The Touquoy Zone deposit: an example of "unusual" orogenic gold mineralisation in the Meguma Terrane, Nova Scotia, Canada

The Touquoy Zone deposit is host to disseminated gold mineralisation in metasiltstones of lower Palaeozoic age. From the close correlation between ore grades and the intersection of favourable stratigraphy and bounding faults, it is apparent that mineralisation is controlled by both structural and lithological influences. Within the ore zone, disseminated gold, arsenopyrite, pyrite, and rare base-metal sulphides are associated with a network of widely spaced, millimetre-scale, quartz-carbonate veinlets. Quasi-pervasive fluid flow and prolonged interaction with the host rocks resulted in a diffuse, but pronounced halo of wall-rock alteration that is characterized by the breakdown of detrital feldspar and metamorphic chlorite and the development of hydrothermal carbonate phases, K-mica, and disseminated sulphides. These mineralogical changes are accompanied by enrichment in CO2, K, An, As, and S and depletion in Na across the ore zone. Vein formation occurred at between 250degrees and 350degreesC and pressures of less than 1-2 kbar (1 kbar=100 MPa), corresponding to an estimated depth of between <2.8 and 6 km. Mineralisation resulted from the unmixing of an overpressured (low-salinity, CO2-rich) fluid in response to decreasing pressure during its ascent and penetration into permeable host rocks. Geological and geochemical features of mineralisation in the Touquoy Zone deposit are seen as convincing evidence for a close genetic association between disseminated-style and lode gold mineralisation in orogenic terrains, with the resulting style of mineralisation largely controlled by the overall structural geometry of the mineralising site, theological properties, permeability and chemical receptiveness of the host rock, and structural level of emplacement.