Polish Geological Institute Special Papers, 22 (2007): 1–162 Editor-in-Chief: Jerzy Nawrocki, Polish Geological Institute, PL-00-975 Warszawa, Rakowiecka 4, phone: (48-22) 849 53 51 ext. 100, e-mail: [email protected] Executive Editor: Janina Ma³ecka, Polish Geological Institute, PL-00-975 Warszawa, Rakowiecka 4, phone: (48-22) 849 53 51 ext. 480, e-mail: [email protected] Editorial Advisory Board: Vladimir G. Bakhmutov, Zbigniew Cymerman, Andrzej G¹siewicz, Eugen Gradinaru, Marek Jarosiñski, Piotr Krzywiec, Anatoliy A. Makhnach, Manfred Menning, Barbara Olszewska, Anna Pasieczna, Zoltan Pécskay, Marek Slobodnik, Tron H. Torsvik, Wies³aw Trela, Jozef Vozar Editorial Office: Polish Geological Institute, PL-00-975 Warszawa, Rakowiecka 4 (building A, room 409) phone: (48-22) 849 53 51 ext. 480 fax: (48-22) 849 53 42 Website: http://www.pgi.gov.pl Volumes can be ordered from Pañstwowy Instytut Geologiczny, Sekcja Dystrybucji Wydawnictw PIG, Rakowiecka 4, PL-00-975 Warszawa, e-mail: [email protected] Editors of the volume: Janina Ma³ecka, Anna Maziarz Layout: Anna Maziarz The Polish Geological Institute Special Papers is abstracted and indexed in: American Geological Institute/Bibliography and Index of Geology, Elsevier/GeoAbstracts, GEOBASE and Geological Bibliography of Poland. © Copyright by Polish Geological Institute, Warszawa 2007 Printed by Remigraf Ltd., Warszawa, Poland Issued: 375 copies CONTENTS Introduction ..................................................................6 Previous works on the gold ore mineralization in the Kaczawa Mountains ..................................6 Methods and analytical procedures ......................................................7 Geological setting ...............................................................8 Major geological events in the Western Sudetes .............................................8 Geology of the Kaczawa Mountains ...................................................9 Main events of ore formation in the Kaczawa Mountains .......................................12 The Radzimowice Au–As–Cu ore district ..................................................13 The history of the mining exploration..................................................13 Geological setting of the deposit ....................................................16 Geochemical characteristics of the igneous rock suites of the ¯eleŸniak intrusion...........................19 Calc-alkaline suite – granite .....................................................19 Calc-alkaline suite – porphyries ...................................................21 Alkaline suite – lamprophyres ....................................................21 Type and grade of ore ..........................................................23 Ore mineralization in quartz-sulphide-carbonate veins .........................................24 Sulphur isotope distribution pattern...................................................27 Arsenopyrite geothermometer data ...................................................28 Gold mineralization ...........................................................29 Ore mineralization in the country rocks.................................................32 Ore geochemistry ............................................................32 Correlations .............................................................32 Gold to silver ratio in ores ......................................................37 Gold and base metal concentrations in barren rocks ..........................................37 REE distribution in ores.........................................................38 Wall-rock alteration ...........................................................38 Studies of fluid inclusions in quartz...................................................41 Oxygen isotopes of quartz........................................................43 The Re–Os age values of gold-bearing sulphide at the Radzimowice deposit .............................44 Discussion of the ore mineralization genesis of the Radzimowice deposit ...............................45 The Klecza–Radomice ore district with quartz-sulphide-gold veins .....................................47 The history of the mining exploration..................................................48 Geologic structure of gold deposits ...................................................49 Ore mineralization in the Radomice area ................................................51 Ore mineralization in the Klecza area..................................................54 Ore mineralization in the Nielestno area ................................................58 4 Contents Sulphur isotope distribution pattern...................................................60 Arsenopyrite geothermometer data ...................................................61 Gold mineralization ...........................................................62 Summary of ore mineralization mineral succession at the Klecza–Radomice ore district ..........................63 Ore geochemistry ............................................................64 Correlations .............................................................64 Gold to silver ratio ..........................................................70 Gold and base metals concentrations in barren rocks..........................................70 REE distribution in ores.........................................................71 Host rock alteration ...........................................................72 Studies of fluid inclusions in quartz...................................................75 The salt composition.........................................................75 The Re-Os age values of gold-bearing sulphide from the Klecza deposit ...............................77 Discussion of the genesis of the Klecza–Radomice ore district ....................................77 The gold-bearing quartz-sulphide occurrences in the Kaczawa Mountains .................................80 The Wielis³aw Z³otoryjski ore district .................................................80 The Lipa–Grudno prospects ......................................................83 The P³awna prospect ..........................................................84 The Che³miec, Mêcinka, Wilcza and Stanis³awów deposits ......................................85 Polymetalic deposits in the Intra-Sudetic fault zone ..........................................87 Mechanism of gold transport and precipitation ................................................88 The source of gold and other metals .....................................................90 Gold distribution in schists .......................................................91 Gold and other metals potential of the Variscan granites ........................................93 Hypothetical granite under the Kaczawa Mountains .............................................96 The relation of the auriferous quartz-sulphide mineralization to deep fractures in the Kaczawa Mountains and beyond ...........97 The relation of the auriferous quartz-sulphide mineralization to tectonic structures in the Kaczawa Mountains...............100 The age constrains of gold and metallic ore formation of the vein type in the Kaczawa Mountains .....................101 The relation of age of the gold mineralization in the Kaczawa Mountains with other areas in the Lower Silesia ..............103 Comparison of the age of the gold events in the Kaczawa Mountains with other areas of the European Variscides .............103 Comparison of the late Variscan gold-bearing arsenic-polymetallic mineralization in the Kaczawa Mountains to other areas in the Western Sudetes ...........................................................106 Geotectonic setting of the gold mineralization in the Kaczawa Mountains during Carboniferous–Permian .................112 Classification and tectonic models of gold mineralization in the Kaczawa Mountains ...........................115 Summary of gold mineralization in the Kaczawa Mountains ........................................117 Conclusions ................................................................120 References .................................................................121 Polish Geological Institute Special Papers, 22 (2007): 1–162 Stanis³aw Z. MIKULSKI — The late Variscan gold mineralization in the Kaczawa Mountains, Western Sudetes. Polish Geological Institute Special Papers, 22 (2007): 1–162 Polish Geological Institute, Rakowiecka 4, PL-00-975, Warszawa, Poland; e-mail: [email protected] Abstract. Detailed characteristic of the Au-bearing arsenic-polymetallic deposits and a few prospects of the hydrothermal quartz-sulphide vein type from the Kaczawa Mountains are presented. The most important are the gold mineralization in Radzimowice which is classified as the transition from the porphyry to the epithermal type and in Klecza–Radomice de- scribed as the orogenic type. Auriferous mineralization is structurally controlled and hosted mainly by cataclased seri- cite-graphite schists from Pilchowice and Bolków units, which constitute the Paleozoic Kaczawa Metamorphic Complex. The fractured axial planes of F2 open asymmetric folds built of graphite schist, and second-order fault structures of major W–E and NE–SW directions played significant role as structural and geochemical traps for migrating mineralized hydrother- mal fluids. Gold mineralization post-dates the regional metamorphism of host rocks (greenschist