James Egan

Past Honours Student

Research Project
Gold and Copper Mineralisation at Deflector: Orogenic, Porphyry or Epithermal?

Project Summary
Doray Mineral's Deflector Gold Deposit is a high-grade gold-copper deposit located in the Southern Murchison region of Western Australia, situated approximately 450km north of Perth and 160km east of the Western Australian regional city of Geraldton.

The deposit has many characteristics of a gold-only “orogenic” style deposit, but also exhibits substantial but variable amounts of copper within the gold lodes. In addition, the gold lodes are not focused on shear zones, but occur as quartz-sulphide veins that sometimes fill open spaces. These are not typical characteristics for late Archean “orogenic gold” systems, which raises the possibility that a) mineralisation is not of the “normal” orogenic type, or b) two mineralisation events are superimposed.

James' study involves the use of trace element geochemical analyses to characterise the alteration halos around the three lodes in the deposit. This will allow him to:

1. Assess the origin of the hydrothermal fluids, and determine whether the deposit has superimposed mineralisation types, and;
2. Establish geochemical vectors to mineralisation in the surrounding Youanami Terrane of the Yilgarn Craton.

Characterising the signature of the mineralizing fluids will allow James to compare these signatures with other classic orogenic systems and other gold deposits described in current historic and recent literature. Comparisons with these deposit types, as well as other rare hybrid deposits identified in other Archean gold districts, will be made in order to resolve the mineralisation style and assist with the identification of vectors to mineralisation in the region.

Supervisor
Derek Wyman

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