Mineral Formation at the East Pauzhetka Thermal Field (South Kamchatka) as an Indication of Influence of a Deep-Seated Alkaline Fluid and an Epithermal Ore-Forming System

Abstract

Abstract —A sequence of argillized rocks and hydrothermal clays of the East Pauzhetka thermal field was studied in detail by means of drilling and trenching. We have identified zones composed of unusual mineral associations; their formation conditions are considered. The structure of the base of the hydrothermal-clay mass is shown. The source rocks (brecciated andesites) of the base are altered by hydrothermal–metasomatic processes and are represented by smectite–chlorite–K-feldspar–zeolite–carbonate–siliceous aggregate with sulfides, phosphates, titanium silicates and zircon silicates, and other mineral phases, including rare metals. A conceptual geological and geochemical model for the formation of argillisites and zones with mineral associations has been plotted. It is assumed that modern mineral formation in the East Pauzhetka thermal field inherits an epithermal ore-forming system located in the influence zone of a deep-seated fluid, the derivates of which are outflowing near the surface as alkaline metal-bearing solutions of the Pauzhetka hydrothermal system.