Mesoarchaean Gold Mineralisation

in the Barberton Greenstone Belt: A Review 7

Andrea Agangi, Axel Hofmann, Benjamin Eickmann,
and Johanna Marin-Carbonne

Abstract fractionated S isotopes (D33S = –0.6 to +1.0‰) in pyrite

The Barberton Greenstone Belt hosts abundant struc- from Sheba and Fairview mines suggests that hydrother-
turally controlled gold mineralisation of Mesoarchaean mal fluids mobilised S from volcanic and sedimentary
age. More than 300 gold occurrences have been reported, rocks of the greenstone belt and places constraints on the
although most of the gold production so far (>350 tonnes origin of the Au itself.
Au) has come from a handful of deposits located along

the northern margin of the greenstone belt. Most deposits Keywords
are hosted by greenschist-facies metasedimentary and Archaean Gold Mineralisation Multiple
metamafic rocks, with the notable exception of the S isotopes Barberton
amphibolite-facies rocks at New Consort mine. Mineral-
isation is associated with quartz–carbonate veins that
truncate major compressional structures at the greenstone
belt scale. The age of mineralisation is loosely con- 7.1 Introduction
strained at circa 3080–3030 Ma, based on U–Pb dating of
hydrothermal rutile and titanite. In greenschist-facies The Palaeoarchaean Barberton Greenstone Belt is host to
deposits, the ore assemblage is dominated by pyrite and some of the earliest known Au mineralisation (Anhaeusser
arsenopyrite, which contain up to thousands of ppm of 1976, 1986; de Ronde et al. 1991; Dziggel et al. 2010). The
‘invisible’ gold, Ni–As–Sb sulphides and native gold. At mineralisation is structurally controlled and occurs in
New Consort mine, mineralisation includes massive strongly deformed greenschist- to amphibolite-facies meta-
replacement-style ore and vein-hosted or disseminated morphic rocks. Deciphering mechanisms and timing of
types. Both structural studies in the field and microstruc- mineralisation in the Barberton Greenstone Belt and other
tural observation point to a multistage ore deposition Archaean terrains is important for understanding Archaean
process, which is reflected in the re-activation of brittle to tectonic and hydrothermal processes (Anhaeusser 1986;
ductile structures and the overprinting of sulphide Kolb et al. 2015; Sahoo and Venkatesh 2015; Hazarika et al.
assemblages. The presence of mass-independently 2017; Mishra et al. 2017).
Mineralisation in the Barberton Greenstone Belt has
significant economic relevance and, since the discovery of
A. Agangi (&)
A. Hofmann
Department of Geology, University of Johannesburg, gold in this area in 1882, more than 350 tonnes of gold have
Johannesburg, South Africa been extracted (Anhaeusser 1976; Dirks et al. 2009; Pearton
e-mail: [email protected] and Viljoen 2017). In plan view, the distribution of the main
B. Eickmann deposits reveals a heterogeneous distribution of gold min-
Isotopengeochemie, Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany eralisation. Despite the fact that more than 300 deposits and
J. Marin-Carbonne prospects are known in the greenstone belt, the bulk of the
Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans, UCA, IRD, CNRS, Université gold production comes from a handful of mines, namely
Lyon—UJM, Saint Étienne, France Fairview, Sheba, New Consort, Agnes and Princeton mines,
Present Address: all located in the northern portion of the greenstone belt near
J. Marin-Carbonne the contact between the Barberton Greenstone Belt and the
Faculté des géosciences et de l’environnement, Institut des
sciences de la Terre, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Kaap Valley and Stentor plutons (Anhaeusser 1976; Ward
Switzerland 1995, 1999; Dirks et al. 2009) (Fig. 7.1). The fluids

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 171

A. Kröner and A. Hofmann (eds.), The Archaean Geology of the Kaapvaal Craton, Southern Africa,
Regional Geology Reviews, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78652-0_7
172 A. Agangi et al.

responsible for mineralisation are believed to have been zone, separates a northern and a southern terrane of different
low-salinity and H2O-CO2-rich (de Ronde et al. 1992) and, age and geochemical characteristics (Kamo and Davis 1994;
similar to other orogenic gold deposits, Au is interpreted to Kisters et al. 2003; Lowe and Byerly 2007). The Onver-
have been transported as complexes of reduced S such as Au wacht Group consists mostly of komatiite, komatiitic basalt
(HS)−2 and AuHS (Pokrovski et al. 2014). Structural and and basalt, with minor felsic volcanic rocks, and has been
microtextural evidence convincingly points at multiphase dated at circa 3550–3300 Ma in the southern terrane (Kröner
processes of mineralisation (Agangi et al. 2014; Munyai et al. 1996, 2016). North of the Inyoka-Saddleback fault, the
et al. 2011; Dziggel and Kisters 2019). Onverwacht Group is composed of the Weltevreden For-
Some aspects of the genesis of this mineralisation are still mation, which contains mafic-ultramafic volcanic rocks and
controversial, and some of the open questions include the numerous layered ultramafic complexes (Anhaeusser 2001;
origin of H2O-CO2 mineralising fluids and, by inference, the Stiegler et al. 2012). The Fig Tree Group is a largely marine,
origin of Au itself. Possible sources of fluids and Au include northwards deepening succession dominated by turbiditic
supracrustal lithologies (volcanic and sedimentary rocks), greywackes, shales, banded iron formation and cherts (Lowe
felsic intrusions, and the mantle. The mineralisation is 1999; Hofmann 2005). The Moodies Group is a shallow
believed to have occurred between circa 3080 and 3030 Ma, marine to continental succession characterised by
based on rutile and titanite U-Pb ages, but precise timing of coarse-grained clastic sedimentary rocks, mainly sandstones
mineral deposition is also uncertain, given the scarcity of and conglomerates, and only minor shale with a minimum
available data (de Ronde et al. 1992; Dziggel et al. 2010; depositional age of 3219 Ma (SACS 1980; Heubeck et al.
Dirks et al. 2013). 2013, 2016; Drabon et al. 2017). The metamorphic grade of
Several reviews have dealt with gold mineralisation in the the Barberton Greenstone Belt is generally low but increases
Barberton Greenstone Belt and have mostly focussed on the towards the contacts with the surrounding gneiss domes
meso- to mega-scale structural and metamorphic aspects of (Dziggel et al. 2002, 2005; Diener et al. 2005). The structure
various mines (Anhaeusser 1986; Dziggel et al. 2007; of the greenstone belt is rather complex and is dominated by
Pearton and Viljoen 2017; Dziggel and Kisters 2019). Here, steeply plunging synforms separated either by thrust faults or
we review some of the main characteristics of gold deposits narrow anticlines (Lowe et al. 2012).
in the Barberton Greenstone Belt with an emphasis on The tectonic evolution of the Barberton Greenstone Belt
geochemical and microstructural characteristics. We refer to is complex, and the multiple phases of deformation affecting
the mentioned papers for more complete information on the these rocks have been described elsewhere (de Ronde and de
control of structures and deformation on mineralisation. We Wit 1994; Kamo and Davis 1994; Lowe and Byerly 1999; de
distinguish mineralisation hosted in mostly greenschist- Ronde and Kamo 2000; Lana et al. 2010). According to de
facies rocks from mineralisation hosted in amphibolite-facies Ronde and de Wit (1994) and de Ronde and Kamo (2000),
rocks. We then evaluate different models of genetic mech- four main tectono-metamorphic events affected the green-
anisms of mineralisation. stone belt. The first of these events (D1) remains to some
extent enigmatic. D1 occurred between circa 3445 and
3416 Ma and was restricted to Onverwacht Group rocks in
7.2 Geological Setting of the Barberton the southern part of the greenstone belt (de Ronde and de
Greenstone Belt Wit 1994). D1 was coeval with the intrusion of TTGs along
the southern margin of the greenstone belt and with an early
The Palaeoarchaean Barberton Greenstone Belt is situated in phase of low-pressure amphibolite-facies metamorphism,
the eastern part of the Kaapvaal craton, southern Africa with estimated peak conditions of *550 °C and 4.5 kbar
(Fig. 7.1). Its ca. 3550–3220 Ma volcano-sedimentary suc- (Cutts et al. 2014).
cession, which forms the Barberton Supergroup (formerly The 3229–3227 Ma D2 event was responsible for the
Swaziland Supergroup), is preserved in a main regional strain and affected the entire greenstone belt
southwest-northeast-trending belt surrounded by granitoid (de Ronde and Kamo 2000; Schoene et al. 2008). Event D2
rocks belonging to the trondhjemite-tonalite-granodiorite coincided with emplacement of TTG intrusions such as the
(TTG) and granite-granodiorite-syenogranite (GMS) series 3227 Ma Kaap Valley Tonalite, the 3290–3230 Ma Bad-
(Viljoen and Viljoen 1969; Lowe and Byerly 2007; de Wit plaas pluton and the 3236 Ma Nelshoogte pluton (Kamo and
et al. 2019). The supracrustal succession has been subdi- Davis 1994; Kisters et al. 2010; Matsumura 2014). During
vided into three main lithostratigraphic units: the Onver- this event, the rocks of the lowermost units of the Onver-
wacht Group, the Fig Tree Group, and the Moodies Group, wacht Group, the Theespruit and Sandspruit Formations,
in ascending order (SACS 1980). experienced high-pressure amphibolite-facies metamor-
The Inyoka–Saddleback Fault System, a southwest to phism (Dziggel et al. 2002, 2005; Diener et al. 2005; Moyen
northeast-trending structure interpreted by some as a suture et al. 2006). D2 marked the switch from sedimentation of the
7 Mesoarchaean Gold Mineralisation in the Barberton … 173

Fig. 7.1 Geological map of the

Barberton Greenstone Belt and
distribution of the main gold
deposits (modified from de Ronde
et al. 1992). Dashed line indicates
position of Fig. 7.2

3260–3230 Ma Fig Tree Group in a relatively deep marine The later, post-D2 events are less clear as geochronological
environment to the *3225 Ma Moodies Group in a shallow constraints are scarce, and deformation gave rise to reacti-
marine to continental environment (de Ronde and de Wit vation of earlier shear zones. The D3 tectonic event appears to
1994; Kamo and Davis 1994; de Ronde and Kamo 2000; have been related to NW-SE directed compression and
Kisters et al. 2010; Heubeck et al. 2013). The structures orogen-parallel stretching accommodated by strike-slip shear
associated with D2 are truncated by potassic intrusions such zones (de Ronde and de Wit 1994). D3 structural elements
as the 3203 Ma Dalmein pluton in the southern part (Lana thus parallel those of D2 (de Ronde and de Wit 1994). The
et al. 2010), which places constraints on the end of this phase timing of D3 has been constrained at <3126 Ma (de Ronde
of deformation. The tectonic circumstances that gave rise to and Kamo 2000), although much looser time constraints
the D2 event are controversial and directly mirror the con- (circa 3220–3080 Ma) were inferred for this event by other
troversy relating to the nature of Archaean tectonics and the authors (de Ronde and de Wit 1994; Kamo and Davis 1994;
origin of TTG magmas. Some authors interpreted D2 as the Schoene et al. 2008). The D4 tectonic event was characterised
consequence of compression, subduction and accretion of by a switch to transtensional deformation (de Ronde and de
the southern terrane along the Inyoka-Saddleback Fault Wit 1994). Geochronological constraints on this event are few
during northwards-directed subduction (Moyen et al. 2006; and suggest that D4 occurred at around *3080 Ma, based on
Kisters et al. 2010). In this interpretation, the syntectonic U-Pb ages on hydrothermal rutile from Fairview mine (de
granitoids to the north of the greenstone belt represent the Ronde et al. 1991; de Ronde and de Wit 1994).
roots of a volcanic arc. D2 was synchronous with, or Gold mineralisation is interpreted to be associated with
immediately followed by, a period of syn-orogenic extension D3 and/or D4 deformation stages. The age of *3080 Ma
and solid-state doming that eventually resulted in the (de Ronde et al. 1991), estimated on rutile in an altered,
steepening of fabrics during the orogenic collapse of the belt although not mineralised, sample offers a good indication of
(Kisters et al. 2003). Others interpret this deformation as a the timing of hydrothermal alteration at Fairview mine.
result of crustal overturn due to density inversions between However, much younger ages (3027 Ma) have been
buoyant (partially molten) TTG intrusions and cooler, denser obtained from titanite associated with sulphide mineralisa-
greenstones (Anhaeusser 1984; Van Kranendonk et al. tion at New Consort mine (Dziggel et al. 2010), and a
2009). These authors argue that the relatively high-pressure maximum age of *3015 Ma was estimated based on the
conditions and the low temperature/pressure gradients can be zircon age of a felsic dyke interpreted to be syn- minerali-
achieved during sagging of the supracrustal succession. sation at Fairview mine (Dirks et al. 2013).
174 A. Agangi et al.

7.3 Greenschist-Facies Gold Deposits minor chalcopyrite, gersdorffite, galena and Sb-sulphides.
Mineralisation hosted in metamafic–ultramafic rocks at
Gold deposits associated with host rocks at greenschist- Sheba mine is typically dominated by pyrite and also con-
facies grade are the most abundant in the Barberton tains As–Ni-sulphides, chalcopyrite, sphalerite and minor
Greenstone Belt and include the well-studied Sheba and galena (Fig. 7.3d). Gold occurs in a variety of forms, as
Fairview mines. The greenschist-facies deposits all share ‘invisible’ (or refractory) gold in sulphides, as free gold
distinctive alteration characteristics and structural style. grains in quartz-carbonate veins, and as sulphide-hosted
Mineralisation is spatially associated with major D2 com- inclusions of native gold (Cabri et al. 1989; de Ronde et al.
pressional structures (Figs. 7.1 and 7.2), although mineral- 1992).
ising fluids are interpreted to have moved along later, At Sheba and Fairview mines, gold is mostly hosted in
extensional faults that crosscut D2 compressional structures arsenopyrite and pyrite, both as micro-inclusions (Fig. 7.3e)
(de Ronde et al. 1991; Dirks et al. 2009, 2013). and as finely dispersed, sub-microscopic Au (refractory
Gold mineralisation is hosted by different lithologies, gold). The concentrations and distribution of invisible Au
ranging from metamafic–ultramafic rocks of the uppermost and other trace elements in sulphides have been studied by
Onverwacht Group to metasedimentary rocks (greywacke, different methods, including electron microprobe (EPMA),
shale) of the Fig Tree and Moodies Groups. The Fairview secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and proton-
and Sheba mines are located largely south of the Sheba induced X-ray emission (PIXE) (Cabri et al. 1989; Agangi
Fault, although both mines exploit ore bodies on the north- et al. 2014; Altigani et al. 2016). These studies found that Au
ern side of the fault as well. The Sheba Fault has been concentrations are extremely heterogeneous and vary
interpreted as a north-west verging thrust fault that struc- from <300 ppm (the EPMA detection limit in Cabri et al.
turally superposed Fig Tree Group (meta)greywacke and 1989 study) to 4400 ppm Au even in a single arsenopyrite
shale of the Ulundi syncline onto Moodies Group arenites of grain from Sheba mine, and up to 1020 ppm have been
the Eureka syncline (Anhaeusser 1976; Ward 1999; de measured in pyrite at Sheba mine. In the Au versus As
Ronde and Kamo 2000) (Fig. 7.2). Minor metamafic rocks diagram (Fig. 7.4), pyrite compositions from mineralised
of the Onverwacht Group are preserved between the Ulundi samples at Sheba and Fairview mines plot both above and
and Eureka synclines as tight antiformal structures made of below the Au-saturation line of Reich et al. (2005). This is
talc-carbonate schist of the Zwartkoppie Formation1 compatible with the presence of Au in different oxidation
(Schouwstra and De Villiers 1998; Schouwstra 1995). states and crystallographic positions, namely Au+ included
Mineralisation occurs as auriferous quartz-carbonate ± in the crystal lattice and Au0 in gold inclusions. Mapping of
rutile veins with associated semi-massive replacement sul- trace element distributions at the micrometre scale has
phide bodies developing as part of wall-rock alteration highlighted complex intragranular textures that indicate
(Schouwstra 1995). Alteration zones associated with min- multiple phases of growth, resorption and recrystallisation of
eralisation in mafic lithologies include, from distal to prox- sulphide minerals (Fig. 7.5; Cabri et al. 1989; Agangi et al.
imal, talc-carbonate, quartz-carbonate, fuchsite-quartz- 2014, 2015).
carbonate ± sulphides, and fuchsite-quartz-sulphides ± The largely refractory nature of gold (below the zone of
carbonate (Schouwstra 1995). Sericite is present instead of surface oxidation) in these deposits requires the sulphide ore
fuchsite as the K-mica in the neighbouring greywacke and minerals to be oxidised during the process of extraction in
shale. Mineralised fractures in the Sheba–Fairview area order to liberate the gold. In the past, this was achieved by
extend for tens of metres, trending northeast to east- roasting, with consequent production of large amounts of
northeast, and are arranged in hundreds of metre-scale SO2 gas and volatile As oxides, a process that posed a
fracture zones (Dirks et al. 2009). In microtextural obser- considerable environmental hazard. Oxidation is now carried
vations, veins directly associated with mineralisation appear out through biogenic means using sulphide-oxidising bac-
as dilatant, mostly brittle structures, as demonstrated by teria, such as Thiobacillus ferrooxidans (Barberton Mines
euhedral prismatic quartz growing from the walls inwards 2010).
(Agangi et al. 2014) (Fig. 7.3a).
The mineralisation occurs within or around
quartz-carbonate veins that truncate the foliation (Fig. 7.3b, 7.4 Amphibolite-Facies Gold Deposits—The
c). The mineralisation hosted in metapelite and greywacke at New Consort Mine
Fairview mine is dominated by arsenopyrite and pyrite, with
The New Consort mine (Figs. 7.1 and 7.2) represents an
exception in the Barberton Greenstone Belt in being one of
1
The Zwartkoppie Formation is not recognised by SACS and its use is the few gold deposits hosted in amphibolite-facies rocks. It
informal. is located north of Sheba and Fairview mines and occurs in
7 Mesoarchaean Gold Mineralisation in the Barberton … 175

Fig. 7.2 a Map of the Eureka

and Ulundi synclines and location
of gold deposits (modified from
Dirks et al. 2009), b cross
sections of Fairview and Sheba
mines (modified from Barberton
gold mines 2014)

the hanging wall of the contact between greenstone biotite (Dziggel et al. 2007; Otto et al. 2007; Dziggel and
lithologies and the Stentor Pluton. Mineralisation is hosted Kisters 2019). Pressure-temperature estimates for first-phase
by upper greenschist- to upper amphibolite-facies rocks and alteration assemblages in metamafic and intercalated
is associated with the Consort Bar, a mylonitic shear zone metasedimentary rocks are circa 600–700 °C and 6–8 kbar
separating (ultra)mafic rocks and chert of the Onverwacht (Otto et al. 2007).
Group from clastic sedimentary rocks of the Fig Tree Group The second, and main, phase of mineralisation has been
(Otto et al. 2007; Munyai et al. 2011). Mineralisation is attributed to oblique shear zones crosscutting the Consort Bar
found in three bodies, the Seven Shaft Shoot, Isaura Shoot, and was associated with the development of Cr-muscovite-
and Prince Consort Shoot. The style of mineralisation in K-feldspar-plagioclase-quartz or Cr-muscovite-tourmaline-
underground workings includes massive replacement-style plagioclase-rutile as typical alteration assemblages proximal
ore and vein-hosted or disseminated mineralisation (Otto to ore. This second mineralisation event occurred at temper-
et al. 2007). atures ranging from 520 to 600 °C and pressures between 1
Two phases of mineralisation have been identified: the and 3 kbar; the ore assemblages vary from arsenopyrite-
early phase in the footwall, characterised by löellin- pyrrhotite to arsenopyrite-pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite-löellingite
gite-pyrrhotite ore assemblages and a high-temperature with increasing depth and temperature (Dziggel et al. 2006,
alteration calc-silicate assemblage composed of garnet, 2010; Otto et al. 2007). Shearing was accompanied by
clinopyroxene, hornblende, K-feldspar, quartz, calcite and emplacement of pegmatite that has been dated at
176 A. Agangi et al.

Fig. 7.3 Ore microtextures of samples from Sheba and Fairview sphalerite and chalcopyrite in metamafic schist at Sheba mine.
mines. a Quartz-carbonate vein in chert, Fairview mine. Pyrite and e Pyrite-arsenopyrite ore with micro-inclusions of native gold and
arsenopyrite are present in the host rock. Note quartz crystals growing chalcopyrite, Fairview mine. All images transmitted polarised light,
perpendicular to the vein walls, indicating dilatant behaviour of the except for a and c (crossed polarisers in lower half), d (reflected light in
cracks. b, c Carbonate-quartz veins in metagreywacke at Fairview right-hand half) and e (reflected light). Abbreviations: Asp arsenopy-
mine. Arsenopyrite and pyrite are visible in both the vein and the rite, cb carbonate, Ccp chalcopyrite, Ms K-mica, Py pyrite, Qtz quartz,
alteration halo. Foliation is indicated by dashed lines. d Pyrite, Sp sphalerite

3040 ± 84 Ma (Rb–Sr whole-rock; Harris et al. 1995). stark contrast with what has been described earlier, they
Overall, textural relations and thermometric estimates indicate described gold mineralisation associated with low-
a clock-wise P-T path with a near-isobaric decompression to temperature alteration assemblages and brittle deformation
520–600 °C and 1–3 kbar followed by near-isobaric cooling that developed during late-stage extensional tectonics. Thus,
(Dziggel et al. 2006). mineralisation at New Consort mine and surrounding areas is
Munyai et al. (2011) and Dirks et al. (2013) focussed multiphase and may have formed at very different temper-
their observations on gold-associated fractures on surface ature conditions at different times (Dziggel and Kisters
exposure at, and in the vicinity of, New Consort mine. In 2019).
7 Mesoarchaean Gold Mineralisation in the Barberton … 177

processes during S transport and precipitation and associated

redox reactions that can have overlapping effects. However,
recent developments in S isotope studies have revealed that
sulphate and sulphide minerals in the Archaean and early
Palaeoproterozoic bear mass-independently fractionated S
isotopes (MIF-S, indicated by the notation D33S = d33S
−0.515·d34S) (Farquhar et al. 2000; Ono et al. 2003; John-
ston 2011). MIF-S signals are interpreted to be the footprint
of photolytic reactions caused by UV irradiation of S gases
(such as SO2) in an O2-free Archaean atmosphere, which
would produce sulphide with D33S > 0 and sulphate with
D33S < 0. Once produced, MIF-S is very robust and only
slightly affected by most mass-dependent fractionation-
inducing abiogenic and biogenic processes so that it can
be used as a tracer of S processed in the atmosphere.
In situ multiple S isotope analyses of pyrite obtained by
ion microprobe (SIMS) from samples of Fairview and Sheba
mines revealed MIF-S with D33S deviating significantly
towards both positive and negative values (D33S = −0.6 to
+1.0‰) (Agangi et al. 2016). In the D33S versus d34S plot,
Fig. 7.4 Plot of Au versus As content of pyrite and arsenopyrite grains these values match the distribution peak of S compositions
from Fairview and Sheba mines (data from Agangi et al. 2014 and
Cabri et al. 1989). Gold saturation line in arsenian pyrite from Reich of pyrite and whole-rock analyses of the entire
et al. (2005) volcano-sedimentary succession and suggest derivation of S
from the Barberton Supergroup (Fig. 7.6). Given the vari-
ability in D33S, S may have been scavenged from different
7.5 Fluid Inclusion and Mineral Stable rock types and then been transported by hydrothermal fluids
Isotope Compositions responsible for Au mineralisation. More specifically, nega-
tive D33S values have been measured in sulphides from
Fluid inclusion studies from the major deposits indicate volcanic-hosted massive sulphide deposits (VHMS) of the
low-salinity (NaCl eq = 5–6 wt%), H2O-CO2-rich fluids, Bien Venue deposit of the Fig Tree Group and hydrother-
and homogenisation temperatures in the T = 290 to 310 °C mally altered mafic and ultramafic rocks of the Komati
range (de Ronde et al. 1992). As-in-arsenopyrite geother- Formation, Onverwacht Group (Montinaro et al. 2015).
mometry at Fairview mine indicates temperatures These rocks are interpreted to have derived their S isotopic
between <300 and 400 °C (Agangi et al. 2014). These signature from interaction with heated seawater and to have
temperature estimates are in broad agreement with the inherited the typically negative D33S values of Archaean
greenschist-facies alteration assemblages. Based on O, H seawater sulphate (Bao et al. 2007; Montinaro et al. 2015).
and C isotope analyses of mineralisation-related quartz and They are thus possible sources of some S (and Au) for the
carbonate, the ore fluid would have had narrow ranges of sulphides at Sheba and Fairview mines. Positive D33S and
d18O (+4.7 to + 5.8‰), d13C (−4.5 to −2‰) and dD (−35 to d34S values were measured in pyrite from chert, conglom-
−41‰), recalculated based on fluid-mineral equilibria at erate and dolomite from the Onverwacht and Fig Tree
300 °C (de Ronde et al. 1992). Hydrothermal sulphides have Groups, as well as from bulk shales from the Fig Tree Group
slightly positive d34S values (+1.2 to +3.9‰) for pyrite and (Grosch and McLoughlin 2013; Roerdink et al. 2013;
arsenopyrite (Kakegawa and Ohmoto 1999). Overall, the Montinaro et al. 2015). In particular, some shale samples and
fluid inclusion compositions and mineral stable isotope pyrite from barite-free samples show a steep negative
values indicate distinct homogeneity of mineralising fluids at D33S/d34S slope that resembles the distribution of pyrite
the greenstone belt scale. analyses at Sheba-Fairview. Irrespective of the origin of this
Despite the complexity of sulphide textures and trace negative trend, which may result from mixing of different S
element compositions, d34S values are confined to a narrow components or represent a primary photolytic signal (Roer-
range of moderately positive values (de Ronde et al. 1992; dink et al. 2013), the similarity to the values observed for
Kakegawa and Ohmoto 1999) which limits the use of S hydrothermal pyrite at Sheba-Fairview mines implies that
isotopes as tracers of the fluid source. As a further compli- similar rocks may be a good source of S in the Au deposits
cation, d34S values are affected by a complex range of (Fig. 7.6b).
178 A. Agangi et al.

Fig. 7.5 BSE image and

Ni-Co-Pb X-ray maps of pyrite
from Sheba mine. Abbreviations:
Ccp chalcopyrite, Gn galena, Py
pyrite

the lower crust, and the mantle (Hronsky et al. 2012; Fu and
7.6 Discussion and Conclusions Touret 2014).
The hypothesis of a magmatic origin for mineralising
7.6.1 Sources of S, Fluids, and Gold: Internal fluids has been proposed in several cases of Archaean
or External to the Greenstone Belt? structurally-controlled Au deposits, such as in Neoarchaean
Au deposits of Western Australia, based on the presence of
The origin of mineralising fluids and Au in Archaean coeval magmatism (Wang et al. 1993; Doublier et al. 2014),
greenstone belts has proved to be elusive, and the various trace element signature of accessory minerals (Bath et al.
hypotheses proposed reflect the difficulty in the identification 2013), and Pb and noble gas isotope studies (Qiu and
of such sources in structurally-controlled Au deposits, both McNaughton 1999; Kendrick et al. 2011). A causal rela-
in Precambrian and Phanerozoic ages (Hronsky et al. 2012; tionship between plutonism and Au mineralisation in the
Gaboury 2013; Goldfarb and Groves 2015). Possible sources Barberton Greenstone Belt has been proposed mostly based
of sulphur in Archaean orogenic gold deposits include on spatial distribution (Anhaeusser 1976, 1986). In the
supracrustal rocks (Groves et al. 2003; Phillips and Powell Barberton Greenstone Belt, mineralisation post-dates the
2009; Tomkins 2013), hydrothermal systems related to main phase of potassic granite plutonism, which caused
felsic magmatism (Salier et al. 2005; Doublier et al. 2014), the emplacement of extensive batholiths, such as the
7 Mesoarchaean Gold Mineralisation in the Barberton … 179

Fig. 7.6 Comparison of S

isotope analyses of pyrite
associated with gold
mineralisation at Sheba and
Fairview mines, and pyrite and
barite from different units of the
Barberton Greenstone Belt.
a D33S versus d34S plot of pyrite
and barite from different units of
the Barberton Greenstone Belt
(n = 1680) and density
distribution of pyrite data. b D33S
versus d34S plot of pyrite from
Au-mineralised samples from
Sheba and Fairview mines and
some representative rocks of the
Barberton Greenstone Belt.
c Histogram of D33S of pyrite
from Sheba and Fairview mines
compared with Barberton
Greenstone Belt pyrite and barite.
Data from: (1) Philippot et al.
(2012), (2) Montinaro et al.
(2015), (3) Roerdink et al. (2012),
(4) Bao et al. (2007),
(5) Roerdink et al. (2013),
(6) Grosch and McLoughlin
(2013), (7) Agangi et al. (2016)
180 A. Agangi et al.

3160–3090 Ma Mpuluzi Batholith (Kamo and Davis 1994; matched by trace element heterogeneity, which appears as
Murphy 2015) and the circa 3067 Ma Stentor pluton (Kamo growth zones, recrystallisation domains and veinlets, a
and Davis 1994), and was accompanied by emplacement of characteristic also observed in several other orogenic gold
small granitic dykes (porphyries) observed in different gold deposits of Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic age (Morey
mines. However, the role of these dykes in the mineralising et al. 2008; Fougerouse et al. 2016). This evidence is com-
process is not clear. A magmatic source is expected to have patible with a pulsating fluid flow rather than a single large
0 ± 0.2‰ D33S (Farquhar et al. 2000) so that the MIF-S event and suggests that single fluid pulses had a very loca-
measured at Sheba and Fairview mines requires the lised effect in terms of ore deposition. This is similar to what
involvement of atmospherically processed S (Fig. 7.6b). is observed in orogenic gold deposits and typically attributed
A mantle derivation of CO2-bearing mineralising fluids to periodic fluid pressure build-up and earthquake-related
has been proposed in recent models that aimed at linking the release, also known as fault-valve mechanisms (Sibson et al.
presence of various types of gold deposits with the presence 1988).
of ‘‘fertile’ metasomatised lithospheric mantle (Hronsky
et al. 2012; Fu and Touret 2014). This is particularly
applicable in the presence of mafic mantle magmas coeval 7.6.2 Timing of Gold Mineralisation
with mineralisation (de Boorder 2012). However, in the in the Barberton Greenstone Belt
Barberton Greenstone Belt magmas coeval with minerali- and Tectonic Context
sation are felsic, and the marked MIF-S also argues against
such a deep origin of fluids. The age of mineralisation in the Barberton Greenstone Belt
Homogeneity of fluid inclusion salinity and elemental is still rather poorly constrained, namely because of a dearth
compositions (H2O, CO2, CH4), stable isotope compositions of available data (Fig. 7.7). At Fairview and Sheba mines,
of minerals and temperature estimates (in greenschist-facies porphyry dykes crosscutting mineralisation give good esti-
deposits) suggest a homogeneous source of mineralising mates of minimum mineralisation ages. One of these dykes
fluids at the greenstone belt scale. This source has been was dated at 3126 Ma (U-Pb on zircon; de Ronde et al.
identified as external to the Barberton Greenstone Belt (de 1991). A rutile separate extracted from a pre-mineralisation,
Ronde et al. 1992). This homogeneity of major element and altered dyke at Fairview was dated at 3084 Ma (de Ronde
isotope compositions does not imply constant content of et al. 1992), which may be a good estimate for mineralisa-
metals, as indicated by zoning of sulphide minerals tion. However, recent U-Pb zircon dating of two mineralised
(Fig. 7.5). Otto et al. (2007) estimated that mineralisation at dykes at Golden Quarry, near Sheba mine, has been inter-
New Consort mine occurred at peak conditions in the Fig preted to indicate mineralisation at circa 3015 Ma (Dirks
Tree sedimentary rocks forming the hanging wall of the et al. 2013). At New Consort mine, a 3027 ± 7 Ma U-Pb
Consort Bar, whereas the Onverwacht Group rocks had age on titanite (Dziggel et al. 2006) associated with
already experienced metamorphic peak and were on their main-stage mineralisation and a whole-rock Rb-Sr age of
retrograde path. They concluded that, as a consequence, the 3040 ± 84 Ma on a syn-mineralisation dyke (Harris et al.
host rocks are unlikely sources of fluids (also see Dziggel 1995) may indicate that mineralisation was caused by a
and Kisters 2019). protracted or episodic tectonic activity that lasted for several
In apparent contrast, multiple S isotope analyses with tens of million years. The multiphase nature of mineralisa-
non-zero MIF-S values imply an atmospheric source, and tion at New Consort mine seems to support such a conclu-
heterogeneous D33S values suggest that a variety of rocks sion (Dziggel et al. 2007, 2010; Dziggel and Kisters 2019).
with different D33S acted as S sources for mineralising fluids. The tectonic regime in operation in the Kaapvaal craton at
Similar results have been obtained from multiple S isotope the time of Au mineralisation are inferred from a fragmen-
analyses of pyrite and pyrrhotite of various Neoarchaean tary record, and a complete picture has still to emerge. At the
gold deposits of the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia craton scale, mineralisation occurred shortly after the final
(Selvaraja et al. 2017). These authors underlined the consolidation of the Kaapvaal craton and at the beginning of
importance of shales as sources of gold in Archaean struc- an extension phase that led to bimodal volcanism at circa
turally controlled gold deposits. A sedimentary rather than 3074 Ma (Dominion Group, Armstrong et al. 1991) in the
igneous source for Barberton gold would be in agreement central part of the craton and at 2980 Ma to the southeast
with low Au contents of komatiites from the Barberton (Nsuze Group, Hegner et al. 1984).
Supergroup (Hofmann et al. 2017). In the eastern part of the craton, felsic magmatism is
The microscale heterogeneity of D33S values implies that indicated by emplacement of the Sinceni granite in Swazi-
the ore-forming fluid was isotopically heterogeneous, and land at circa 3070 Ma (Maphalala and Kröner 1993).
variable MIF-S values were not completely homogenised A continent-wide felsic magmatic event at circa 3070 Ma is
during hydrothermal fluid flow. The isotopic heterogeneity is indicated by the abundance of detrital zircons of this age in
7 Mesoarchaean Gold Mineralisation in the Barberton … 181

Fig. 7.7 Age constraints on Au

mineralisation in the Barberton
Greenstone Belt

the Witwatersrand and Pongola Supergroups (Kositcin and Barberton Greenstone Belt may have formed as part of this
Krapez 2004; Wilson and Zeh 2019). At the same time in the major crust- and Au-forming event, of which it would rep-
north of the Kaapvaal craton, volcanic rocks and sedimen- resent but a remnant.
tary rocks of the Murchison Greenstone Belt, such as the
Weigel Formation and MacKop conglomerate, were depos- Acknowledgements This research was funded by SIEF (Science and
ited, possibly starting from circa 3090 Ma in what is inter- Industry Endowment Fund), the NRF (National Research Foundation
of South Africa), and the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Integrated
preted as a convergent setting (Poujol et al. 1996). Following Mineral and Energy Resource Analysis (CIMERA). JMC thanks the
this magmatic event, volcanic rocks of the Rubbervale CNRS-INSU Programme National de Planétologie for their support.
Formation in the Murchison Greenstone Belt and Rooiwater We acknowledge Chris Rippon (Barberton Mines (Pty) Limited) for
granitoids were emplaced at circa 2970 Ma. The emplace- providing sample material.
ment of these volcanic rocks is taken as evidence of crust
formation in an arc environment related to the accretion of
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