Silician Magnetite from the Copiapó Nordeste Prospect of Northern Chile and Its Implication for Ore-Forming Conditions of Iron Oxide–Copper–Gold Deposits

• Main Authors: Elías González, Shoji Kojima, Yoshihiko Ichii, Takayuki Tanaka, Yoshikazu Fujimoto, Takeyuki Ogata
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-11-01
• Series: Minerals
• Subjects: silician magnetite; Copiapó Nordeste; iron oxide–copper–gold deposit; micro-X-ray fluorescence; electron probe microanalysis
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/8/11/529

Silica-bearing magnetite was recognized in the Copiapó Nordeste prospect as the first documented occurrence in Chilean iron oxide⁻copper⁻gold (IOCG) deposits. The SiO₂-rich magnetite termed silician magnetite occurs in early calcic to potassic alteration zones as orderly oscillatory layers in polyhedral magnetite and as isolated discrete grains, displaying perceptible optical differences in color and reflectance compared to normal magnetite. Micro-X-ray fluorescence and electron microprobe analyses reveal that silician magnetite has a significant SiO₂ content with small amounts of other “impure„ components, such as Al₂O₃, CaO, MgO, TiO₂, and MnO. The oscillatory-zoned magnetite is generally enriched in SiO₂ (up to 7.5 wt %) compared to the discrete grains. The formation of silician magnetite is explained by the exchange reactions between 2Fe (III) and Si (IV) + Fe (II), with the subordinate reactions between Fe (III) and Al (III) and between 2Fe (II) and Ca (II) + Mg (II). Silician magnetite with high concentrations of SiO₂ (3.8⁻8.9 wt %) was similarly noted in intrusion-related magmatic⁻hydrothermal deposits including porphyry- and skarn-type deposits. This characteristic suggests that a hydrothermal system of relatively high-temperature and hypersaline fluids could be a substantial factor in the formation of silician magnetite with high SiO₂ contents.