VMS Types

1
 Total Tonnage
Type
(billion metric tons)
Bimodal-mafic 1.45
Bimodal-felsic 1.29
Siliclastic-felsic 2.50
Mafic 0.18
Pelitic-mafic 1.24
Total 6.66
Data from Barrie and Hannington (1995)

VMS Types and Tectonic Settings

Type Tectonic Setting Examples

Bimodal-mafic Incipient-rifted volcanic arcs
above intra-oceanic subduction
(basalt-dominated with up to 25%
felsic volcanic strata)
Bimodal-felsic Continental margin arcs (felsic
volcanic rocks constitute 35-70%
of all volcanic strata)
Siliciclastic-felsic Continental margin arcs in
proximity to continent (siliciclastic Portugal; Jebilet and Guemassa, Morocco;
strata constitute about 80%)
Archean: Noranda, Canada; East Yilgarn,
Australia; Murchison Range, RSA
Paleoproterozoic: Flin Flon, Canada; Prieska,
RSA
Paleozoic: mid to southern Urals, Russia
Archean: Pilbara, Australia
Paleoproterozoic: Skellefte and Bergsladen,
Sweden
Paleozoic: Finlayson Lake, Canada; Tasman
orogen, Australia
Mesozoic: Eskay Creek, Canada
Cenozoic: Hokuroku, Japan; Pontides, Turkey
Paleozoic: Iberian Pyrite Belt, Spain and
Bathurst, Canada
Mesozoic: Campo Morado, Mexico

2
 Type Tectonic Setting Examples
Mafic Mature intra-oceanic back-arcs Paleozoic: Central Newfoundland, Canada
(ophiolite and ophiolite-like Mesozoic: Troodos, Cyprus; Semail, Oman;
assemblages) Albania
Pelitic-mafic Mature intra-oceanic back-arcs in Paleoproterozoic: Outokumpu, Finland;
proximity to continent Labrador trough, Canada
Paleozoic: Windy Craggy, BC; mid and southern
Urals, Russia
Mesozoic: Besshi district, Japan

Franklin et al. (2005)

1=northern Cordilleran, 2=Slave, 3=western Trans-Hudson, 4=western Superior, 5=Penokean, 6=Superior, 7=Labrador
trough, 8=Appalachian, 9=Yavapai, 10=Sudbury, 11=central Cordillera, 12=Caribbean arcs, 13=southern Cordillera,
14=Amazonian, 15=Gariep-Damara, 16=Magondi, 17=Barberton, 18=Pan African, 19=Atlas, 20=Iberian, 21=Caledonides,
22=Svecokarelian, 23=Uralian, 24=Pontides, 25=Troodos, 26=Bohemian, 27=Semail, 28=Aravalli, 29=Dharwar,
30=Caucasian, 31=Altaides, 32=Baika-Vitim, 33=north Qilian, 34=Indonesian platform, 35=Sino-Korean, 36=Japan-Kurile
Arcs, 37=Philippines arc, 38=Kalimantan arc, 39=Banda arc, 40=Tasman, 41=Yilgarn, 42=Pilbara

3
 Endowment by Geological Age

 Prolific deposits in Bathurst, Iberia, the

Urals, the Mount Read and Lachlan belts,
and the Rudny Altai contribute to the high
Paleozoic endowment
Data from Franklin et al. (2005)

 The metal endowment in

the Archean is high,
presumably due to higher
crustal heat flow

Kidd Creek, Ontario

4
 Monecke et al. (2017)
Kidd Creek

 Kidd Creek is
hosted in the
Kidd-Munro
assemblage
(2720-2710 Ma)

Image: Xstrata
 Total endowment (production, reserves, and
resources): 170.9 Mt at 1.16% Cu, 7.8% Zn,
0.73% Pb, and 84 g/t Ag

% metal value

Discovered in 1961 during a helicopter-borne

electromagnetic survey; mined 1966-present

10

5
 Image: T. Monecke
30.27 Mt of ore were mined
from the open pit between
1966 and 1995 to a depth
of 240 m

11

Image: T. Monecke

No. 1 shaft was completed in

1972; No. 2 shaft was
introduced in 1974; No. 3
internal shaft was completed
in 1992; No. 4 internal shaft
was completed in 2006 to a
depth of 3,014.3 m from
surface

12

6
 Hannington et al. (2017)

 Stratigraphic footwall is composed of a

succession of komatiite
 Host rocks are coherent rhyolite and
polymict volcaniclastic units
 Intrusion of a gabbro sill in the
immediate stratigraphic hangingwall
 Evidence for approximately
contemporaneous emplacement of
felsic and mafic melts

Stratigraphy of the Archean

Kidd Creek deposit, Ontario

13
Hannington et al. (2017)

 Kidd Creek is the deepest

base metal mine in the
world (mining at 3+ km
below surface)
 The deposit remains open
to depth after over 1,800
km of drilling
 Top part of the deposit
has been eroded during
last glaciation

14

7
  Ore bodies formed in a
basin that was formed
by extensional faulting
 Fluid flow occurred
along the synvolcanic
structure
 Kidd Creek was
characterized by a small,
but high-grade bornite
zone

Hannington et al. (2017)

15

Hannington et al. (2017)

 Reconstruction of the original stratigraphic relationships shows the importance of

stringer zones below the NOB and COB orebodies
 Kidd Creek formed over a short period of time (several hundred thousand years)

16

8
 Hannington et al. (2017)
 Top contact of the NOB
orebody is irregular and
interfingers with the polymict
host breccia, suggesting that
the ore body formed by
shallow subseafloor infiltration
and replacement

Sketch of the hangingwall contact of the North

orebody at the 2300 level

17

 Stringer zone comprises a

large proportion of the
ore mined as the stringers
primarily consist of
chalcopyrite

Map of the 2,260 m level in Mine D

Hannington et al. (2017)

showing the relationship of the

Main lens and immediately
overlying West lens with the main
chalcopyrite stinger zone

18

9
 Image: T. Monecke
Sulfides in deformed hangingwall volcaniclastic rocks (6500 level)

19

Image: T. Monecke

Chalcopyrite stringers in chloritized rhyolite (6500 level)

20

10
 Millenbach, Quebec

21

Monecke et al. (2017)

Millenbach

 Millenbach is
hosted in the
bimodal Blake
River assemblage
(2704-2695 Ma)

22

11
 Monecke et al. (2017)
Millenbach

23
Monecke et al. (2008)

Geology of the Noranda camp

24

12
 Monecke et al. (2017)

 VMS deposits of the Archean Noranda main camp are examples of mound-style deposits
that formed in a flow-dominated, bimodal volcanic successions

25

Monecke et al. (2017)

 Deposits are located along paleo-seafloor positions marked by the occurrence of

thin layers of mudstone containing a high proportion of volcanic ash

26

13
 Image: T. Monecke
Outcrop of the C Contact Tuff at the
Amulet C massive sulfide deposit

27 Image: T. Monecke

Outcrop of the Main Contact Tuff at the

Bluff outcrop

28

14
 Discovered 1966 through drilling; Mined 1971-1981

Image: T. Monecke
% metal value

Millenbach: 3.48 Mt at 3.42%

Cu, 4.28% Zn, 0.91 g/t Au,
and 46.25 g/t Ag

29
Monecke et al. (2017)

 Orebodies were formed on the

Archean seafloor as steep-sided
mounds
 A significant proportion of the ore is
contained in the stringer zone below
the massive sulfide mound
 Classical metal zoning exhibiting a Cu-
rich core and a Zn-rich outer part
 Au distribution broadly correlates with
Cu

Metal zoning in Millenbach #6 ore zone

30

15
 Monecke et al. (2017)
Distribution of copper numbers in the Millenbach #6 ore zone

 Metal zoning is effectively represented by the Cu/Zn ratio, which can also be
used to infer former temperature gradients

31

Millenbach deposit,
Quebec
Monecke et al. (2017)
Gibson and Watkinson (1990)

 Millenbach deposit formed at the intersection of two synvolcanic faults

 One of the faults controlled the emplacement of a string of rhyolite domes

32

16
  Cu/Zn ratio can be
used to vector to
the highest
temperature
upflow
Distribution of copper
numbers in the ore zones
of Millenbach

Monecke et al. (2017)

33
Martin et al. (2007)

100 (MgO+K2O)
AI=
MgO+K2O+CaO+Na2O

 Synvolcanic structures in the camp are surrounded by alteration halos

 Hydrothermal alteration resulted in the destruction of feldspars (Ca and Na
depletion) and enrichment of chlorite and sericite (Mg and K enrichment)

34

17
 LaRonde Penna, Quebec

35

Monecke et al. (2017)

LaRonde  LaRonde Penna is

Penna hosted in the
bimodal Blake
River assemblage
(2704-2695 Ma)

36

18
 Image: Agnico-Eagle
 Total endowment (production, reserves, and
resources): 78.5 Mt of ore at 3.7 g/t Au, 39.7
g/t Ag, 0.3% Cu, 1.9% Zn, and 0.1% Pb

290.5 metric tons

(9.3 Moz) Discovery through underground drifting
in 1993; Production commenced in 2000
% metal value

37

Mercier-Langevin et al. (2011)

38

19
 Modified from Mercier-Langevin et al. (2017)
 LaRonde Penna forms
part of a number of
strongly deformed VMS
deposits that are
flattened and are
plunging to the W
 LaRonde Penna is open
to depth

39
Mercier-Langevin et al. (2007)

Synvolcanic
fault
 Location of the massive
sulfide lenses was
controlled by
synvolcanic faulting
Synvolcanic
fault

40

20
 Image: T. Monecke
Mercier-Langevin et al. (2017)

Perlitic cracks in
rhyolite clasts

 LaRonde Penna deposit occurs in the strati-

graphic hangingwall between two large rhyolite
domes/ cryptodomes

41
Mercier-Langevin et al. (2017)

Geology of level 146

(1460 m below surface)

42

21
 Mercier-Langevin et al. (2017)
Alteration facies on level 146
(1460 m below surface)

43

Dubé et al. (2007)

Image: T. Monecke

Garnet
porphyroblasts
in footwall of
Contact of unit 5.2b and 20N Au Zone (drill hole 3146-05) 20N Au Zone

 Quartz-garnet-biotite-muscovite zone is the metamorphosed equivalent of magnesium-

rich sericite-chlorite alteration zones in deposits of low metamorphic grade

44

22
 46
45
Modified from Gabrielse et al. (1991)

Canada
Eskay Creek, British Columbia,

Modified from McDonald et al. (1996)

23
 Image: T. Monecke
 Historic production: 2.25 Mt of ore at 48.9 g/t Au
and 2,334 g/t Ag (Eskay Creek has the highest Au
and Ag grades of all VMS deposits)
 Indicated resource: 3.60 Mt of ore at 6.5 g/t Au
and 172 g/t Ag

5,251.5 metric tons

(168.8 Moz) Discovered in 1989 through
110.0 metric tons drilling; Production 1995-
(3.54 Moz) 2008

% metals value

47

Mercier-Langevin et al. (2011)

48

24
 Modified from Roth (2002)

 Footwall rhyolite: 175±2 Ma (Childe, 1996)

49

N
 Orebodies form
stratiform lenses or
discordant zones of
disseminated sulfides
Modified from Roth (2002)

Section through the Eskay Creek

deposit

50

25
  Eskay Creek is hosted by a
bimodal volcanic succession
 Basalt sills and flows (extrusive
component increases up
stratigraphy)
 Mudstone intervals (contact vs.
hanging wall)
 Intrusive and
extrusive rhyolite units and
associated volcaniclastic
deposits

Monecke et al. (2005)

51
Roth (2002) and Monecke et al. (in prep.)

 Stratiform orebodies include 21B,

21C, 21A, and East Block Zones
 Most of the orebodies at Eskay
Creek are clastic in nature, which is
unusual for VMS deposits
 Discordant orebodies include 109,
Pathfinder, and Pumphouse Zones

52

26
 54
53

Very
coarse

Laminated
Roth (2002)

Coarse

Disseminated
Images: T. Roth

Images: I. Jonasson, T. Monecke, T. Roth

27
 Images: T. Monecke

7.2 %
23.3 % Magnesite
Muscovite

2.3 %
Drill hole C99-953 at 201 m Pyrite
48.8 %
18.4 % Illite/smectite
Interval averages 8 g/t Au Quartz

 Alteration of the footwall rhyolite resulted in

the widespread formation of white mica,
illite/smectite, and locally K-spar

Drill hole C99-953 at 166 m

55

Image: T. Monecke
 Ankerite/dolomite±kaolinite alteration
occurs above zones of discordant
mineralization in the footwall rhyolite

Meuzelaar and Monecke (2011)

56

28
 https://vrify.com/explore/projects/457/sites/4020

57

Conclusions

58

29
 Images: T. Monecke
 The most valuable “exploration
tool” is a motivated explorationist
with a solid understanding of the
VMS model and outstanding field
skills
 Despite the promise and success
of various geochemical and
geophysical methods, these
should be considered ancillary to
acquiring the geological context
through mapping and core logging

59

Image: T. Monecke

Never Stop Exploring

60

30