Geochemical and stable isotopic data on barren and mineralized drill core in the Devonian Popovich Formation, Screamer sector of the Betze-Post gold deposit, northern Carlin trend, Nevada
Open-File Report
2010-1077
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Abstract
The Devonian Popovich Formation is the major host for Carlin-type gold deposits in the northern Carlin trend of Nevada. The Popovich is composed of gray to black, thin-bedded, calcareous to dolomitic mudstone and limestone deposited near the carbonate platform margin. Carlin-type gold deposits are Eocene, disseminated, auriferous pyrite deposits characterized by acid leaching, sulfidation, and silicification that are typically hosted in Paleozoic calcareous sedimentary rocks exposed in windows through siliceous sedimentary rocks of the Roberts Mountains allochthon. The Carlin trend currently is the largest gold producer in the United States. The Screamer ore zone is a tabular body on the periphery of the huge Betze-Post gold deposit. Screamer is a good place to study both the original lithogeochemistry of the Popovich Formation and the effects of subsequent alteration and mineralization because it is below the level of supergene oxidation, mostly outside the contact metamorphic aureole of the Jurassic Goldstrike stock, has small, high-grade ore zones along fractures and Jurassic dikes, and has intervening areas with lower grade mineralization and barren rock. In 1997, prior to mining at Screamer, drill core intervals from barren and mineralized Popovich Formation were selected for geochemical and stable isotope analysis. The 332, five-foot core samples analyzed are from five holes separated by as much as 2000 feet (600 meters). The samples extend from the base of the Wispy unit up through the Planar and Soft sediment deformation units into the lower part of the upper Mud unit of the Popovich Formation.
Suggested Citation
Christiansen, W., Hofstra, A.H., Zohar, P.B., and Tousignant, G., 2011, Geochemical and stable isotopic data on barren and mineralized drill core in the Devonian Popovich Formation, Screamer sector of the Betze-Post gold deposit, northern Carlin trend, Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010-1077, Report: iii, 11 p.; 2 Tables, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20101077.
ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Geochemical and stable isotopic data on barren and mineralized drill core in the Devonian Popovich Formation, Screamer sector of the Betze-Post gold deposit, northern Carlin trend, Nevada |
| Series title | Open-File Report |
| Series number | 2010-1077 |
| DOI | 10.3133/ofr20101077 |
| Year Published | 2011 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Contributing office(s) | Central Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center |
| Description | Report: iii, 11 p.; 2 Tables |
| Country | United States |
| State | Nevada |
| Other Geospatial | northern Carlin trend |