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ARTICLE
Abstract The Pongkor gold-silver epithermal deposit work of banded quartz and former carbonate trans-
with reserves of at least 98 tonnes of gold and formed into manganese oxides through supergene al-
1026 tonnes of silver, average grades 16.4 g/t Au and teration (MOQ facies), (3) banded opaline milky quartz
171.2 g/t Ag is one of the most recent and largest gold (BOQ facies), and (4) grey, locally banded, sul®de-rich
and silver discoveries in Indonesia, proven within a quartz breccia cutting all the other types (GSQ facies).
short period (1988±1991). 40Ar/39Ar dating on adularia Adularia was deposited at the same time as the quartz.
samples give an age of 2.05 0.05 Ma. The deposit is The mineralogy and internal structures of the veins
of the low-sul®dation epithermal type and consists of (crustiform banding, vugs, collapse breccia) clearly in-
four main mineralized quartz veins located close to the dicate a dilational context, which is common in low-
internal rim of a volcano-tectonic depression (caldera). sul®dation epithermal systems. Gold and silver grades,
This resulted from an explosive ignimbritic eruption as well as sul®de mineral abundances, increase steadily
that produced pyroclastic ¯ows and accretionary lapilli through stages 1 to 4, locally reaching 1 kg/t in the
with rare intercalations of epiclastic rocks. This volca- GSQ facies. The sul®des are dominated by pyrite, ac-
nic unit unconformably overlies Miocene subaqueous companied by common acanthite-aguilarite, polybasite-
volcanic andesitic rocks with interbedded epiclastic pearceite and electrum in which the gold content ranges
rocks. The mineralized bodies are thick (average from 48 to 74 wt.%. Sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite
4.2 m), steeply dipping, quartz-carbonate-adularia veins and hessite are fairly rare, although present within the
with a very low sul®de content (<0.5 wt.%). Their CQ facies. The ¯uid inclusions of the four facies show
genesis is related to an extensional episode within a homogenization temperatures ranging from 150 to
tectonic corridor showing NW-SE and NNE-SSW 382 °C, indicating boiling of a hydrothermal ¯uid with
conjugate strike-slip faults, the major vein being lo- an initial temperature of around 205 °C; no marked
cated on the inner rim of the caldera. The vein ®ll dierence is seen in the GSQ facies, which has the
reveals four successive stages of deposition marked by highest gold content. Salinities are low, generally below
a speci®c facies: (1) carbonate-quartz breccia with 1 wt.% eq. NaCl. Lead isotope compositions of the
dominant quartz and calcite and minor kutnahorite, associated volcanic rocks and the mineralization are
rhodochrosite, and rhodonite (CQ facies), (2) a net- very similar, 206Pb/204Pb between 18.706 and 18.814 and
between 18.744 and 18.801 respectively, demonstrating
a genetic link between the Pliocene volcanism and the
Editorial handling: J. Hedenquist auriferous hydrothermal activity. The isotopic signa-
ture suggests that the source of the mineralization and
J.P. MileÂsi (&) á E. Marcoux1 á L. Bailly
BRGM, 3, avenue Claude Guillemin BP 6009, associated volcanic rocks is an underlying ancient
45060 OrleÂans cedex 2, France continental crust that melted and remobilized during
T. Sitorus á M. Simandjuntak the Pliocene volcanic and hydrothermal events. These
P.T. Aneka Tambang (Persero), Unit Geologi, conclusions seem applicable to the entire Bayah Dome.
Jl Pemuda n°1, Jakarta 13210, Indonesia The existence of both a tectonic corridor and a caldera
J. Leroy favoured channelling of the hydrothermal ¯uids and
UHP Nancy 1, LESH, BP 239, the deposition of primary ore in the veins. Late intense
54506 Vandoeuvre-leÁs-Nancy cedex, France weathering of the ore deposit, to depths of 250 m be-
Present address: low the surface, has given rise to manganese oxide
1
FR 09-UMR 6530-CNRS, Universite d'OrleÂans-ESEM, layers, limonite zones, and silver micronuggets within
8 rue LeÂonard de Vinci, 45072 ORLEÂANS Cedex 2, France the veins, as well as to gold enrichment.
132
Supergene weathering
Introduction
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
XXXX
surface
Pongkor, 80 km southwest of Jakarta, is the largest vein
gold deposit in Java with reserves of 98 t of gold and
?
1026 t of silver (Aneka Tambang 1996, new calculation).
absent
L 500
XXX
It is also one the most recent and most important gold
XX
XX
XX
and silver discoveries in Indonesia. Like the major de-
posits of Grasberg (Irian Jaya), Kelian (Kalimantan),
Lerokis (Wetar) and many others, its discovery arose
facies
GSQ
XX?
XX
XX
from the gold rush that has been going on in Indonesia
?
since 1984 (Van Leeuwen 1994; Carlile and Mitchell
1994; Fig. 1), making Indonesia currently one of the
facies
XXX
BOQ
major gold producing countries of the world with an
XX?
X
X
X
ocial gold production of 75 t for 1995 (®gure from
MOQ
facies
XXX
XXX
XX
XX
quartz-adularia-calcite veins that are rich in manganese
X
oxides and limonite and very poor in sul®des, although
with high concentrations in gold and silver (average
Table 1 Estimation of reserves by vein (after Aneka Tambang). xxxx: very abundant, xxx: abundant, xx: high, x: present
facies
XXX
grades of the ore deposit are 16.4 g/t and 171.2 g/t re-
XX
XX
CQ
no
X
spectively) (Table 1). They appear to belong to the ad-
ularia-sericite epithermal (or low-sul®dation) type as
content
154.43
313.18
534.63
1026.41
20.30
3.87
de®ned in literature (see Hayba et al. 1985; Heald et al.
Ag
1987; White and Hedenquist 1995). Publications con-
t
cerning this major deposit have so far only presented
content
10.60
30.10
55.87
1.40
0.47
98.44
Au
136,930
631,097
38,881
2,013,772
3,834,491
6,666,171
reserves
Ore
172.43
271.68
110.41
172.80
154.92
171.22
grade
Ag
g/t
thickness grade
11.80
18.66
13.48
16.61
16.19
16.42
g/t
Average Au
m
m
m
m
7.84 m
4.32
3.45
1.62
4.11
75±85°W 950 m
70±85°W 1050 m
740 m
1350 m
1500 m
Length
70°W
75°E
70°E
Dip
N155°E,
N177°E
N140°E
N160°E
N155°E
N05°E
Strike
Kubang Cicau
Ciguha Timur
Pasir Jawa
preliminary scienti®c data (Basuki et al. 1994; Marcoux Pongkor deposit, the second type includes the very similar veins of
and MileÂsi 1994; Marcoux et al. 1996). The present study both the Ciawitali district 20 km southwest of Pongkor (Felenc
et al. 1991) and the Cibugis district 15 km north of Pongkor, and
provides additional information, especially concerning also probably the recently discovered Cibalium mineralization at
the geological, geochemical and mineralogical aspects of the southwestern end of the Bayah Dome (Fig. 1).
the deposit and its setting.
Geologic setting of Pongkor
helipad section where this subunit overlies the lower unit ridge of ¯ows of similar facies to the LBT of the main ignimbrite subunit,
the caldera rampart, dipping gently southward in the south and and re¯ects subaerial deposition with marked reworking (broken
northward in the north); it consists of intercalated accretionary accretionary lapilli at Pasir Jawa) and undulations characteristic of
lapilli tu, ®ne-grained tu, crystal tu and, in places, pyroclastic aerial fall (dip <15°, increasing where the blocks are tilted). The
135
b
Plate 1 Geological setting: volcanic and vein structures. 1a View of
Pongkor mine toward NNE. Mine plant is in the middle upper part of
the photograph; 1b jig-saw breccia within andesitic lava of lower
andesitic unit (helipad site); 1c epiclastic formation interbedded within
andesitic volcanics of the lower andesitic unit (tunnel, level 500); 1d
accretionary lapilli tu (basal subunit of the middle volcanic unit,
Pasir Jawa open-pit); 1e lapilli-and-block tu (``LBT'', main
ignimbrite subunit of the middle volcanic unit), cross-cut by quartz-
carbonate veinlets, indicators of the beginning of vein opening (tunnel,
level 500); 1f typical lapilli-and-block tu (``LBT'', main ignimbrite
subunit of the middle volcanic unit; tunnel, level 500, 340 m); 1g ®ne
grained pyroclastic fall tus and epiclastic rocks (topmost subunit of
the middle volcanic unit; north of Pongkor mine); 1h stockwork of
quartz-calcite veinlets (beginning of CQ facies; Kubang Cicau vein,
level 500). Connection with hydraulic breccia is visible on the left side
of photograph
because the upper pyroclastic fall tu at Cimanganten, from 670 m Fig. 4 Section through the caldera and lithostratigraphic section of
to 700 m altitude, is strongly kaolinized. This could represent either the Pongkor area (see caption on Fig. 3)
the top of the Pongkor hydrothermal system or a late overprint.
The upper unit overlies the middle unit to the north and the east
of the mine, and is formed mainly of prismatic andesite ¯ows as- vein opening, and is the most important of the min-
sociated with conjugate feeder dikes striking N30°W and N60°E eralized veins.
(tailings dam). This unit shows no hydrothermal alteration, which 4. The Cikoret vein, outside the corridor, which is the
suggests a post-vein emplacement. Like the mineralized veins, it is
aected by NNE-SSW dextral strike-slip faults. continuation of a NW-SE fault system passing
Moving away from the Pongkor caldera to the north and west through Ciurug; it cuts ignimbrites of the outer edge of
of the mine (Fig. 3), the volcanic rocks of the lower unit grade into the caldera and shows only two stages of vein opening.
volcanoclastic and epiclastic rocks (mud ¯ows, reworked tu, fall
tu and epiclastic siltstone) that dip gently north (<15°) and The main Pongkor veins have opposing dips (Pasir Jawa
contain abundant vegetal debris: micropaleontological studies have and Ciguha to the southwest, Kubang Cicau and Ciurug
revealed spores (Pteridophytes) and pollen (Araucariaceae and to the northeast) forming a dihedral angle that suggests
Palmae) of Tertiary to Quaternary age (Plate 1 photo 1 g). This
lower sedimentary succession is folded (E-W folds with subhori- the existence of a collapse structure.
zontal axes) and unconformably overlain by acidic volcanoclastic The geometry of the Pongkor and Cikoret vein net-
rocks (reworked pyroclastic, pumice-¯ow and fall deposits) and works and the structural studies carried out in the mine
epiclastic rocks that are the lateral equivalent of the Pongkor have shown that the mineralized veins are tension gashes
middle unit.
The Pongkor area has been subjected to an equatorial humid
in normal faults initiated by strike-slip movement along
climate for the last two million years, with a particularly intense a conjugate fault system (dextral NW-SE- and sinistral
rate of erosion leaving only a truncated laterite pro®le with a few NNE-SSW-striking faults) that developed during NNE-
vestiges of lateritic hardpan, such as that located at 720 m altitude SSW compression, suggesting a plate-collision regime
at the southern end of the Kubang Cicau vein (Fig. 3). The oxi- beneath the island of Java. The openings were pulse-like
dation front in the country rock is much less developed than in the
veins. The latter show extensive lateritic alteration over at least and multistage.
250 m vertical extension, which has had the eect of partially ox- The NW-SE- and NNE-SSW-striking faults under-
idizing mixed carbonates and sul®des, with the formation of went complex reactivation after formation of the min-
abundant Mn oxides (wad) and Fe oxides (limonite); pockets of eralized veins (normal, NE-SW-striking reverse, and
massive wad with reworked fragments of quartz and country rock
are common in the upper parts of the veins. In the mine, it can be strike-slip faults). The last stage of tectonic readjustment
seen that the oxidation front, marked by deeply oxidized zones, was marked by the appearance of normal faults with
passes abruptly to fresh rock with intact sul®des. various strikes, indicating an almost isotropic southerly
extension. Certain faults (dextral NNE-SSW) cut the
youngest andesitic lava of the upper unit.
The mineralization
b
Plate 2 Vein structures, mineralized facies and mineralogy. 2a CQ
facies: hydraulic breccia with matrix of quartz-carbonates (footwall of
Kubang Cicau vein; tunnel, level 500); 2b MOQ facies: banded quartz
and manganese-oxides (ex-rhodonite) (Ciguha vein; tunnel, level 500,
465 m); 2c MOQ facies: highly weathered zone of Ciguha vein
showing abundant manganese-oxide (Ciguha vein, level 550); 2d BOQ
facies: typical texture showing alternating bands of milky quartz and
adularia, with some coatings of manganese-oxide (Kubang Cicau
vein, stope 4, Level 515); 2e GSQ facies: grey quartz with abundant
sul®des, showing white fragments of earlier quartz facies (Kubang
Cicau vein, level 500); 2f concentrated ore from GSQ samples: pyrite
(white yellowish) with large electrum patches (brilliant white yellowish)
(Ciguha vein, level 550 ). Width of the ®eld: 0.54 mm (SP 53561); 2g
concentrated ore from GSQ samples from the sur®cial weathered zone
of Kubang Cicau vein, showing pyrite (white yellowish) and goethite
(grey). In the middle of the ®eld, note the evolution of an electrum
patch hosted by an ancient pyrite crystal now altered to goethite: gold
is selectively dissolved and escapes from the goethite (yellow
dendrites), while silver remains inside the goethite crystal (Kubang
Cicau vein, open-pit). Width of the ®eld: 0.27 mm (SP 53562); 2h
concentrated ore from GSQ samples from the sur®cial weathered zone
of Kubang Cicau vein, showing pyrite (white yellowish), goethite
(grey) and nugget of native silver (white rounded grain). This represents
the last stage of electrum evolution under sur®cial weathering
conditions: gold is totally released and transported as a complex
deep into the ore veins while silver remains at the surface. Width of the
®eld: 0.68 mm (SP 53562)
Pasir Jawa
and contains all four vein-facies, MOQ being dominant
and showing pockets of supergene MnO from surface to
Pasir Jawa is the northernmost and smallest of the
mine level. At the surface, the vein is marked by quartz-
Pongkor veins (1.4 t of gold and 20.3 t of silver). The
ose exposures that are several metres thick and comprise
vein is 4±5 m thick on average, bulging to more than
zones of banded quartz with very vuggy regular or con-
10 m in stope II. It is strongly argillized and mainly ®lled
torted bands alternating with manganiferous bands that
by CQ and dominant MOQ facies (Table 1), highly
locally form pulverulent pockets (MOQ facies).
weathered at the surface with metre-thick Mn-oxide
At depth (200 m below the surface) the vein shows a
pockets, pink montmorillonite and smectite.
mineral zoning with a gold-rich zone of GSQ and MOQ
A late grey, limonite- and hematite-rich quartz
facies in the north, grading southward into a zone of CQ
(probable GSQ facies) cuts the earlier facies and makes
and MOQ facies. The gold grades diminish as one ad-
up the rich parts of the vein. The vein shows lateral
vances into the CQ zone. Early lenticular veins of
zoning with quartz in the northern part, grading
quartz-calcite kutnahorite (beginning of CQ facies)
southward to a gold-rich zone with MOQ and GSQ
are preserved in the andesitic or tuaceous footwall at
facies, and then to a gold-poorer CQ zone. The ore
the vein edges. The ore shoots everywhere pitch steeply
shoot shows a strong pitch to the south (Fig. 6).
to the northwest (Fig. 6).
Ciguha
Kubang Cicau
The Ciguha vein, which contains 11.1 t of gold and
158.3 t of silver when the main connected satellite vein of The Kubang Cicau vein, with 30.1 t of gold and 313.2 t
Ciguha Timur is included, is very thick (as much as 4 m) of silver, shows a similar facies assemblage and mineral
140
zoning as the Ciguha vein, with the BOQ facies be- this facies represents an impermeable upper level frag-
coming dominant. The pitch of the ore shoots is very mented and then invaded by epithermal ¯uids, very
steep to the south, and therefore parallel to the miner- likely related to the formation of the Pongkor veins. It
alogical zoning of the vein (Fig. 6). The southern ex- has a low gold content (<3 ppm).
tension of the Kubang Cicau vein shows an Age determinations (40Ar/39Ar) were carried out by
anastomosing calcitic stockwork bounded by a rim of URA 10 (Universite Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand)
chlorite and disseminated sul®des. At the Kubang-Cicau on six adularia samples from the banded quartz-adularia
open-pit, free silver micronuggets associated with the of the BOQ facies in the Ciguha and Ciurug veins (see
GSQ facies are commonly visible as 0.2 to 0.8 mm spots Plate 2, photo 2d). Two of the samples yielded identical
in limonite-lined cavities; limonitized samples of this plateau ages (2.06 0.05 Ma [1r] and 2.05 0.05 Ma
same facies from the Kubang Cicau outcrop attain [1r]) consistent with the respective isochron ages
1200 g/t Au and 1.2% Ag. (1.92 0.05 Ma[1r] and 2.26 0.05 Ma[1r]). The
same two samples also yielded X-ray diagrams of a to-
tally disordered adularia showing the structure of the
Ciurug high sanidine end-member; such structures originate by
rapid nucleation and after a sudden drop in ¯uid pres-
The Ciurug vein is the most important of the district sure at low temperature (Ferguson et al. 1991). An av-
(55.9 t of gold and 534.6 t of silver), being more than erage age of 2.05 0.05 Ma has therefore been taken
1500 m long and extending to more than 300 m depth, for Pongkor. The other four adularia samples contained
as shown by drilling. Its lateral mineral zoning is similar traces of quartz, carbonates or illites and yielded ages
to that of the other veins (Fig. 6); the massive white ranging from 0.5 Ma to 35 Ma, thus indicating con-
calcite attains several metres in places (north zone of the tamination from atmospheric argon and dierent, more
vein). At the surface the vein is only exposed over 500 m, ordered, crystal structures; the analysis of such a sample
with a maximum thickness of 7 m (although in depth it was almost certainly the cause for the K/Ar age of
locally reaches 24 m) and the weathered zone is much 8.5 Ma initially proposed by Marcoux and MileÂsi (1994)
more restricted than in other veins. for an insuciently puri®ed adularia concentrate. The
Pongkor deposit is therefore subcontemporaneous with
the other gold deposits of the Bayah Dome: Cirotan
Hydrothermal alteration and dating (1.7 Ma), Cippangleseran (2.1 Ma) and Ciawitali
(1.5 Ma) (Marcoux and MileÂsi 1994).
Hydrothermal alteration in the Pongkor sector is largely
obliterated by supergene processes that have developed
an intense argillization (assemblage of dioctahedral Mineralogy
smectite, metahalloysite and kaolinite) which continues
in depth to at least L 500 (81% metahalloysite or The gangue comprises quartz-carbonates with abundant
kaolinite and 16% smectite/illite). Where hydrother- adularia and illite.
mal alteration is seen, however, it is generally repre- The quartz is of varied colours (from pure white to
sented by a penetrative silici®cation, extending up to cream and grey) that mainly re¯ect its grain size. The
10 m from the veins, and a potassic alteration (pre- size of the opaline quartz grains is between 5 and 10 lm.
dominantly illite) of the country rock superposed on a X-ray analysis detected neither opal nor chalcedony, and
propylitic alteration (chlorite, epidote, carbonate and no evidence has been found for an amorphous precursor
quartz). The potassic alteration is characterized by the of the quartz; this is supported by the abundance of ¯uid
presence of rare ®ne illite within ignimbrites. inclusions in Pongkor quartz.
Very locally (southern part of Kubang Cicau) a 3± Calcite is the most widespread carbonate in the four
20 cm thick alteration rim with albite-adularia and veins. An early white calcite precedes a second genera-
clinochlore is associated with veins and veinlets repre- tion of white, brown or honey-coloured calcite that is
senting the start of CQ facies and vein opening; the vein more massive (spathic) and more coarsely crystalline.
walls are generally sharp with no lateral zoning of the Microprobe analysis shows the composition of the cal-
alteration. Argillization (illite-smectite) and pyritization cites to have evolved during the course of deposition, the
locally accompanied the initial opening phase and form early white calcite containing high MnO (up to
a halo to some carbonate veins (Kubang Cicau, L500); 14.3% MnCO3) compared to the later honey-coloured
this phenomenon, however, appears to be very local. calcite which is more pure (maximum 4.2% MnCO3,
At Gunung Pongkor, from the 660 to 720 m levels, and no Fe or Mg) (Fig. 7). The calcite commonly shows
hydraulic breccias and associated stratabound silici®ed a bladed habit and is commonly pseudomorphosed by
and pyritized epiclastic rocks (weathered as gossanous quartz.
material) are contained within the upper epiclastic rocks Rhodochrosite, very rare and nowhere pure, has been
of the middle volcanic unit (Fig. 3); silici®cation with observed only very locally in a banded lens in the foot-
common pyrite is preferentially developed within the wall of the Ciguha vein at Level 500 and in a Satellite
coarse-grained beds. Formerly considered as a silica-cap, vein of Kubang Cicau. It forms pink bands, several
141
Fluid inclusions
with the highest values coming from quartz of the CQ Fig. 10 Paragenetic succession: mineralogical and geochemical evo-
facies. No signi®cant salinity dierences are observed lution of deposition with time. Thickness is proportional to relative
abundance of considered mineral
between stages (Fig. 11).
In the calcite of a quartz-calcite veinlet sample col-
lected a few meters from the hanging wall of the min- rock samples (Table 3). Ten of the ores were from the
eralized vein and characterizing the ®rst stage of vein three main Pongkor veins (®ve from Ciguha, four from
opening (beginning of the CQ-facies), the inclusions Kubang Cicau and one from Ciurug) and represent the
show a restricted Th range (192 to 207.5 °C), all in the four mineralized facies; the other two ore samples were
liquid ®eld, consistent with the observed constant V/ pyrite concentrates extracted from: (1) a fragment of
(L+V) ratios. propylitized andesite caught up in the LBT at Level 500
The ¯uid inclusions trapped in quartz crystals of the prior to the formation of the mineralized structures, and
four main stages displayed broad Th ranges (150 to (2) the ``sul®de hydraulic breccia'' at Gunung Pongkor.
382 °C). Nevertheless, the extent of the range and the The rock samples came from the upper, medium and
lowest Th dier within each stage and/or within a given lower volcanic units de®ned at Pongkor.
stage between growth zones (e.g. the six growth zones, The isotopic signatures of the 12 ore samples are very
noted `a' to `f', of one quartz crystal from the CQ-facies; similar: the 206Pb/204Pb ratios of the mine samples are
Fig. 11, Table 2). grouped between 18.744 and 18.801 and the pyrite of the
propylitized andesite gives a signature identical to that
of the ore sul®des; only the Gunung Pongkor breccia
Isotopic results sample is slightly less radiogenic with 206Pb/204Pb
18.701 (Fig. 12). These isotopic compositions are iden-
Lead isotope analyses were carried out on twelve ore tical to those of the surrounding volcanic rocks in which,
samples (concentrates of galena-rich sul®des) and six like the ores, 206Pb/204Pb ranges from 18.706 to 18.814.
144
GSQ facies Kubang Cicau level 500 PK 86 18.760 15.688 39.096 >1% na na
GSQ facies Kubang Cicau level 500 (stope 2) PK 88 18.776 15.709 39.163 649 na na
CQ facies Ciurug (DDH CU 34, 79.7 m) PK 103 18.776 15.717 39.203 1190 na na
CQ facies Ciguha level 500 PKA 6 18.771 15.690 39.110 206 na na
BOQ facies Ciguha level 500 PK 68 18.755 15.683 39.071 72 na na
MOQ facies (limonite pocket) Ciguha level 500 PKA 10 18.744 15.686 39.054 191 na na
MOQ facies (limonite pocket) Ciguha level 500 PKA 15 18.801 15.718 39.195 203 na na
MOQ facies Ciguha level 500 PKA 17 18.759 15.678 39.053 111 na na
Pyrite from andesitic fragment, level 500 PK 146 18.796 15.734 39.262 na na na
CQ facies Kubang Cicau level 500 PK 201 18.746 15.670 39.049 na na na
GSQ facies Kubang Cicau, open-pit PK 222 18.781 15.717 39.188 226 na na
Pyrite of hydraulic breccia, Gunung Pongkor PK 101 18.701 15.688 39.055 57 na na
Rock samples
Dacite fragment within TLB, mine portal PK 95 18.763 15.699 39.145 18.24 2.14 9.86
Rhyolite, mine portal PK 99 18.804 15.733 39.242 9.32 2.31 9.43
Accretionnary lapilli, Pasir Jawa open-pit PK 169 18.740 15.672 39.060 9.85 2.05 9.45
pumice ¯ow, tailing dam PK 175 18.706 15.652 38.970 18.15 3.4 16.07
ash-fall deposits, north Pongkor PK 178 18.814 15.723 39.258 17.96 2.24 9.88
TLB with pumice fragments, level 500 PK 145 18.742 15.663 39.030 9.44 1.54 7.09
complete agreement with this pattern of conjugate at least level 500, i.e. over a minimum vertical extension
strike-slip faults evolving to normal faults. of 250 m, which is much greater than at Wau (50 m).
The Pongkor mineralization within this tectonic The restricted Th range observed in ¯uid inclusions
corridor is localized at the northwestern edge of an 8-km trapped in calcite of the CQ-facies, combined with the
diameter ignimbritic caldera that is well marked by a constant V/(L+V) ratios, indicates that the ¯uid was
circular structure on satellite images (see Fig. 2) and is monophase and in the liquid ®eld during calcite crys-
also revealed by geological mapping. The overall dy- tallization. This implies that the measured temperatures
namic model proposed for the emplacement of the vol- (192±207 °C) are minimum trapping temperatures for
cano-sedimentary formations involved four stages: the ¯uid at the beginning of this stage, especially con-
sidering that pressure correction to the ®lling tempera-
1. A ®rst volcanic event characterized by an association
tures are negligible in epithermal environments
of subaqueous andesite ¯ows and epiclastic rocks;
characterized by low pressure. The initial temperature of
2. A powerful ignimbritic eruption associated with the
the ¯uid can therefore be considered as 205 5 °C.
formation of a caldera, the ridge of andesitic ¯ows
Based on the liquid-vapour curve of Haas (1971), this
from the ®rst volcanic event corresponds approxi-
initial ore stage temperature of 205 °C corresponds to a
mately to the rampart of this caldera;
¯uid pressure of approximately 17.5 bar. This is equiv-
3. Subsidence and drowning of the caldera with in®ll by
alent to a hydrostatic depth of about 180 m (assuming
the lapilli-and-block tu (LBT), the measured dips in
an aqueous ¯uid containing a maximum of 2 wt.%
the volcanic products associated with the LBT (ep-
NaCl equivalent and no dissolved CO2) or a lithostatic
iclastic rocks and accretionary lapilli tu) and the
depth of 70 m. Although the system was mainly at
present dierent altitudes of the epiclastic rocks in-
hydrostatic pressure during the ore deposition, the local
dicate subsidence, by at least 60 m on the north-
presence of quartz-carbonate breccia at the beginning of
northwest rim, of the block lying to the south of the
the system (CQ facies) suggests that ¯uid pressure could
andesite ridge;
have exceeded lithostatic pressure.
4. Uplift of a rhyodacite dome at the margin of the
The crystallisation of the quartz that followed the
caldera.
calcite corresponds to a change in the ¯uid regime. The
The position of the mineralized veins on the inner large spread of Th in the quartz crystals is consistent
edge of a vast collapse zone classi®es them as epithermal with the observed variability of the V/(L+V) ratios and
deposits in association with calderas or caldera com- is interpreted as due to variable quantities of liquid and
plexes; a class that includes numerous world-class epi- vapour being trapped in the inclusions, i.e. a biphase
thermal ore deposits such as Creede in Colorado and ¯uid undergoing boiling. This demixing, due to the
Round Mountain in Nevada (Steven and Lipman 1976; proximity of the surface, can only have been iso-
Hayba et al. 1985; Gray and Coolbaugh 1994), Ladolam enthalpic, i.e. with a lowering of the initial ¯uid tem-
in Papua New Guinea (Moyle et al. 1991), Waihi in New perature (Drummond and Ohmoto 1985). Because of
Zealand (Bromley and Braithwaite 1991), and Yana- local evidence of boiling, no pressure corrections have
cocha in Peru (Llosa et al. 1996). been made to the ®lling temperatures, and the lowest
Thus the primary deposit was subject to a double measured Th therefore correspond to those of the ¯uid
control by the border fault of the caldera and by the at the moment it was trapped. According to Drummond
conjugate strike-slip faults, with the size and tonnage of (1981), the variations in Th from one growth zone to
the veins increasing closer to the border fault. another (CQ facies) and in quartz crystals from the
dierent facies indicate variable boiling rates (5 to 30%).
These results are consistent with those obtained on
Original features of the primary mineralization samples (surface and/or deep) of various facies from the
at Pongkor other veins of the district (Basuki et al. 1994; Nehlig
written communication).
The Pongkor deposit is of the adularia-sericite (or low- No systematic relationship of Th with elevation was
sul®dation) type and shows many similarities with the observed, probably due to the limited depth variation
Hishikari deposit (Izawa et al. 1990; Shikazono et al. available for sampling (around 250 m between samples
1993); e.g. similar textures, quartz-adularia-clay ®lling of collected at the mine level 500 and those collected in the
the veins (calcite is however rare at Hishikari), a rarity of open-pit). New studies using samples collected from
sul®des (0.5 to 0.6%) with the presence of selenides, and dierent mine levels and laterally through the host rocks
high gold contents. Unlike Hishikari, however, where are in progress to investigate vertical and lateral zoning
the mineralization within the Shimanto Group is con- of the ore forming ¯uids.
®ned at depth below andesite with a plastic behaviour The ¯uid inclusion temperatures at Pongkor are
(Ibaraki and Suzuki 1993), the Pongkor veins reached fairly low for a low-sul®dation epithermal ore deposit
the aquifer zone and probably the surface, as in the Wau (around 200 °C, as against `normal' temperatures of
deposit of Papua New Guinea (Carswell 1990). This 250 °C) and are identical to those measured at His-
high-level emplacement enabled sur®cial waters to in®l- hikari where most of the histograms give a notable
trate the veins (still undergoing supergene oxidation) to peak at 200 °C (Nagayama 1993) with salinities of 0 to
147
0.2 wt.% NaCl equivalent (Shikazono and Nagayama gold is displaced in the vein structure to form micro-
1993). spherules and dendrites of pure gold (see Fig. 9). The
The vein ®ll of carbonates (mainly calcite) followed microspherules caught up by the intra-vein runo be-
by several generations of quartz+adularia is classic in came mechanically concentrated in natural receptacles
epithermal deposits and suggests that CO2 in the hy- such as the pockets of limonite or Mn oxides, and it is
drothermal ¯uids underwent a sudden drop in pressure these reconcentrations that give rise to the high grades
that provoked rapid boiling and the deposition of car- (more than 50 g/t) noted in some pockets. Although
bonates within the ¯uid channels. Clear evidence of such supergene phenomena are very probably the cause of the
an early boiling at Pongkor is indicated by ¯uid inclu- high gold and silver grades, their action is nevertheless
sions in quartz crystals of the CQ facies and a weak merely one of reconcentration. Moreover, meteoric wa-
precipitation of electrum (maximum 5 to 10 g/t) and of ter does not circulate throughout the vein body, but only
most of the base-metal sul®des. The liberation of mag- along the more permeable zones, and relict zones with
matic CO2 through boiling, apart from lowering the preserved Mn carbonates and sul®des can be seen next
PCO2, increases the pH of the ¯uids and favours the to the vuggy hydrolyzed zones.
precipitation of adularia accompanied by quartz depo- The original features of the Pongkor deposit, espe-
sition in veins. The zoning of the carbonates seen in the cially where the distribution of the precious metals is
walls of the Ciguha vein is also a response to this pro- concerned, can thus be explained by an extensive inter-
gressive rise in pH: siderite (low pH), Mn-Mg carbon- connection between magmatic waters and surface wa-
ates and ®nally calcite under conditions of fairly neutral ters, as con®rmed by the stable isotope studies. This
pH. model opens interesting paths of research to quantify the
Although boiling is an ecient process that can respective parts played by the two ¯uids in the genesis of
partly explain the gold precipitation in all facies, it the ore and, more especially, to explain the existence and
cannot explain why the most auriferous (>20 g/t) epi- location of high-grade concentrations. Current studies
sode occurred near the end of the quartz deposition, in into the complex processes involved in the deposition of
close association with an hydrothermal breccia-pipe and the ore are being carried out in conjunction with a better
the deposition of abundant silver sul®des and pyrite. The identi®cation of the regional metallotects giving rise to
low temperature (less than 200 °C), the very low salinity the Pongkor veins.
of the ¯uid inclusion, and the absence of base metals at
this stage indicate transport of the gold and silver in
bisul®te rather than chloride form. Sources of the elements
15.56) indicate a mantle origin with slight crustal Gray JE, Coolbaugh MF (1994) Geology and geochemistry of
contamination, which is in agreement with the isotopic Summitvi colorado: an epithermal acid sulfate deposit in a
volcanic dome. Econ Geol 89: 1906±1923
compositions normally found in lavas of mature island Hamilton W (1989) Convergent-plate tectonics viewed from the
arcs (Doe and Zartman 1979). Indonesia region. Geol Indonesia 12: 35±88
The gold ores of west Java thus re¯ect a major metal Haas JL (1971) The eect of salinity on the maximum thermal
event during the Miocene-Pliocene and Pliocene. Their gradient of hydrothermal system at hydrostatic pressure. Econ
Geol 66: 940±946
association with a Pliocene ignimbritic volcanism and Hayba DO, Bethke PM, Heald P, Foley NK (1985) Geological,
their isotopic signature may constitute good exploration mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of volcanic-
guidelines. hosted epithermal precious-metal deposits. In: Berger BR,
Bethke PM (eds) Geology and geochemistry of epithermal
Acknowledgements We gratefully acknowledge permission from systems. Soc Econ Geol Rev Econ Geol 2: 129±167
the P.T. Aneka Tambang (Persero) to work in the Pongkor mine Heald P, Foley NK, Hayba DO (1987) Comparative anatomy of
and to publish these results, and the help of Pierre Nehlig and volcanic-hosted epithermal deposits: acid-sulfate and adularia-
Michel JeÂbrak in the ®eld. This work was ®nancially supported by sericite type. Econ Geol 82: 1±26
BRGM's PRR 401 scienti®c project. Sir Patrick Skipwith, Bt. Hedenquist JW, Lowenstern JB (1994) The role of magmas in the
translated the French manuscript. formation of hydrothermal ore deposits. Nature 370: 519±527
Hutchison CS (1988) The tin metallogenic provinces of S.E. Asia
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