Genesis and Geochemical Prospecting Features of Gold Mineralization at the V-Shear Prospect, Gebel El Sukari Gold Mine Area, Eastern Desert, Egypt

Abstract

The V-Shear prospect area lies 3 km northeast of the Sukari Porphyry granite. The area occurs within greenschist/amphibolite facies arc metamorphic rocks in association with late tectonic granitic intrusions. The mineralization is confined to quartz veins/veinlets along NE-SW trending shear zones and their associated altered wall rocks. Pyrite and arsenopyrite are the primary hydrothermal sulfide phases, with subordinate pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite. The main gold budget in the mineralized veins and alteration zones of the investigated gold deposits is recorded within the hydrothermal assemblages. The geological setting, structural elements, mineralogical, and alteration style make features suggestive that the V-Shear prospect belongs to the orogenic gold type.The statistical treatment of two borehole data sets of 494 core samples from the V-Shear area revealed weak enrichment of gold. However, the southeastern borehole contains relatively more Au contents. The R-mode factor analysis of the borehole data sets revealed the existence of five main factors indicating the following associations: (F1) Felsic wallrock association represented by Sn, Be, Zr, Y, and Ba; (F2) Sulfides association represented by Sb, Pb, Mo, Cd, and S; (F3) Mafic wallrock association represented by Ni, Co, Cr, and Li; (F4) Base metal association represented by Cu, Zn, V, and Sr; and (F5) Gold association represented by Au and As. the latter factor has the lowest value of data variability (ca. 8.88%) supporting our finding about the poor gold potentiality in the boreholes. The existence of arsenic among the Au-factor loads suggests using arsenic as a good indicator for gold.