The paper considers mineralogical and geochemical features of gold-sulfde mineralization of quartz veins in granites of the Katsbakh complex in the South Sukhtelya gold occurrence (South Urals). The sulfde content of quartz veins varies from 1 to 3 vol. %, rarely reaching 10 vol. %, and the average Au content is 5–10 g/t. Three types of native gold are identifed: 1) in assemblage with Fe oxyhydroxides and in quartz (the fneness of 649–830 ‰), 2) in assemblage with tourmaline (the fneness of 870–888 ‰) and 3) in Fe oxyhydroxides in assemblage with fschesserite and in secondary Cu minerals. The sulfdes include pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite and galena. Pyrite is enriched in Ni, chalcopyrite contains Ag, Sn, and Sb, galena is rich in Se, Ag, Te, Bi, and Sb, and sphalerite has a higher amount of Cd, In, and Hg. The Au content of pyrite, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite is less than 0.1 ppm increasing up to 5 ppm in chalcocite and up to 168 ppm in Fe hydroxides. The ores formed during a gradual temperature decrease in a range from 400 to 200 °C, which corresponds to a sequence of mineral formation: pyrite > chalcopyrite > sphalerite > galena. The oxidation of sulfdes resulted in the formation of the high-fneness native gold in assemblage with fshesserite.

Keywords: native gold, sulfdes, LA-ICP-MS, Aramil-Sukhtelya zone, South Urals.

Funding. This work was supported by state contract of the South Ural Federal Scientifc Center of Mineralogy and Geoecology UB RAS no. 122031600292-6.

Acknowledgements. The authors are sincerely grateful to V.V. Maslennikov for supervision of studies and E.V. Belogub and I.Yu. Melekestseva for editing the manuscript.

Confict of interest. The authors declare that they have no conficts of interest.

Authors contribution. S.I. Bryukhov – conceptualization, research, vizualization, writing the manuscript; D.A. Artemyev and I.A. Blinov – analytical works; N.R. Ayupova – conceptualization, editing the manuscript; A.S. Tseluyko – processing of factual material.

For citation: Bryukhov S.I., Artem’yev D.A., Blinov I.A., Ayupova N.R., Tseluyko A.S. Gold-sulfde mineralization of quartz veins in granites of the South Sukhtelya gold occurrence (South Urals). Mineralogy, 2025, 11(2), 70–87. DOI: 10.35597/2313-545X-2025-11-2-4.

Received 18.04.2025, revised 03.06.2025, accepted 24.06.2025

S.I. Bryukhov, South Urals Federal Research Center of Mineralogy and Geoecology UB RAS, Miass, Chelyabinsk district, Russia; simeon.bryukhov@mineralogy.ru

D.A. Artem’yev, South Urals Federal Research Center of Mineralogy and Geoecology UB RAS, Miass, Chelyabinsk district, Russia;

I.A. Blinov, South Urals Federal Research Center of Mineralogy and Geoecology UB RAS, Miass, Chelyabinsk district, Russia;

N.R. Ayupova, South Urals Federal Research Center of Mineralogy and Geoecology UB RAS, Miass, Chelyabinsk district, Russia;

A.S. Tseluyko,  South Urals Federal Research Center of Mineralogy and Geoecology UB RAS, Miass, Chelyabinsk district, Russia

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