Formation conditions of high-grade gold–silver ore of epithermal Tikhoe deposit, Russian Northeast

The Tikhoe epithermal deposit is located in the Okhotsk–Chukotka volcanic belt (OChVB) 250 km northeast of Magadan. Like other deposits belonging to the Ivan’insky volcanic–plutonic depression (VTD), the Tikhoe deposit is characterized by high-grade Au–Ag ore with an average Au grade of 23.13 gpt Au and Au/Ag ratio varying from 1: 1 to 1: 10. The detailed explored Tikhoe-1 orebody is accompanied by a thick (20 m) aureole of argillic alteration. Pyrite is predominant among ore minerals; galena, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, Ag sulfosalts, fahlore, electrum, and küstelite are less abundant. The ore is characterized by abundant Sebearing minerals. Cu–As geochemical specialization is noted for silver minerals. Elevated Se and Fe molar fractions of the main ore minerals are caused by their formation in the near-surface argillic alteration zone. The veins and veinlets of the Tikhoe-1 ore zone formed stepwise at a temperature of 230 to 105°C from Nachloride solution enriched in Mg and Ca cations with increasing salinity. The parameters of the ore-forming fluid correspond to those of epithermal low-sulfidation deposits and assume the formation of high-grade ore under a screening unit of volcanic rocks. In general, the composition of the ore-forming fluid fits the mineralogy and geochemistry of ore at this deposit. The similarity of the ore composition and parameters of the ore-forming fluid between the Tikhoe and Julietta deposits is noteworthy. Meanwhile, differences are mainly related to the lower temperature and fluid salinity at the Julietta deposit with respect to the Tikhoe deposit. The fluid at the Julietta deposit is depleted in most components compared with that at the Tikhoe deposit except for Sb, Cd, and Ag. The results testify to a different erosion level at the deposits as derivatives of the same ore-forming system. The large scale of the latter allows us to predict the discovery of new high-grade objects, including hidden mineralization, which is not exposed at the ore field flanks and beyond them.