Mineralogy and geochemistry of Khut copper deposit West of Taft، Yazd provinc

The Khut deposit is located 40 Km west of Taft in the Yazd province and in the central Iranian volcano-plutonic belt. The intrusion of apophyses of granodiorite intrusion into the carbonate rocks of the Nayband Formation has led to the formation of marble، skarn and copper mineralization. The Khut skarn which is formed in the marble is calcic type and is divided into the garnet skarn and garnet-pyroxene skarn zones. Skarnification processes can be divided into the two distinct stages prograde and retrograde. The prograde stage is characterized by anhydrous calc-silicate minerals such as clinopyroxene and garnet. During retrograde stage، part of marble and anhydrous calc-silicates have been replaced by hydrous calc-silicates، sulfides، oxides and carbonates. The calc-silicate minerals in the Khut deposit were analayzed by electron microprobe. The comparison of chemical composition of garnet with the composition position of other calcic skarns show that the composition range of garnets in the Khut deposit is consistent with the composition range of garnet in the world''s gold، iron and copper skarns. Also، the mineralogy and geochemistry of the Khut granitoid is similar to that of granitoids associated with skarn deposits. In this paper،by using petrographic and geochemical studies، the conditions of skarn formation in the Khut copper deposit is investigated.