The origin and hydrothermal mobilization of carbonaceous matter associated with Paleoproterozoic orogenic-type gold deposits of West Africa

• Metamorphosed and hydrothermal carbonaceous matter (CM) identified in gold deposits.
• The isotopic composition of carbon in CM indicates its biogenic origin.
• Hydrothermal CM occurs solely in mineral assemblage with Au-bearing arsenopyrite.
• The Raman spectra show temperatures of CM formation between 280 and 440 °C.
• The temperatures of metamorphic and hydrothermal processes were basically the same.

The chemical and physical properties of carbonaceous matter (CM) were studied in Paleoproterozoic metasediment-hosted, orogenic-type gold deposits in Burkina Faso (the Inata deposit), in Mali (the Syama deposit), and in Ghana (the Obuashi and Bogoso deposits). Two types of CM occur in all the studied deposits: metamorphosed and hydrothermal. Metamorphosed CM prevails in all the deposits. Hydrothermal CM occurs in small veinlets in hydrothermally altered rocks and in quartz veins or forms irregular accumulations parallel or sub-parallel to C-type cleavage within the shear zones. The origin of hydrothermal CM, which occurs in paragenesis with Au-bearing arsenopyrite or pyrite, seems to have been due to supersaturation of hydrothermal fluids with carbon at the deeper or middle crustal levels. The isotopic composition of carbon in bulk CM (−33.1 to −26.2‰, VPDB) indicates its biogenic origin. The isotopic composition of carbon in hydrothermal carbonates ranges from −14.5 to −4.4‰ (VPDB), which suggest mixing of carbon derived from a deep-seated source with carbon derived from an organic source. The interaction of hydrothermal fluids with metamorphosed CM could be one of the causes of the reduction of hydrothermal fluids and formation of the respective mineralization. The optical properties and Raman spectra of the metamorphosed CM particles in the individual studied mineral deposits differ considerably. The temperatures calculated on the basis of the Raman spectra of metamorphosed CM vary between 280 and 440 °C, depending on the thermometer used, and correspond to temperatures of metamorphism of upper sub-grenschist and greenschist facies. The temperatures calculated for hydrothermal CM at the individual deposits, are only slightly lower compared to the metamorphosed CM at the same deposits, which indicates approximately the same temperature of the metamorphic and hydrothermal processes.