Regional metamorphism and the alteration response of selected Silurian to Devonian mineral systems in the Nymagee area, Central Lachlan Orogen, New South Wales: a HyLogger™ case study.

The southern Cobar Superbasin includes the Mount Hope, Cobar and Rast troughs and adjacent Winduck, Mouramba and Kopyje shelves. These stratotectonic units host a range of mineral systems within deformed upper Silurian to Lower Devonian rocks. Despite the metallogenic importance of the terrane the regional metamorphic- and alteration-related mineral assemblages have not been systematically described until now. Here, we present a study using the HyLogger™ spectral scanner to systematically map changes in both background and alteration-related mineralogy for 14 mineral systems across the Nymagee area. The study found that, with the exception of the late diagenetic zone assemblages associated with the Winduck Shelf, the mineral assemblages for zones away from mineralisation are consistent with uniform sub- to lowest-greenschist facies metamorphic conditions, with no evidence for a regional, thermal field gradient across the basin. By contrast, proximal to mineralisation, there are significant changes in alteration-related mineral abundances and species reflecting elevated fluid temperatures. For several zones, including Browns Reef, Great Central, Hera, May Day, Nymagee and Shuttleton, there is a systematic change in chlorite composition from Fe- and/or Fe–Mg-chlorites to more Mg-rich varieties towards mineralisation. In addition, talc was noted for May Day, Mineral Hill and Shuttleton. The change in chlorite composition suggests that these ore-forming fluids were undersaturated with respect to iron. Furthermore, although present in discrete zones, carbonate alteration is not a dominant alteration type. However, at Manuka and Blue Mountain, the mineralisation is associated with carbonate-rich (calcite, ankerite, dolomite) units that have been dolomitised (Mg alteration) but not all dolomite-rich zones are mineralised. For Mineral Hill, there are systematic changes to mineral species/chemistry with observed data consistent with Parkers Hill being proximal to the centre of a mineralising system. The G and H Lode area (Southern Ore Zone) is slightly more distal whereas the Pearse deposit may represent a zone more distal again. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]