Genesis of the shear zone-related gold vein mineralization of the Lega Dembi Gold, Adola gold field, southern Ethiopia

The Lega Dembi Primary Gold Deposit in southern Ethiopia is related to the shear zone-hosted vein in the Neoproterozoic metamorphosed volcano-sedimentary succession of greenschist- to amphibolite-facies metamorphism. The rocks consists of a sequence of biotite-feldspar-quartz schists, carbonaccous mica-schists, amphibolites and basic to ultrabasic rocks. This unit is separated from a foot wall biotite gneiss by a major shear zone. The ore bodies are hosted in the volcano-sedimentary sequence and consist of swarms of quartz veins, lenses, and stockworks that propagated along mesoscale ductile to brittle-ductile shear zones. The mineralization is defined by a complex paragenesis of gold in association with Cu-Pb-Zn-Fe sulphides, tellurides and sulphosalts. The presence of Ni-bearing minerals in amphibolites of the host sequence, together with the ore mineral association, suggests an origin related to mafic volcanism.