ORIGIN OF CHOGHART IRON OXIDE DEPOSIT, BAFQ MINING DISTRICT, CENTRAL IRAN: NEW ISOTOPIC AND GEOCHEMICAL EVIDENCE

The origin of the Proterozoic Choghart iron oxide deposit in the Bafq mining district of Central Iran has been the subject of a long-standing dispute. Some authors believe that it was formed from magma, while others suggest metasomatic replacement of preexisting rocks. The present study on the basis of new oxygen isotope, REE and geochemical data concludes that neither of these two hypotheses can alone explain the formation of Choghart deposit. Instead, it is suggested that the separation of an iron oxide melt and the ensuing hydrothermal processes dominated by alkali metasomatism were both involved to different degrees in the formation of Choghart and other similar deposits in Central Iran.