Abstract The Ordovician sediments that host the giant Bendigo saddle reef gold deposits consist of a 3 km-thick sequence of turbiditic sandstones and interbedded siltstones and mudstones. Sedimentological studies suggest the succession formed within a major deep marine channel–levee complex similar to those described from contemporary continental margin to basin plain settings outboard of major river systems (e.g. the Amazon, Mississippi and Congo). Black shales, which are commonly the immediate host rocks to the epigenetic gold reefs, are interpreted to be over-bank deposits or abandoned channel fills, developed adjacent to active channels which were sandstone-dominated and had an incised axial thalweg marked by the coarsest-grained sediments present. Organic carbon content of the black shales at Bendigo varies from 0.2 to 2 wt%, compared with the grey shales, siltstones and sandstones, which vary from 0.05 to 0.2 wt%. Trace elements fall into two main groups: (a) elements that have a linear relationship with aluminium, and are controlled by the detrital clay content (Sn, Ba, Rb, Li, Cs, Mn, Cr and Tl); and (b) elements that show relationships with both aluminium and organic carbon (V, U, Ni, Zn, Cu, Bi, Pb, Se, Ag and Au) and are controlled by both the clay and organic matter content in the carbonaceous shales. The elements in the second group are enriched in the black shale facies. The background gold content of the black shales in the drill holes distal from mineralization averages 8.9 ppb, compared with the sandstones with 1.5 ppb. Most of the gold in the shales is present in diagenetic pyrite and marcasite, which laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometer (LA-ICPMS) analyses indicate varies from 5 to 3850 ppb and averages 370 ppb Au. The geochemical data suggest that this syngenetic gold was most likely sourced by erosion of the hinterland, and transported attached to detrital clay particles or as colloidal gold, by a high-volume feeder river system. High Rb/K ratios in the shales support a highly weathered source typical of a giant river system. By analogy with modern systems, following transport into deep marine channel–levee complexes via continental margin canyons, gold and other redox sensitive trace elements were ultimately trapped by reduction, adsorption and complexation with organic matter in the sub-oxic to anoxic over-bank deposits. Oxidation of much of the organic matter during diagenesis released the gold and certain trace elements (Ni, Co, Se, Ag, Cu, Bi, Pb), which became incorporated into diagenetic pyrite. Enrichment of gold in diagenetic pyrite of the black shale facies of the Ordovician turbidites at Bendigo was the first stage in a two-stage process that produced the world-class quartz–gold saddle reef deposits. Supplementary material: Whole rock analyses for sedimentary rocks in drill holes NBD005 and NBD186, Kangaroo Flat Mine, Bendigo, are available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18732

Abstract Sediment-hosted Pb-Zn deposits contain the world’s greatest lead and zinc resources and dominate worldproduction of these metals. They are a diverse group of ore deposits hosted by a wide variety of carbonate andsiliciclastic rocks that have no obvious genetic association with igneous activity. A range of ore-forming processes in a variety of geologic and tectonic environments created these deposits over at least two billion years of Earth history. The metals were precipitated by basinal brines in synsedimentary and early diagenetic to low-grade metamorphic environments. The deposits display a broad range of relationships to enclosing host rocks that includes stratiform, strata-bound, and discordant ores. These ores are divided into two broad subtypes: Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) and sedimentary exhalative (SEDEX). Despite the “exhalative” component inherent in the term “SEDEX,” in this manuscript, direct evidence of an exhalite in the ore or alteration component is not essential for a deposit to be classified as SEDEX. The presence of laminated sulfides parallel to bedding is assumed to be permissive evidence for exhalative ores. The distinction between some SEDEX and MVT deposits can be quite subjective because some SEDEX ores replaced carbonate, whereas some MVT deposits formed in an early diagenetic environment and display laminated ore textures. Geologic and resource information are presented for 248 deposits that provide a framework to describe and compare these deposits. Nine of the 10 largest sediment-hosted Pb-Zn deposits are SEDEX. Of the deposits that contain at least 2.5 million metric tons (Mt), there are 35 SEDEX (excluding Broken Hill-type) deposits and 15 MVT (excluding Irish-type) deposits. Despite the skewed distribution of the deposit size, the two deposits types have an excellent correlation between total tonnage and tonnage of contained metal (Pb + Zn), with a fairly consistent ratio of about 10/1, regardless of the size of the deposit or district. Zinc grades are approximately the same for both, whereas Pb and Ag grades are about 25 percent greater for SEDEX deposits. The largest difference between SEDEX and MVT deposits is their Cu content. Three times as many SEDEX deposits have reported Cu contents, and the median Cu value of SEDEX deposits is nearly double that of MVT deposits. Furthermore, grade-tonnage values for MVT deposits compared to a subset of SEDEX deposits hosted in carbonate rocks are virtually indistinguishable. The distribution of MVT deposits through geologic time shows that they are mainly a Phanerozoic phenomenon. The ages of SEDEX deposits are grouped into two major groups, one in the Proterozoic and another in the Phanerozoic. MVT deposits dominantly formed in platform carbonate sequences typically located within extensional zones inboard of orogenic belts, whereas SEDEX deposits formed in intracontinental or failed rifts, and rifted continental margins. The ages of MVT ores are generally tens of millions of years younger than their host rocks; however, a few are close (<~5 m.y.) to the age of their host rocks. In the absence of direct dates for SEDEX deposits, their age of formation is generally constrained by relationships to sedimentary or diagenetic features in the rocks. These studies suggest that deposition of SEDEX ores was coeval with sedimentation or early diagenesis, whereas some deposits formed at least 20 m.y. after sedimentation. Fluid inclusion, isotopic studies, and deposit modeling suggest that MVT and SEDEX deposits formed from basin brines with similar temperatures of mainly 90° to 200°C and 10 to 30 wt percent NaCl equiv. Lead isotope compositions for MVT and SEDEX deposits show that Pb was mainly derived from a variety of crustal sources. Lead isotope compositions do not provide criteria that distinguish MVT from SEDEX subtypes. However, sulfur isotope compositions for sphalerite and galena show an apparent difference. SEDEX and MVT sulfur isotope compositions extend over a large range; however, most data for SEDEX ores have mainly positive isotopic compositions from 0 to 20 per mil. Isotopic values for MVT ores extend over a wider range and include more data with negative isotopic values. Given that there are relatively small differences between the metal character of MVT and SEDEX deposits and the fluids that deposited them, perhaps the most significant difference between these deposits is their de-positional environment, which is determined by their respective tectonic settings. The contrasting tectonic setting also dictates the fundamental deposit attributes that generally set them apart, such as host-rock lithology, deposit morphology, and ore textures. Brief discussions are also presented on two controversial sets of deposits: Broken Hill-type deposits and a subset of deposits in the MVT group located in the Irish Midlands, considered by some authors to be a distinct ore type (Irish type). There are no significant differences in grade tonnage values between MVT deposits and the subset that is described as Irish type. Most features of the Irish deposits are not distinct from the family of MVT deposits; however, the age of mineralization that is the same as or close to the age of the host rocks and the anomalously high fluid inclusion temperatures (up to 250°C) stand out as distinctly different from typical MVT ores. The dominance of bacteriogenic sulfur in the Irish ores commonly ascribed as uniquely Irish type is in fact no different from several MVT deposits or districts. A comparison of SEDEX and Broken Hill-type deposits shows that the latter deposits contain significantly higher contents of Ag and Pb relative to SEDEX deposits. In terms of median values, Broken Hill-type deposits are almost three times more enriched in Ag and one and a half times more enriched in Pb compared to other SEDEX deposits. Metamorphism is a characteristic feature but not a prerequisite for inclusion in the Broken Hill-type category, and known Broken Hill-type examples appear to occur in Paleo- to Mesoprotero-zoic terranes. Broken Hill-type deposits remain an enigmatic grouping; however, there is sufficient evidence to support their inclusion as a separate category of SEDEX deposits.

Abstract In terms of zinc, lead, and silver metal endowment, the Proterozoic sedimentary basins of northern Australia rank number one in the world. The Mt. Isa-McArthur basin system hosts five supergiant, stratiform, sedimentary rock-hosted Zn-Pb-Ag deposits (McArthur River, Century, Mt. Isa, Hilton, and George Fisher) and one supergiant strata-bound Ag-Pb-Zn deposit (Cannington). These superbasins consist of units deposited during three nested cycles of deposition and exhumation that occurred in the period from 1800 to 1580 Ma. The cycles took place in response to far -field extension and subsidence associated with a major northward-dipping subduction zone in central Australia. All major stratiform zinc-dominant deposits occur within rocks of the sag phase of the youngest Isa superbasin, which was deposited between 1670 and 1580 Ma. The strata-bound silver- and lead-rich Cannington deposit is hosted by highgrade metamorphosed clastic sedimentary rocks that are temporal correlatives of the basal extensional phase of the Isa superbasin. It exhibits distinct differences from the stratiform zinc-dominant deposits but shows similarities with Broken Hill-type deposits. The major stratiform Zn-Pb-Ag deposits exhibit many similar geological and geochemical features that include: (1) location close to regionally extensive normal and strike-slip synsedimentary faults, (2) organic-rich black shale and siltstone host rocks, (3) laminated, bedding-parallel synsedimentary sulfide minerals, (4) stacked ore lenses separated by pyritic and Fe-Mn carbonate-bearing siltstones, (5) lateral zonation exhibiting an increasing Zn/Pb ratio away from the feeder fault, (6) vertical zonation exhibiting decreasing Zn/Pb ratio upstratigraphy, (7) an extensive strata-bound halo of iron- and manganese-rich alteration in the sedimentary rocks surrounding and along strike from ore, (8) a broad range of δ 34 S values for sulfide minerals, from about 0 to 20 per mil, with pyrite exhibiting a greater spread than base metal sulfides, and (9) lead isotope ratios that indicate derivation of lead from intrabasinal sources with interpreted lead model ages being similar to the measured zircon U-Pb ages of the host rocks. These common features demonstrate that the stratiform Zn-Pb-Ag ores formed approximately contemporaneously with sedimentation and/or diagenesis. The exact timing of mineralization relative to these processes varies from deposit to deposit. However metamorphic overprints in some deposits (e.g., Mt. Isa, Hilton, Dugald River, Lady Loretta) have lead to recrystallization of sulfide minerals, making it difficult to interpret primary paragenetic relationships and absolute timing of mineralization. Mount Isa is the only northern Australian stratiform Zn-Pb-Ag deposit that has spatially associated highgrade copper mineralization. Textural and isotopic data for the stratiform Zn-Pb-Ag deposits suggest there is a spread of ore depositional processes from synsedimentary exhalative to syndiagenetic replacement. At McArthur River, for example, the highgrade laminated ores principally formed by synsedimentary exhalative processes. However, there is good evidence that the lower grade ores at the margins of the deposit formed at shallow depth in the organic-rich muds by syndiagenetic replacement and open-space fill. At Century, on the other hand, the textual and lead isotope evidence indicate the major mineralization probably formed by syndiagenetic replacement about 20 m.y. after sedimentation. At Mt. Isa, Hilton, and George Fisher, overprinting metamorphism precludes determination of the precise timing of ore deposition relative to sedimentation and diagenesis, but recent studies at the least metamorphosed George Fisher deposit suggest that syndiagenetic replacement was likely dominant. The lack of footwall stringer zones or hydrothermal vent complexes in the Zn-Pb-Ag deposits, coupled with the lateral and vertical Pb-Zn metal zonation, suggest the ores are of the vent-distal type, forming at some lateral distance from the hydrothermal vent or feeder fault. The laterally extensive strata-bound Fe-Mn car bonate halos indicate significant hydrothermal fluid volumes that have interacted with the sea-floor and sub-sea-floor sediments. These halos provide an important vector for exploration. Basin-scale, fluid-flow modeling has emphasized the importance of (1) early rift phase volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks as potential deep sources for metals, (2) clastic units at the top of the rift package that act as aquifers for basin-wide hy drothermal fluid flow, (3) evaporitic units that lead to high fluid salinity, which enhances metal transport, (4) thick packages of fine-grained dolomites and siltstones in the overlying sag phase sequence, which act as a seal over the fluid-rich reservoir rocks (rift clastics), and (5) deeply penetrating faults that provide the fluid conduit from the fluid reservoir and metal source area, located deep in the sedimentary basin, to the organic-rich trap rocks at the top of the section. Fluids were oxidized, low- to moderate-temperature (100°–250°C), near-neutral pH brines, with sulfate reduction in organic-bearing trap sites being the principal cause of zinc- and lead-bearing sulfide deposition.

Abstract Two massive to banded strata-bound magnetite-rich ironstones (Fe 2 O 3total + SiO 2 = 96%, Fe 2 O 3total > 60%) host Au-Cu mineralization in an intracratonic rift setting within the Mount Isa eastern succession. The deposits are of international interest because of the present divergent views on exhalative versus epigenetic genesis; these ores have features which support both origins. Starra is the main orebody cluster, consisting of four geographically separate lodes, totaling 5.3 million metric tons at 5.0 g/metric tons Au, and 1.98 percent Cu. The origin of the Starra ores is complicated by an intense deformational history. The lodes lie on the margin of a major D 1 decollement, which was subsequently reactivated during D 2 and D 4 . Starra ores are deformed by all recognizable stages of deformation, occurring both in folded and unfolded segments. The footwall is extensively altered to albite-magnetite-pyrite-bearing assemblages, whereas the hanging wall shows only sporadic albite alteration overprinted by D 4 calcite gash veining not spatially related to ore. Ores are massive to banded, characterized by Fe, Si, Au, Cu, W, and Sn enrichment and by Pb, Zn, Ag, and Ba depletion. Au shows good correlations with Si, W, and Cu but is inversely correlated to Fe in the only lode studied in detail. Trough Tank, 40 km southeast of Starra, a similar but less highly strained deposit, is characterized by Co, Mo, and P enrichment in addition to the above elements. A syngenetic exhalative origin with transport of Au as Au chloride complexes at 280° to 380°C into a low S oxidizing environment is invoked. This best explains local and regional features such as high background Au levels in banded iron-formation, a lack of replacement textures in massive ore, zoning of geochemistry and mineralogy, high Cu/Au ratios, and location at the boundary between a basic-acid sequence and calcareous metasediments.

Abstract Gold, bismuth, and copper mineralization at Tennant Creek is hosted by magnetite-hematite replacement bodies in lower Proterozoic sediments of the Warramunga Group. The sediments have been folded about east-west axes, are characterized by a pervasive axial-plane slaty cleavage, and are intruded by pre- and postfolding granites. Marked structural and stratigraphic control yields lines of lode (ironstones) that can be traced for distances of up to 40 km. Ironstone lodes are restricted to the magnetite-rich Black Eye Member of the Carraman Formation and concentrate adjacent to argillaceous banded iron-formations. They are aligned parallel to the regional axial-plane cleavage, commonly lying in the cores of third-order folds, especially in areas of fold hinge plunge reversal. Faulting and shearing parallel to the cleavage may also play a role in the localization of some lodes. Gold, bismuth, and copper mineralization and associated alteration form a late-stage overprint on the magnetite lodes, with gold typically concentrated toward the footwall of the ironstone or at its margins in distinct pods associated with chlorite and muscovite. Copper and bismuth mineralization occurs in overlapping zones around these pods, and this zonation is complemented by gangue mineralogy, and trace element and sulfur isotope zonation patterns. A model for the formation of the ironstone lode involves the movement of hot connate brines into developing fold axes during regional deformation of the Warramunga Group. The fluids in equilibrium with the magnetite in the sedimentary pile reacted with more oxidized horizons (e.g., hematite shales), resulting in the deposition of hematite (or a hydrated precursor) that was subsequently converted to magnetite as equilibrium was restored. Economic mineralization is associated with faulting and fracturing of the ironstone lodes and introduction of hot, saline, relatively reduced and sulfur-bearing solutions. Reaction of these solutions with chlorite in the lodes resulted in its replacement by muscovite with a consequent increase in pH and reduction in f O2 of the fluid. This reaction is likely to have controlled gold, bismuth, and copper deposition. The relative availability of sulfur, metals, and fluid between ironstone lodes is thought to be responsible for the spectrum from unmineralized to copper- and gold-rich ironstone lodes.

Abstract Volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits in Australia exhibit a range in average gold content from 0.2 to 4.75 ppm Au, with an overall mean of 1.6 ppm. The Mount Morgan Cu-Au deposit in eastern Queensland has been the major producer (237.5 metric tons of gold), followed by the deposits in the Mount Read Volcanics of western Tasmania (Rosebery, Hercules, Que River, Hellyer, and Mount Lyell) which together have a premining resource of 156.3 metric tons of gold. Two distinct spatial and mineralogical associations of gold mineralization have been defined for the eastern Australian volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits: (1) a gold-zinc association (with lead, silver, and barite), which typically occurs throughout the massive and layered ores with gold and barite concentrated toward the stratigraphic hanging wall of the deposit (e.g., Rosebery, Que River, and Hellyer), and (2) a gold-copper association, which typically occurs in the footwall stringer and lower massive zones of some deposits, particularly those with a high Cu/Zn ratio (e.g., Mount Chalmers, Mount Morgan, and Mount Lyell). This biparite gold association observed in the eastern Australian deposits is also displayed in other volcanogenic massive sulfide provinces, such as the kuroko district (Japan) and the Canadian Archean. Thermodynamic studies on the controls of gold transport and deposition indicate that the two gold associations described above may relate directly to the gold-transporting mechanism. The footwall gold-copper association reflects gold transport as the AuCl 2 complex by high-temperature (>300°C), low pH (<4.5), moderate to high f O2 , and high-salinity fluids (>seawater). The hanging-wall gold-zinc association reflects gold transport as the Au(HS) − 2 complex by lower temperature (150°-300°C), moderate pH (4.5-6), and moderate f o2 fluids. A process of gold refining where cooling hydrothermal solutions leach gold (plus zinc and lead) from the lower parts of the sulfide body and reprecipitate the gold at the top of the body, and which is associated with dropping temperature and increasing SO 4 /H 2 S ratio, is proposed as the mechanism which leads to gold enrichment at the top of zinc-rich deposits. This process is common in barite-rich Paleozoic deposits but less common in Archean deposits, due to lower SO 4 /H 2 S fluid ratios in the latter.