EconomicGeology

Vol. 85, 1990, pp. 943-951

Early Proterozoic Gold Placersof the Moeda Formation

within the GandarelaSyncline,Minas Gerais,Brazil
W. E. L. MINTER,
Departmentof Geology,Universityof Cape Town, Cape Town, SouthAfrica

F. E. RENGER, AND A. SIEGERS

Minas Novas Ltda., Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Abstract

Gold-bearingplacerconglomerates, datedbetween2.2 and 2.8 Ga, havebeen identified

at the base of the Moeda Formationin the [Link]
outcropand undergroundexposures, both old and new, andboreholeintersectionsaround
the westernand southernmarginof the syncline,hasdefineda palcoenvironmentconsisting
of an uplandfluvial drainagesystemin the north, leadingsouthwardto an alluvialfan and
braided plain [Link] mineral concentrates,composedpredominantlyof coarse
roundedpyrite, areconcentrated in the matrixof cobbleconglomeratesthatoccurin the form
of discretebarsand [Link] mineralogyand geochemistry of the ore closelyresembles
that of Witwatersrandplacersasdoesthe compositionof the gold. Gold concentrations are
equalto thoseof the averageWitwatersrandgolddepositandthereforethesedepositsmay
makea significantcontributionto Brazil'sfuture goldproduction.

Introduction Archcan basement rocks. The importance of this

sourceonly became evident in 1979 when the Bra-
THE Moeda Formationis a elasticsequenceof early zilian Governmentbegan paying the "garimpeiros"
Proterozoicrocks that unconformablyoverliesde- pricesabovethe world market gold price. Officially
[Link] isburiedbeneathSuperior- registered production then began to double every
type iron-formation in an area known as the Iron year, from 4.3 tonsin 1979 to 54.5 tonsin 1983, as
Quadrangle(Quadril/teroFerrffero) in the stateof progressivelymore of the hitherto unofficiallypro-
Minas Gerais,Brazil (Fig. 1). This area, extending ducedgoldwasbought.
southand eastfrom the city of Belo Horizonte, lies It is likely that the Archcanbasementwas alsoa
at an elevation of 1,000 to 1,500 m above sea level potentially rich provenancearea for the production
in the mountainoushighlandsof MinasGeraisandhas of Proterozoicplacersduringearly eratonicsedimen-
a longrecordedhistoryof goldmining. tation of the Moeda Formation. Gold in the basal elas-
Alluvial gold was first reported from there in the tic units of the Moeda Formation was indeed detected
late [Link] a goldboomin the by the early colonistsandwasprospectedextensively
eighteenthcentury,almostall of Brazil'sgold,totaling by following the easily identified contactbetween
about800 tonsandrepresenting60 percentof world MoedaarenitesandNovaLima [Link]
production, was produced from eluvial and alluvial were certainlymininggoldore from the MoedaFor-
depositsin the Iron Quadrangle; muchof it weathered mationbefore 1846 when von Helmreichen(1846,
from gold-bearingmassivesulfidedepositsof the Ar- p. 143), a visitingAustrianminingengineerwrote:
chcan(Siegersand Renger, 1985). TheseArchcan "worth notingwasOuro Fino near S. Vicente because
oresare composedpredominantlyof pyrite, pyrrho- of the conglomeratic,reniform piecesof quartz and
tite, and arsenopyriteand occurin metavolcanicand spheroidalpyrite that occurin the gold-bearingho-
chemicalsediments of the NovaLimaGroup(Ladeira, rizon, which in turn is intercalatedbetween Itacolumit
1980). It wasonlyat the endof the eighteenthcentury (MoedaFormation)andtalc-schistrocks(NovaLima).
andthebeginningof thenineteenthcenturythatBra- Their shapedoes not seem to be the result of me-
zil beganproducinggold from suchprimary ores. [Link] presenceis consideredfa-
Well-knownexamplesare stillbeingminedat Morro vorableby the localminers,whoseexperienceshows
Velho,Raposos, Cuiab/,andS5oBento(Fig. 2) which that the depositsare generallyricher wherever they
will sooncollectivelyproduceabout9 tonsof gold occur" (translatedby A. Siegers).Henwood(1871)
per [Link] is a significantpercentageof Brazil's also reported on these deposits,but until recently,
present annual gold production of between 30 and however,they were consideredto have been hydro-
40 tonsper year,whichismostlyderivedfromalluvial thermal in origin, a view biasedby the occasional
and eluvial depositsthat have been weatheredfrom presenceof quartz veinson the contactbetweenthe

0361-0128/90/1080/943-9
$3.00 94 3
 944 MINTER,RENGER,AND SIEGERS

synclines(Fig. 2). The Moeda depositsdiscussedin

this paper concernonly thosethat occurin the Gan-
darelasyncline,30 km southeastof Belo Horizonte,
andin particular,alongthe northwesternandwestern
BAHIA

Ilii outcroppingmarginof the syncline(Fig. 3). Over 200

old, mostlycollapsedaditsand stopeshave been re-
openedand mappedand sampledalongthe outcrop.
Most of these are in the weathered zone, but 16 sur-
faceboreholesand34 undergroundboreholesdrilled
from new adits,and over 800 m of undergroundde-
velopmenthave providedunweatheredexposuresof
the Moeda area.

20 Stratigraphy
The S5oFranciscocratoncomprisesthe crystalline
basementof the Iron [Link] is composedof
granite-gneissdomesat Caet(, Ba95o,and Bonfire
PALO (Fig. 2). The BasSodome hasbeen dated at 2.8 Ga
by Delhal andDemaiffe(1985), usingthe U/Pb ages
of [Link] Rio dasVelhasSupergroupoverlying
50 o
the crystallinebasement(Dorr, 1969) containstwo
0 500Kin
groups(Table 1). The oldest,the Nova Lima Group,
i i i i i i
is a greenstonebelt composedofmaficandultramafic
FIG. 1. Location map showingpositionof Iron Quadranglein
rocks(metakomatiites),metavolcanics,chemicalsed-
the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. imentsincludingAlgoma-typeiron-formations, cherts,
anda singularquartz-ankeriterockknownasthe Lapa
Seca,aswell as a clasticsequenceof conglomerates,
Moeda quartzites and the structurallyincompetent quartzites,[Link] NovaLima Grouphasbeen
Nova Lima phyllites. datedat between 2.8 and 2.7 Ga (Teixeira, 1982) and
Regionally,the Moedahasbeenseverelydeformed, is considered to be Archcan. It is overlain unconform-
and consequently,is preservedonly in a number of ably by the Maquin6 Group which comprisesquartz-

44000 ' 4:5 30'

+ + +++_F+
+ + -

+CAETIDOME
+ - + +
+ + +
,

; ETE
[Link]

MORRO Au.
' VELHO
-- ,0o00 ' --
BIF ridges
Guilherme'

+ +
+BA,O
+
BONFiM DOME +
+ +

+
DOME
+
+

' Au.
RETO

O :50 Km
I I I I

-- 0 30'

FIC.2. Geologic
planoutliningtheposition
oftheGandarela
syncline
andotherstructurally
preserved
remnantsof the Moeda Formation in the Iron Quadrangle.
 MOEDA FORMATION,MINASGERAIS,BRAZIL 945

FIC. 3. View of the northernlimbof the Gandarelasynclinephotographed lookingsouthwest

from
the Nova Lima basement.A freshrock dump can be seenin the center of the picture at Guilherme
(Fig. 2), where a new adit hasbeen drivento the baseof the Moedaseenoutcroppingin a cliff face
[Link] spursflankingGuilhermeare composed of verticallydisposedArchcaniron-for-
mation.

oseschistsand slatesin its lower part and quartzite In the Gandarelasynclinethe Moeda Formation
andchart-pebble conglomerates in [Link] hasbeen subdivided into three informal units, which
radiometricdatesof the MaquinGroupareavailable, at this stageare simply numberedstratigraphically
but it is also considered to be Archcan. from the baseupward(Table 1). Theseunitsare sep-
In the Gandarelasynclinethe Moeda Formation aratedby unconformitieswhich onlapeachother to-
formsthe baseof the MinasSupergroup, whichun- ward the north and west. In this paper, each unit is
conformablyoverliesthe ArchcanRio dasVelhasSu- consideredto representa [Link] I finesup-
pergroup(Table1). Overmostof the Gandarelasyn- ward from conglomerateto coarse- and medium-
cline the Moedalies aboveNovaLima Grouprocks [Link] II is an equigranular,
where they are composedpredominantlyof gray-
wackesand phyllites and thin [Link]
Moeda rocks are composedof conglomerates and
quartzitesand,according to VillaaandMoura(1981),
the sequenceis up to 350 m thick in the southern
part of the syncline(Fig. 4). Thisthicknessis being
debatedbecause it is thoughtthatthrustfaultsalong
the easternlimit of the synclinemayhaveduplicated
parts of the succession.
..,./0
"/ REFEREN
/('''=-_-
_0 "'-- / tke anddirectJan
of dip
TABLE1. StratigraphicColumn Applicableto the / of beds
GandarelaSyncline(modifiedafter Dorr, 1969)
X _. --
Overturned
Fault
beds
' ' fault
SUPERGROUP GROUP FORMATION

ITABIRA CAU.
GANDARELA
--IO0--is0pch-cont
inmetere.
BATATAL

MINAS CARA,A UNITIII

MOEDA UNIT II
UNIT I

0 5 I0 15kin
RIO
DAS
VELHAS
NOVA
[ I I I I I I J

LIMA xN
BASEMENT
c. 4. ]sopaehplan othe Moeda ormation thicknessin the
Candela [Link] Vi]laa andMoura (]8]).
946 MINTER, RENGER, AND SIEGERS

A borehole drilled in the Palmital area (Fig. 5) in-

BATATAL dicatedthat the basalconglomerateis abruptlyon-
lOOm
Siltstone grey lapped by 19 m of fine-grainedsiliceousunit II
thinly bedded [Link] 20.8 m abovethe Nova Lima, the unit
graded.
III sedimentsonlapunit II and are distinguished by
90 MOEDA
[Link],at 22.3 m, largeclasts
over 6 cm in diameter occur. Above this the unit III
UNIT 3
sequenceis comprisedof trough-crossbedded units
80 Sericitic Quartzite lessthan 1 m thick which have pebble-linedscoured
bases,with associatedfine-grainedpyrite; and fine
light grey fine
upwardto [Link] up in
70 to coarse- this sequencethe pebbles become smaller and the
grained fining unitsfine upwardinto [Link] re-
flects a transition into slates of the Batatal Formation.
60 upwardunits In tectono-stratigraphicterms the Batatal would
up to I meter thereforerepresentthe upperpart of unit III.
thick. Trough The timeintervalbetweenunitIII andunitII might
50
cross- bedded. be considerablebecausein unit III, boulders of con-
glomerate,representingclastsderived from lithified
underlyingMoedastrata,havebeen [Link]
4O
III mightthereforemorecloselyapproximate the age
of the overlyingItabira Group containingSuperior-
type iron-formationsdated at 2.2 Ga, whereasunits
3O
II and I would be more closelyrelated in age to the
[Link] meansthat along the western and
2O northwestern outcropmarginof the Gandarelasyn-
UNIT 2
cline,wherethe totalMoedathickness isonly150 m,
Siliceous Quartzite thereis a time intervalof approximately
600 million
I0 White fine- years.
grained massive
Sedimentology
UNIT I
0 Conglomerate The first Moeda sediments,lowestin the stratig-
raphy,are sheetlikepebblydiamictites,whichare ex-
NOVA LIMA
posedat Bocainain [Link] are composedof an-
Phyllite grey
gular quartz, chert, phyllite, and yellow felsic lava
thinly laminated
clastssupportedin a shearedargillaceousmatrix. In
graded.
somecases,very large slabsof siltstone,50 cm in
FIG. 5. Stratigraphicsequenceat ?almitalreconstructedfrom ameter,occursupportedby the [Link]
a boreholelog. clastsof pebbly diamictitealsooccurin matrix sedi-
[Link] diamictitescarrylow goldcontentsof 1 or
veryfinegrained,whitesiliceous quartzitethatblan- 2 ppm, are generallylessthan 1 m thick, andare dis-
ketsthe unit I strataandprovidesan excellentdatum tributed patchily. These diamictitesare evidently
from whichto measurethe geometryof the unit I massflow conglomerates. Becauseof their lack of
packageandthe paleotopography of the underlying stratification, ungradedbedding,andclay-richmatrix-
[Link] unitI indicate supportednature, they are consideredto represent
that it wedgesout to a basalremnantalonga line cohesivedebrisflows(NemecandSteel,1984). Their
strikingnortheast fromBocaina. Thisrepresents a pa- depositionalenvironmentis consideredto havebeen
leostrike and is consistent with a south to southeast subaerialbecausethey are overlainby sharplyscour-
paleocurrent direction recorded in the strata. The basedclast-supported fluvialconglomerates. The lack
thickeningof the unit I succession to the southeast of of vegetationduring the Proterozoicwasan added
thispaleostrike marginindicates thesiteof a sediment factorin producingdebrisflowson thesepaleosur-
depository,
whereasin the areanorthof thismargin faces.
the unit I sediments
were in [Link] other words, The oligomicticcobblylarge-pebbleconglomerates
the Moedapaleosurfacefrom Guilhermeto Palmital overlyingthe debrisflowsfine upwardinto coarse-
isinterpretedasanuplanddrainagearea;Bocainaand grainedtrough-crossbedded [Link]
the areato the southandeastis interpretedasa fan channelizodconglomerate-arenite coupletsare the
andbraidedplain environment. resultof waningflow after flood-stage
depositionof
 MOEDA
FORMATION,
MINAS
GERAIS,
BRAZIL 947

0.90
."..%

.ou '*' ?...... ' '.'..:'..-.
.-.:[.:. ::......7%: .:.? a.,
'*:.':.'( T..'g'-K:O :':'6 ..u .:: 1.15

40- 6.2. '..-.['-'.

:.. 8.00

80.

I00
I I I I I
(cm)
0 Im 2m 3m 4m 5m

FIG.6. MoedachannelerodedintoNovaLimaphylliteandfilledwithplacerconglomerate.
Located
at [Link]
samplesites(in g/metricton).

graveland compriseincrementsof depositionthat nowedtop concentrations (Fig. 10). Thin tracesof

kerogenseamsand granulatedkerogenhavebeen
have accumulatedinto sheetsup to 12 m thick, al-
though2 m is a moregeneralaverage. observedin placesat the baseof unit I.
Channels with curved erosional bases, filled with South and east of Bocaina,unit I thickens consid-
conglomerate conglom- erablyandthe basalconglomerates
(Fig.6), andconvex-upward fineupwardinto
erate bars, have been identified in transversesections an arenitefaciesthat totalsup to 100 m. In addition
in which the lenslikegeometryof the conglomerate to thebasalconglomerates, poorlymineralizedupper
bedsis conspicuous (Fig. 7). The quartz clastsare conglomerates andcoarse-grained quartzitesoccurat
verywell rounded,indicatingconsiderable maturity; [Link] are interpretedasbeingdegra-
largerclasts,up to 30 cmin diameter,generallyform dationdepositsthat representepisodes of localized
crudebedding,markingthe basalscoursof separate fanheadretrenchmentoccurringat differenttimesin
incrementsof conglomeratethat are up to 50 cm in [Link] the [Link] are
Thesemaysimplyreflectvaryingdischarge, notlaterallyextensive
thickness. but occurin belts,despitethe
the crudegradingindicating waningflowafterflood-
stagedischarges. Thesecharacteristics are consistent
withbraidedstreamgraveldeposits(Hein, 1984).The
thicknesses of conglomerateincrementsand chan-
nelizedtroughcrossbedded unitsindicatethat water

IPaleo
current
depthswere probablylessthan a meter or two. direction
Southandeastof Bocainathe basalconglomerates
are laterallyextensive,but up the paleoslopefrom
Bocainatheyareconfinedto discretechannelways or
to wide shallowvalleysin whichindividualconglom-
erate sheetsup to 200 m wide and 600 m longhave
been identified (Fig. 8).
Concentrationsof heavyminerals,predominantly
roundedpyrite, up to 30 mm but generally5 mm in
diameter(Fig. 9), occurasbed load lag depositsat
thebaseof conglomerate bedsandaswinnowedcon- o
centratesat the top of someconglomerate [Link] E
D
boreholecoresthesepyriteconcentrates help define
separateincrementsof graveldepositionwhere the
arenaceousfacieshave not been [Link] is 0U ..:::.'
associatedwith the rounded pyrite concentrations,
particularlyat the basalcontactbut alsoin the win-

, ' , ,w-,,w.,...,.,..,c,-...-.-.--..--'w'-''-,
o' '. ' ' ....
'' .."d....'..'---..'..*.
' ' ..... '"w'.';-'.
.. . .' .4

PEBBLY
BAR CHANNEL PAVED DIAMICTITE
WITH GRAVEL LAG
? 3Om
FIG. 7. Sketchillustratingplacer conglomeratedistribution
in typicalMoedachannelways. Themasterchannelorpaleovalley FIG. 8. Planshowingthe sizeof conglomerate sheetsthathave
is definedby unitII wherethicknesses
exceed15 m. been definedat Palmitalby closelyspaceddrilling.
948 MINTER,RENGER,AND SIEGERS

raphy of the Nova Lima basementupslopewas im-

posingsomecontrolover the drainagesystem.
North of Bocainathe basalunit I conglomerate and
associatedcoarse-grainedquartzitesoccupy only a
fewmetersof the stratigraphy beforebeingblanketed
by the fine-grainedwhite siliceous quartziteof unit
II. These sediments are confined to bedrock channels

cm ppmAu
-223

17.52

-197

2.15

-177

1.85

-146

1.45

-121

3.30

-90

8.02

-59

13.87

-36

16.52

-16
FIG. 9. Photographshowingroundedpyrite concentratesin
the matrix of a conglomerateexposedby a drill core at Palmital. 19.75
-0
fact that the noncohesive nature of the sediment
FIG. 10. Picturelog showingsiteof roundedpyrite concen-
comprisingthe fanwouldnot haverestrictedchannel trationsassociatedwith gold contentsin separateconglomerate
[Link] seemslikely that the topog- incrementsexposedin borehole core at Palmital.
 MOEDA FORMATION, MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL 949

and only rare clastsoccur on the topographically between depositionof units II and III. This is one
[Link] area,fromPalmitalto more argumentin favor of a significantdepositional
Guilherme,isthereforeinterpretedasa drainageand hiatus between these units.
transit area, containingcoarserresidualcomposites Mineralization
of all sedimentthatwastransported to the fandeposits
south of Bocaina. The area to the north of Bocaina The placerconglomerates at the baseof the Moeda
alsohashigher gold [Link] might be because are mineralizedpredominantlywith sulfides(Fig. 11).
goldconcentration processesoperatemosteffectively Approximately 95 percent is pyrite, occurring as
on surfacesof net degradationfrom where lighter large,slightlyroundedcubesup to 8 mm across(Fig.
particles are selectively entrained and the finer 12), well-roundedspheroidsof amorphous,layered,
grainedheavy gold particlesconcentrated(Slinger- concentricand poroustypes, up to 3 cm in diameter
land and Smith, 1986). The placer conglomerates at (Fig. 13), andalsoeuhedralauthigenicpyrite. In out-
the baseof the Moedain Guilhermeare overlainby crop these large pyrite particlesoxidize to limonite
black siltstonebeds, tens of centimeters thick, that (Fig. 14) or weatherout to leavelarge pock marks.
are interbedded with horizontally and trough- In addition,arsenopyrite (sometimes roundedgrains),
crossbedded dark [Link] slabsof chalcopyrite,pyrrhotite, pentlanditc, gersdorffite,
thissiltstoneoccurasintraclasts in the conglomerate, and covellite, usuallyincluded in the pyrite, have
indicatingthattheyrepresentcontemporaneous facies been identified in polishedsections.
equivalentsof the [Link]-up Gold grains,generallylessthan 20/m in size,are
clastsalsooccurin the overlyingunit II quartzite. includedin pyrite (Fig. 15). High-gradeporouspyrite
At Guilherme, in the northern area, transverse containscovelliteremnantsafter supergenealteration
sections of channels250 m wide and6 m deepcrop of chalcopyrite,and the silver contentof associated
[Link]-sized clastsof veinquartz, goldparticlesis approximately5 to 10 [Link]
and crossbedding and channelorientationsindicate analysisof the ore comparedwith variousWitwa-
transportto the south and [Link] seemsthat tersrandplacersin Table 2 illustratesa great resem-
verticallydisposedfolded iron-formationunitsin the blance.
NovaLimamayhaveweatheredpositivelyduringthe Electronmicroprobeanalysesof freed goldparti-
Proterozoic and therefore locally controlled the cles,usingprocedures developedat the Universityof
Moedadrainagesystem(Figs.2 and3). CapeTown (Reid et al., 1988), haveindicatedan av-
The geometryof the white fine-grained siliceous eragesilvercontentof 12 percentanda mercurycon-
quartzitebodyof unitII [Link] indicate tent of 2 percent,accounting with the goldfor 99.8
that it is up to 30 m thick and that it fills and levels percentof the [Link] resultslie within the
offthe underlyingchanneled topography. It appears rangeof mostWitwatersrandgoldparticles.
to be massive because it is silicified and forms cliffs The roundedpyrite in Moedaplacersis generally
at outcrop,but indistinctplanar,ripple,andtrough- more abundantand very coarsegrainedwhere the
crossbedded structures have been observed under- placeris goldbearing;usuallyon the unconformable
ground. The texture and blanket nature of this basalcontactor on well-definedscoursurfaces (Figs.
quartzitelead one to interpretit asa transgressive,6 and 10) markingseparategravelincrements. Large
shallow-marine, perhapsintertidal,sediment. shinyroundedpyrite is dominantoverthe morepo-
In the Gandarelasynclinethe unit III sediments
overlieunit II [Link] lowerpart of thisse-
quenceis conglomeraticwith numerousbeds of oli-
gomicticsmallpebbleto largepebbleconglomerates
thataremineralized
withfine-grainedpyrite(Fig.5).
Radioactivityin theseconglomeratesis four or five
timesbackground, andalthoughnotof economic im-
portance,they producedistinctradiometricanoma-
[Link] is 140m thickin thesouthofthesyncline
andthinsto the [Link] thesedimentary
sequenceonce again indicatesa shallowfluvial en-
[Link] thiscasethe sandstones
gradeinto ex-
tensive Batatal slates and therefore a fan delta envi-
ronment has been interpreted. Palcocurrentmea-
surements
ofwell-defined
trough-crossbedding
inunit
III between Palmital and Guilherme indicate a uni-
modaltransportdirection
[Link] FIG. 11. Photographtaken undergroundat Guilhermenear
to the palcoslope
established
for the unitI drainage siteof Figure6, showingthe conglomerate
placerwell mineralized
and may therefore mean that deformationoccurred with pyrite.
950 MINTER, RENGER, AND SIEGERS

FIG. 12. Roundedcubeofpyrite 8 mm [Link]

ore specimenat Guilherme.
FIG. 14. Large roundedpyrite replacedby limonite in he
matrix of Moeda conglomeratethat outcropsat Boa Esperana,
rous to bronze-coloredpyrite. Black fine-grained north of Palmital (Fig. 2).
granulesof kerogen,and possiblyuraninite,are also
associated with [Link] specksof
gold, visiblethrougha handlens,are rare. fluvial environmentthat resemblesthe Ventersdorp
Gold concentrationsin well-mineralized layers contactreef with regardto robustness,lithifiedbed-
(sampleintervaltypically25 cm)are between10 and rock,andgeomorphic elementsin the upperreaches,
20 ppm and sometimeshigher (Figs.6 and 10). The andresembles theElsburgmassive reefsin thefanlike
ratio uranium]goldis quite irregular; however, in lower [Link] locationof goldandother heavy
certain typical drill holesin Palmitalit tendsto av- mineralconcentrates in the conglomerates indicates
eragebetween40 and50 overthe total placerthick- thatsimilarhydraulicprocesses [Link] setting
ness. asa whole is indicativeof a granite-greenstone cra-
Conclusions
tonic continentalmarginon which fluvialfan delta
and shallow-marinesedimentswere depositedand
The Moeda placersclearly fit the Witwatersrand ultimatelyburied beneathSuperior-typeiron-for-
[Link] time they are bracketedby the Dominion mations. ExplorationoftheMoedahasestablished
that
andBlackreefsin [Link] low-reliefpaleo-
surfaceand maturity of the predominantlyquartz
pebble clast assemblagereflect protracteddeep
chemicalweatheringandthe presenceof detritalpy- quartz
rite and uraninite reflectsa poorly oxidizedatmo-
[Link] sedimentary natureindicatesa braided pentlandite
%pyrrhotite
chalcopyrite
pyrite

quartz
gold
.

gersdorffite
-'J.
pyrrhotite
/ 'chalcopyrite

quartz

22pm
ii

FIG. 15. Secondaryelectronimageillustratingthe association

of goldwith pyrrhotite,chalcopyrite,
andgersdorffite
asinclusions
FIG. 13. Polishedspecimenfrom Paimitalcontainingrounded in roundedpyrite (photo:ColoradoSchoolof Mines Research
pyrite grains. Institute).
 MOEDAFORMATION,MINASGERAIS,BRAZIL 951

TABLE2. ChemicalAnalysesof Moeda and ComparableWitwatersrandOres

Carbon Main Main reef Ventersdorp

Moeda leader reef leader Vaal reef contact reef

Wt percent
SiO2 80.0% 78.44% 85.91% 82.11% 84.66% 94.94%
A12Oa 3.52 6.97 2.67 5.19 3.06 0.69
FeOa 9.63 8.08 7.10 8.60 6.20 2.92
MgO 0.13 0.27 0.24 2.6 0.22 0.25
C aO 0.01 0.03 0.01 0.06 0.01 0.05
NaO 0.21 <0.01 <0.01 0.31 0.99 0.86
KO 0.62 0.99 0.76 0.08 0.57 0.14
TiO 0.131 0.30 0.51 0.26 0.21 0.02
P205 0.026 0.03 0.01 0.01 0.03 <0.01
MnO 0.206 0.06 0.03 0.09 0.03 0.05
Ppm
Au 7.6 31 23 4 14 16
Ag 4.1 5 3 <1 I 2
U 79 141 20 765 27
Th 56 25 5 121 8
Zr 54
Sr 20
Rb 19
Cr 339
As 658

Moeda XRF analysesby ColoradoSchoolof Mines ResearchInstitute; WitwatersrandXRF analysesafter Feather and Koen (1975);
gold analysesby fire assay
SamplePIIo09

the goldcontentis locallysignificantandthe present Feather, C. E., and Koen, G. M., 1975, The mineralogyof the
work is designedto determinethe depositionalextent Witwatersrandreefs: Minerals Sci. Eng., v. 7, p. 189-224.
Hein,
of the conglomeraticorebodiesand their structural erates:F. J., 1984, Deep-seaandfluvialbraidedchannelconglom-
A comparisonof two casestudies:[Link]-
continuity. leum GeologistsMem. 10, p. 33-49.
Acknowledgments Henwood,W. J., 1871, On the gold minesof Minas Geraas,in
Brazil: Royal Geol. Soc. [Cornwall] Trans., v. 8, pt. 1, p. 168-
We aregratefulto the Managementof the Anschutz 370.

Mining Corporationfor permissionto publishthisin- Ladeira, E. A., 1980, Metallogenesisof gold at the Morro Velho
formation;to geologicstaffmembersVictorE. Suckau, mine and in the Nova Lima district, Quadriltero Ferrffero,
MinasGerais,Brazil: Unpub. Ph.D. thesis,Univ. Western On-
RonaldoM. Pinto da Silva,andEnzio Garaypof Minas tario, 272 p.
Novas Ltda., who contributed significantlyto the Nemec, W., and Steel, R. J., 1984, Alluvial and coastalconglom-
mapping;and to the ColoradoSchoolof MinesRe- erates:Their significantfeaturesandsomecommentson gravelly
searchInstitutewhere the mineralogyandgeochem- mass-flowdeposits:[Link].
istry of the ore was [Link] alsobe 10, p. 1-31.
Reid, A.M., leRoex, A. P., and Minter, W. E. L., 1988, Compo-
given to the astuteearly prospectorsthroughwhose
sitionof goldgrainsin the Vaal placer,Klerksdorp,SouthAfrica:
tenacitythe depositswere [Link] Mineralium Deposita, v. 23, p. 211-217.
paper wasprepared at the Massachusetts Institute of Siegers,A., and Renger,F. E., 1985, Gold miningin Brazil: Erz-
Technology,Cambridge, Massachusetts, while the metall, v. 38, no. 7/8, p. 351-358.
firstauthorwasa VisitingCrosbyProfessorin the De- Slingerland, R., andSmith,N. D., 1986, Occurrenceandformation
partment of Earth, Atmospheric,and Planetary Sci- of water-laid placers:Ann. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., v. 14, p.
113-147.
ences.
Teixeira, W., 1982, Geochronologyof the southernpart of the
REFERENCES S5oFranciscocraton: Rev. BrasileiraGeociencias,v. 12, p. 268-
277.
Delhal,J., andDemaiffe,D., 198.5,U-Pb Archaeangeochronology
of the S5o Franciscocraton (easternBrazil): Rev. Brasileira Villaa, J. N., andMoura,L. A.M., 1981, Uraniumin Precambrian
Geociencias, v. 15, p. 55-60. MoedaFormation,MinasGerais,Brazil:U.S. Geol. SurveyProf.
Dorr, J. V. N., II, 1969, Physiographic,stratigraphicandstructural Paper 1161, p. T1-T14.
development Ferrffero,MinasGerais,Brazil: von Helmreichen, V., 1846, Reisebericht aus Minas Gera5s vom
of the Quadrilttero
U.S. Geol. SurveyProf. Paper 641-A, 110 p. 6. Mai 1856: Mitt. Freunden Naturw. Wien 11, p. 137-151.