Economic Geology

Vol. 98, 2003, pp. 1137–1157

Evaluation of the Role of Sulfidation in Deposition of Gold,

Screamer Section of the Betze-Post Carlin-Type Deposit, Nevada
STEPHEN E. KESLER,† JOHN FORTUNA,* ZAOJUN YE, JEFFREY C. ALT, DANIEL P. CORE,
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109

PAMELA ZOHAR, JEFF BORHAUER,

Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Inc., P.O. Box 29, Elko, Nevada 89803

AND STEPHEN L. CHRYSSOULIS

Advanced Mineral Technology Laboratory (AMTEL), 100 Collip Circle, UWO Research Park, London, Ontario, Canada N6G 4X8

Abstract
This study was undertaken to evaluate the relation between sulfidation and gold deposition in the Screamer
section of the Betze-Post Carlin-type deposit. We also attempted to determine the source of sulfur in the de-
posit and the possibility that more than one gold-depositing event contributed metal to the Screamer system.
Gold ore at Screamer forms a generally stratiform body hosted largely by the Wispy member of the Devonian
Popovich Formation and lacks obvious alteration of wall-rock gangue minerals. Gold at Screamer is hosted by
arsenian pyrite that forms disseminated grains and overgrowths on diagenetic pyrite. A strong correlation is ob-
served between the gold content of rock samples and their proportion of ore-related (arsenian) pyrite, as de-
termined by point counts.
Isocon plots show that mineralization at Screamer involved addition of both sulfur and iron, along with gold,
arsenic, antimony, tungsten, and local silica, barium, and phosphorus. Fe/Al vs. S/Al plots show that most ore
samples at Screamer do not contain enough sulfur to account for all of their iron as pyrite; petrographic exam-
ination shows that the iron occurs in pyrite, ferroan dolomite, and iron-bearing micas in order of decreasing
abundance. The Fe/Al vs. S/Al plots also show that Screamer samples with high gold contents contain more
pyrite than samples with low gold contents and that samples inside the ore zone have more pyrite than those
in the surrounding area. These relations are interpreted to indicate that Screamer has undergone at least two
pyrite-forming events. The first event, which probably took place during diagenesis, involved incomplete sul-
fidation that left some iron in carbonate and silicate minerals. The second event, which probably took place
during gold mineralization, sulfidized most remaining iron and added pyrite in the Screamer ore zone.
The δ34S values of chemically extracted sulfur from disseminated pyrite at Screamer range from –13.8 to 16.5
per mil, and δ34S values for hand-picked separates of pyrite and other sulfides in veins cutting these rocks range
from –21.2 to 11.7 per mil. A significant fraction of samples with high gold contents and of samples in the ore
zone regardless of gold content have δ34S values between –1 and 5 per mil. These data suggest that early dia-
genetic sulfur with a wide range of δ34S values was overprinted by sulfur with isotopic compositions in the –1
to 5 per mil range that was associated with gold mineralization. The δ34S values for gold-related sulfur at
Screamer are lower than those reported for bulk mineral separates from most other Carlin-type deposits and
from SIMS analyses of sulfides from the proximal Post part of the Betze-Post system and could be magmatic.
Limited evidence can be found for multiple gold-forming events in the Screamer zone. Tungsten, which might
have been introduced by the Jurassic-age Goldstrike stock, is widespread in the deposit and correlates closely
with gold. A few samples with high tungsten/gold ratios found along fault zones might be part of an earlier
phase of mineralization related to the Goldstrike stock. A δ34S value for pyrite in one of these samples is simi-
lar to the high values reported for sulfides in auriferous, polymetallic mineralization in the Post section of the
deposit, but this mineralization is not reported to contain tungsten. Other veins containing sphalerite have
lower δ34S values and lack consistent gold values.
Whereas there is no correlation between gold values and the degree to which the host rocks have under-
gone sulfidation, there is a strong and highly significant correlation between gold values and the abundance
of ore-related pyrite. This shows that simple sulfidation of immediately adjacent wall rock cannot account
alone for gold deposition at Screamer and it might not be the only ore-depositing process in some other Car-
lin deposits. A more general, “extended sulfidation” process could be important, however. One likely process
involves mixing of an invading, mineralizing fluid containing sulfur and gold with a wall-rock fluid containing
iron derived from adjacent or distal wall rocks. Recognition of the source(s) for this iron and fluid flow path-
ways responsible for introducing it to the ore zone could provide useful guidance in exploration for the next
Carlin trend.

† Corresponding author: e-mail, skesler@umich.edu

*Present address: R & M Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering, Inc., 7901 Oakport Street, Suite 4700, Oakland, CA 94621-2015.

0361-0128/01/3372/1137-21 $6.00 1137

1138 KESLER ET AL.

Introduction and Background to compare the distribution of gold to geologic features at

THIS STUDY was undertaken to evaluate the role of sulfidation
in formation of the Screamer part of the Betze-Post Carlin-
type gold deposit. Sulfidation takes place when sulfide-rich
diagenetic or hydrothermal solutions react with iron-rich wall
rocks, usually forming pyrite, marcasite, or pyrrhotite (e.g.,
Kettler et al., 1992). Deposition of iron sulfides decreases the
activity of dissolved sulfides in the hydrothermal solution,
which destabilizes gold bisulfide complexes and causes depo-
sition of gold (Seward, 1984). Sulfidation has been recognized
at the Jerritt Canyon, Twin Creeks, Getchell, and Meikle de-
posits and has been suggested as an important cause of gold
deposition in Carlin-type systems (Hofstra et al., 1991;
Phinisey et al., 1996; Stenger et al., 1998; Hofstra and Cline,
2000; Cail and Cline, 2001).
Screamer was selected for a further test of the sulfidation
process because it is hosted almost entirely by a single strati-
graphic unit, raising the possibility that the composition of
this unit could have promoted sulfidation or some other
process that affected the location of ore. Samples were col-
lected in December 1997 from a transect across the western
part of the Screamer ore zone where it was most strata bound
(Figs. 1 and 2). A second set of samples was collected in Au-
gust 1998 from drill holes east of that transect and from addi-
tional unmineralized drill holes west and southwest of the
Screamer ore zone (Fig. 1). Ye et al. (2002) used these samples
Screamer. They reported that gold grades did not correlate
strongly with the intensity of silicification or decarbonatiza-
tion or with the density of fractures. Weak positive correla-
tions were observed between gold contents and the distribu-
tion of debris-flow material in the ore-hosting Wispy member
of the Popovich Formation, and with vertical fractures con-
taining kaolinite. The only geologic feature that showed a
strong correlation to gold grade was the abundance of pyrite.
In this study, we examine whether deposition of pyrite at
Screamer resulted from chemical addition of sulfur (sulfida-
tion) or of both sulfur and iron (referred to here as pyritiza-
tion or addition of pyrite). We also examine possible source(s)
of sulfur in the mineralizing system and the possibility of mul-
tiple stages of mineralization, as has been described in other
areas of the northern Carlin trend (Emsbo et al., 1999, 2000;
Hofstra and Cline, 2000).
Geologic Setting and
Characteristics of the Screamer Zone
The Betze-Post deposit, which contains at least 1,250 met-
ric tons (t) of gold (Bettles, 2002), is a large, continuous zone
that has been explored, developed, and mined over an ex-
tended period, thus resulting in different names for different
parts of the same system (Arehart et al., 1993b; Leonardson
and Rahn, 1996; Volk et al., 1996; Ferdock et al., 1997; Ye et

25
26 1 km

Ca
23

rlin
1 mi
Ore zone

Ba Eure

Tre
ttle ka
15000N

nd
Metamorphic aureole

Mo tren
24 Reno

un d
tai
40.98°

n-
3 1
27 2
5000E 6000E 7000E 8000E 5 48 NEVADA
14000N 6 7
A' Betze
10
Sh

12 9 16 15
alo

Pos

13 11
sky

17
14 Post
t Fa

13000N
Pecu

18
Fa

21 20
ult

19
ult
liar F

Screamer 10000N
West 12000N 22
ault

Bazza 70°
Fault
Bu

11000N
zz
ard

45°
Fa

A 116.38° Goldstrike Stock

ult

10000N

-3000E 0E 3000E 6000E 9000E 12000E

FIG. 1. Locations of the Screamer zone in relation to the Post fault, other parts of the Post-Betze-Screamer deposit, and
the Goldstrike stock (partly after Leonardson and Rahn, 1996, and Barrick staff). Metamorphic aureole in wall rocks around
the Goldstrike stock includes pyroxene hornfels, biotite hornfels, quartzite, and marble (Leonardson and Rahn, 1996). Upper
right inset shows location of the Carlin trend in Nevada. Small open square shows location of main map. Lower left inset
shows Screamer ore zone with distribution of faults (solid lines) and location of cross section in Figure 2 (dashed line). Lo-
cations of the following drill holes sampled in and around the Screamer orebody are shown: 1 = SJ-443-C, 2 = SJ-393-C, 3
= SJ-398-C, 4 = SJ-229-C, 5 = SJ-249-C, 6 = SJ-435-C, 7 = SJ-376-C, 8 = SJ-367-C, 9 = SJ-411-C, 10 = SJ-392-C, 11 = BZ-
975-C, 12 = BZ-980-C, 13 = BZ-965-C, 14 = BZ-976-C, 15 = SJ-323-C, 16 = BZ-937-C, 17 = BZ-996-C, 18 = BZ-960-C, 19
= BZ-995-C, 20 = BZ-997-C, 21 = BZ-998-C, 22 = SP-1557-C, 23 = GA-47-C, 24 = WB-3-C, 25 = CD-12-C, 26 = CD-18-
C, 27 = CD-19-C. Further information on the geologic setting of the Screamer deposit is found in Ye et al. (2002).

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 SCREAMER SECTION, BETZE-POST DEPOSIT, CARLIN TREND 1139

FIG. 2. Cross section through the Screamer zone showing configuration of the Wispy member of the Popovich Forma-
tion (Dp) in relation to gold grade. Location of traverse is shown by dashed line in lower left inset in Figure 1. SC1, Fish,
Big Bird, Shalosky, Bills, My Name, West Bazza reverse fault, No Name, Buzzard, and Bazza are faults.

al., 2002). Screamer, which is the western part of this deposit,
is confined largely to a single stratigraphic horizon in the De-
vonian Popovich Formation. The Popovich Formation is part
of the Silurian-Devonian, eastern assemblage, carbonate fa-
cies, Paleozoic sedimentary package that was covered during
the Early Mississippian Antler orogeny by thrust sheets con-
taining western assemblage, siliciclastic, sedimentary rocks
(Bettles, 2002). Stratigraphic terminology for ore-hosting
eastern assemblage sedimentary rocks in the Betze-Post area
has changed with time. The following discussion uses the ter-
minology of Barrick geologists as described by Bettles (2002,
fig. 4), which should be consulted for additional details.
Stratigraphic setting of Screamer
The main stratigraphic units in the eastern assemblage at
Screamer are the Silurian-Devonian Roberts Mountains For-
mation and Devonian Popovich Formation and the Rodeo
Creek unit. Most ore at Screamer is hosted by the Popovich
Formation, although the Roberts Mountains Formation hosts
small amounts of ore in its upper part, which consists of
planar laminated, dolomitic, limy mudstone and siltstone.
The contact between the Roberts Mountains and Popovich
Formations contains collapse breccias and is thought to be a
disconformity. Thin to medium beds of peloidal, bioclastic
limestone along this contact at Betze-Post thicken to the
northeast to form the Bootstrap limestone, which consists of
massive, bioclastic and biogenic fossiliferous limestone and
dolomite (Armstrong et al., 1997; Bettles, 2002). The Boot-
strap limestone is surrounded by an apron of collapse blocks,
slides, and debris flows that grade outward into thin- to
medium-bedded debris flows or turbidites.
The Popovich Formation, which is largely time-equivalent
to the upper part of the Bootstrap limestone, has been di-
vided informally into four lithologic members. The lowest of
these is the Wispy member, which ranges from 70 to 95 m in
thickness and is the main ore host at Screamer. Newmont ge-
ologists have placed the Wispy member in the upper part of
the Roberts Mountains Formation (Teal and Jackson, 1997),
whereas Barrick geologists place it at the bottom of the
Popovich Formation as is done in this report, a fact that can

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1140 KESLER ET AL.
confuse readers who are not aware of the different strati-
graphic terminology used by the two groups. The Wispy
member contains two main lithologies: limy to dolomitic
mudstone, and silty limestone with a characteristic texture re-
flecting bioturbation and interbedded fossiliferous debris
flows that make up 20 to 80 percent of the member.
Overlying the Wispy member is the Planar member of the
Popovich Formation, a thinly laminated muddy limestone
that is about 30 m thick and contains locally abundant grap-
tolites of Lower Devonian age (G.L.Griffin, oral commun.,
1995; Armstrong et al., 1997). This is overlain by the Soft-
Sediment Deformation (SSD) member, which is about 40 to
80 m thick and consists of micritic limestone, and then by the
Upper Mudstone member, which is about 30 to 45 m thick
and consists of carbonaceous muddy limestone with minor silt
and/or fossil hash beds (Armstrong et al., 1997; Zohar, 1999).
The Rodeo Creek unit, which overlies the Popovich discon-
formably, consists of argillite, calcareous mudstone, and silty
limestone.
In a study of the regional stratigraphy, Armstrong et al.
(1997) interpreted the Roberts Mountains through the Rodeo
Creek units to represent a transgressional sequence from
supratidal through deep euxinic basinal environments. They
suggested that the upper Roberts Mountains Formation was
deposited on a wide, shallow-shelf margin environment,
which is in agreement with observations made in the
Screamer area (Griffin, 2000). Armstrong et al. (1997) deter-
mined from petrologic studies that the lower (Wispy) mem-
ber of the Popovich represents an oxygenated, foreslope en-
vironment. At Screamer, Wispy member sediments were
deposited in slightly deeper water and the bioclastic debris-
flow component decreases in abundance from northeast to
southwest across the map area in Figure 1 (Griffin, 1999,
2000). This facies change reflects increasing water depth
from northeast (Bootstrap) to southwest (Roberts Mountains-
Popovich), and a corresponding transition from a foreslope to
a more distal slope environment. We found no direct relation
between gold mineralization and this facies change.
Igneous and structural features of Screamer
The igneous and structural history of the Betze-Post area is
very complex, with repeated movement along numerous
zones of weakness. Only a few major events can be noted
here. Readers seeking additional details should refer to Bet-
tles (2002), from which this summary is derived. Three struc-
tural and igneous events are particularly prominent. Most ob-
vious is the Roberts Mountains thrust, which carried western
assemblage Ordovician-, Silurian-, and Devonian-age rocks
over the Silurian- and Devonian-age eastern assemblage
rocks during the Antler orogeny. Some of the numerous
northwest-striking reverse faults are thought to have formed
at the same time. The prominent north-northwest-striking
Post fault, which marks the eastern edge of the Betze-Post
deposit, might have formed at this time or even earlier. The
present offset of 800 to 1,600 ft along the fault occurred at
least in part before intrusion of the Goldstrike stock. The
Jurassic-age Goldstrike stock, which intrudes Paleozoic rocks
just south of the Betze-Post deposit (Fig. 1), is cut by Jurassic-
age lamprophyre dikes that extend outward into the surround-
ing sedimentary rocks. The stock produced a discontinuous
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00
hornfels halo that extends locally several hundred meters
outward from the intrusion (Ye et al., 2002). Although some
rocks logged as hornfels contain megascopically recognizable
metamorphic minerals, such as diopside and garnet, many
samples in this study that were logged as hornfels are
bleached and recrystallized but lack obvious metamorphic
minerals.
Delineation of faults and fault trends in the Screamer zone
is difficult because drill holes are mostly vertical, but current
information indicates the presence of several fault systems
(Zohar, 1999; Screamer: westernmost Betze orebody: Barrick
Goldstrike Mine, Inc., unpubl. internal report, 10 p.). The
West Bazza reverse fault system, which strikes northwest and
dips southwest, cuts the southwest corner of the Screamer
orebody with reverse offset of 150 to 250 m (Fig. 2). The Buz-
zard fault system, which strikes north-northwest and dips
steeply west, has a normal offset of about 30 m and cuts the
center of the Screamer orebody (Fig. 2). Apparently related
faults with similar orientations include the Shalosky, which in-
tersects the Wispy member in the same area as the West
Bazza fault in Figure 2, and the Peculiar fault, which cuts the
Betze part of the system to the east (Fig. 1). Most of these
faults appear to have formed before mineralization and gold
grades are highest where they intersect the Wispy member
(Fig. 2). This, in turn, suggests that some ore-forming fluids
gained access to the Screamer zone by upward flow rather
than by lateral flow westward from the Post fault (Fig. 1).
Types of Gold Ore at Screamer
Typical barren Wispy member rocks consist largely of mi-
crometer-scale clasts of carbonate and quartz, with minor
mica and organic matter along bedding planes (Fig. 3A). Min-
eralized Wispy member rocks from some parts of the
Screamer ore zone have essentially the same appearance and
lack obvious alteration even where they have a high gold con-
tent (Fig. 3B, C). As noted above, Ye et al. (2002) found that
gold in these rocks did not show a significant correlation with
decarbonatization, silicification or other wall-rock alteration
typical of Carlin-type deposits. Highest gold contents are pre-
sent generally in fractured samples (Fig. 3D, E). Some areas
near the West Bazza, Big Bird, and Buzzard faults contain
brecciated ore of probable tectonic origin (Fig. 3F, G); other
areas that are not near large fault zones contain breccias of
possible sedimentary or collapse origin. For example, hole
BZ-937-C (Fig. 1), which is located between fault zones in
the eastern part of the Screamer zone, contains the well-bed-
ded ore shown in Figure 3C but also contains highly brec-
ciated ore (Fig. 3H). No correlation was found between gold
and total fracture density at the hand specimen scale at
Screamer (Ye et al., 2002), although this does not eliminate
the possibility that fluids moved through a fracture system
that extended beyond the area in which ore was deposited or
that fluids moving along fractures invaded surrounding un-
fractured rocks.
Veins (filled fractures of any size) are relatively scarce at
Screamer and available drill core does not indicate that any
large body of ore can be characterized as vein-hosted. Pyrite
(including arsenian pyrite) is the most common sulfide mineral
in veins, followed by realgar, orpiment, arsenopyrite, spha-
lerite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, and galena in that approximate
1140
 SCREAMER SECTION, BETZE-POST DEPOSIT, CARLIN TREND 1141

FIG. 3. Photographs of typical Screamer host rock and ore (centimeter scale shown in each photo). A. Barren Wispy mem-
ber, sample WB-3-C-1147 (5 ppb Au). B. Mineralized Roberts Mountains Formation with no fractures or faults, sample CD-
12-C-1152 (160 ppb Au). C. Mineralized Wispy member with no fractures, sample BZ-937-C-1203 (1,700 ppb Au). D. Min-
eralized Wispy member with minor fractures containing calcite, sample SJ-398-C-1094 (17,700 ppb Au). E. Mineralized
Wispy member with well-defined fractures containing calcite, sample BZ-996-913-C (24,300 ppb Au). F. Mineralized, brec-
ciated Wispy member with quartz-filled fractures, sample BZ-960-C-1192 (38,000 ppb Au). G. Mineralized, brecciated
Wispy member with quartz-filled fractures, sample BZ-995-C-1138 (32,200 ppb Au). H. Mineralized, brecciated Wispy
member with quartz-filled fractures, sample BZ-937-C-1197 (31,400 ppb Au).

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1142 KESLER ET AL.
order of decreasing importance. The relation of vein minerals
to gold mineralization was evaluated from gold analyses of
small hand samples or 5-ft composites of drill core that con-
tain veins. Elevated gold contents (tens of parts per million)
were observed in most samples and core intervals hosting
veins containing arsenian pyrite, realgar, and orpiment. Ele-
vated gold values were also found in three of the five samples
and core intervals with veins containing sphalerite: one sam-
ple with a vein containing chalcopyrite and two samples with
veins containing pyrrhotite. The scarcity of crosscutting rela-
tions in drill core makes it difficult to determine relative ages
of veins with certainty, although base metal and pyrrhotite
veins appear to have formed before veins containing pyrite,
arsenian pyrite, and orpiment.
Chemical Changes and Mass Balances Associated
with Mineralization and Alteration
Addition and loss of elements during alteration and miner-
alization can be recognized by comparison of barren, unal-
tered samples to their strongly mineralized and/or altered
counterparts using the isocon method of Grant (1986). This
method has been used to study gains and losses during min-
eralization and alteration in several Carlin-type deposits
(Hofstra, 1994; Phinisey et al., 1996; Emsbo, 1999; Hofstra
and Cline, 2000) and its application to the Getchell deposit is
discussed in detail by Cail and Cline (2001). We have em-
ployed the same approach to compare chemical analyses of
mineralized samples to that of barren sample WB-3-C-1147
(Table 1). Hole WB-3-C is well outside the Screamer ore
zone but is correlated with the stratigraphic sequence in the
ore zone. Reinspection of the core by Barrick geologists in
2002 confirmed that this rock is typical unmineralized Wispy
member. Sample WB-3-C-1147 comes from 44 ft below the
contact with the overlying Planar member.
Previous studies have shown that aluminum and titanium
are commonly immobile during alteration and mineralization
in Carlin-type deposits, and a highly significant r value of 0.97
for a plot of TiO2 vs. Al2O3 in all barren and mineralized sam-
ples confirms that this is true for Screamer (Fig. 4A). The re-
maining isocon plots in Figure 4 show relations for the differ-
ent types of ore illustrated in Figure 3. In all cases, the
chemical composition of the barren host rock sample (WB-3-
C-1147) is plotted along the x-axis and the chemical composi-
tion of the more altered and mineralized sample is plotted
along the y-axis. Even when the isocon and constant mass
lines almost overlap, as they do for sample CD-12-C-1152
(Fig. 4B), calculations using the method outlined in Hofstra
(1994) and Cail and Cline (2001, p. 1350) show that some
mass change has taken place, although determination of the
absolute amount is limited by uncertainty about volume
change associated with alteration.
The compositional effects of alteration in these samples can
be divided into two groups on the basis of gains and losses of
calcium, magnesium, and inorganic carbon. Samples of typical
stratigraphically controlled ore (CD-12-C-1152 and BZ-937-
C-1203, Fig. 4B, C) and samples with strong tectonic defor-
mation (BZ-960-C-1192 and BZ-995-C-1138, Fig. 4F, G) have
lost calcium, magnesium, and inorganic carbon, consistent with
decarbonatization typically observed in Carlin-type deposits.
In contrast, samples BZ-996-C-913 and SJ-398-C-1096 (Fig.
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 1142
4E, D) show small but significant gains of calcium, magne-
sium, and inorganic carbon. These gains reflect addition of
carbonate in veins that cut the samples rather than pervasive
addition of carbonate to the entire rock. These samples are
not enriched in zinc, suggesting that the carbonate veins are
not associated with introduction of sphalerite. Sample BZ-
937-1197, a breccia of possible nontectonic origin, also ap-
pears to have had no significant loss or gain of calcium, mag-
nesium, and inorganic carbon (Fig. 4H), suggesting that it is
different in origin from the other deformed rocks. The fact
that all of these samples have gained gold and arsenic indi-
cates that their different calcium, magnesium, and inorganic
carbon contents are not directly related to deposition of gold.
These results support the observations of Ye et al. (2002), who
found no correlation between gold grades and the inorganic
carbon (CO2) contents of Screamer samples. They also noted
that carbonate veins at Screamer are not closely correlated
with areas of high gold grade, although earlier introduction of
gold could have taken place along fractures that were filled
later by carbonate minerals.
The isocon diagrams show that potassium contents fall
below the isocon in all but two of the samples, indicating that
it was largely leached from the samples. This is consistent
with the widespread recognition of illite or kaolinite associ-
ated with gold mineralization in Carlin-type deposits, which
results from removal of potassium from detrital micas (Hofs-
tra and Cline, 2000). Ye et al. (2002) reported a generally neg-
ative correlation between K/Al ratio and gold grade for sam-
ples from the Screamer zone. The isocon plots show that
silica was added to all of the samples, with greater addition
seen in faulted and brecciated samples; however, Ye et al.
(2002), showed that gold does not correlate with the calcu-
lated amount of free silica (i.e., quartz) in Screamer ore.
Their study was based on a much larger number of samples
covering the entire deposit, suggesting that our sample popu-
lation might not be fully representative of the geochemistry of
silica at Screamer.
According to the isocon diagrams, gold, arsenic, and tung-
sten were added to all samples, and antimony was added to all
but one sample. Barium was added to the three brecciated
samples (BZ937C-1197, BZ-960-C-1192, and BZ-995-C-1138)
but does not show evidence of increase in the faulted or other
samples. The results for manganese are ambiguous, with some
rocks showing gains and some showing losses, probably re-
flecting the low overall manganese abundances in these sam-
ples. The samples used in the isocon plots do not provide ev-
idence for a significant introduction of zinc (Fig. 4), although
comparisons are hampered because several samples have zinc
contents below the detection limit of 50 ppm, which was used
as the minimum value for construction of the isocon diagrams.
Iron was added to all samples and sulfur was added to all
samples except CD-12-C-1152 (Fig. 4B). This indicates that
significant amounts of pyrite were added to most of these
rocks, and it agrees with the finding of Ye et al. (2002) that
gold grades correlate with the abundance of pyrite at
Screamer. This is evaluated further in the next section.
Fe-S relations in Screamer samples
Information on the relation between pyrite and gold at
Screamer can be obtained from iron and sulfide sulfur contents
 SCREAMER SECTION, BETZE-POST DEPOSIT, CARLIN TREND 1143

0.5 6
10 SiO
A 2
5 B Al O
2 3 CaO
10
Fe2O3
0.4 C MgO
104 TiO2
S K2O
P O
103

CD12C-1152
2 5
TiO2 (wt%)

0.3 Ba
2 As Mn
10 Al-Ti Isocon
Zn
Cr
101 W
0.2 Sb
100
Constant Mass
0.1 10-1
Au
-2
10
r = 0.97
0 10-3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103 104 105 106
Al2O3 (wt%) WB3C-1147 (ppb)

106 SiO2 106

SiO2
C D
Al O MgO
105 Fe2O3 2 3
CaO 105 C CaO
MgO Fe O
BZ937C-1203 (ppb)

SJ398C-1096 (ppb)
S C 2 3 Al2O3
Constant Mass S
104
4
K O 10 K2O
2
TiO2 TiO2
103 As Mn P2O5 103
As Mn
Ba P2O5
Constant Mass and
102 Al-Ti Isocon
Sb Ba 102 Sb
Cr Zn Zn Al-Ti Isocon
W Cr
Au
101 101
W
Au
100 100

10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103 104 105 106

106 SiO2 106 SiO2

E CaO
F
105 C 105 Fe2O3
MgO Al2O3
BZ960C-1192 (ppb)

Fe2O3
BZ996C-913 (ppb)

Al2O3 S
Constant Mass
104 S 104 C CaO
K2O As K2O
P2O5 MgO
TiO2
103 Mn 103 Ba TiO2
As Constant Mass

2 P2O5 Sb
10 Zn 102 Al-Ti Isocon
Sb Mn
W Ba W Cr
Au Zn
Au Cr
101 101

Al-Ti Isocon
100 100
10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103 104 105 106
5 5
10 10
SiO2 SiO2
G H
105 Fe2O3 105 CaO
Fe2O3 C
MgO
BZ995C-1138 (ppb)

Al2O3
BZ937-1197 (ppb)

S S Al2O3
104 K2O 4
CaO 10
As P O K O
Ba 2 5 2
MgO
3 C 3 As
10 P O TiO2 10 TiO2
2 5
Constant Mass Constant Mass Sb Ba
Sb
102
2 Mn
10
Mn
Cr Cr
Au Zn Au Zn
101 W 1
10 W

Al-Ti Isocon Al-Ti Isocon

100
0
10

10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 10-3 10-2 10-1 100 101 102 103 104 105 106
WB3C-1147 (ppb)
WB3C-1147 (ppb)

FIG. 4. A. Correlation plot for all samples showing relation between Al2O3 and TiO2. B-H. Log isocon plots showing re-
lation between compositions of barren Wispy member (sample WB-3-C-1147) and altered and mineralized samples in Fig-
ure 3, including major and trace elements (shown as ppm from Table 1). The degree of mass loss related to alteration, as-
suming constant volume, is indicated by the difference between the isocon and the constant mass lines in these diagrams
(Cail and Cline, 2001).

0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 1143

 TABLE 1. Chemical Analyses of 10- to 30-cm-long Samples of Split Drill Core from the Screamer Zone of the Betze-Post Deposit
1144
Hole Depth SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 MgO CaO Na2O K2O P2O5 MnO TiO2 LOI Total Sulfide Inorganic δ34S Au Ag As Ba Cr Hg Sb W Zn
Drill hole no. (ft) Unit (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) S (wt %) S C sulfide (ppb) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm)

BZ-937-C 16 1197 WS 67.01 2.54 4.23 4.73 7.71 0.02 0.65 0.29 0.02 0.12 11.35 98.67 3.25 3.25 –13.8 31,400 <5 1100 200 35 12 290 10 <50
BZ-937-C 16 1203 WS 51.60 5.96 4.13 6.28 10.38 0.02 1.45 0.11 0.08 0.32 18.39 98.71 3.30 4.40 1,700 <5 710 150 47 2 130 49 64
BZ-960-C 18 1192 WS 85.17 4.23 3.15 0.47 0.74 0.01 1.06 0.21 <0.01 0.22 3.12 98.39 1.98 0.26 2.9 38,000 34 5000 1100 54 12 160 50 63
BZ-960-C 18 1226 WS 89.81 3.17 2.54 0.35 0.63 <0.01 0.76 0.05 <0.01 0.19 3.00 100.52 1.65 0.64 –8 9,260 11 700 120 54 8 160 20 91
BZ-965-C 13 1277 PL 19.25 3.66 1.58 14.06 21.12 <0.01 1.14 0.09 0.03 0.17 33.42 94.52 1.21 8.30 13.2 1,150 <5 180 <100 37 <1 83 1500 385
BZ-965-C 13 1303 PL 15.11 2.59 1.35 15.45 25.02 <0.01 0.64 0.11 0.05 0.11 36.09 96.52 0.84 9.15 1,460 <5 370 <100 35 <1 30 800 293

0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00
BZ-965-C 13 1397 WS 50.27 3.68 1.41 9.00 13.54 <0.01 0.60 0.11 0.03 0.18 19.43 98.25 1.03 5.30 1.9 368 <5 120 300 42 <1 35 9 63
BZ-965-C 13 1484 PL 82.25 6.76 2.19 0.89 0.99 <0.01 1.79 0.09 0.01 0.37 4.20 99.54 1.73 0.40 4.6 135 <5 82 660 55 <1 36 19 <50
BZ-965-C 13 1576 LL 83.27 6.58 3.29 0.22 0.36 <0.01 0.31 0.05 < 0.01 0.33 4.96 99.37 2.43 0.25 3.2 84 <5 270 <100 35 14 260 12 <50
BZ-975-C 11 1018 PL 59.17 1.91 1.13 7.13 11.90 <0.01 0.39 0.06 0.05 0.08 17.50 99.32 0.75 4.50 –0.9 2,200 <5 1100 <100 20 9 50 7 <50
BZ-975-C 11 1148 WS 34.04 5.42 1.97 9.35 20.64 <0.01 2.16 0.31 0.02 0.24 24.33 98.48 1.51 6.50 8.2 32 <5 16 380 41 <1 5 5 94
BZ-975-C 11 1211 LL 59.72 6.48 1.30 6.12 8.72 <0.01 0.96 0.07 0.02 0.27 14.11 97.77 0.89 3.75 –7.9 39 <5 82 <100 29 <1 33 10 <50
BZ-976-C 14 1222 PL 32.21 9.40 5.75 10.04 14.97 <0.01 2.35 0.12 0.18 0.39 22.40 97.81 3.98 5.85 7.1 18,000 <5 1100 530 61 11 67 120 <50
BZ-976-C 14 1247 PL 41.67 1.05 23.10 0.54 11.67 <0.01 0.16 0.06 0.01 0.04 21.09 99.39 18.86 2.55 9,280 <5 2300 <100 22 45 130 880 <50
BZ-976-C 14 1296 WS 86.49 2.09 2.17 1.46 2.60 <0.01 0.43 0.18 0.01 0.10 4.49 100.02 1.41 1.10 –2.4 2,720 <5 490 <100 27 5 110 88 <50
BZ-976-C 14 1333 LL 82.64 5.47 3.35 0.31 0.52 <0.01 1.46 0.21 0.01 0.30 4.88 99.15 2.19 0.05 –1 33,800 <5 1300 280 90 17 220 29 110
BZ-976-C 14 1367 LL 82.03 2.04 1.20 2.98 4.73 <0.01 0.28 0.09 0.03 0.10 6.51 99.99 0.81 1.85 0.2 8,600 <5 650 150 18 4 33 120 <50
BZ-976-C 14 1481 LL 82.75 8.08 1.17 1.60 0.39 <0.01 0.36 0.07 0.01 0.46 4.67 99.56 0.61 0.10 16.3 326 <5 40 <100 50 <1 39 26 55
BZ-980-C 12 1057 PL 67.19 2.79 1.09 5.63 7.96 <0.01 0.59 0.07 0.01 0.13 14.13 99.59 0.84 3.15 5.7 260 <5 680 140 22 9 64 7 157
BZ-980-C 12 1214 WS 48.97 6.39 2.34 8.80 13.23 <0.01 0.49 0.09 0.07 0.33 18.84 99.55 1.53 5.00 –0.1 848 <5 240 150 46 <1 26 21 <50
BZ-980-C 12 1251 WS 66.71 5.45 2.16 5.09 7.35 <0.01 1.40 0.18 0.02 0.27 9.03 97.66 1.52 2.90 0.9 3,050 <5 430 <100 37 5 89 28 <50
BZ-980-C 12 1264 WS 82.35 2.48 3.49 1.63 2.56 <0.01 0.57 0.14 0.03 0.16 6.02 99.43 2.54 1.20 0.8 13,100 <5 740 <100 29 18 110 57 <50
BZ-980-C 12 1329 LL 32.58 2.67 1.32 5.20 28.81 <0.01 0.70 0.09 0.07 0.14 26.49 98.07 0.70 7.50 0.4 807 <5 76 <100 17 <1 7.5 31 <50
BZ-995-C 19 1138 WS 85.46 3.41 3.98 0.43 0.49 <0.01 0.82 0.11 <0.01 0.18 3.83 98.73 2.79 0.23 5.1 32,200 44 4600 170 45 24 190 16 61

1144
BZ-995-C 19 1194 WS 19.49 5.73 4.28 12.50 22.71 0.02 0.59 0.38 0.38 0.30 32.20 98.58 1.52 8.30 4.7 42,000 <5 6200 150 54 16 63 140 459
BZ-996-C 17 902 WS 43.04 4.88 2.90 9.29 14.52 0.02 1.32 0.08 0.09 0.28 22.36 98.78 1.76 5.55 –0.1 50,800 9 1300 <50 49 11 110 47 <50
BZ-996-C 17 913 WS 46.59 3.40 2.48 8.67 14.74 0.02 0.86 <0.01 0.11 0.19 21.74 98.80 1.47 5.75 1.0 24,300 <5 530 81 35 3 52 33 <50
KESLER ET AL.

BZ-997-C 20 825 PL 65.39 2.96 1.05 5.19 7.76 <0.01 0.79 0.20 0.08 0.16 16.39 99.97 0.72 3.10 8.1 38 <5 66 130 26 <1 24 <4 1,130
BZ-997-C 20 939 WS 49.98 7.20 2.70 8.59 11.88 0.01 1.95 0.12 0.03 0.35 16.80 99.61 1.83 4.65 –1.4 870 <5 210 140 47 <1 35 14 353
BZ-997-C 20 953 WS 84.91 5.03 1.57 1.08 1.47 <0.01 1.45 0.38 0.01 0.25 3.88 99.75 1.20 0.60 2.7 4,540 <5 320 140 47 <1 38 15 94
BZ-997-C 20 1613 LL 65.50 5.26 0.95 2.09 12.91 0.01 0.68 0.09 0.03 0.28 11.72 99.51 0.67 3.20 –0.6 35 <5 61 140 37 <1 31 13 113
BZ-998-C 21 809 PL 52.87 4.56 1.63 7.72 10.63 <0.01 1.60 0.10 0.01 0.22 18.72 98.06 1.30 4.20 13.6 42 <5 18 200 30 <1 12 7 98
BZ-998-C 21 1012 LL 30.96 3.05 0.73 3.91 31.00 <0.01 0.21 0.07 0.03 0.12 28.40 98.48 0.40 7.65 –4.3 42 <5 15 <100 20 <1 7.8 9 <50
BZ-998-C 21 1112 LL 86.34 7.04 0.76 0.28 0.66 <0.01 0.38 0.11 < 0.01 0.44 4.00 100.01 0.57 0.25 –10.6 40 <5 34 120 64 <1 17 36 76
BZ-998-C 21 1136 LL 85.41 6.18 1.41 0.35 0.57 <0.01 0.99 0.21 < 0.01 0.38 4.31 99.81 1.06 0.20 42 <5 280 170 73 <1 26 26 124
BZ-998-C 21 1341 LL 40.25 5.90 1.63 9.35 19.09 0.04 1.56 0.06 0.02 0.29 21.67 99.91 0.39 5.40 11.7 18 <5 24 260 42 <1 4.3 <4 112
CD-12-C 25 1085 WS 44.26 5.82 2.15 9.55 13.49 0.03 2.01 0.10 0.03 0.29 21.91 99.64 1.19 5.45 6.9 27 <5 18 200 46 <1 17 2 <50
CD-12-C 25 1103 WS 40.64 6.04 1.84 9.78 14.69 0.03 2.11 0.09 0.03 0.33 23.05 98.62 0.70 5.80 4.5 14 <5 16 200 47 <1 9.7 2 <50
CD-12-C 25 1152 LL 48.39 7.17 2.41 8.04 11.89 0.03 2.33 0.11 0.02 0.36 19.52 100.28 0.97 4.60 –0.8 160 <5 100 220 50 <1 7.1 3 <50
CD-18-C 26 1091 WS 46.19 4.46 1.71 7.81 16.01 0.02 1.43 0.12 0.02 0.22 22.37 100.34 0.83 5.90 7 <5 43 290 54 <1 9.5 2 56
CD-19-C 27 1682 WS 34.95 5.10 1.99 11.44 17.67 0.03 1.71 0.11 0.02 0.25 26.64 99.91 0.61 6.75 –5.2 7 <5 42 170 37 <1 4.5 2 53
CD-19-C 27 1781 WS 49.16 6.55 1.79 7.27 13.35 0.03 1.75 0.08 0.02 0.36 19.80 100.16 0.66 4.85 2.5 14 <5 35 190 54 <1 4.2 <1 96
GA-47 23 1485 PL 62.45 2.99 1.01 6.52 9.43 <0.01 0.63 0.11 0.01 0.16 16.31 99.62 0.80 3.70 14.6 380 <5 72 250 28 <1 39 <4 126
GA-47 23 1561 WS 34.49 4.83 1.46 12.18 18.61 <0.01 0.90 0.07 0.02 0.26 26.78 99.60 1.01 7.00 7.2 16 <5 40 160 34 <1 22 <4 <50
GA-47 23 1649 LL 10.78 2.27 0.63 5.49 37.36 <0.01 0.91 0.23 <0.01 0.09 36.32 93.98 0.45 9.85 8.5 15 <5 7 230 21 <1 1.8 <4 <50
SJ-229-C 4 905 UM 47.83 3.84 1.58 8.86 12.96 <0.01 0.67 0.13 0.01 0.19 21.76 97.83 1.24 5.30 7.6 728 5 240 <100 27 <1 86 4 130
SJ-229-C 4 1006 UM 32.67 6.11 1.88 11.85 17.88 <0.01 0.91 0.07 0.02 0.32 26.63 98.34 1.24 7.10 –1.7 1,040 <5 110 150 41 <1 19 12 <50
SJ-229-C 4 1173 PL 36.06 3.30 1.07 5.30 26.83 <0.01 1.00 0.28 0.01 0.14 25.85 99.84 0.64 6.60 –10 30 <5 6 190 48 <1 3.1 <4 68
SJ-229-C 4 1245 WS 35.99 4.71 1.01 7.57 22.63 0.43 1.60 0.06 0.01 0.25 25.14 99.40 0.60 6.55 –6.9 33 <5 16 210 26 <1 1.7 <4 <50
SJ-249-CR 5 914 PL 65.18 2.88 0.88 5.37 9.03 <0.01 0.72 0.08 0.01 0.15 13.88 98.18 0.70 3.50 11.5 481 <5 360 150 22 <1 41 <4 72
SJ-249-CR 5 1019 WS 68.37 2.87 0.69 4.77 8.83 <0.01 0.59 0.08 0.01 0.19 12.14 98.54 0.49 3.10 –4.2 248 <5 75 <100 24 <1 9.4 450 <50
SJ-249-CR 5 1060 WS 38.52 5.07 2.15 10.28 17.85 <0.01 0.71 0.09 0.05 0.26 24.11 99.09 1.33 6.30 1.1 10,900 <5 420 210 43 <1 45 67 108
 TABLE 1. (Cont.)

Hole Depth SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 MgO CaO Na2O K2O P2O5 MnO TiO2 LOI Total Sulfide Inorganic δ34S Au Ag As Ba Cr Hg Sb W Zn
Drill hole no. (ft) Unit (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) (wt %) S (wt %) S C sulfide (ppb) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm)

SJ-249-CR 5 1217 LL 49.81 5.34 1.00 4.15 17.26 <0.01 1.19 0.09 0.01 0.27 19.41 98.53 0.70 4.75 –3.9 81 <5 17 230 31 <1 11 5 115
SJ-323-C 15 1326 LL 50.61 6.00 3.85 6.05 12.55 <0.01 0.44 0.10 0.06 0.28 18.56 98.50 2.96 4.20 3.3 154,000 <5 3600 <50 48 520 560 51 190
SJ-323-C 15 1328 LL 55.24 6.53 3.19 5.32 11.42 0.03 0.28 0.10 0.06 0.33 17.50 99.97 1.92 3.95 3.2 40,400 <5 3900 <50 56 49 73 48 <50
SJ-367-C 8 1115 WS 54.62 2.13 0.92 7.33 14.56 <0.01 0.18 0.10 0.04 0.10 19.66 99.64 0.42 5.15 6,380 <5 320 90 16 6 20 57 <50
SJ-367-C 8 1162 WS 40.19 4.31 1.71 9.35 18.23 <0.01 0.14 0.09 0.03 0.22 25.79 100.05 0.92 6.50 1,360 <5 370 78 32 5 14 16 61
SJ-376-C 7 912 PL 37.94 5.34 1.62 10.36 16.83 <0.01 0.72 0.14 0.01 0.21 26.89 99.09 1.25 6.20 12.8 90 <5 180 220 36 <1 85 7 132

0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00
SJ-376-C 7 1025 WS 26.84 4.37 1.80 12.97 19.97 <0.01 0.90 0.07 0.03 0.22 29.06 96.48 1.15 7.70 1.4 3,480 <5 350 <100 38 <1 39 27 <50
SJ-376-C 7 1079 LL 77.75 1.66 1.29 1.90 7.34 <0.01 0.32 0.13 0.03 0.07 7.20 97.69 0.84 2.20 11.8 12,500 <5 1100 <100 43 13 100 95 <50
SJ-376-C 7 1215 LL 34.40 4.38 1.01 7.98 23.10 0.26 1.54 0.10 0.01 0.22 25.89 98.89 0.61 6.55 –1.5 81 <5 21 250 31 <1 3.2 <4 117
SJ-392-C 10 988 PL 32.90 2.92 0.99 7.27 24.32 <0.01 0.76 0.09 0.01 0.14 29.10 98.50 0.82 7.05 13.6 71 <5 38 120 22 <1 4.6 <4 63
SJ-392-C 10 1194 WS 35.23 3.07 0.91 4.54 28.14 <0.01 0.40 0.22 0.03 0.12 27.04 99.70 0.61 7.20 –2.9 65 <5 130 120 29 <1 11 8 <50
SJ-392-C 10 1224 LL 36.45 2.82 0.87 5.87 24.49 <0.01 0.63 0.10 0.03 0.12 26.52 97.90 0.55 7.05 –8.7 110 <5 92 130 30 <1 13 8 62
SJ-392-C 10 1323 LL 54.66 6.50 0.91 5.52 13.55 0.81 2.40 0.13 0.02 0.29 15.05 99.84 0.30 4.00 –4.5 21 <5 5 400 33 <1 0.9 <4 <50
SJ-393-C 2 1062 WS 48.15 2.62 1.28 8.81 13.56 0.02 0.32 0.08 0.02 0.13 23.76 98.74 0.80 7.75 3,600 <5 710 150 27 9 81 160 161
SJ-393-C 2 1072 WS 42.09 3.08 1.75 9.79 14.82 0.04 0.32 0.07 0.03 0.16 23.77 98.11 1.17 6.55 25,000 <5 660 2500 27 15 92 7 <50
SJ-393-C 2 1085 WS 64.36 1.67 0.94 4.87 11.41 0.01 0.13 0.05 0.03 0.06 15.05 98.57 0.38 4.10 16,000 <5 380 120 17 5 60 3 <50
SJ-393-C 2 1153 WS 32.95 4.99 1.85 12.01 17.90 0.04 1.47 0.11 0.05 0.25 27.82 99.42 0.85 7.15 1,270 <5 150 150 36 1 7.4 4 <50
SJ-398-C 3 1094 WS 31.12 5.18 2.59 11.70 16.90 0.05 1.47 0.11 0.03 0.26 27.39 98.66 1.70 7.10 17,700 <5 380 220 44 8 84 5 65
SJ-411-C 9 975 PL 36.74 2.44 0.75 8.29 21.74 <0.01 1.03 0.07 0.01 0.11 27.68 98.86 0.64 6.80 12.4 62 <5 17 210 19 <1 2.3 <4 55
SJ-411-C 9 1049 WS 31.23 5.69 2.35 12.43 18.88 <0.01 1.44 0.08 0.06 0.27 26.48 98.91 1.67 7.20 0.3 2,330 <5 140 480 45 <1 37 17 <50
SJ-411-C 9 1127 WS 48.42 4.09 2.50 7.01 17.14 <0.01 0.34 0.25 0.10 0.20 19.17 99.22 1.60 5.30 2.1 12,400 <5 350 160 39 5 60 24 54
SJ-411-C 9 1299 LL 9.35 1.45 0.29 1.95 43.38 <0.01 0.32 0.04 <0.01 0.06 38.19 95.03 0.19 9.75 –0.5 151 <5 31 <100 15 <1 3.4 <4 <50
SJ-435-C 6 896 PL 61.55 2.69 0.89 6.54 9.47 <0.01 0.46 0.09 0.01 0.15 16.76 98.61 0.72 3.90 12.2 55 <5 45 160 27 <1 33 <4 86
SJ-435-C 6 987 WS 83.56 2.27 1.47 2.31 3.49 <0.01 0.42 0.10 0.01 0.13 5.56 99.32 1.04 1.35 1.4 46,000 <5 930 <100 36 12 130 <4 <50

1145
SJ-435-C 6 998 WS 51.70 3.85 1.86 8.03 13.06 <0.01 0.65 0.29 0.05 0.20 19.16 98.85 1.30 4.70 3.9 26,000 <5 1400 <100 62 13 95 95 108
SJ-435-C 6 1002 WS 27.16 4.85 2.01 12.80 19.93 <0.01 0.98 0.07 0.04 0.22 28.37 96.43 1.31 7.55 0.1 9,850 <5 310 180 46 4 19 14 <50
SJ-435-C 6 1003 WS 29.14 4.54 2.24 12.46 19.21 0.05 0.97 0.28 0.04 0.21 29.98 99.13 1.16 8.10 10,500 <5 450 140 46 6 27 67 <50
SJ-435-C 6 1038 WS 34.65 5.23 2.12 11.81 18.38 <0.01 0.92 0.07 0.05 0.26 26.27 99.76 1.21 7.00 0.7 15,900 6 1,100 <100 37 9 56 110 <50
SJ-435-C 6 1204 LL 31.13 4.09 0.87 6.16 26.33 <0.01 1.11 0.08 0.01 0.20 28.37 98.35 0.49 7.45 –6.3 310 <5 63 <100 29 <1 11 5 65
SJ-443-C 1 1125 WS 89.81 2.41 1.24 0.28 1.03 0.02 0.07 0.15 <0.01 0.10 3.64 98.75 0.66 1.24 13,000 <5 390 90 50 10 100 9 100
SJ-443-C 1 1128 WS 62.06 10.65 3.28 3.23 5.03 0.01 0.06 0.14 0.03 0.59 13.51 98.60 2.92 2.62 –0.8 53,800 <5 740 <50 74 20 190 48 <50
SP-1557C 22 911 PL 84.32 6.60 0.24 0.40 0.51 <0.01 1.06 0.31 0.01 0.31 5.31 99.12 0.08 0.25 15 <5 75 380 65 <1 48 4 <50
SP-1557C 22 1066 LL 83.32 8.52 1.81 0.38 0.19 0.06 1.20 0.15 0.01 0.44 3.66 99.95 1.26 0.15 –9.8 39 <5 500 370 54 <1 39 13 2,320
SP-1557C 22 1134 LL 87.27 4.43 1.82 0.23 0.26 <0.01 1.01 0.04 0.01 0.25 4.54 99.95 0.91 <0.05 –1.6 79 <5 820 170 27 7 92 <4 141
SP-1557C 22 1331 LL 53.93 8.60 3.07 7.82 9.22 0.01 0.71 0.10 0.08 0.44 15.65 99.73 0.66 3.55 16.5 15 <5 13 240 53 <1 19 13 177
WB-3-C 24 1147 WS 33.03 5.51 1.69 11.73 17.91 0.05 1.98 0.08 0.02 0.30 27.35 99.64 0.81 7.00 4.2 5 <5 14 180 45 <1 12 <1 74
SCREAMER SECTION, BETZE-POST DEPOSIT, CARLIN TREND

WB-3-C 24 1154 WS 44.26 4.91 1.84 9.32 14.26 0.03 1.35 0.09 0.02 0.27 22.42 98.77 1.16 6.05 0.9 7 <5 190 180 53 <1 65 3 <50
WB-3-C 24 1172 WS 35.17 6.35 3.14 10.54 16.09 0.03 1.64 0.26 0.03 0.34 25.07 98.66 2.17 6.75 1,500 <5 630 210 57 10 210 21 87

Abbreviations: LL and UM = Roberts Mountains Fm (referred to in earlier publications as laminated member), PL = planar member of Popovich Fm, UM = upper mudstone member of Popovich Fm, WS = wispy member of
Popovich Fm
Major elements determined by X-ray fluorescence (lithium metaborate fusion), total sulfur by Leco furnace, inorganic carbon and sulfide sulfur by acid-leach and Leco furnace—all at Chemex Labs, Sparks, Nevada
Sulfur isotope analyses of sulfide leachates prepared at University of Michigan were carried out at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, under supervision of T.K. Kyser
1145
1146
of the samples (Table 1) following the approach used at Twin
Creeks by Stenger et al. (1998). In this comparison, Fe and S
contents of the rocks have been normalized to Al contents
(Hofstra and Cline, 2000). Figure 5A shows Fe/Al vs. S/Al re-
lations for high-grade samples containing more than 10 ppm
Au and low-grade samples containing less than 0.1 ppm Au.
Samples containing between 0.1 and 10 ppm Au were omit-
ted from the plot to emphasize the difference between high-
and low-grade samples. Note that high-grade samples form
an elongated trend along and just below a line defined by the
S/Fe ratio of pyrite. Low-grade samples plot in a cluster over-
lapping the lower part of this trend and extending downward
toward the Fe/Al axis. Figure 5B shows Fe-S relations for the
entire data set in Table 1 including samples with grades be-
tween 0.1 and 10 ppm Au, with the samples divided into those
inside and those outside the ore zone, regardless of gold con-
tent. The distribution of samples is similar to that shown in
Figure 5A, with samples outside the ore zone plotting in an
elongated cluster overlapping the lower part of the overall
trend of data and extending downward toward the Fe/Al axis.
Four samples with an S/Fe ratio greater than that of pyrite
(Fig. 5) do not differ significantly in mineralogy from other
samples and do not have unusually high contents of barium,
arsenic, antimony, or zinc, suggesting that their extra sulfur is
hosted by organic matter.
Petrographic and SEM observations show that samples
with S/Fe ratios near that of pyrite contain disseminated
pyrite throughout a matrix consisting of quartz, carbonate,
and minor or trace micas and organic matter (Fig. 6A, B).
Pyrite is present as disseminated euhedral and framboidal
grains that are 0.1 to 10 µm in diameter, which are described
further below. Samples with lower S/Fe ratios have the same
basic mineralogy but with less pyrite, especially the arsenian
variety. In addition to pyrite, iron in these samples is found in
detrital mica (Fig. 6B) and ferroan rims on dolomite grains
1.2
A.
Addition of
1.0 Iron
0.8 Au < 1.0 ppm
S/Al (wt. %)
Au > 10 ppm
0.6
e
rit
Py
of
0.4
n
tio
di
Ad
0.2
0 0
0 0.2 0.4
Fe/Al (wt%)
FIG. 5. Correlation diagrams showing relations between iron and sulfide sulfur both normalized to immobile Al in sam-
ples of Screamer ore and country rock. A. High-grade (>10 ppm Au) vs. low-grade (<0.1 ppm Au) samples from in and
around the Screamer zone (samples with intermediate grades have been omitted). Arrows show chemical effects of addition
of pyrite, addition of sulfide, and addition of iron. B. Samples inside vs. outside the ore zone at Screamer. See also Ye et al.
(2002). Holes outside the orebody are BZ-997-C, BZ-998-C, SP-1557-C, GA-47-C, WB-3-C, CD-12-C, CD-18-C, and CD-
19-C (locations of holes shown in Figure 1).
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KESLER ET AL.
(Fig. 6 C, D). Zoned dolomite grains, such as those shown in
Figure 6, might form during diagenesis of sedimentary mate-
rial in which the supply of reduced sulfur is inadequate to se-
quester all iron into sulfide minerals. Iron-bearing carbonate
minerals are found in almost all samples at Screamer, includ-
ing many in the ore zone. Arsenian pyrite in these samples
does not replace any of the iron-bearing minerals directly.
Student’s t-tests (Davis, 1986) confirm that average S/Al
and Fe/Al values of gold-rich samples in Figure 5A are higher
than those of the gold-poor samples, and that average S/Al
and Fe/Al values of samples inside the ore zone are higher
than those of samples outside the ore zone (Fig. 5B) at the 99
percent confidence level. These relations show that iron and
sulfur, probably in the form of pyrite, were added to samples
inside the ore zone regardless of whether they had high gold
contents. S and Fe contents from Table 1 were also used to
calculate the degree of sulfidation (DOS) for these samples,
where DOS = wt percent S/[1.15(wt percent Fe)], as defined
by Kettler et al. (1992). A sample with a DOS value of 1 (i.e.,
all Fe is in pyrite) is completely sulfidized. Although all sam-
ples with DOS values of 1 are not high-grade gold ore, Stu-
dent’s t-tests show that average DOS values of samples inside
the ore zone (0.81) are greater than average DOS values of
samples outside the ore zone (0.70) at the 99 percent confi-
dence level. The tests also show, however, that DOS values
for samples with high (>10 ppm) and low (<0.1 ppm) gold
contents do not differ significantly. In other words, the degree
of sulfidation is greater in the ore zone but does not correlate
directly with gold grade in individual samples.
Types and Characteristics of Pyrite at Screamer
Pyrite, which is the main host for Fe and S, was classified
into six types on the basis of appearance in optical and scan-
ning electron microscopy:
2.0
B.
e
e
rit
rit
Py
Py
1.5
S/Al
1.0
0.5
Addition of
Sulfide Outside Ore
In Ore
0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
Fe/Al (wt%)
1146
 SCREAMER SECTION, BETZE-POST DEPOSIT, CARLIN TREND 1147

A B

20 micrometers 200 micrometers

C D

60 micrometers 10 micrometers
FIG. 6. Secondary electron-backscattered (SEM-BSE) images of carbonate minerals. A. Fe-bearing carbonate (C), mica
(M), kaolinite (K), quartz (Q) and pyrite (bright) in sample SJ-323-C-1326. B. Fe-bearing mica (M) in aggregate of carbon-
ate (C), kaolinite (K), quartz (Q) and pyrite (bright) in sample CD-19-C-1781. C. Quartz (Q)- Fe-bearing carbonate (C) ag-
gregate with smaller amount of pyrite (bright) (SP-1557-C-1331). D. Magnified view of Fe-bearing carbonate grain in cen-
ter of photo C showing dark core of iron-poor carbonate and lighter rim of iron-bearing carbonate (Fe-C).

1. Subhedral to euhedral cubic, and pyritohedral pyrite:
Commonly measuring 10 to 30 µm in diameter (Fig. 7A, B).
It is most abundant in zones with low gold contents.
2. Anhedral pyrite grains: Commonly measuring 50 to 100
µm in diameter but locally up to several hundred microme-
ters (Fig. 7C). They contain holes locally, although these are
not as homogeneous or numerous as those in porous pyrite
(see below).
3. Framboidal pyrite: Usually in the form of 5- to 20-µm di-
ameter grains that form aggregates (Fig. 7D, E). It is much
less abundant than subhedral to euhedral pyrite.
4. Elongated (needlelike or tabular): Locally porous, 15- to
100-µm long grains or clusters (Fig. 7G, H) with a morphol-
ogy typical of marcasite but without its bireflectance. Al-
though pyrite can have similar shapes, the numerous holes in
these grains might indicate that it was originally marcasite be-
cause inversion of marcasite to pyrite is associated with a sig-
nificant decrease of volume (Murowchick, 1992).
5. Porous, arsenic-rich (arsenian) pyrite: With abundant
small holes or pores. It forms discrete grains and overgrowths
on other grains that are 30 to 150 µm in diameter or width
(Fig. 7F).
6. Overgrowth arsenian pyrite (Fig. 7H-P): It forms layers
up to 20 µm thick overgrowing the other types of pyrite.
Many samples also contain extremely fine-grained pyrite
that cannot be placed into these groups (Fig. 7I, K, P). Most
of this pyrite is arsenian and lacks a core of earlier, low arsenic
pyrite. Furthermore, samples containing these very small
grains lack abundant large grains, suggesting that pyrite at
Screamer formed in at least two stages. The first stage is inter-
preted to have involved formation of euhedral and framboidal
pyrite (types 1–3), probably during diagenesis; the second in-
volved formation of As-rich overgrowths, and porous and other
fine-grained pyrite (types 5–6) during hydrothermal activity.
Marcasite (type 4) is probably also diagenetic, although its par-
agenetic relation to other types of pyrite is not clear.
Gold contents of pyrite from Screamer were measured by
ion microprobe (SIMS) using methods discussed by Simon et
al. (1999) and Ye (2001). Analyses were obtained for five of
the six ore samples shown in Figure 3 and characterized in
Figure 4, as well as other representative samples (Table 2).
The 30- to 50-µm ion beam could not be positioned in all
cases to analyze only one type of pyrite. This is particularly
true for pyrite that is interpreted to be preore type, most of
which has vanishingly thin overgrowths that contain locally
high values of gold. Arehart et al. (1993c) has shown that ex-
tremely thin (<1 µm) overgrowths of arsenian pyrite can con-
tribute significant gold to SIMS analyses.
Figure 8 shows the relationship between bulk gold grades
and gold concentrations in their pyrite determined by SIMS.
The correlation between these two parameters is good, with
the exception of a few pyrite grains with low gold contents in
rock samples that have relatively high gold grades. Sample SJ-
323-C-1326, with the highest grade of gold (154 ppm) in the
hand specimen group (Table 1), also contains the highest

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1148 KESLER ET AL.

FIG. 7. Types of pyrite at Screamer. A and B. Euhedral pyrite, sample CD-18-C-1091. C. Anhedral pyrite, sample BZ-
995-C-1194. D and E. Framboidal pyrite, sample SJ-389-C-1094. F. Porous pyrite, sample SJ-443-C-1128. G .Marcasite-
shaped pyrite, sample SJ-249-C-1060. H. Marcasite-shaped pyrite core overgrown by arsenian pyrite rim, sample BZ-995-C-
1194. I. Arsenian pyrite overgrowth and arsenic-poor anhedral pyrite core, sample BZ-995-C-1194. J. Arsenian pyrite
overgrowth and large arsenic-poor anhedral pyrite core, sample SJ-323-C-1326. K. Arsenian pyrite overgrowth on irregular
arsenic-poor pyrite with pores, sample BZ-960-C-1192. L. Arsenian pyrite overgrowths on marcasite-shaped pyrite (N), sam-
ple BZ-995-C-1194.

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 SCREAMER SECTION, BETZE-POST DEPOSIT, CARLIN TREND
FIG. 7. (Cont.)
concentration of gold in pyrite (5,133 ppm). The locally high
gold contents in some SIMS analyses of preore pyrite (types
1–3) reflect the presence of very thin overgrowths and small
amounts of other ore-related pyrite (types 5 and 6), as noted
above. For example, close inspection of the framboidal pyrite
in Figure 7D shows that it is surrounded and locally ce-
mented by a very thin layer of later pyrite, which appears to
contain the high gold values reported here (although the
beam diameter is too large to permit direct analysis of only
these thin layers). The best correlations between gold con-
tents of pyrite and bulk gold contents of rock samples that
host the pyrite are found for ore-related overgrowth and
porous pyrite where the SIMS beam did not overlap onto
other types of pyrite (Fig. 8B, C). Even here, however, many
analyses covered more than one overgrowth layer and thus
are only an average of several mineralizing events. This rela-
tion limits the interpretations that can be derived from the
SIMS gold data. It is not likely, for instance, that the multi-
modal distribution of gold contents in the entire population of
SIMS analyses reflects different ages or phases of gold min-
eralization. Rather, they reflect the thickness of gold-bearing
arsenian pyrite in relation to the diameter of the SIMS beam.
Nevertheless, it is clear that gold is concentrated largely in ar-
senian pyrite which was introduced to the samples after for-
mation of diagenetic pyrite.
Sulfur Isotope Geochemistry of Mineralized and
Barren Sedimentary Rocks
Sulfur isotope analyses (Table 1) were carried out to deter-
mine the types and sources of sulfur involved in sulfidation
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1149
and pyritization at Screamer. A few vein-hosted sulfides could
be separated by hand for sulfur isotope analyses, but fine-
grained, disseminated pyrite had to be separated by chemical
extraction methods. For chemical extraction, pulverized sam-
ples were first subjected to acid digestion under a nitrogen at-
mosphere to liberate monosulfides (which were not released
in detectable amounts in any samples). After initial digestion,
CrCl2 was added to reduce pyrite to H2S (Tuttle et al., 1986),
which was precipitated as Ag2S from solutions containing
AgNO3. Sulfur contents were then determined gravimetri-
cally. Silver sulfide was combusted under vacuum with Cu2O
to evolve SO2 gas for isotopic analysis. All values are reported
as standard δ34S notation relative to Canyon Diablo troilite
(CDT; Tables 1 and 3). Replicate analyses were repeatable
within ±0.3 per mil.
The δ34S values for disseminated sulfide extracted chemi-
cally from the Screamer samples range from –13.8 to 16.5 per
mil. As can be seen in Figure 9, the distribution of δ34S values
differs for the three stratigraphic units discussed above. Sam-
ples from the Roberts Mountains Formation have δ34S values
that cover almost the entire range (-10.6–16.5‰), with a
poorly defined cluster of values between –2 and 1 per mil
(Fig. 9A). Samples from the Wispy member have δ34S values
with a generally similar range (-13.8–8.2‰) and a better de-
fined mode between about –1 and 5 per mil (Fig. 9B). Sam-
ples from the Planar member range from –10 to 14.6 per mil
with a mode between 11 and 15 per mil (Fig. 9C). Pyrite and
other sulfides from veins cutting these rocks have δ34S values
ranging from –21.2 to 11.7 per mil with no well-defined mode
(Table 3; Fig. 9D). Sphalerites from two veins have δ34S
1149
1150 KESLER ET AL.

TABLE 2. SIMS Analyses of Gold in Different Types of Pyrite from the Screamer Deposit

Sample and Au Sample and Au

analysis spot Type of pyrite (ppm) analysis spot Type of pyrite (ppm)

BZ-937C-1197-10 Irregular porous 129 SJ-249C-1019-48 Framboidal (<25 um) 120

BZ-937C-1197-11 Irregular porous 862 SJ-249C-1019-49 Overgrowth 52.6
BZ-937C-1197-12 Euhedral (sub) 0.4 SJ-249C-1019-50 Overgrowth 89
BZ-937C-1197-13 Irregular porous 100 SJ-249C-1019-51 Fine-grained 71.2
BZ-937C-1197-9 Euhedral (sub) 13.2 SJ-249C-1019-52 Regular porous 13.7
BZ-937C-1203-21 Euhedral (sub) 0.6 SJ-249C-1019-53 Irregular porous 15.2
BZ-937C-1203-22 Euhedral (sub) 0.3 SJ-249C-1060-58 Euhedral (sub) 0.4
BZ-937C-1203-23 Euhedral (sub) 3 SJ-249C-1060-59 Irregular porous 24.4
BZ-937C-1203-24 Euhedral (sub) 0.3 SJ-249C-1060-60 Framboidal (<25 um) 32.1
BZ-937C-1203-25 Euhedral (sub) 0.6 SJ-249C-1060-61 Irregular porous 156
BZ-937C-1203-26 Framboidal (>50um) 2.6 SJ-249C-1060-62 Irregular porous 207
BZ-937C-1203-27 Euhedral (sub) 0.5 SJ-249C-1060-63 Framboidal (<25 um) 230
BZ-937C-1203-28 Euhedral (sub) 0.2 SJ-249C-1060-64 Irregular porous 400
BZ-960C-1192-29 Overgrowth 100 SJ-249C-1060-65 Framboidal (<25 um) 158
BZ-960C-1192-30 Overgrowth 307 SJ-323C-1326-1 Fine-grained 809
BZ-960C-1192-31 Overgrowth 346 SJ-323C-1326-2 Overgrowth 5,133
BZ-960C-1192-32 Overgrowth 137 SJ-323C-1326-3 Overgrowth 1,095
BZ-960C-1192-33 Overgrowth 311 SJ-323C-1326-4 Overgrowth 1,235
BZ-960C-1192-34 Irregular porous 99 SJ-323C-1326-5 Overgrowth 1,330
BZ-960C-1192-35 Fine-grained 312 SJ-323C-1326-6 Irregular porous 268
BZ-960C-1192-36 Irregular porous 91.8 SJ-323C-1326-7a Overgrowth 719
BZ-976C-1222-109 Euhedral (sub) 5.02 SJ-323C-1326-7b Overgrowth 2,216
BZ-976C-1222-110 Euhedral (sub) 6.84 SJ-323C-1326-8 Marcasite (?) 487
BZ-976C-1222-111 Euhedral (sub) 2.51 SJ-398C-1094-37 Euhedral (sub) 2.1
BZ-976C-1222-112 Euhedral (sub) 7.56 SJ-398C-1094-38 Euhedral (sub) 3.2
BZ-976C-1222-113 Euhedral (sub) 2.23 SJ-398C-1094-39 Euhedral (sub) 1.5
BZ-976C-1222-70 Euhedral (sub) 1.9 SJ-398C-1094-40 Irregular porous 199
BZ-976C-1222-71 Irregular porous 184 SJ-398C-1094-41 Framboidal (<25 um) 47.2
BZ-976C-1222-72 Irregular porous 321 SJ-398C-1094-42 Euhedral (sub) 18.3
BZ-980C-1264-54 Irregular porous 59.5 SJ-398C-1094-43 Overgrowth 95
BZ-980C-1264-55 Euhedral (sub) 195 SJ-398C-1094-44 Framboidal (<25 um) 89.4
BZ-980C-1264-56 Euhedral (sub) 0.6 SJ-411C-1127-66 Euhedral (sub) 0.3
BZ-980C-1264-57 Irregular porous 69.9 SJ-411C-1127-67 Irregular porous 5.2
BZ-996C-902-10 Fine-grained 139 SJ-411C-1127-68 Irregular porous 202
BZ-996C-902-11 Euhedral (sub) 4.2 SJ-411C-1127-69 Irregular porous 232
BZ-996C-902-12 Irregular porous 343 SJ-443C-1128-14 Irregular porous 220
BZ-996C-902-18b Irregular porous 57.5 SJ-443C-1128-15 Framboidal (<25 um) 365
BZ-996C-902-21 Euhedral (sub) 0.7 SJ-443C-1128-16 Euhedral (sub) 18.8
BZ-996C-902-4 Irregular porous 146 SJ-443C-1128-17 Irregular porous 136
BZ-996C-902-5 Euhedral (sub) 0.8 SJ-443C-1128-18 Irregular porous 240
BZ-996C-902-8 Framboidal (<25 um) 52.6 SJ-443C-1128-19 Euhedral (sub) 76.8
CD-18C-1091-73 Irregular porous 0.34 SJ-443C-1128-20 Euhedral (sub) 0.3
CD-18C-1091-74 Irregular porous 0.2 SP-1557C-1066-78 Irregular porous 0.7
CD-18C-1091-75 Euhedral (sub) 0.2 SP-1557C-1066-79 Irregular porous 0.6
CD-18C-1091-76 Irregular porous 0.2 SP-1557C-1066-80 Euhedral (sub) 0.1
CD-18C-1091-77 Irregular porous 0.3 SP-1557C-1066-81 Euhedral (sub) 0.4
SJ-249C-1019-45 Regular porous 9.5 SP-1557C-1066-82 Irregular porous 0.5
SJ-249C-1019-46 Irregular porous 13.5 SP-1557C-1066-83 Irregular porous 0.5
SJ-249C-1019-47 Euhedral (sub) 1.1 SP-1557C-1066-84 Euhedral (sub) 0.3

SIMS analyses were carried out at AMTEL, London, Ontario, using analytical methods described by Simon et al. (1999)

values of 4.1 and 5.9 per mil, which are slightly higher than
the mode of δ34S values in the Roberts Mountains Formation
and the Wispy member. One pyrite vein from a drill core in-
terval with a gold content greater than 200 ppb has a δ34S
value of 11.7 per mil, which is similar to the cluster of values
seen in the Planar member.
The populations of δ34S values for disseminated pyrite from
inside vs. outside the ore zone, regardless of stratigraphic unit
that hosts ore, and for disseminated pyrite from samples with
high gold grades vs. pyrite from samples with low gold grades
are not distinguishable at the 99 percent confidence level;
however, the distributions of values within the populations
differ. Disseminated pyrite from outside the ore zone has δ34S
values ranging from –10.6 to 16.6 per mil, with no real mode,
which is interpreted here to be the composition of diagenetic
sulfur. In contrast, disseminated pyrite inside the ore zone has
a similar range of δ34S values but a marked cluster of values
between –1 and 5 per mil (Fig. 10A, B). A similar result is ob-
served for the populations with high and low gold contents
(Fig. 10C, D).
These relations suggest that sulfur from another source was
imposed on the original diagenetic sulfur at Screamer, largely

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 SCREAMER SECTION, BETZE-POST DEPOSIT, CARLIN TREND 1151

1000 A. All Types of Pyrite B. Overgrowth Pyrite

100

10

1.0

0.1

0.01

0.001
0.1 1.0 10 100 1000 10,0000.1 1.0 10 100 1000 10,000
1000 C. Porous Pyrite D. Framboidal Pyrite
Au (ppm) in rock samples

100

10

1.0

0.1

0.01

0.001
1000 E. Euhedral Pyrite F. Fine-Grained Pyrite
100

10

1.0

0.1

0.01

0.001
0.1 1.0 10 100 1000 0.1 1.0 10 100 1000
Au (ppm) in Pyrite
FIG. 8. Relation between gold content of hand samples and gold content of their pyrite as determined by SIMS analyses
(Table 2).

TABLE 3. Sulfur Isotope Analyses of Vein Material from the Screamer Zone within the ore zone, and that this sulfur was associated with
of the Betze-Post Deposit the introduction of gold. The isotopic composition of pyrite
Sample no. Mineral δ34S (‰)
deposited from this ore-related sulfur was between –1 and 5
per mil, as indicated by the clustering of δ34S values. Further
BZ998C-919.7 Pyrite 2.5 support for this conclusion is seen in Figure 11, which shows
BZ998C-1017.8 Pyrite –8.8 that δ34S values for disseminated pyrite approach values in
BZ998C-1018.9 Pyrite –21.2 this range as the proportion of ore-related pyrite (types 5 and
BZ998C-1048 Pyrite –13.7
SJ423C-1170.7 Pyrite 0.6 6 above) increases.
SJ423C-1281 Pyrite –2.4
SJ423C-1329 Pyrite + sphalerite 4.1
SJ423C-1337 Pyrite + sphalerite 5.9 Nature of Sulfidation at Screamer and its
SJ443C-1209 Pyrite –1.8 Relation to Gold Deposition
SJ552C-1093.8 Pyrite 11.7
These mineral, element, and isotopic patterns support a
Sulfur isotope analyses of sulfide mineral separates prepared at the Uni- two-stage history for the geochemistry of iron and sulfur in the
versity of Michigan were carried out at Queen’s University, Kingston, On- Screamer ore zone. The first stage involved partial sulfidation
tario, under supervision of T.K. Kyser of iron throughout the Wispy member and immediately adjacent

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1152
-20 -15 -10
-20 -15 -10
-20 -15 -10
-20 -15 -10
FIG. 9. Histograms showing sulfur isotope compositions of sulfide leachates from the Roberts Mountains Formation and
Planar and Wispy members of the Popovich Formation, as well as pyrite and other sulfides in veins.
stratigraphic units. The second stage involved sulfidation and
addition of pyrite, largely within the ore zone.
The widespread distribution of the first stage of pyrite con-
siderably outside the ore zone suggests that it was a regional
event and therefore probably a result of diagenesis. Forma-
tion of pyrite during anoxic diagenesis of sedimentary rocks
takes place when sulfide formed by microbial reduction of
seawater sulfate reacts with iron-bearing minerals in the sed-
iment. These diagenetic reactions commonly produce the
iron monosulfide mackinawite, which is converted to pyrite
through reaction with diagenetic H2S or other forms of sul-
fide (Goldhaber and Kaplan, 1974; Rickard, 1975; Schoonen
and Barnes, 1991; Rickard and Luther, 1997). The amount of
pyrite that forms during diagenesis is limited either by the
availability of reduced sulfur or of reactive iron in sedimen-
tary minerals or interstitial solution (Canfield, 1989, 1991;
Raiswell and Canfield, 1998).
As indicated by Figure 5C, addition of sulfur during sulfi-
dation moves the composition of rocks upward toward the
pyrite line. Although some Screamer samples plot on or near
the pyrite line and thus have undergone essentially complete
sulfidation, others plot significantly below the pyrite line, in-
dicating that sulfidation was not complete. It might also be ar-
gued that samples plotting below the pyrite line were origi-
nally completely sulfidized but that iron was added to them
later, a process that would move them off the pyrite line (Fig.
5). The most likely form in which iron could be added to
these rocks is as secondary carbonate in veins, which have
been observed around some Carlin-type deposits (Kuehn and
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KESLER ET AL.
A. Roberts Mountains Formation
5 0 5 10 15
B. Wispy Member
5 0 5 10 15
C. Planar Member
5 0 5 10 15
D. Veins
5 0 5 10 15
δ34S (‰)
Rose, 1992; Clode et al., 1997). Veins of this type, however,
are not widespread at Screamer and the average CO2 (i.e., in-
organic carbon) content of high iron samples (4.5% for sam-
ples with more than 1% Fe in Table 1) is not significantly
higher than the average for low iron samples (4.9% for sam-
ples with less than 1% Fe in Table 1). Student’s t-test con-
firms that the CO2 contents are not different at the 99 per-
cent confidence level, and therefore, that samples plotting
below the pyrite line in Figure 5 most likely record partial sul-
fidation rather than complete sulfidation followed by the ad-
dition of iron in late carbonates.
The second stage in the geochemistry of iron and sulfur at
Screamer involved a combination of sulfidation and addition
of pyrite (pyritization) that took place largely within the ore
zone. Because the iron-sulfur geochemistry of the Screamer
ore zone differs from that of the surrounding barren sedi-
mentary rocks, it is reasonable to infer that this sulfidation-
pyritization took place during gold mineralization. The iron-
sulfur data provide no direct evidence about whether or not
this second stage involved more than one period of mineral-
ization. As noted above, samples from the ore zone have av-
erage iron and sulfur contents that are higher than those from
the surrounding Wispy member, and they also exhibit a
higher degree of sulfidation, both at the 99 percent confi-
dence level. Further support for the possibility that some sul-
fidation took place during gold mineralization is seen in the
fact that the degree of sulfidation in individual samples is not
related to their position with respect to the sedimentary facies
noted above. Instead, at least some of the sulfidation was
1152
 SCREAMER SECTION, BETZE-POST DEPOSIT, CARLIN TREND 1153

A. Inside Ore Zone

-15 -10 5 0 5 10 15

B. Outside Ore Zone

-15 -10 5 0 5 10 15

C. >200 ppb Au

-15 -10 5 0 5 10 15

D. <200 ppb Au

-15 -10 5 0 5 10 15
δ34S (‰)
FIG. 10. Histograms showing sulfur isotope compositions of sulfide leachates (Table 1) from populations that are inside
(A) and outside (B) the ore zone and contain more than (C) or less than (D) 200 ppb Au.

20 imposed on the samples by an external sulfur source, proba-

bly related to gold mineralization.
15
Significance of Screamer Data to
10 the Origin of Carlin-type Deposits
δ34S (‰)

5 The results of this study provide information on three main

0 are the possibility of multiple stages of gold deposition in Car-
-5
-10
-15
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Proportion of Ore-related Pyrite
FIG. 11. Relation between δ34S values of disseminated pyrite (Table 1) and
proportion of ore-related pyrite. Proportion of pyrite refers to the fraction of
ore-related pyrite found in 800 points that were counted in each polished sec-
tion. Ore-related pyrite includes overgrowth, porous, and irregular types;
pyrite not related to ore includes euhedral and framboidal types as shown in
Figure 7. Number of data points shown in this diagram is smaller than total
number of sulfur isotope analyses because samples with very small amounts of
recognizable ore-related pyrite were not included. These samples would plot
at or near the y-axis with a wide range of sulfur isotope compositions.
problems related to the origin of Carlin-type deposits. These
lin-type deposits, the source of sulfur in the mineralizing flu-
ids, and the role of sulfidation in deposition of their gold.
Possible multiple stages of gold deposition
The Carlin trend area has been the site of several mineral-
izing events, including Paleozoic-age Mississippi Valley-type
and sedimentary exhalative mineralization, Jurassic- and Cre-
taceous-age base metal or polymetallic mineralization, and
Carlin-type gold mineralization of probable Eocene age, all of
which have been suggested as sources of some of the gold in
the deposits (Teal and Branham, 1997; Emsbo et al., 1999,
2000; Hofstra and Cline, 2000). These mineralizing events
would have been associated with different suites of elements,
which can be sought in our multielement data (Table 1). For
instance, the possibility that gold was introduced during

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1154 KESLER ET AL.

Devonian-age exhalative mineralization might be evaluated 10,000

from information on the abundances of zinc, manganese, and
barium, which are common constituents of these deposits
(Emsbo et al., 1999). As can be seen in Figure 4, representa- 1,000
tive Screamer samples selected for isocon plots are not en-
riched in these elements, which do not show a consistent

As (ppm)
relation to gold, arsenic, or antimony. Even sample BZ-976C- 100
1247 (isocon not shown in Fig. 4), which has an unusually
high pyrite content (Table 1), shows the same pattern of gains
and losses seen in the other samples.
Tungsten might be expected to provide evidence of multi- 10

ple stages of gold mineralization because it is associated with r = 0.84

Mesozoic-age intrusions in northern Nevada, but it is also
concentrated in Carlin-type mineralization (Erickson et al., 1
1964a, b; Stager and Tingley, 1988). At Screamer, the correla- 1 10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000
tion between tungsten and gold is almost as strong as that be- Au (ppb)
tween antimony and gold (Fig. 12). Phinisey et al. (1996) and 1,000
Cail and Cline (2001) have documented a similar increase of
tungsten at the Jerritt Canyon and Getchell Carlin-type de-
posits, respectively. Tungsten, usually in the form of scheelite,
is widespread in mesothermal and other gold deposits, which 100

also are rich in arsenic and antimony. Gold, antimony, and ar- Sb (ppm)
senic in these deposits were probably transported in bisulfide
complexes; thiotungstate polyanions have been observed ex- 10
perimentally, although no tungsten bisulfide complex has
been demonstrated so far (Prasad, 1981; Wood and Samson,
2000). Thus, although we lack information on its mineralogi- 1
cal setting, it is likely that tungsten was introduced along with
gold, arsenic, and antimony during Carlin-type mineralization. r = 0.68

If tungsten is soluble in bisulfide solutions, it also could

0.1
have been remobilized by Carlin-type fluids passing through
1 10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000
the earlier deposits in the Goldstrike stock and adjacent wall
rocks. Possible evidence for tungsten mineralization that pre- Au (ppb)
dates Carlin-type mineralization is seen in samples BZ-976- 10,000
1247 and BZ-965-C-1277 and 1303 at Screamer, all of which
have unusually high tungsten contents and plot above the best
fit line in Figure 12. These samples are from the area of 1,000
Screamer that is cut by the West Bazza fault system, the most
structurally disturbed area of the deposit (Fig. 2). The other
W (ppm)

sample with an anomalously high tungsten content relative to 100

gold, SJ-249-1019, is near the area of Screamer that is crossed
by the Buzzard fault. Scavenging of earlier tungsten mineral-
ization of this type would have been most effective in deposits
10
such as Betze-Post that are near Mesozoic intrusions. This ef-
fect might have been particularly strong in the Screamer sec-
tion of Betze-Post because faults acting as hydrothermal con- r = 0.58
duits also cut the Goldstrike stock (Figs.1, 2; Bettles, 2002, 1
fig. 8; Ye et al., 2002, fig. 2). 1 10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000
The relation of any tungsten-gold mineralization of this Au (ppb)
type to the auriferous-polymetallic mineralization recognized
FIG. 12. Relation of gold concentrations to arsenic, antimony, and tung-
in the Post section of the Betze-Post deposit by Emsbo et al. sten in samples from the Screamer zone, showing r values, which are signif-
(2000) is ambiguous. Pyrite from sample BZ-976-1247 has a icant at the 99 percent level.
δ34S value of 13.2 per mil, which is similar to values reported
by Emsbo et al. (2000) for the auriferous-polymetallic veins,
and samples BZ-965-1277 and 1303 have high Zn values possibly the type described by Emsbo et al. (2000). The spha-
(Table 1). The other two samples, however, do not have ele- lerite-bearing veins, however, have δ34S values of only 4 to 5
vated zinc values, and none of the samples are enriched in sil- per mil. Several disseminated pyrites in this study, largely
ver, arsenic, or antimony. Veins at Screamer that contain spha- from the Planar member, do have δ34S values near 15 per mil.
lerite, chalcopyrite, and pyrrhotite with elevated gold values One pyrite vein, with a δ34S value of 11.7 per mil, is also close
might also be related to an earlier stage of mineralization, to that of Jurassic-age sulfide sulfur; however, these pyrites do

0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 1154

 SCREAMER SECTION, BETZE-POST DEPOSIT, CARLIN TREND 1155

not show an obvious spatial relation to the Goldstrike stock or
to other geologic features that might be related to intrusive
activity, and less than half of them are associated with high
gold values. Thus, although some gold could have been intro-
duced by early base metal and/or tungsten veins, the amount
does not appear to have been volumetrically important.
Source of sulfur
Our sulfur isotope data are more numerous and more
closely linked to actual gold grades and pyrite abundances
than those from most previous studies of Carlin-type de-
posits. The following discussion uses δ34S values for sulfur in
pyrite, which are about 2 per mil higher than those of sulfur
in H2S from its parent fluid under probable Carlin-type min-
eralizing conditions (Ohmoto and Rye, 1979). Early pyrite
contains sulfur with a wide range of δ34S values, at least from
–13.8 to 16.5 per mil, which is consistent with its probable
origin through incomplete bacterial reduction of seawater
sulfate (Ohmoto and Rye, 1979; Ohmoto and Goldhaber,
1997). Later addition of pyrite and sulfidation during gold
mineralization involved sulfur with δ34S values of about –1 to
5 per mil. This isotopic composition is significantly lower than
the 10 per mil mode estimated for Carlin-type deposits by
Hofstra and Cline (2000), and overlaps the low end of the 2
to 22 per mil range indicated by ion microprobe (SIMS)
analyses of arsenian pyrite in the Post part of the Betze-Post
deposit (Arehart et al., 1993a). Four of the six samples ana-
lyzed by Arehart et al. (1993a) are from the Jurassic-age Gold-
strike stock (Fig. 1). Emsbo et al. (2000) have suggested that
sulfides in the Goldstrike stock formed during Jurassic hy-
drothermal events and that they are not related to Carlin-type
here for Screamer contrast with those shown by Phinisey et
al. (1996) for Jerritt Canyon and with the results of Stenger et
al. (1998) for Twin Creeks, where only sulfur was added in
significant amounts and sulfidation is thought to have been
the major cause of gold ore deposition. At Getchell, Cail and
Cline (2001) found that iron and sulfur were added to some
samples but lost from others, suggesting that both processes
might have accompanied deposition of pyrite. The more com-
prehensive data set employed here at Screamer also indicates
that both processes were involved in deposition of pyrite, and
clarifies the relation of pyrite to gold. Rocks within the ore
zone are more highly sulfidized than rocks outside the ore
zone, but there is no direct relation between the gold content
of a sample and the degree to which it has been sulfidized.
Figure 13 compares the gold content of Screamer samples
to the degree of sulfidation and the proportion of ore-related
pyrite (i.e., pyrite addition) in each sample from the Screamer
ore zone. There is no correlation between gold values and de-
gree of sulfidation, whereas there is a strong and highly sig-
nificant correlation between pyrite abundance and gold con-
tent. This indicates that addition of pyrite is more closely
related to gold deposition at Screamer than is direct sulfida-
tion of adjacent wall rock.
1,000,000
A
100,000
10,000
Au (ppb)

mineralization. The remaining two samples analyzed by Are- 1,000

hart et al. (1993a), which are from sedimentary rock typical of
Carlin-type deposits, contain arsenian pyrite with δ34S values
100
of 14 to 22 per mil in the sample near the stock and 2 to14 per
mil in the sample farther from the stock. The presence of
10
lower δ34S values of –1 to 5 per mil in our samples, which are
even farther from the stock, suggests that sulfur from the 1
stock contaminated the mineralizing fluid and that its original 0.2 0.4 0.6 1 0.8 .0
isotopic composition was in the range indicated by our analy- Degree of Sulfidation (DOS)
ses at Screamer (–1–5‰).
Sulfur isotope compositions in the –1 to 5 per mil range are 1,000,000
typical of a magmatic source (Ohmoto and Goldhaber, 1997). B
If magmas were involved in formation of Carlin-type de- 100,000
posits, they might have been reduced by interaction with car-
bonaceous material in the Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. Mag- 10,000
Au (ppb)

mas of this type would most likely produce a vapor phase

containing sulfur with an isotopic composition of the parent 1,000
magma (Ohmoto and Goldhaber, 1997). During hydrother-
mal mineralization, hydrothermal sulfur of this isotopic com- 100
position could have been contaminated by reaction with wall- r = 0.676
rock sulfur, which ranged from strongly negative to strongly 10
positive values at Screamer (Table 1), thus producing some
ore-related pyrite with isotopic compositions outside the –1 1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
to 5 per mil range.
Proportion of Ore-related Pyrite
Role of sulfidation in deposition of gold ores
FIG. 13. Correlation plots showing relation between the gold content of
Screamer provides little support for the generalization that Screamer samples and their calculated degree of sulfidation (A) and the pro-
direct wall-rock sulfidation is the only mechanism for deposi- portion of ore-related pyrite (B) estimated from point counts of polished sec-
tion of gold in Carlin-type deposits. Isocon relations shown tions as discussed in Figure 11.

0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 1155

1156 KESLER ET AL.
Our data require that gold, sulfur, and iron were all moved
into the host rock by hydrothermal solution(s). A key question
is whether one or more solutions were involved. Solubility of
pyrite in most low-temperature hydrothermal solutions in
which ionization of strong acids is nearly complete is proba-
bly controlled by reactions such as, FeS2 + 2H+ + 2Cl– + H2O
= FeCl02 + 2H2S + 1⁄2O2, for which log K is about –26 at 200°C
(Wood and Samson, 1998). For values of pH, fO2, and mCl–
typical of dilute solutions in the pyrite and kaolinite stability
fields at about 200ºC, pyrite is sparingly soluble, and the
abundance of pyrite in these rocks suggests that these solu-
bility limits prevailed during regional migration of the miner-
alizing fluids. The absence of other possible complexes with
which to transport iron suggests that pyrite in low-tempera-
ture Carlin-type environments is deposited by mixing of two
solutions. If two solutions were involved, the resident solution
probably contained iron and mixed with an invading solution
containing reduced sulfur and gold. If the resident solution
derived its iron from reaction with nearby rocks containing
ferroan carbonate or other iron minerals, then the net reac-
tion responsible for deposition of gold would be similar to the
sulfidation reaction seen in other Carlin-type deposits; wall-
rock iron would simply be transferred from the source rock to
the ore-hosting environment by a second solution. Hofstra et
al. (1991) have shown that the reactive iron content of rocks
is a key factor in deposition of Carlin-type ores and these gen-
eral constraints apply whether the iron-bearing rocks are im-
mediately adjacent to the ore-forming system or at some dis-
tance from it.
Thus, although the Screamer results provide a strong note
of caution with respect to uncritical acceptance of sulfidation
as the mechanism of gold deposition in all Carlin-type de-
posits, they do not rule out a more general “extended sulfida-
tion” process involving mixing of two fluids. This, in turn,
raises the question of the source of iron that was sulfidized,
which underscores the importance of further studies to de-
termine the geochemistry of iron in eastern assemblage Pale-
ozoic sedimentary rocks or in the Great Basin and their role
in fixation of gold. Recognition of a source for iron could pro-
vide useful guidance in exploration for the next Carlin trend.
Acknowledgments
Financial support for this study came from National Sci-
ence Foundation grant EAR-9804963 and Barrick Resources.
Barrick also provided summer employment for students, ac-
cess to geologic and grade data, numerous special analyses
and assays, and most important of all, constant guidance and
discussion. We are particularly grateful to Keith Bettles and
Eric Lauha at Barrick for their encouragement to carry out
research on Screamer, and the time and energy that they put
into helping us with all aspects of this project. The original
manuscript benefited tremendously from careful reviews by
A. Hofstra, R. Ilchik, D. John, and L. Riciputi.
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