Chemostratigraphy and structural framework for gold mineralization at the Goliath Deposit, Western Wabigoon Subprovince, Ontario

Abstract

The Goliath deposit (32 Mt at 1.09 g/t Au and 3.42 g/t Ag) is one of the larger gold deposits within the western Wabigoon subprovince, 20 km east of Dryden, Ontario. The economic potential of the Goliath deposit makes it important to understand its geological setting to improve exploration models for such significant targets. Felsic volcanic sedimentary rocks (maximum age of ~ 2703 Ma) host the mineralization, were sericitized, and metamorphosed into the muscovite- sericite schist and biotite-muscovite schist. This package is enclosed within a similarly aged turbidite sequence (maximum age of ~2701 Ma). The mineralization consists of base metal sulphides with gold and silver hosted in As-rich pyrite and remobilized along pyrite fractures. The mineralization is likely pre-deformation as the regional compressional D1 deformation and transpressional D2 deformation reoriented the grade shells to be subparallel to the S1 foliation (075°/78°), and higher-grade shells subparallel to the intersection lineation of S1 and S2 fabric (52°/218°), and subparallel to the F1 fold axial plane (28°/81°). The Goliath gold deposit is thus interpreted to have formed in a synvolcanic, pre-orogenic environment.