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Precambrian auriferous quartz-pebble conglomerates in Brazil

Article · January 1991

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 Gisements alluviaux d'or, La Paz, 1-5 juin 1991

IN
PRECAMBRIAN AURIFEROUS QUARTZ-PEBBLE CONGLOMERATES
BRAZIL

WILSON SCARPELLI

Anglo American Corporation do Brasil. Sao Paulo, Brasil

ABSTRACT: Auriferous quartz-pebble conglomerates were identifiedat Jacobina, Moeda

and Goiis Velho, in Brazil, where they occur in intimate association to greenstone belts, and
are related to the later phases of lithological accumulation and tectonic development of the
host gneiss-greenstone terrane. They are pyritiferous and of fluvial origin, although at Moeda
some previous gold accumulation occurred on the pre-sediment pavement. Variation on the
source areas and on thelocal environment of deposition produced alternation ofbarren, unpay
and pay conglomerates.
RESUMEN: Los conglomerados auriferos identificados en Jacobina, Moeda y Goiis Velho,
en Brasil, son Precimbricos y relacionados a greenstones. Ellos fueron depositados en
regimenes fluviales que occurrieron al término de los ciclos de acumulacidn litoldgica y de
tedtonismo que caracterizan los terrenos de gneis y greenstone que los contienen. La
formaci6n de conglomerados, con O sin Oro, fue muy dependiente de variaciones temporales
en las kreas fuentes de los sedimentos y en las condiciones locales de deposici6n
sedimentaria.

INTRODUCTION

Quartz-gebble pyritiferous and auriferous conglornerates occur in shield areas of the

States of Bahia, Minas Gerais and Goiis, in Brazil (Fig. l),and are related to terminal phases
of development of Precambian greenstone belts. Only those of Jacobina, in Bahia, are being
mined.

( JACOBINA ,)

Fig. 1. Location of Jacobina, Moeda and

Goils Velho areas.

261
 MIDDLE PRQTEROZOIC
1 JACOBINA CROUP
++(::( GNEISS - GREENSTONE

Fig. 2. Regional geology of Jacobina. The gneiss-greenstone terrane that contains the Jacobina Group
is partially ovedain at West by Proterozsic sediments. At East it is in contact with a granulitic terrane.
At South and North, the Jacobina Group is folded due to strong compression fiom the Southeast; at
. center it presents a homoclinal dip to East.

JACOBINA, 18

THE JACOBINA GROUP

At Jacobina, the conglomerates occur in the basal section of the Jacobina Group, a 3.5
kilometers thick and 136 leilorneters long sedimentary wedge, deposited on a North-South rift,
developed on a gneiss-greenstone terrane (Fig. 2). The Jacobina Group was deformed by
strong compressive forces from the East-Southeast, what conforrns to the North-Northeast
at itsupper section it contains flows of mafic
fold axes d t h e underlying greenstone belts, and
262
 Gisements alluviaux d'or, La Paz, 1-5 juin 1991

volcanics. Both the compression and the volcanism are attributable to the wanning stages of
development of the gneiss-greenstone environment.

CHERTY IRON FORMATION

%P,"D CONGLOMERATE

: MAFlC DlKES

Fig. 3. Stratigraphic column of the Jacobina Group. Auriferous conglomerates are restricted to the
Serra do C6rrego Formation, at the base of the column. Maficvolcanics appear in the Cruz das Almas
Formation.
At the base of the group, the Serra do q r r e g o Formation, with 260 to 850 meters of
thickness, is made of upwards fining cycles of deposition, with conglomerates passing u@ to
quartzites.Remarkably, there is onlyonenarrow layer of shale. The quartzites and the
conglomerates are very clean and mature, both composed mostly of quartz,with minor heavy
minerals in the conglomerates and occasional sericite in the quartzites. They were deposited
on a braidedstream system, which flowed from theEast to the West,into the rift.
Overlying the Serra do Cbrrego, the Rio
do Ouro Formation, with 2,000 meters of
thickqess, is composed by marine clean quartzites,with about 60 meters of metapelites at the
top. Ripple marksnear the base indicate a transport direction from West, to East.
Above it, the C k z das Almas Formation has more than 800 meters of thickness, and
starts with a basal immature layer of conglomerate, with boulder-size pebbles of the Rio do
OuroFormation.With less than 200 meters of thickness,theformation grades, from
conglomerates to quartzite, to metasiltite, and to manganese and iron rich metapelites. Its
upper section is marked by the presence of mafic volcanic flows, and units of cherty iron
formations.
The group suffered strong compression from the East-Southeast, and was fractured,
faulted and pushed tothe West, assuming at Jacobina a homoclinal position, withdips of 55"
(Serra do C6rrego Formation) to 85" (Cruz das Almas Formation) to East. Mafic dikes filled
the deeper planes of faulting and probably represent the feeder of the mafic flows that occur
in the upperpart of the Cruz das Almas Formation.

THE SERRA DO CORREGO FORMATION

The Serra do C6rrego Formation(Fig. 4) outcrops along 38 kilometers of strike,
thinning out to North and to South. Itapicuru, where the better mineralization occurs, is aty
263.
 Gisements alluviauxd'or, La Paz, 1-5 juin 1991

about the middle of this length, and corresponds to the center of stream deposition in the rift
@ig the sedimentary pilewas being accumulated, the alluvial fan gradually expanded
toti and to the South, with the conglomerates becorning more lenticular, tongue-like
shaped, and spreaded over the fan belt.

RIO DO OURO FORMATION

.. __ ._.. ._...' .
_.... .. .. _
_ ., .
10 - 17om

FOR MAT16 N

Fig. 4. Stratigraphic column of the Serra do C6rrego Formation at Sacobina. The. approximate position
of the main auriferous esnglomerates, presently being mined, is shown. The majority of the lenses of
conglomerates are barren of gsld or of low grade.

There is a large variety of quartz-pebble conglomerates at Jacobina, the variables

being the pebble size, from gritty to bouldery, the pebble color, fiom the dominant white to
the rare yellow and reddishm,the matriw, from pure quartz sand %O heavy-rniner,als-rich9 or
pyritiferous. Usually the pebbles are well packed and well to very well rounded and sorted.
As avidenees of the fluvial regimen, there are chanael scouring and fililing reworkings,
ehannel planar to through cross beds, upwards pointing pebbles etc.
Striking features of the Serra do Cbrrego Formation, besides the abundance of
congliomerates, which at Itapicuru constitutes more than 10% of the column, are the near
absence of pelites and the scarcity of silicates, making the unit almost monomineralic, with
quartz. This indicates a very mature source area, and an energetic fluvial regimen of
deposition. Another important feature is the alternance of barren and mineralized
conglomerate layers, with the dominance of the former. This indicates changes of source
areas, changes of flow paths, andlor small size of the primary auriferous source deposits.
The formation initiates with theBasal Conglomeratic Zone, followed by the
Intermediate Quartzite, the Upper Conglomeratic one and the Upper Quartzite. As the layers
strike North-South and the pales-channels are oriented East-to-West, the strike ILength of the
individual conglomerate layers actually represents their width, rneasured across the Valley
bottom. 264
 Gisements alluviaux d'or, La Paz, 1-5 juin 1991

CANAVIEIRAS

Fig. 5. Two views of the auriferous area of Itapicuru. At right a geological map of the Jacobina Group,
and at left a map of the Serra do Cdrrego Formation. The units are heavily displacedby faults, with
mafic dikes occupying fault planes. Itapicuru is sited at about the middleof the 35 km long Serra de
C6rrego Formation, and is the area where mineralization is stronger. It is also the only point where
there is mineralization at the baseof the group.

ZONE, THE INTERMEDIATE QUARTZITE

THE BASAL CONGLOMEMTIC
The basal Conglomeratic Zone has up to 270 meters of thickness and extends for 26
kilometers, presenting several cyclesof conglomerate-quartzite deposition. Their lower cycles
extend for only 1.6 kilometers, and constitute a 25 meters thick section of coarse to very
coarse pebble conglomerate layers, deposited under strong torrential conditions, representing
the initial infilling of the depository. The Basal Reef is the only economical conglomerate of
this section, with 4.5 g/t Au, a thickness of 4 meters and a strike length of 300 meters. This
basal section is covered by an up to 100 meters thick quartzite, which is centered at about
Itapicuru and extends over about 4.5 kilometers.
265
 meters, md just
tapelite, the only

do COnt3@
ers, which split it into a lowerF,an intemediate
and a upper unit. There are economical conglomerates in the %owermd in the intemediate
units, but none in the upper. The naineralized conglomerates of this zone are tongue-l&e
shaped, and eonfoms to braided stream valleys atsp the alluvial fan.
The lswer unit presen the important Joao Belo deposit,actudlly constituted of ehnree
distinct and superposed mineralized conglomerate layers,with a mineable grade of 2,8 g/t Au
over a eombined thicknessof 6 to 10 meters, and a strike length of 700 meters. The Joao Belo
Jeposit is being mined open-cast and underground.
Other deposits in this unit are the Mono do Vento (Fig. 7) and C u - C u reefs, with 1
meters of thickness and grades of 4 to 6 g/t Au, and the GS/SCO Pig. 8)$ where the
upper 6.5 meter of a thick conglomerate presenb local enrichments, due to winnowing of
sand and trapping of gold.
266
 Gisements alluviaux d'or, La Paz, 1-5 juin 1991

W E
\ UPPER
\ CONGLOMERATIC
INTERMEDIATE
QUARZll
\
\ .,&y.\;-;
..v

SCHIST
a GNEISS

Fig. 7.Geological cross-section of the Moro deVento hill, East of Itapicuru. The locationof the Basal
Reef, the Main Reef Zone, and of the Morro do Vento Reef in the Upper Conglomeratic Zone are
shown. These layers have their maximum extension on the dip, as they were deposited by Stream
currents which flowed from the East (right) to the West (left).

HlGH G R A D E Z

0 HIGH-GRADE CONGLOMERATE
9''Auin a LOW GRADE CONGLOMERATE
QUARTZITE

JACOBIA G.5 R E E F

Fig. 8. Partial longitudinal section of the G:S/SCO conglomerate layer, on the Upper Conglomeratic
Zone. Channel samples and assay results in g/t Au show strong top concentration of gold, by fluvial
reworking, below a quartzite layer with marked through cross-bedding.
267
 Gisements alluviaux d'or, La Paz, 1-5juin 1 9 9 1

The Caraça Group, at the baseof the Proterozoic, is made by a sequence of quartzites
(the Moeda Formation) at base, capped by metapelites (the Batatal Formation), below the
itabirites which make the Cauê Formation. In several places there are layers
of conglomerates
at and near the base of the Moeda Formation. Most often, the conglomeratesoccur in pale02
valleys, and appear as superposed conglomerate-quartzite fining upwards cycles. They were
obviously deposited by fluvial systems dischargingon the rifts.
The conglomerates rnay reach thicknesses of a few meters, are mostly madeof round
quartz-pebbles, ofsmalltomediumsizes,rarelybouldery,with a sandy matrix and some
sericite. Pyrite is comrnon, as round nodules or euhedral grains. Usually pebble supported,
they may gradeinto pyritic pebbly or gritty quartzifes.
Thebetter goldconcentration known occurs in theGandarelaSyncline,which is
located in the middle of the greenstone area, and appears with an intimate association of
uranium and gold. The better grades are usually restrictedto the very zone of contact with the
footwall greenstone, as, in most of 20 centimeters of sediments, be it mature or immature
10). In some areas, gold accumulations are not restricted
conglomerate, or even quartzite (Fig.
to paleo-Valley bottoms and are seen on paleo-slopes, at the very surface of contact between
footwall schists and hanging-Wall quartzites or conglomerates (Fig.11).

SAND
- 100 rn

rnROUND QUARTZ-PEBBLES EICLASTS OF SCHISTS

GOLD DISTRIBUTION

Fig. 10. Deposition of conglomerates and sandy layers on paleo-valleys on the Gandarela Syncline.
Conglomerates at the bottom of the valleys might be polymitic. Gold concentrationsare represented
by inflections to the right of the vertical lines. .Gold values are restricted mostly to the basal contact,
rarely appearing in the overlying conglomerate-quartzite cycles.

RESIDUAL ( 3 0 L D . BARREN
PALEO-PAVEMENT
QUARTZITE
ON

AURIFEROUS
R A l NW A S H

QREENSTONE
S C H 1ST3

2m
I I

Fig. 11. At the Gandarela Syncline, residual gold on the paleo-pavement, some of which preserved
under barren quartzites. Rainwash caused short auriferous gritty layers entering the Valley.
269
 a CVNGLOMERBTE, + 1 g / t A u

CONGLOMERATE ,-1 g/t Au

~ C L E A NQUARTZITE 200 m
SERICITE Q U A R T Z l l E t.

Fig. 12. Composecl longitudinal seetion of the auriferous andomerates of @si&Velho. Drill holes
.
The Iayers with t1 glt have less thm 300 meters of width and one meter of
thichess. 270
 Gisements alluviaux d'or, La Paz, 1-5juin 1991

1 0 0 rn
I I

M A F I C D1lKE
OUARTZITE
CONGLOMERATE UNIT
CHLORITE - BIOTITE SCHIST
T A L CS 2 H I S T
CH D R I L L HOLE C O L L A R
3.'.2/4= GOLC C O N T E N T IN P P M / C E N T I M E T E R S

Fig. 13. Map, at left, and cross section, at right, of Goids Velho. The mineralized conglomerates are
quitescarce. A diabasedikepresentsgoldfollowingasilicifiedfracture.Thestructure is of an
overturned syncline, and the greenstone rocks are s h o w at right.

In the conglomerates, there are dark carbonaceous clasts enriched in pyrite, gold and
uranium, and there are suggestions that they represent concentrations
of organisms. Unbroken
material-of similar nature,formingcentimeter-sizewellpreservedorganic-like structures
were seen in the quartzites.

SUMMARY

Summarizing, the main observations emphasize:

- The close relationship of the conglomerate-quartzite suite with greenstonebelts.
- The actual presence of greenstone rocks in the source area of the better mineralized
conglomerates.
271
 The presence of pyrite as a common constituent.
- The maturity of the source area, ewpressed by the sarcity of grains of silicates and the
thichess of the quartzites.
- The hi@ energy of the systemof deposition, washing out the daysus materials.
- Possible previous sudicial accumulation of Id, by weathering or by srganic
processes.

'Ibis text incorporates data collected by several geologists that worked during the
yearsin behdf of UnigeoGeologia e ineragao and Sacobina inerapo e ComGrcio,
amd Geiis Velho. Specid a are presented to
olinari, regarding Jacobina, uerque and %os6
, and Vitbrio Takai, re conglomerates.
dgments are also presented to Joao Pereira, who carefully pregared the illustrations

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conglomerados de seixss de quartzo ern Jacobina. Jac. Min. Corn. int. rept., 28 p.
J.D., 1958. Uranium-bearing auriferous reefs at Sacobina, Brazil. Ec. Geol., V. 53:
417425.
Co%D.P., 1967. Regional environment of the Jacobina auriferous conglomerate. Ec. Geol., V.
62: 773-780.
LEOG.W., Cox D.P., CARVALHO
J.P.P., 1964. Geologia da parte su1 da serra de Jacobina.
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NIER W.E.L.? 1975. Sedimentol al aspects of lthe Serra do Cdrrego Fm. with reference
to the maln unit at Cuzcuz a orro do Vents near Jacobina. Unigeo int. rept.
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Formation within the Gandarela Syncline. Ec. Geol., V. 85: 943-951.
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~ I GAMAH.B., S C H ~ M I . P1986.
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272
 Gisements alluviaux d'or, La Paz, 1-5 juin 1991

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W.,1988. Gold mineralization in Moedaconglomerates. Unigeo int. reports.
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273

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