Geochemical halos of gold and associated elements in Nabijan gold index (SW Kaleibar, NW Iran)

The Nabijan ore index located 20 km southwest of Kaleibar city, East Azerbaijan province in the Alborz-Azerbaijan structural zone. Geological rock units outcropping in the area consist of volcano-sedimentary rocks (trachyandesite, andesite, shale and limestone) of the Cretaceous age which intruded by the Oligo-Miocene monzogranite, monzogranodiorite and diorite. These intrusions and related hydrothermal activities caused the Au mineralization in the Cretaceous host rocks, as well as in the monzogranitic intrusion. The mineralization in the monzogranite occurred as silicic stockwork and sheeted veins with pyrite and minor chalcopyrite, sphalerite and galena. The other type of mineralization is skarn, which present as sparse irregular veinlets with less amount of Au in the Cretaceous carbonates. Preliminary estimation of ore reserve shows 320000t reservoir with average of Au grade about 1.37 gr/ton. According to surface and drilling data, two important anomalies determined. One in the contact zone of intrusive rocks with the Cretaceous volcanics and carbonates (skarn zone). In this anomaly, the correlation coefficient index between Au and Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag, and As is low whereas, in the second one which coincides with stockwork mineralization within monzogranite, it is high.