the
Deborah fault in some areas. The structures that make up
Kingsley’s Lode extend for ~1,200 m from an area south of
the South Deborah shaft to approximately 300 m north of the
North Deborah shaft (Fig. 5). At drill hole DFDDH02 near
the South Deborah shaft, Kingsley’s Lode is made up of two
crescent-shaped, bedding-parallel quartz veins, which lack
any related faults. At drill hole BD4 (Fig. 10), a west-dipping
fault is rooted on the western limb of the upper lode. This
fault becomes more pronounced at drill hole DFDDH01
(Fig. 10) and is crosscut by an east-dipping fault, which is
rooted on the eastern limb. Kingsley’s Lode is exposed be-
tween levels 14a and 13b of the North Deborah mine and on
levels 12 and 13 of the Deborah mine, where it has been
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357
FIG. 9. Photomicrographs of fabrics in host rocks. A. Well-developed S1
crenulation cleavage in graphitic slate. B. Discontinuous S2 crenulation cleav-
age in slate.
disrupted by the Deborah fault. The major structure is Kings-
ley’s West leg (a reactivated bedding-parallel vein) and associ-
ated east-dipping extension veins, as well as near-vertical,
cleavage-parallel veins up to 40 cm thick. This area is compli-
cated by at least three east-dipping faults that offset Kingsley’s
West leg. As reported by Turnbull and McDermott (1998),
reduction of the interlimb angle within Kingsley’s Lode from
70° to 55° is coincident with reverse faulting.
Rowe’s reef
Rowe’s reef is exposed on the lower levels of the North and
Central Deborah mines. On level 14 of the North Deborah
mine, a west-dipping laminated quartz vein is partially brec-
ciated by massive quartz (up to 30 mm), “dragged” up by an
east-dipping fault, which has reactivated along Rowe’s East
leg (Fig. 6B). The originally west-dipping bedding-parallel
vein (~30 cm thick) is then offset by minor east-dipping re-
verse faults (~1 m in length). The major east-dipping fault
splays into a number of gently dipping faults as it enters the
hinge zone. Gold is concentrated in the east-dipping lami-
nated quartz vein and fault.
Deborah Back vein
The Deborah Back is a fault-reactivated bedding-parallel
vein that is exposed on the middle to lower levels of the North
357
358 SCHAUBS AND WILSON

48450m E

48500m E
48450m E

48500m E

48400m E
48400m E
A) B)

-50m MRL Deborah

Saddle reef Back
contiguous with the
Deborah Fault -50m MRL
along strike

-100m MRL

-100m MRL

-150m MRL

48450m E
48400m E
D)

Lad dstone
Kingsley's

San
Lode

y Fi
ona
48450m E
48400m E

C) -50m MRL L11

Lad

Northern end
y Fio

of Deborah
na S

Fault structure

Inne
and

L12

r Sh
ston

L13b
e

Stopes on west

al e
Stopes on the
0m MRL leg of L13a Deborah Back
Kingsley’s
Lode L13
-100m MRL

C e nt
Sand
ral
Deborah

s
Deb stone

t
San

Back
o
Deborah
ne
lt
Row

Vi tal
orah

au
d

Fault
Kin atio

F
F or

structure ah
es S

r
gsl

S
Inne

bo
Bac
m

-50m MRL De
eys n

al e
hal e

k
r Sh

-150m MRL
al e
Ce dston
San
ntra
l
e
V it ale
Sh
al

-100m MRL
Sandstone Quartz
De ndsto
Sa
bo
rah ne

Kingsley's
Lode Interlayered
Ba

Shale
ck

shale/sandstone

FIG. 10. Cross sections through the Deborah anticline showing how major gold-bearing structures change along strike. A.
Cross section at drill hole DFDDH02. B. Cross section at drill hole BD4. C. Cross section at drill hole DFDDH01. D. Cross
section near shaft of North Deborah mine. See Figure 3 for locations.

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 Au MINERALIZATION ALONG THE DEBORAH ANTICLINE, BENDIGO, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA
and Central Deborah mines (Fig. 10). On the sublevel above
level 15 of the Central Deborah mine, massive quartz veining
occurs in the hinge area, where the host structure is a rela-
tively thin east-dipping, bedding-parallel vein. On level 13 of
the North Deborah mine, steeply dipping extension veins
occur on the inner side of the Deborah Back. The fact that a
large area has been mined out indicates that these extension
veins, as well as the bedding-parallel vein itself, were quite
rich in gold. The Deborah Back is different from other major
gold-bearing structures along the Deborah anticline because
it does not have an associated saddle reef at the hinge area
nor is it associated with a major discordant reverse fault.
Deborah fault
The Deborah fault is a reverse fault hosted within the
Kingsley’s Formation (slate) and the Deborah Back sand-
stone, along its 800-m strike length. Unlike Rowe’s and Kings-
ley’s reefs, quartz veining associated with the Deborah fault is
the result of a discordant west-dipping fault, as it intersects
the hinge of the Deborah anticline. Both Rowe’s reef and
Kingsley’s Lode are saddle reefs that have been disrupted by
west- and east-dipping faults.
At the South Deborah shaft (Fig. 10A) diamond drill data
(DFDDH02) show that in this area, the Deborah fault does
not exist as a fault. The structure present here is a bedding-
parallel quartz vein (~30 cm) with associated extension veins,
which is offset by an east-dipping fault. Whether this struc-
ture is, in fact, the continuation of the Deborah fault or a co-
incident structure is unknown. Farther to the north, where
drill hole BD4 (Fig. 10) intersects the structure, the Deborah
fault exists as a discrete discordant fault on the east limb of
the anticline. In its hanging wall are a number of crescent-
shaped, bedding-parallel quartz veins that are truncated by a
splay of east-dipping faults. At DFDDH01 (just north of
Deborah shaft), the Deborah fault is composed of at least two
splays (Fig. 10C). The upper splay is steep (dip ~70°) and
contains a massive amount of quartz in its footwall (4–5 m
thick), whereas the lower splay in the east limb of the anti-
cline is gently dipping, discrete, and not associated with much
quartz (Fig. 10C).
At the North Deborah shaft, the Deborah fault and Kings-
ley’s Lode are closely associated, which is not the case farther
to the south. Above level 17 of the Central Deborah mine it
appears that the Deborah fault is rooted in Rowe’s reef,
where an east-dipping fault is also present. On level 13 of the
North Deborah mine the Deborah fault is closely associated
with Kingsley’s Lode. As the fault approaches the hinge area
on level 12 of the North Deborah mine, the Deborah fault
has splayed and becomes gently dipping. At this level, mas-
sive, en échelon, and extensional quartz veins are associated
with the Deborah fault. Gentle (~25°) and more steeply
(~45°) east-dipping quartz veins lie in the footwall of the
Deborah fault and are synchronous with faulting. The more
gently dipping veins appear to have been folded. En échelon
veins are both east and west dipping in this same area. Within
the east limb of the anticline, the Deborah fault becomes a
discrete structure again and then terminates (Turnbull and
McDermott, 1998). At the north end of level 12 of the North
Deborah mine, the Deborah fault is offset by at least two
east-dipping faults.
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359
Fold-Related Veins
Bedding-parallel veins
Bedding-parallel veins (Fig. 11A, B) are approximately 5 to
30 cm thick and most commonly occur within slate units or at
the contact between slate and sandstone. Host-rock remnants
within these veins occur as straight, thin (<1 mm) laminations
or as wavy stylolites of irregular thickness. At least four mor-
phological variations of bedding-parallel veins have been rec-
ognized along the Deborah anticline. These are termed (I)
planar laminated, (II) roughly laminated to stylolitic, (III)
massive-brecciated, and (IV) slaty carbonate (Fig. 12A-D).
The first three types may be considered to have formed in
chronological order, may be found in the same vein, and are
not mutually exclusive. Straight laminations are commonly
crosscut by stylolites and both may be brecciated. Slaty car-
bonate bedding-parallel veins are generally not associated
with the other morphological variations.
Type 1: This type of bedding-parallel vein is a laminated
vein with very straight, regular laminations and few stylolites
(Fig. 12A). Where laminations are closely spaced, quartz is
fine grained (0.01–0.3 mm) and anhedral masses of carbon-
ate are a common association. Where laminations are less
closely spaced, quartz is coarse grained (up to 20 mm). All
quartz grains have been variably deformed, which is indi-
cated by the presence of undulose extinction, subgrains, and
deformation bands. Laminations in these veins have two dif-
ferent orientations (Fig. 12E). The first set is thicker rela-
tive to the second, is parallel to the vein wall, and commonly
contains distinguishable phyllosilicate grains that are
aligned at roughly 45° to the lamination itself. The second
type of lamination lies at an angle of approximately 30° to
the first, more dominant lamination and is quite thin (<0.1
mm). Coarse quartz grains are aligned into deformation
bands at roughly 30° to the laminations and their boundaries
are offset at the laminations. The offsets are consistent with
a reverse sense of movement on the bedding-parallel veins.
Blocks of straight laminations are often separated and ro-
tated by later, more massive quartz introduction and brec-
ciation. Later dissolution in the form of stylolites commonly
offsets laminations.
Type II: The most common bedding-parallel vein type is a
roughly laminated to stylolitic vein (Fig. 12B) that is also com-
monly brecciated. Laminations vary in thickness (0.1–0.5
mm) and are irregular and undulating in nature (Fig. 12F).
Quartz grain boundaries are coincident with stylolitic seams,
whereas, in laminated veins, quartz grains are continuous
across the laminations. Host-rock inclusions lack quartz, are
rich in graphite, and appear to have been boudinaged in a di-
rection parallel to the vein margin. Arsenopyrite, with lesser
amounts of pyrite, is common and is associated with carbon-
ate along graphite-rich stylolitic seams.
Type III: Both types (I) and (II) bedding-parallel veins may
be contained within the same vein along strike, and both are
characterized by the periodic introduction of thick (up to 30
cm), coarse-grained, massive quartz that contains few stylo-
lites or crack-seal laminations; they constitute type III bed-
ding-parallel veins (Fig. 12C). Inclusions of host rock are gen-
erally surrounded by 3- to 4-mm-thick selvedges of ankerite
and coarse arsenopyrite.
360 SCHAUBS AND WILSON

FIG. 11. A. Box-folded bedding-parallel vein. B. Thin planar-laminated bedding-parallel vein (type I) which has been off-
set by some minor faults. Level 15, Central Deborah mine. View to the south. C. Steeply dipping tapered extension vein
“hanging off” laminated bedding-parallel vein. Level 13, North Deborah mine. View to the north. D. i = reactivated bedding-
parallel vein; ii = steeply dipping extension vein. E. Thick concentration of cleavage-parallel veins on level 13. View to the
south.

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 Au MINERALIZATION ALONG THE DEBORAH ANTICLINE, BENDIGO, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA 361

FIG. 12. Bedding-parallel veins. A. Planar-laminated vein (type I). B. Roughly laminated-stylolitic vein (type II). C. Thick
massive, brecciated vein (type III) with disrupted carbonate laminations on margin. D. Slaty-carbonate vein (type IV). E.
Photomicrograph of two orientations of inclusion traces in bedding-parallel type I. Sample is from the west limb of the an-
ticline and the photograph is oriented such that the hinge of the anticline is to the right. F. Stylolites which crosscut straight
inclusion traces in a bedding-parallel vein. G. Photomicrograph of “S-C-type” fabrics in bedding-parallel vein under plane-
polarized light. H. Photomicrograph of “S-C-type” fabrics in bedding-parallel vein under crossed-polars. Note variation in
angle between α and β planes and fine-grained quartz in between α plane host-rock inclusion traces.

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362 SCHAUBS AND WILSON
Type IV: Slaty carbonate-rich bedding-parallel veins are
less common and contain a much higher percentage of slaty
(graphitic) material than do the other types of bedding-paral-
lel veins (Fig. 12D). They are rich in carbonate and poor in
quartz, quite fissile, and relatively thin (<5 cm). Arsenopyrite
is absent and pyrite occurs as 1- to 2-mm euhedral grains.
This vein type has not been observed to be contiguous or as-
sociated with the other bedding-parallel vein morphologies.
Other fabrics: In a number of bedding-parallel veins, S-C-
type fabrics were observed within the host rock inclusions and
dissolution seams. Areas in bedding-parallel veins that exhibit
these fabrics are characterized by one set of planes (α) that
parallel the vein wall with the other fabric (β) lying approxi-
mately 15° to 30° to the margin of the vein (Fig. 12G). These
are roughly the same orientations observed for host-rock lam-
inations in planar-laminated veins; however, the difference is
that samples exhibiting these fabrics contain fine-grained
quartz between the β planes (Fig. 12H), whereas the inclu-
sion traces in normal planar-laminated veins are contained
within areas of coarse-grained quartz.
Saddle reefs
Massive quartz veins, traditionally named “saddle reefs,”
occur as dilational sites in the hinges of anticlines, resulting
partly from flexural slip and space problems created by the
competency contrast between sandstone and shale, during
chevron folding (Ramsay, 1974). Saddle reefs and bedding-
parallel veins are commonly part of the same overall struc-
ture. True, undisrupted saddle reefs occur within Q1 along
the Deborah anticline (Inner and Outer reefs; Figs. 3 and 4).
Kingsley’s Lode is a major saddle reef that is both undis-
rupted and modified by later reverse faulting at different
points along its strike length (Fig. 10). Examples of bedding-
parallel veins that have not developed into saddle reefs can be
found on levels 2 and 3 of the Central Deborah mine, where
bedding has a relatively gentle dip (40°) and the fold has an
interlimb angle of 100° (Fig. 11). Although they may contain
gold, where saddle reefs are fairly crescentic they are not
major gold-bearing structures. More triangular-shaped saddle
reefs which have been modified by later faulting are com-
monly more auriferous.
Steeply to moderately dipping extension veins (BC veins)
Extension veins related to folds have historically been
termed “spur” veins in the Victorian gold fields (e.g., Stillwell,
1918). They are typically 3 to 20 cm thick, are generally mas-
sive, and lack laminations and fragments of host rocks. They
have a high length to thickness ratio, may be gently to steeply
dipping (Fig. 11C, B), and are found either as single veins or
as sets of subparallel veins, most commonly in the outer arcs
of sandstone units. Although they are generally planar and
undeformed, open to ptygmatically folded variations also
exist. The orientation of extension veins is quite variable,
ranging from west to southwest dipping and east to north dip-
ping with generally steep dips; however, dip angles are as low
as 15° (Fig. 11D). The orientation of these veins is commonly
subperpendicular to bedding, depending on whether they
have been subjected to subsequent shortening. Moderately
dipping extension veins are commonly ptygmatically folded.
Based on this observation, these veins may be called “BC
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00
veins,” using the terminology of Hancock (1985). Extension
veins are generally more abundant near the hinges of anti-
clines but are not restricted to these areas. These veins are
commonly associated with the bedding-parallel veins and
taper convergently inward toward the core of an anticline.
Quartz is quite coarse grained in extension veins associated
with folding, whereas sulfides and alteration minerals are
sparse. Quartz grains are up to 10 mm in diameter, are mod-
erately to strongly deformed, and exhibit undulose extinction
but are not as strongly deformed as quartz in bedding-paral-
lel veins. Quartz grains are never fibrous, but are elongate-
blocky and show little evidence of alignment. There is some
evidence for minor recrystallization.
East-west-striking veins (AC veins)
North-dipping veins are common on level 12 of the North
Deborah mine, striking perpendicular to the axial surface of
the major folds and having a dip of approximately 60° to 80°.
Unfilled steeply north-dipping (60°–80°) AC fractures are
also present in this area. Whereas other extensional veins are
commonly wedge shaped, these veins are quite straight and
regular, do not vary much in thickness down-dip, and are gen-
erally no thicker than 10 cm. East-west-striking veins on lev-
els 2 and 3 of the Central Deborah mine are up to 30 cm thick
and are truncated by bedding-parallel veins on either side of
the anticline.
Cleavage-parallel veins
Subvertically oriented, cleavage-parallel veins (Fig. 11E)
are almost exclusively encountered within slates in the core of
the anticline where a strong cleavage is developed. They are
most prominent on level 14a and level 13 of the North Deb-
orah mine and are associated with Kingsley’s Lode (Fig. 11E).
Cleavage-parallel veins range in thickness from 5 to 50 cm
and individual veins vary in thickness giving the veins an anas-
tomosing nature. Quartz is generally coarse grained and sul-
fide minerals including pyrrhotite, pyrite, sphalerite, and
galena are common and are associated with siderite and
ankerite.
En échelon veins
Sigmoidal-shaped arrays of en échelon veins related to fold-
ing are rare along the Deborah anticline but are found in
some sandstone units. On level 2 of the Central Deborah
mine, they occur near the hinge as 20-mm-thick individual
veins up to 30 cm in length. En échelon veins which comprise
planar sets and are not sigmoidal occur on level 2 of the Cen-
tral Deborah mine. Carbonate is the only common accessory
mineral found in en échelon veins, and gold is absent.
Fault-Related Veins
Neck reefs and massive fault-parallel veins
Veins that are associated directly with faults may occur in
the footwall of major reverse faults as partially laminated
veins (Fig. 13A) and as veins that have been termed neck
reefs; these are areas of massive quartz, which extend above
saddle reefs. Massive to partially laminated veins also occur
parallel to faults where they do not intersect saddle reefs.
These veins contain stylolites and host-rock remnants from
362
 Au MINERALIZATION ALONG THE DEBORAH ANTICLINE, BENDIGO, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA 363

FIG. 13. A. Typical nature of fault-parallel veins in the footwall of the Deborah fault. View to the west. B. Subhorizontally
dipping extension veins in the footwall of the Deborah fault. Level 12, North Deborah mine. View to the south. C. View to
the south of en échelon veins in the footwall of the Deborah fault. Level 12 ND. Field of view is ~3 m. D. View to the south
of a centipede vein from level 13.

which much of the quartz has been removed. Massive veins,
which sometimes have a stockworklike appearance, occur on
level 12 and level 12i of the North Deborah mine, where they
contain blocks of host rock up to 50 cm in length. On level
13A of the mine, a massive, 1-m-thick quartz vein is oriented
parallel to a moderately dipping reverse fault (dipping ~50°).
Shear veins up to 10 cm thick and up to 1 m long are rare but
are found in close proximity and subparallel to moderately
dipping reverse faults (dip angles ~40°–50°) on level 13 of the
mine.
Moderately to gently dipping extension veins
Extension veins related to reverse faulting have a wide
range in dip (17°–82°, Fig. 14B) but are generally moderate
to gently dipping and are most commonly observed in the
footwall of the Deborah fault (Fig. 13B). On level 12 of the

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364
A) B)
Bedding parallel veins n=20
FIG. 14. Lower hemisphere equal-area projections of vein orientations. A. Bedding-parallel veins. B. fold-related veins.
C. Fault-related veins.
North Deborah mine, they occur in arrays, as 10- to 30-cm-
thick by up to 3-m-long veins that dip gently to the east and
west, and also moderately to the east. These veins also occur
where bedding-parallel veins have been reactivated, such as
at Rowe’s reef.
En échelon veins
En échelon veins related to faulting are 2 to 20 cm thick,
may be up to 2 m wide, and occur as stepped arrays. These
vein sets may extend for 10 m along strike but have a variable
orientation in their enveloping surface and vary in both their
thickness and spacing (Fig. 13C). The best examples and ma-
jority of en échelon veins are present between levels 13 and
12 of the North Deborah mine, within the massive Deborah
Back sandstone, where the Deborah fault intersects the hinge
of the Deborah anticline (Fig. 4). Two en échelon vein types,
related to faulting, are present along the Deborah anticline
and their classification is based on Hodgson (1989). Sigmoidal
oblique shear veins are slightly curved, whereas rare cen-
tipede veins are sigmoidal, closely spaced, and joined by a
central vein. (Fig. 13D). Centipede veins have a vertically ori-
ented enveloping surface and may be contiguous with dis-
crete, vertical faults.
Undeformed carbonate veins
This vein type is also rare and occurs on level 9 of the
Central Deborah mine, as a horizontally oriented vein in
close proximity to the West leg of the Inner reef. It is dis-
tinguished from all other vein types by the fact that is com-
posed entirely of undeformed comb-textured calcite. Vein-
lets in close proximity to lamprophyre dikes also contain
undeformed quartz and carbonate. All other vein types en-
countered are composed primarily of quartz and have been
variably deformed.
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SCHAUBS AND WILSON
C)
Extension veins n=26 Exension veins n=56
En echelon veins n=7 En echelon veins n=2
Shear veins n=3
Mechanisms for Vein Formation
Fold-related veins
Bedding-parallel veins: The processes by which bedding-
parallel veins form has been the subject of recent research
and debate (Jessell et al., 1994; Fowler, 1996; Fowler and
Winsor, 1997); a comprehensive overview is presented in
Fowler (1996). Jessell et al. (1994) report two types of bed-
ding-parallel quartz veins in the Bendigo-Castlemaine area
based on both hand specimens and microstructural observa-
tions. Jessell’s type I veins are composed predominantly of
nonfibrous quartz and contain minute, secondary minerals,
which define inclusion surface traces that show a repeated
ramp-flat geometry. Jessell’s type II veins have a less regular
nature and contain a high proportion of host-rock material
and do not contain inclusion surface traces. These are the
equivalent of the planar-laminated (type I) and roughly lami-
nated-stylolitic (type II) classifications used in this study, re-
spectively. Fowler (1996) also reports two types of bedding-
parallel veins in the Bendigo-Castlemaine region. Fowler’s
type I veins are composed of bedding-parallel inclusion trails,
which he interprets to track the opening direction of the veins
and involve bedding-parallel shear. Fowler’s type II veins are
formed by a vein-normal opening component and consist of
quartz bands separated by stylolitic wall-rock seams.
Bedding-parallel, laminated quartz veins in Bendigo are in-
terpreted to have formed concurrently with folding, as a re-
sult of flexural slip and the simultaneous introduction of
fluids. The presence of variable spaced and orientated lami-
nations and massive quartz in bedding-parallel veins is evi-
dence that these veins record a history of changing fluid pres-
sure and shear stress which has resulted in repeated slip and
dilation. Bedding-parallel veins are interpreted to have
formed via the fault-valve process (Sibson et al., 1988; Sibson,
1989, 1992; Cox et al., 1991; Cox, 1995), which involves cycli-
cal changes in shear stress, fluid pressure, and permeability.
364
 Au MINERALIZATION ALONG THE DEBORAH ANTICLINE, BENDIGO, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA
As shear stress increases and material is precipitated within
the fault zone, its permeability is decreased and causes an in-
crease in fluid pressures. When the fault fails, shear stress is
relieved, fluid pressure drops abruptly, and slip and dilation
may occur (Cox et al., 1991). Millimeter-scale laminations of
dark, graphite-rich material represent cleaved layers of host
rock separated during each period of fault failure. This sug-
gests that a episodic crack-seal process (Ramsay, 1980) took
place as opposed to a sustained and continuous period of
opening which might form fibrous-type veins which are un-
common in Bendigo. The presence of stylolites indicates that
dissolution processes were competing with the aforemen-
tioned precipitational and dilational processes. The presence
of folded, discontinuous, and ruptured laminations, along
with massive quartz (type III) in the center of bedding-par-
allel veins, suggests that many laminated quartz veins have
been repeatedly reactivated during the slip history of reverse
faults. Reactivation was associated with dilation perpendicu-
lar to bedding and the simultaneous introduction of massive
quartz (± carbonate) that brecciated some of the previously
formed laminations and stylolites. The origin of type IV slaty-
carbonate veins is not well constrained. The fact that some
bedding-parallel veins, which are composed primarily of
massive quartz, contain brecciated and contorted carbonate
laminations on their margin, suggests that they may have
originally been type IV veins but have been reactivated by
later faulting. S-C-type fabrics in bedding-parallel veins may
be the result of both ductile shearing during the initial for-
mation of the vein, and subsequent reactivation at a later
stage.
Some laminated quartz veins in the Bendigo area may be
traced around an anticline and into the next syncline, sug-
gesting that they must, in part, predate the main folding
episode (Dunn, 1896). If enough dilation due to flexural slip
has occurred, bedding-parallel veins will develop into saddle
reefs in the hinge area (Ramsay, 1974). Gold occurs on level
2 of the Central Deborah mine in a laminated quartz vein,
which was folded and buckled by fold-related flattening but
has not been subsequently deformed in a brittle manner. This
indicates that some gold must have precipitated during fold-
ing before the onset of reverse faulting.
In many cases, bedding-parallel veins are not of equal
thickness on both limbs of the anticline. Commonly, the vein
on one limb is thicker than the other because it has been the
site of reverse fault reactivation, with renewed dilation, and
the introduction of massive quartz. This process is exempli-
fied by the fact that Kingsley’s West leg is at least 30 cm thick
in some areas and is coincident with the Deborah fault. By
comparison, the east-dipping bedding-parallel vein on the op-
posite limb is, at most, 10 cm thick and contains very little
gold. Bedding-parallel veins are therefore only of significant
thickness and gold content where they are exploited by later
reverse faulting that probably relates to the introduction of
greater volumes of gold-bearing fluids. Gold precipitation is
interpreted to have commenced during folding but increased
during the reactivation of bedding-parallel veins, as a result of
the initiation of reverse faults. Gold mineralization began
during folding and associated development of laminated veins
during flexural slip. This intensified when folds locked up
causing faults to propagate (Cox et al., 1991).
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365
Extension veins related to folding: Extension veins are more
common in sandstone than in shale and are interpreted to
have formed via outer arc extension, as predicted by the
chevron-fold model of Ramsay (1974). Extension veins are
commonly folded, which suggests that they formed at differ-
ent times during folding and that some were buckled by con-
tinued shortening and fold flattening.
Cleavage-parallel veins: Cleavage-parallel veins only occur
within slate units in the hinge region of the fold where a well-
developed cleavage exists; this indicates that the veins formed
as a result of this preexisting weakness. Mutually crosscutting
relationships between cleavage-parallel veins and steeply dip-
ping extension veins suggest that they formed at roughly the
same time. Comparable veins have also been identified in the
Yilgarn craton of Western Australia, which are oriented paral-
lel to a foliation and perpendicular to the maximum principal
stress direction (σ1) and are interpreted to have formed due
to the reactivation of preexisting weaknesses (Ridley, 1993;
Vearncombe, 1998).
Fault-related veins
In recent papers concerning orogenic gold deposits, there
has been an emphasis on the relationship and interdepen-
dencies of high (supralithostatic) fluid pressures and high-
angle reverse faults in mesothermal gold deposits (Sibson et
al., 1988), such as the Wattle Gully mine in Victoria (Cox et
al., 1991, 1995; Cox, 1995) and the Sigma mine in Quebec,
Canada (Robert et al., 1995). In Bendigo, and specifically
along the Deborah anticline, a reverse faulting and associated
quartz vein structural regime is superimposed on or is an ex-
tension of an architecture dominated by preexisting dilational
sites in the form of bedding-parallel laminated quartz veins
and saddle reefs. Steeply dipping extension veins are inter-
preted to be a result of fracturing during folding, where frac-
tures have propagated at steep angles to bedding in stiff sand-
stone layers. Subhorizontal and thick en échelon extension
veins are more likely to have formed during reverse faulting
as a result of fluid pressures reaching the sum of the mini-
mum principal stress and the intact tensile strength of the
rock (Pf = σ3 + T, Cox et al., 1991; Cox, 1995). If the local min-
imum principal stress (σ3) is gently plunging, then the fluid
pressure must be greater than the tensile strength plus the
near-field σ3, for these outer arc extension veins to open.
The wide range in dip angles of veins related to both folds
and faults (Fig. 14B and C) indicates that, although there is a
general trend toward subhorizontal veins associated with
faults and steep veins associated with folds, it is not the rule.
In some cases, veins that are clearly related to folds are near
horizontal. The mutually overprinting relationships between
some of these vein types suggests that their timing of em-
placement was closely linked. On level 13B of the North Deb-
orah mine, however, steeply dipping veins appear to overprint
gently dipping and wavy veins (Fig. 15A). One scenario that
allows steeply dipping veins to form within a reverse faulting
regime is by a reversal in local stress directions due to over-
shoot on the fault (Boullier and Robert, 1992; Sibson, 1992;
Robert et al., 1995). This process may also explain why some
en échelon vein arrays in the footwall of the Deborah fault
show normal movement (Fig. 13C). Cox (1995) also states
that subhorizontal extension vein arrays will occur if shear
366 SCHAUBS AND WILSON

A)
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180

-20 Extensional-shear failure

Extensional 20 M
Pa
0
10 M
Pa (S
ands
20 tone
)

1M

MPa
40 Pa (S
late)

60

Vertical Effective Stress

80
3
100
Shear

120
Extensional-
Shear
140
σ3
1
B) Extensional Extensional-
Shear
160
Shear
180

σ1 σ1 Reverse 200
movement B) v
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
σ3
σ1 Extensional and hybrid veins
-20

0
C)
σ3 σ3 20
Shear
Slight normal Z=2km
veins
40
movement
(back-slip) σ1 60

FIG. 15. A. Subhorizontal and shortened veins, crosscut by steeply dipping 4 80

veins to the east of Kingsley’s West leg. View to the south, level 13a, North
Deborah mine. B. Subhorizontal veins formed by reverse movement on fault. 100
C. Subvertical veins formed by slight normal movement or back-slip on the
same fault. 6 120

stress is not completely relieved by failure along a fault, or if 140

postfailure shear stress recovery is rapid relative to the fluid
pressure build-up. 8
160

Failure modes and fluid pressures during vein emplacement 180

Sibson (1998) has combined the Mohr-Coulomb and Grif-
fith failure criteria to relate the conditions by which different
failure modes may occur in rocks, with respect to depth and
fluid pressure (Fig. 16). Typically, veins formed by extensional
failure should be oriented at 90° to the minimum principal
stress (σ3), shear veins should propagate at ~30° to σ1, and hy-
brid veins will form at some angle less than 30° to σ1 (Sibson,
1998). The majority of veins along the Deborah anticline may
be classified as being extensional, including extension veins
related to folds and faults as well as cleavage-parallel veins.
Sigmoidal en échelon veins may also be considered exten-
sional; however, their shape is progressively modified during
shear. True shear veins are also less common and include
fault-parallel veins. The fact that veins, which have been clas-
sified by morphology to be extensional or shear veins, are not
always oriented at 90° or 30° to the far-field maximum prin-
cipal stress, respectively, indicates that stress orientations
10
200
MPa
FIG. 16. Brittle failure plots for compressional tectonic regimes after Sib-
son (1998). A. The solid lines show the failure conditions for intact rock at a
number of tensile rock strengths. The fields of different failure modes are in-
dicated. Extensional failure occurs with negative vertical effective stress and
low differential stress, whereas shear failure may occur with positive vertical
effective stress and higher differential stress. The sketch in the inset illus-
trates the expected orientation of the three types of veins. The dashed line
indicates the reshear criteria for an optimally oriented cohesionless fault. B.
Diagram illustrating values of pore fluid pressure and depths for different
vertical effective stresses. The shaded area indicates the range of conditions
under which the extensional and shear veins along the Deborah anticline are
interpreted to have formed. These diagrams assume that structures are opti-
mally oriented structures; however, many of the faults along the Deborah an-
ticline are severely misoriented for reshear and would require that pore fluid
factors be greater than one to form the vein types discussed.

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 Au MINERALIZATION ALONG THE DEBORAH ANTICLINE, BENDIGO, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA
were quite variable on a local scale. If it is assumed that the
coefficient of friction (µ–tan of friction angle ϕ) is 0.75 and
that the tensile strength is 10 MPa for sandstone and 1 MPa
for shale, then the relative importance of fracturing in sand-
stone and shale units may be interpreted in terms of the rel-
ative tensile strengths of shale and sandstone. Based on the
diagram (Fig. 16A) of Sibson (1998), sandstone with T = 10
MPa will undergo extensional failure, where differential
stresses (σ1–σ3) are below 40 MPa and effective vertical
stresses (σ’v) are approximately –10 MPa (compressive
stresses are positive). Shear failure in sandstone will only
occur if differential stresses are greater than 60 MPa and the
effective vertical stress is greater than –10 MPa. A slate with
T = 1 MPa will normally only undergo shear failure and only
form extension or hybrid extension-shear veins if both the dif-
ferential stress and effective vertical stress are extremely low.
These values are roughly comparable to those of Etheridge
(1983), who states that the upper tensile strength limit for
most rocks is 10 MPa and is more likely to be 5 MPa for re-
gional metamorphosed rocks. Tensile failure will only occur if
the differential stress is less than 4 MPa whereas an upper
limit of 20 MPa is more likely. Using the diagram (Fig. 16B)
of Sibson (1998), it is possible to give estimates for fluid pres-
sure or depth for the rocks in question, if the vertical stress is
known. If a depth of 6 to 10 km is assumed for the formation
of extension veins in these rocks, then a pore fluid factor (λv
= Pf /σv) greater than 1 may be assumed, based on an effective
vertical stress of approximately –10 MPa. This assumes that
A) B)
Saddle
reef
D) E)
Reverse
fault
Reactivated
bedding-
parallel
vein
FIG. 17. Relative chronology of geologic events along the Deborah anticline. See text for explanation.
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367
faults are optimally oriented for reactivation; however, a se-
vere misorientation, which is often the case, requires that
pore fluid factors be even greater. This is consistent with the
work of Sibson et al. (1988) and Cox et al. (1991, 1995) who
have shown that many extension veins in these types of set-
tings are formed under supralithostatic fluid pressures during
fault-valve behavior. Conversely, shear veins may form with
lower pore fluid factors (>0.8). Therefore, the majority of
veins (extension) along the Deborah anticline required the
formation of near-supralithostatic fluid pressures. Bedding-
parallel veins exhibit evidence for having undergone a com-
plex history of shear and dilation via cyclic fault-valve behav-
ior (see section on bedding-parallel vein formation). The
presence of extension veins in slates might also indicate that
the tensile strength might have been closer to that of sand-
stone or that the stress difference was transiently very low in
the shale units during extension vein formation.
Relative Chronology of Geologic Events
A relative chronology of deformation events, as observed
on the Deborah anticline, is summarized in Figure 17 and
discussed below; however, the absolute age of these events is
not well constrained. The ages of the dominant cleavage de-
velopment and deformation in the Bendigo-Ballarat zone
have been estimated to be Late Ordovician to Early Silurian
(Benambran orogeny) using the 40Ar/ 39Ar method (Bücher et
al., 1996). Gold mineralization and hydrothermal alteration
have been estimated to have occurred at approximately 439
C)
F)
lamprophyre
dyke
367
368 SCHAUBS AND WILSON
Ma by Foster et al. (1996), who dated hydrothermal sericite
using the 40Ar/ 39Ar method.
Stage A
The first stage of deformation is represented by the buck-
ling of the turbidites in a compressional tectonic environ-
ment. The mode of deformation is likely to have been flexural
flow; however, flexural slip and the formation of bedding-par-
allel veins may have also occurred at this time. Early bedding-
parallel fabrics (i.e., S*) may have also formed at this time,
concurrently with local small-scale thrusting.
Stage B
As folding continued, a strong cleavage developed, and
flexural slip along bedding surfaces led to the formation of
bedding-parallel quartz veins and saddle reefs with associated
gold mineralization (Fig. 17A). Bedding-parallel veins and
saddle reefs are often connected and most likely formed at
the same time. At this time, steeply dipping extensional
quartz veins developed in fractures formed during folding,
whereas host rocks adjacent to quartz veins were hydrother-
mally altered (Fig. 17B). Cleavage-parallel quartz veins
formed in the hinge area of folds, where the cleavage was best
developed (Fig. 17B).
Stage C
During continued shortening and fold flattening, earlier
formed, gently dipping, bedding-parallel and extension veins
buckled (Fig. 17C).
Stage D
At a critical interlimb angle (~60°) chevrons folds locked
and reverse faults were initiated along preexisting bedding-
parallel veins (Fig. 17D). This led to the increased dilation of
the laminated veins and the introduction of massive quartz.
Gently dipping extensional and massive quartz veining ac-
companied reverse faulting at this time, and neck reefs de-
veloped by modifying saddle reefs. Spaced cleavages and
crenulations were locally developed in host rocks adjacent to
faults. Major gold was associated with west-dipping faults and
their veins.
Stage E
Shortly after the major west-dipping faults had formed,
east-dipping faults reactivated preexisting laminated veins
and offset west-dipping structures in an en échelon fashion
(Fig. 17E). In most cases, east-dipping faults offset larger
west-dipping faults along the Deborah anticline; however,
along other anticlines, where east-dipping faults are the dom-
inant structures, they are offset by smaller west-dipping
faults.
Stage F
The final stage pertinent to gold mineralization is the in-
trusion of lamprophyre dikes with an inferred age of ca. 155
Ma (McDougall and Wellman, 1976). These dikes intruded
along preexisting faults and in the hinge area of folds along
zones of strong cleavage development (Fig. 17F). Some dikes
are offset by reverse faults; the fact that this offset on dikes is
never very great, and that veins and dikes are generally
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contained within the fault zone, suggests that most faults
were contemporaneous with quartz, as well as dike, emplace-
ment. Minor brittle faulting along reactivated laminated veins
and lamprophyre dike margins formed thin carbonate-rich
cataclastic zones. Minor gold, along with arsenopyrite and
pyrite mineralization, is found in these late brittle features,
but it is likely to have resulted from remobilization of earlier
precipitated sulfides. The presence of undeformed carbon-
ate-rich veins and lamprophyre dikes, which are character-
ized by the presence of carbonate, suggests that fluids associ-
ated with lamprophyre dike emplacement were CO2 rich.
Discussion and Conclusions
The establishment of the timing of faulting, with respect to
folding and the emplacement of different quartz vein mor-
phologies, is vital to the understanding of the mineralization
along the Deborah anticline in Bendigo. Reverse faults, such
as the Deborah fault, are a natural end member to folding
and saddle reef formation due to flexural slip and dilation. Al-
though saddle reefs are quite common in the Bendigo gold
field (more so than in other Victorian gold fields), they are not
the major gold-bearing structures. Saddle reefs are most au-
riferous where they have been modified by reverse faults to
become neck reefs, and therefore, the faults and their associ-
ated quartz veins are the source of the larger proportion of
gold mined in Bendigo.
Although reverse faults are the major source of gold in
Bendigo, it is also true that saddle reefs and bedding-parallel
veins played an integral part in the overall structural scheme,
acting as dilational sites for quartz (and gold) precipitation
themselves, and as structures that commonly dictated the lo-
cation of reverse faults. This relationship between saddle
reefs and faults was also observed by Stillwell (1918, p. 102),
who noted that, “saddles often, but not always, form immedi-
ately under a strike fault as it crosses center country” (i.e., an-
ticlinal hinge). The opposite is more likely to be the case, be-
cause faults often propagate where significant saddle reefs
have formed.
The effect of imposing a fault and fracture network upon a
preexisting folded area increases the overall permeability and
allows a larger volume of fluids to enter the area. During fold-
ing, fluid flow was generally restricted to bedding planes. At
this stage, slate units acted as impermeable barriers and
therefore most likely caused gold to precipitate near them.
Later, discordant faults transected bedding and it is inter-
preted that fluids were allowed to travel into areas that were
inaccessible during the folding episode, by creating a suitable
fracture network (Sibson, 1996). The volume of quartz vein
associated with faults is generally greater than that with folds.
Cox et al. (2001) describe fluid fracture network components
in terms of backbone, dangling, and isolated elements. At a
small scale, along the Deborah anticline, bedding-parallel
veins and faults may be viewed as backbone elements that
carry the majority of fluids. Extension veins that are con-
nected to either of these structures are examples of dangling
elements, because they are commonly dead end structures.
Backbone components carry much of the fluid but do not
contain much ore, whereas dangling elements allow for the
interaction between ascending fluids and those in the host
368
 Au MINERALIZATION ALONG THE DEBORAH ANTICLINE, BENDIGO, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA
rocks and are therefore more likely to be mineralized. Exam-
ples of isolated elements along the Deborah anticline are en
échelon veins, which are not connected to backbone-type el-
ements such as bedding-parallel veins or faults. On a broader
scale, the Whitelaw fault and other intrazone faults may be
viewed as a backbone element with little or no mineralization,
whereas the third-order faults such as the Deborah fault may
be considered to be dangling elements because they have vis-
ible terminations and accordingly host the gold deposits.
The following conclusions may be drawn:
1. There are three types of major quartz and gold-bearing
structures present along the Deborah anticline: saddle reefs,
reverse faults and associated veins, and fault-modified saddle
reefs. Saddle reefs formed during chevron folding, as a result
of flexural slip and dilational sites created by the competency
contrast between stiff sandstone and less competent shale.
Fault veins formed after folds had locked up, whereas fault-
modified saddle reefs are structures where the two coincide.
2. There are three main fault types present along the Deb-
orah anticline. Some bedding-parallel veins may be consid-
ered as faults. True fault types include (1) bedding-parallel
faults that have initiated along bedding-parallel veins and
commonly become discordant as they cross the crest of the
fold, (2) bedding-parallel faults with little or no quartz, and
(3) moderately dipping discordant faults with little associated
quartz.
3. The Deborah anticline is a chevron fold composed of
slate, siltstone, and sandstone. The dominant fabric is a
crenulation cleavage (S1), which is generally parallel to the
axial surface of the major folds. A rare bedding-parallel fabric
(S*) is also recorded and is interpreted to predate S1. A dis-
continuous spaced crenulation cleavage (S2), oriented at high
angles to S1, is found in close proximity to reverse faults and
some lamprophyre dikes.
4. Quartz veins include bedding-parallel, saddle reefs, and
extension veins related to folding, and fault-parallel, en éche-
lon, shear, and extension veins related to faulting. Subvertical
extension veins related to fracturing during folding are much
more common in the Bendigo gold field than are subhorizon-
tal veins related to faulting, unlike other gold fields in Ballarat
and Chewton-Castlemaine. Although subvertically oriented
veins are generally associated with folds and subhorizontally
oriented veins are more commonly associated with faults,
these criteria cannot be used in every case to categorize veins.
They may be used as a guide to local variations in stress ori-
entation, with respect to the location within the fold.
5. Extensional veins related to both folding and faulting, and
cleavage-parallel veins, formed under an extensional failure
regime where fluid pressures were supralithostatic (pore fluid
factors > 1). Sigmoidal en échelon veins related to faults are
considered to be extensional and also formed under high fluid
pressures. Fault-parallel veins formed under lower fluid pres-
sures, with pore fluid factors between 0.8 and 1.0 (>1.0 for se-
verely misoriented structures). Field observations are consis-
tent with the predictions of Sibson (1998) that shear veins will
be more prevalent in slate (tensile strength ~1 MPa), whereas
extension veins will be more common in sandstone (tensile
strength ~10 MPa). Extension veins in slates may form only if
differential and effective vertical stresses are low.
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369
6. Gold is interpreted to have precipitated throughout most
of the deformation sequence. The fact that primary gold is lo-
cated in bedding-parallel veins which have not been reacti-
vated after fold lock up, indicates that some gold was precip-
itated during folding. The majority of gold is contained within
veins associated with faults, or in bedding-parallel veins that
have been reactivated. The richest gold-bearing structures
are those where faults have intersected saddle reefs, forming
so-called “neck reefs.” Some gold was remobilized and con-
centrated in carbonate cataclasites along bedding-parallel
veins and lamprophyre dikes during late brittle deformation.
7. A fault-based fracture system was superimposed on pre-
existing dilational sites, such as bedding-parallel and saddle
reefs, and may have allowed for the introduction of a larger
volume of fluids during faulting than was possible during
folding. Discordant faults allowed fluid to flow across bedding
planes to which fluid flow was restricted during most of the
folding sequence. In the terminology of Cox (1999), bedding-
parallel veins and faults are backbone structures, which carry
most of the fluid but do not necessarily promote mineraliza-
tion, unless blocked. Extension veins are considered dangling
elements and dead-end structures, which provide potential
for fluid mixing between ascending fluids and those in the
host rocks and therefore contain a large proportion of the
mineralization. En échelon veins are not strongly mineralized
because they are isolated structures, which are not connected
to the fracture network.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank Bendigo Mining N.L. for allow-
ing us access to available workings of the Deborah anticline,
for providing logistical support and samples, and for the use
of some figures. P.S. acknowledges the receipt of an Overseas
Postgraduate Research Scholarship and Melbourne Univer-
sity Postgraduate Scholarship while at the University of Mel-
bourne. Reviews by Stephen Cox and Daniel Kontak helped
greatly to improve this manuscript and Karina Jonasson is
thanked for her editorial comments.
March 10, 2000; December 18, 2001
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