Pb-Zn Mineralization in Kalateh Pialeh Prospect Area, Kopeh Dagh Zone: Mineralization, Geochemistry of Galena and Fluid Inclusion Studies

Kalateh Pialeh prospect area is located in the Kopeh Dagh zone, approximately 15 km northeastern of Esfarayen city. The area is composed of sedimentary rocks deposited during the Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary periods, which include microconglomerate, dolomitic limestone, sandy limestone, limestone, conglomerate, and marl. Mineralization occurs as epigenetic deposits hosted by dolomitic limestone and limestone. Two mineralization stages were identified. The first stage consists of a pyrite-galena-sphalerite assemblage with replacement and breccia textures, and the second stage comprising a galena-sphalerite assemblage with vein-veinlet, open space filling, and replacement textures. Dolomite and calcite are the most abundant gangue minerals associated with lesser amount of quartz and barite. Main alterations consist of calcitization and dolomitization. Galena mineral exhibits maximum geochemical anomalies of 1843 ppm for zinc, 7 ppm for arsenic, and 11 ppm for copper. Microthermometric studies on primary fluid inclusions (LV) reveal homogenization temperatures ranging from 180°C to 265°C for stage 1, and from 167°C to 214°C for stage 2. Salinities for these stages were found to be between 7.8 wt.% to 14.5 wt.% NaCl equiv., and 11.7 wt.% to 12.2 wt.% NaCl equiv., respectively. Based on evidence such as structurally controlled mineralization, the type of alterations and their linear expansion, simple mineralogy of ore, geochemistry, and fluid inclusion data, Kalateh Pialeh prospect area is similar to lead-zinc epithermal deposits.