ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Economic Geology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feart.2025.1603296
Mineral Chemistry of Apatite, Amphibole, Biotite, and Magnetite from the Masjeddaghi Porphyry Cu-Au Deposit, NW Iran: Petrogenetic and Metallogenic Implications
Provisionally accepted
- 1ANGLO REM CA Exploration Mining Ltd, Astana, Kazakhstan
- 2Department of Geology, Payame Noor University, Iran, Tehran, Iran
- 3LabMaTer, UQAC laboratory, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Canada, Québec, Canada
- 4School of Mining and Geosciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan, Astana, Kazakhstan
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The Masjeddaghi porphyry Cu-Au deposit is situated in the Alborz-Azarbaijan structural zone of northwest Iran. Chemical compositions of rock-forming (biotite, amphibole) and accessory minerals (magnetite, apatite) in the potassic to propylitic altered diorite porphyry of Masjeddaghi serve as key indicators of magmatic-hydrothermal mineralization. In situ LA-ICP-MS was conducted to analyze trace element contents of selected magnetite-bearing samples, while EMPA analyzed biotite, amphibole, and apatite compositions. The mineral compositions show a parental magma with calc-alkaline features, suggesting a source comprised of both subduction mantlederived and crust-derived materials, and the Masjeddaghi mineralizing magmas have a relatively elevated ƒO₂ and are classified as oxidized I-type magmas. The calculated temperature ranges are constrained by Al-in-amphibole geothermometry, saturation temperature of apatite, and the Ti-inbiotite geothermometer (830 to 877 °C), (845°-918 °C) and (723° to 782 °C), respectively, whereas the Al-in-amphibole geobarometry exhibits formation pressure (120 to 186 MPa; relating to depths ranging from 4 to 10 km) and H2Omelt content at time of crystallization (4.10 to 4.46 wt.%), indicating formation of a hydrous calc-alkaline magma from a deep magmatic reservoir. The intrusion of oxidized hydrous mafic magma from a deeper magma source likely promoted wide magma mixing and prolonged fractional crystallization within the evolved dioritic magma chamber, resulting in exsolution of the ore-forming fluids and the formation of the Masjeddaghi deposit.
Keywords: Biotite, Amphibole, Apatite, Magnetite, Masjeddaghi Porphyry Cu-Au Deposit, Iran
Received: 31 Mar 2025; Accepted: 12 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Rahnama, Hassanpour, Savard and Shah. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zohreh Rahnama, ANGLO REM CA Exploration Mining Ltd, Astana, Kazakhstan
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