The Cipoeiro orogenic gold deposit, located in the Gurupi Belt, Maranhão State, Brazil, is hosted by tonalite of the Tromaí Intrusive Suite (2148 Ma), and shows the higher concentration of gold known to date (61.9 t Au). In order to contribute to the knowledge of the metallogeny of this deposit, this work looked for: to define the composition and temporal sequence of the hydrothermal mineralogy and/or types of hydrothermal alteration; to investigate the chemical composition of the ore; to identify potential sources of Pb and Nd in the mineralization; and to estimate the age of the mineralizing event. The studies have shown that the tonalite is strongly altered and locally deformed, which caused the obliteration of the primary mineralogy and textures. The hydrothermal alteration has distal and proximal variation and occurs in the pervasive and fissural/venular forms. The distal alteration is pervasive and comprises chlorite and sericite. The proximal alteration is pervasive and fissural/venular and is composed of quartz, chlorite, sericite, calcite, pyrite and subordinate amounts of chalcopyrite, sphalerite and galena, in addition to the gold mineralization and a set of tellurides. The gold occurs in three forms: (1) particles included in pyrite, (2) precipitated in pyrite fractures, and (3) free-milling, in quartz veins. The telluride mineralogy comprises petzite (Ag-Au), hessite (Au) and sylvanite (Au-Ag), and subordinate coloradoite (Hg), kochkarite (Pb-Bi) and volynskite (Ag-Bi). The mineralization are compatible with the greenschist facies conditions. The chlorite-pyrite-sphalerite equilibrium along with the telluride composition allowed the estimation of log fO2 in the range of -29.6 to -33.2, and log fS2 ranging from -9.6 to -10.6, indicating relatively reduced fluid conditions. This values, along with available physico-chemical data, suggest gold transportation as a reduced sulfur complex. Isotopic studies, Pb in pyrite and Nd in calcite, allowed considering that the source of the fluid is likely a mixture of different regional sources, caused by the fluid-rock interaction during the ascent of the fluid through structures to the site of ore deposition. The age of mineralization could not be defined unequivocally, but the Pb and Nd isotopes indicate the Paleoproterozoic as the most probable age of the mineralization.
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