John NVEpithermals EconGeol2001

Economic Geology
Vol. 96, 2001, pp. 1827–1853
Miocene and Early Pliocene Epithermal Gold-Silver Deposits in the

Northern Great Basin, Western United States:
Characteristics, Distribution, and Relationship to Magmatism
DAVID A. JOHN†
U.S. Geological Survey, Mail Stop 901, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, California 94025
Abstract
Numerous important Miocene and early Pliocene epithermal Au-Ag deposits are present in the northern
Great Basin. Most deposits are spatially and temporally related to two magmatic assemblages: bimodal basalt-
rhyolite and western andesite. These magmatic assemblages are petrogenetic suites that reflect variations in
tectonic environment of magma generation. The bimodal assemblage is a K-rich tholeiitic series formed dur-
ing continental rifting. Rocks in the bimodal assemblage consist mostly of basalt to andesite and rhyolite com-
positions that generally contain anhydrous and reduced mineral assemblages (e.g., quartz + fayalite rhyolites).
Eruptive forms include mafic lava flows, dikes, cinder and/or spatter cones, shield volcanoes, silicic flows,
domes, and ash-flow calderas. Fe-Ti oxide barometry indicates oxygen fugacities between the magnetite-
wustite and fayalite-magnetite-quartz oxygen buffers for this magmatic assemblage. The western andesite as-
semblage is a high K calc-alkaline series that formed a continental-margin arc related to subduction of oceanic
crust beneath the western coast of North America. In the northern Great Basin, most of the western andesite
assemblage was erupted in the Walker Lane belt, a zone of transtension and strike-slip faulting. The western
andesite assemblage consists of stratovolcanoes, dome fields, and subvolcanic plutons, mostly of andesite and
dacite composition. Biotite and hornblende phenocrysts are abundant in these rocks. Oxygen fugacities of the
western andesite assemblage magmas were between the nickel-nickel oxide and hematite-magnetite buffers,
about two to four orders of magnitude greater than magmas of the bimodal assemblage.
Numerous low-sulfidation Au-Ag deposits in the bimodal assemblage include deposits in the Midas (Ken
Snyder), Sleeper, DeLamar, Mule Canyon, Buckhorn, National, Hog Ranch, Ivanhoe, and Jarbidge districts;
high-sulfidation gold and porphyry copper-gold deposits are absent. Both high- and low-sulfidation gold-silver
and porphyry copper-gold deposits are affiliated with the western andesite assemblage and include the Com-
stock Lode, Tonopah, Goldfield, Aurora, Bodie, Paradise Peak, and Rawhide deposits.
Low-sulfidation Au-Ag deposits in the bimodal assemblage formed under relatively low oxygen and sulfur
fugacities and have generally low total base metal (Cu + Pb + Zn) contents, low Ag/Au ratios, and notably high
selenide mineral contents compared to temporally equivalent low-sulfidation deposits in the western andesite
assemblage. Petrologic studies suggest that these differences may reflect variations in the magmatic-tectonic
settings of the associated magmatic assemblages—deposits in the western andesite assemblage formed from
oxidized, water-rich, subduction-related calc-alkaline magmas, whereas deposits in the bimodal assemblage
were associated with reduced, water-poor tholeiitic magmas derived from the lithospheric mantle during con-
tinental extension. The contrasting types and characteristics of epithermal deposits and their affinities with as-
sociated igneous rocks suggest that a genetic relationship is present between these Au-Ag deposits and their
temporally associated magmatism, although available data do not prove this relationship for most low-sulfida-
tion deposits.
Introduction White and Hedenquist, 1990; Cooke and Simmons, 2000;
MIDDLE to late Tertiary, epithermal Au-Ag deposits in the Hedenquist et al., 2000). These deposit types reflect distinct
northern Great Basin (Fig. 1) have been an important source variations in fluid composition and the physical environment
of precious metals for the United States since the discovery of of ore deposition. High-sulfidation deposits form from rela-
the Comstock Lode in 1859. Production from these deposits tively oxidized, acidic fluids and low-sulfidation deposits form
through 1996 exceeded 40 million oz (Moz) Au and 555 Moz from reduced, neutral-pH fluids. Whereas a clear genetic re-
Ag, mostly from Miocene and younger deposits (Long et al., lationship is present between magmatism and high-sulfida-
1998). Famous districts include Comstock Lode, Tonopah, tion deposits (e.g., Rye et al., 1992; Hedenquist and Lowen-
Goldfield, Aurora, and Bodie, and significant production con- stern, 1994; Arribas, 1995; Hedenquist et al., 1998), the role
tinues today from large deposits at Round Mountain, Midas, of magmas in the formation of low-sulfidation deposits is less
and Rawhide (Fig. 2). obvious, because their hydrothermal systems generally are
As shown by many workers since Ransome (1907), Lind- dominated by meteoric water (O’Neil and Silberman, 1974;
gren (1933), and Nolan (1933), epithermal gold-silver de- Hedenquist and Lowenstern, 1994; Simmons, 1995; Cooke
posits can be broadly separated into two groups, high-sulfida- and Simmons, 2000).
tion (acid-sulfate, quartz-alunite) and low-sulfidation John (1999, 2000) and John et al. (1999) showed that low-
(adularia-sericite) types, based on their ore assemblages and sulfidation deposits in northern Nevada could be divided into
associated hydrothermal alteration (e.g., Heald et al., 1987; two subtypes based on their ore mineralogy, associated mag-
matism, and tectonic environment of formation, and they
† E-mail: [email protected] noted that type 1 low-sulfidation deposits contained sulfide
0361-0128/01/3209/1827-27 $6.00 1827

1828 DAVID A. JOHN
128° 120° 112° 1992; Ludington et al., 1996b; John et al., 1999). The western
andesite assemblage is a subduction-related, continental-
Canada
margin volcanic arc that formed along the western coast of
48° Washington North America between about 22 to 4 Ma. By contrast, the bi-
modal basalt-rhyolite assemblage is related to continental rift-
s
Montana
cade
Cas CRB
Ro
ing (Basin and Range extension) that began about 17 Ma and
ck
y formed the present physiography of the Great Basin (McKee,
M
ou
nt
1971; Noble, 1972). Numerous low-sulfidation deposits are
ain present in both magmatic assemblages, whereas high-sulfida-
Idaho s
tion gold-silver deposits are restricted to the western andesite
High
SM r Yellowstone
ve
Oregon
e Ri Hot Spot assemblage (John et al., 1999).
ak
Sn lain Wyoming This paper is a summary of late Cenozoic magmatism and
M P
epithermal gold-silver deposits in the northern Great Basin
0 Ma (north of latitude 37°30'N). The focus is on variations in the
40° Nevada GREAT composition, tectonic setting, and eruptive style of the
BASIN Miocene to early Pliocene magmatic assemblages and how
S ie
NNR Utah these variations may have influenced the types and character-
rra
istics of epithermal gold-silver deposits formed in the north-

Ne
ern Great Basin. The characteristics of low-sulfidation de-

va
California
da
10 Ma Colorado posits of the western andesite and bimodal assemblages are

Plateau
compared, and the distinction of intermediate-sulfidation de-
SA
Arizona
F
Walker Lane
posits from other low-sulfidation deposits, as proposed by
20 Ma Belt "Western Hedenquist et al. (2000), is discussed. The magmatic rela-
Cascades" tionships and deposit distinctions have important implications
Arc (21 Ma)
Mendocino for exploration for epithermal deposits in the Great Basin and
Fracture Zone
32° elsewhere.
FIG. 1. Index map of the western United States showing middle Miocene Pre-Middle Cenozoic Geologic History of the
igneous and tectonic features. Heavy line indicates the northern Nevada rift. Northern Great Basin
The heavy star at the north end of the rift is the McDermitt caldera (M) and
the apparent location of the Yellowstone hot spot at 16.5 Ma. Western graben The northern Great Basin has had a complex and varied ge-
of the Snake River plain is shown by hachured lines. Columbia River Basalt ologic history that is part of the evolution of the North Amer-
Group (CRB) shown by vee pattern; feeder dikes in Oregon and Washington ican Cordillera (Fig. 3; Burchfiel et al., 1992; Ludington et al.,
indicated by heavy lines. East-west lines along Pacific Coast show approxi-
mate location of the Mendocino fracture zone (southern end of the Farallon 1996a). In the Late Proterozoic, breakup of the superconti-
plate that was being subducted beneath North America) at the different nent Rodinia led to development of a west-facing passive
times indicated. Shaded area represents maximum extent of the Miocene margin at the rifted edge of Precambrian continental crust
continental-margin (“Western Cascades”) arc of the western andesite assem- and a westward-thickening wedge of miogeoclinal sediments
blage at about 21 Ma (Christiansen and Yeats, 1992). The arc gradually re-
treated to the north as the Mendocino fracture zone migrated north shutting
on the continental slope and shelf (Stewart, 1980; Karlstrom
off subduction of the Farallon plate and forming the San Andreas fault trans- et al., 1999). The location of the rifted continental margin has
form boundary to the southwest (SAF). Modified from Zoback et al. (1994, been inferred to correspond to the 0.706 isopleth of initial
87
fig. 1). Walker Lane belt from Stewart (1988). NNR = northern Nevada rift, Sr/86Sr in Mesozoic granitic plutons (Figs. 2 and 3; Kistler,
SM = Steens Mountain. 1991).
The rifted continental margin was the focus of several
episodes of contractional and extensional deformation during
mineral assemblages transitional between high- and low- Paleozoic to early Cenozoic time (Fig. 3). The Late Devonian
sulfidation deposits. Based on deposits in the Great Basin to Early Mississippian Antler and the Late Permian to Early
and elsewhere, Hedenquist et al. (2000) suggested that these Triassic Sonoma orogenies thrust eugeoclinal sedimentary
two subtypes of low-sulfidation deposits should be renamed rocks of the Roberts Mountains and Golconda allochthons
intermediate-sulfidation and end-member low-sulfidation eastward over coeval miogeoclinal rocks of the continental
types to emphasize their mineralogical, magmatic, and tec- shelf. Mesozoic and early Cenozoic deformation of the
tonic differences. Nevadan, Elko, Sevier, and Laramide orogenies was associ-
Most epithermal gold-silver deposits in the northern Great ated with an east-dipping subduction zone beneath western
Basin are hosted by middle to late Tertiary igneous rocks (Fig. North America, accretion of island-arc terranes, and progres-
2). With the exception of the giant late Oligocene Round sive contraction of the miogeocline from west to east, result-
Mountain deposit and much smaller deposits in the Atlanta, ing in younger deformation affecting rocks farther to the east.
Fairview, Tuscarora, and Wonder mining districts that are Extensional deformation has affected the region since the late
hosted by late Eocene to early Miocene caldera complexes Eocene (see below).
(Fig. 2a; McKee and Moring, 1996), these deposits are asso- Subduction-related calc-alkaline magmatism was wide-
ciated with two distinct Miocene to Quaternary magmatic as- spread in the northern Great Basin and most intense in the
semblages, the western andesite and bimodal basalt-rhyolite Middle and Late Jurassic, the Cretaceous, and in the middle
assemblages (Fig. 2b and c, Table 1; Christiansen and Yeats, Cenozoic (Miller and Barton, 1990; Christiansen and Yeats,
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 1828

EPITHERMAL Au-Ag DEPOSITS, N. GREAT BASIN, WESTERN UNITED STATES 1829
120°W 114°W
120°W 114°W
Cas
Challis Magmatic Belt
cad
es 42°N
42°N Arc
Western
Andesite
TU Assemblage
Elko
Elko
Interior
Andesite-Rhyolite GD PW OL Salt Lake
Salt Lake
Reno TA City
Reno W
Assemblage City
CL RA RW
F 39°N CO PP
39°N 27-Ma Timeline Z
RM BO
AT MA SF
AU T
Sri<0.706 BD GI D-HM
San Walker Lane
San
Sri>0.706 Francisco SP GF Belt
Francisco
Las Vegas
Las Vegas
36°N High-sulfidation deposits

36°N 0 100 km
0 100 km Low-sulfidation deposits
Epithermal Au-Ag deposits
B
A
120°W 114°W
GM
FIG. 2. Maps showing the general distribution of volcanic assemblages
DE
and epithermal gold-silver deposits in the Great Basin (outlined). A. Interior
Bimodal
QM Basalt-Rhyolite
andesite-rhyolite assemblage, showing 27 Ma timeline to illustrate the south-
42°N Assemblage westward sweep of magmatism through time. B. Western andesite assem-
HG N J blage. C. Bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage. Modified from Christiansen
HR SL M
and Yeats (1992) and Ludington et al. (1996b). Walker Lane belt from Stew-
I
MV R SU RC
Elko
art (1988). Heavy dashed line shows initial 87Sr/86Sr (Sri) = 0.706 isopleth and
WM ST MC
FL GB FC inferred edge of North American craton (Kistler, 1991). AT = Atlanta, AU =
B
Northern Salt Lake Aurora, B = Buckhorn, BD = Bodie, BO = Borealis, BU = Bullfrog, CL =
Nevada City
Reno
rift axis
Comstock Lode, CO = Como, D-HM = Divide-Hasbrouck Mountain, DE =
39°N DeLamar, F = Fairview, FC = Fire Creek, FL = Florida Canyon, GB = Gold-
MN banks, GD = Golden Dome, GF = Goldfield, GI = Gilbert, GM = Grassy
Mountain, HG = High Grade, HR = Hog Ranch, I = Ivanhoe, J = Jarbidge,
San
Francisco JE = Jessup, M = Midas, MA = Masonic, MC = Mule Canyon, MN = Man-
BU hattan, MV = Mountain View, N = National, OL = Olinghouse, PP = Paradise
Peak, PW = Peavine-Wedekind, QM = Quartz Mountain, R = Rosebud, RA
Las Vegas = Ramsey, RC = Rock Creek, RM = Round Mountain, RW = Rawhide, SF =
Santa Fe, SL = Sleeper, SP = Silver Peak, ST = Seven Troughs, SU = Sulphur
36°N 0 100 km Low-sulfidation deposits (Crofoot-Lewis), T = Tonopah, TA = Talapoosa, TU = Tuscarora, W = Won-
C der, WM = Wind Mountain, Z = Zaca (Monitor district).
TABLE 1. Comparison of Major Features of the Western Andesite and Bimodal Basalt-Rhyolite Assemblages
Assemblage Western andesite Bimodal basalt-rhyolite
Tectonic setting Subduction-related continental margin arc; erupted Continental rifting: early back-arc extension possibly
mostly within NW-trending Walker Lane belt related to Yellowstone hot spot; later regional
transtensional zone continental extension
Compositional characteristics High K calc-alkaline series K-rich tholeiitic series; local peralkaline (Na2O-rich)
silicic rocks
Rock compositions Mostly andesite-dacite, minor rhyolite, rare basalt Mostly basalt-mafic andesite and rhyolite (subalkaline
and peralkaline), minor trachydacite
Volcanic forms Stratovolcanoes, dome fields, subvolcanic plutons Mafic lava flows, cinder and/or spatter cones, and
sheeted dikes; silicic domes and related pyroclastic
rocks; silicic calderas; continental shield volcanoes in
western Nevada
Magmatic oxidation state High (>nickel-nickel oxide (NNO)) Low (<fayalite-magnetite-quartz (FMQ))
Inferred magmatic water content High (early crystallized hydrous minerals) Low (hydrous minerals generally absent)
Phenocryst assemblages Plag + hrnb ± cpx ± opx ± bt + mt + ilm Plag + cpx ± ol + ilm ± mt
(intermediate compositions)
Magmatic sulfides Uncommon Pyrrhotite blebs abundant in all compositions
Mineral abbreviations: bt = biotite, cpx = clinopyroxene, hrnb = hornblende, ilm = ilmenite, mt = magnetite, ol = olivine, opx = orthopyroxene, plag =
plagioclase
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1830 DAVID A. JOHN
120° 116° 112° continued locally after initiation of Basin and Range faulting
(e.g., Yerington district; Proffett, 1977; Dilles and Gans,
1995). Mantle-derived basaltic volcanism commonly was as-
OREGON IDAHO sociated with Basin and Range faulting, whereas volcanism
42°
commonly ceased during periods of rapid, large-magnitude
c IR
extension (Gans and Bohrson, 1998). Recent estimates of the
oi
oz rc total amount of Cenozoic extension for the Great Basin gen-
es c A
M i
n at
GT
Eastern erally are 100 to 250 percent (e.g., Seedorff, 1991; Wernicke,
ai m
M ag 1992; Snow and Wernicke, 2000; Muntean et al., 2001).
ak r Belt
CT Limit of
M BU l Magmatism B
t
Be The origin(s) of Cenozoic extension in the Great Basin, the
Allochtohn
e
40° relationship of extension to magmatism, and the mechanism

cem
O rogenic
NEVADA Miogeocline
of extension in the deep crust and the lithosphere are much
Ne
en
Y
v
Lunig-F
debated topics with no general agreement (e.g., Wernicke,
t
ad
el
B
an
1985, 1992; Gans, 1987; Wernicke et al., 1987; Gans et al.,

da
ic
E l ko
en
n
Or
Sri<.706 co g
G ol
ro 1989; Axen et al., 1993; Parsons et al., 1994; Gans and
og
O
r
en
38° Bohrson, 1998; Sonder and Jones, 1999). Spatial and tempo-
vi e
y
Se
Sri>.706
Roberts Mtns. ral patterns of extension and magmatism in the Great Basin
Allochthon UTAH are complex and do not conclusively resolve which models
CALIFORNIA
ARIZONA
were regionally operative or whether different relationships
might apply to different areas and/or different times (e.g.,
FIG. 3. Map showing generalized distribution of major pre-middle Ceno-
Sonder and Jones, 1999). Regardless of origin, significant ex-
zoic tectonic and magmatic features of the northern Great Basin. Shown are tension and crustal thinning of much of the Great Basin oc-
the initial 87Sr/86Sr (Sri) = 0.706 isopleth and inferred edge of the North curred prior to Miocene magmatism.
America craton (dashed line), eastern limits of the Early Mississippian In the Great Basin, intraplate strain between the North
Roberts Mountains and Permo-Triassic Golconda allochthons, the Jurassic America and Pacific plates is broadly partitioned, with exten-
Nevadan, Luning-Fencemaker, and Elko orogenic belts, the Late Cretaceous
Sevier orogenic belt, and areas of Mesozoic magmatism (mostly Jurassic and sion occurring throughout much of the area and a zone of
Cretaceous; main magmatic arc (>50% area of all exposed rocks), dark gray; dextral slip and transtension along its western margin (Walker
diffuse magmatism (0–50% area of all exposed rocks, light gray). Also shown Lane belt). The dextral slip zone is thought to accommodate
are major belts (trends) of sedimentary rock-hosted (Carlin-type) gold de- much of the relative plate motion that is not taken up along
posits (CT = Carlin trend, GT = Getchell trend, IR = Independence Range
deposits) and other mineral deposits mentioned in text. B = Bingham por-
the San Andreas fault, the present plate boundary (Fig. 1; At-
phyry copper deposit, Bu = Buckingham porphyry molybdenum deposit, Y = water, 1970; Zoback et al., 1981; Oldow et al., 2001). The
Yerington porphyry copper deposits. Modified from Hofstra and Cline Walker Lane belt is a complex northwest-trending zone of di-
(2000), based on Burchfiel et al. (1992) and Miller and Barton (1990). verse topography and strike-slip and normal faulting about
87
Sr/86Sr (Sri) = 0.706 isopleth from Kistler (1991). 700 km long and 100 to 300 km wide (Figs. 1 and 2; Locke et
al., 1940; Stewart, 1988). It contains well-defined Basin and
Range block faulting, areas of large-magnitude extension, and
1992). Many important mineral deposits formed during this strike-slip faults. For example, in the central part of the
time and include porphyry-related Cu, Mo, and Au deposits Walker Lane belt, both strike-slip and normal faulting oc-
(e.g., Bingham, Yerington, Buckingham), W skarn deposits, curred, possibly in several distinct events, between 22 and 27
and sedimentary rock-hosted Au deposits, such as the world- Ma, extreme extensional faulting in the Yerington district oc-
class Carlin and Getchell trend deposits (Fig. 3). curred between 12.5 and 14 Ma, and the present dextral
strike-slip faulting began as recently as 7 to 10 Ma (Ekren and
Cenozoic Tectonics of the Northern Great Basin Byers, 1984; Stewart, 1988; Hardyman and Oldow, 1991;
Crustal extension has dominated the Cenozoic tectonic his- Oldow, 1992; Dilles and Gans, 1995). Several other areas in
tory of the Great Basin. Extension was heterogeneous and oc- the Walker Lane belt have undergone large-magnitude ex-
curred during several ages and styles of faulting. Beginning in tension in the Miocene and are marked by prominent angu-
the late Eocene, rapid, large-magnitude (>100–400%) exten- lar unconformities between late Oligocene to early Miocene
sion, characterized by multiple sets of closely spaced normal ash-flow tuffs and early to late Miocene lava flows and sedi-
faults, and detachment faults in more deeply exposed ter- mentary rocks (John et al., 1989; Hardyman and Oldow, 1991;
ranes, affected much of the Great Basin, but it was irregularly Seedorff, 1991; Oldow et al., 1994). Several Miocene epither-
distributed, both in time and space (e.g., Proffett, 1977; Wer- mal gold-silver deposits in the Walker Lane belt, including
nicke et al., 1987; Gans et al., 1989; Seedorff, 1991; Axen et Tonopah, Paradise Peak, and Bullfrog, formed during or
al., 1993; Muntean et al., 2001). In general, areas of large- shortly after large-magnitude extension (John et al., 1989,
magnitude extension formed first in northeastern Nevada and 1991; Seedorff, 1991; Eng et al., 1996).
northwestern Utah and spread south mimicking the south-
ward progression of magmatism (see next section). At about Cenozoic Magmatism in the Northern Great Basin
17 to 16 Ma, more widespread, but smaller magnitude, Basin The timing and regional distribution of Cenozoic magma-
and Range extension began, producing alternating basins and tism in the Great Basin are relatively well known (e.g.,
ranges spaced 20 to 50 km apart that characterize the present McKee et al., 1970; McKee, 1971; Noble, 1972; Stewart and
physiography of the region. Rapid, large-magnitude extension Carlson, 1976; Best et al., 1989; Seedorff, 1991; Christiansen
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 1830

and Yeats, 1992; McKee and Moring, 1996; Ludington et al., setting (Christiansen and Lipman, 1972; Lipman et al., 1972).
1996b; John et al., 1999). Recent syntheses of the Cenozoic However, several more recent studies have shown that mag-
geology of the United States Cordillera provide a framework matism had a close spatial and temporal association with
that allows division of Cenozoic igneous rocks in the northern crustal extension, and that these magmas were formed by par-
Great Basin into three broad tectono-magmatic assemblages: tial mixing of mantle-derived basalt with crustal melts (e.g.,
(1) interior andesite-rhyolite (Eocene to early Miocene), (2) Gans et al., 1989; Feeley and Grunder, 1991; Morris et al.,
western andesite (early Miocene to early Pliocene), and (3) 2001, Vogel et al., in press). One model that explains these
bimodal basalt-rhyolite (middle Miocene to Holocene; Fig. observations is that removal of the subducted Farallon plate
2). by tearing of the slab near the Canadian and Mexican borders
led to upwelling of athenospheric mantle behind the trailing
Interior andesite-rhyolite assemblage edge of the delaminating lithospheric slab, decompressional
Cenozoic magmatic activity began in the northern Great melting, and formation of basaltic melts that partially mixed
Basin at about 43 Ma with eruption of silicic ash-flow tuffs with lower crustal melts (Humphreys, 1995).
and intermediate composition lava flows in northeast Nevada
that constitute the early phases of the interior andesite-rhyo- Western andesite assemblage
lite assemblage (Fig. 2a). These rocks are dominantly lava The western andesite assemblage is composed dominantly
flows that are part of the Tuscarora magmatic belt, a belt of of lava flows of intermeditate composition, breccias, and hy-
igneous rocks extending southeastward from northeastern pabyssal intrusions that formed mostly along the northwest-
California to central Utah that was interior to the continental- ern edge of the Great Basin in western Nevada and eastern
margin arc (Figs. 1 and 2a; Stewart and Carlson, 1976; Best et California (Fig. 2b). This assemblage is part of the continen-
al., 1989; Christiansen and Yeats, 1992; Brooks et al., 1995; tal-margin arc that was active in and west of the modern Cas-
McKee and Moring, 1996; Henry and Ressel, 2000). The arc cade Range and extended north into Canada and discontinu-
is concave southward and adjoins the slightly older Challis ously south from southern Nevada into northern Mexico
volcanic field in Idaho. (Figs.1 and 2b; Christiansen and Yeats, 1992; Ludington et
Mid-Cenozoic magmatic activity of the interior andesite- al., 1996b; Grose, 2000). The arc formed in response to sub-
rhyolite assemblage gradually migrated southwestward from duction of oceanic crust beneath the continental margin of
northeastern Nevada, forming a succession of arcuate belts North America and was nearly continuous from north to
that extended nearly continuously east from the Sierra south across the western Great Basin in the early Miocene.
Nevada to the Wasatch Mountains in central Utah. At any one The arc gradually retreated northward as the Mendocino
time, magmatism generally was confined to east-west belts fracture zone migrated north, shutting off subduction and
about 80 to 150 km wide with generally sharp southern lim- forming the San Andreas transform boundary to the south
its, as illustrated by the 27 Ma timeline (Fig. 2a). The (Fig. 1; Atwater, 1970; Christiansen and Yeats, 1992). In the
youngest rocks in this assemblage were erupted at about 19 northern Great Basin, most rocks of this assemblage range in
Ma and are in the Fairview and Tonopah mining districts age from about 22 to 4 Ma, and the youngest parts of the as-
along the southwest margin of this assemblage (Fig. 2a and b; semblage are along the northwestern edge of the Great Basin.
Henry, 1996; Ludington et al., 1996b). The western andesite assemblage is a high potassium calc-
Rocks comprising the interior andesite-rhyolite assemblage alkaline series (Figs. 4–7; Christiansen and Yeats, 1992; John,
are mostly dacite to rhyolite ash-flow tuffs and flow-dome 1992; John et al., 1999). Coarsely and abundantly porphyritic
complexes with small volumes of andesitic to dacitic lava hornblende-pyroxene andesite and biotite-hornblende dacite
flows; basaltic rocks are notably rare. Caldera complexes are are the most common rock types; small rhyolite intrusions
common, notably in Oligocene to early Miocene rocks in cen- and minor amounts of basalt also are widely distributed.
tral Nevada and western Utah, where more than 50 calderas In western Nevada and northeastern California, most of the
have been identified (Best et al., 1989; Ludington et al., western andesite assemblage erupted within the Walker Lane
1996b; McKee and Moring, 1996). Plutonic rocks, mostly of belt (see above; Fig. 2b).
granodiorite composition, are exposed locally and include
porphyry copper and skarn-related intrusions in the Battle Bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage
Mountain mining district, Nevada (Theodore and Blake, The bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage includes the
1978), and in north-central Utah (e.g., Babcock et al., 1995; youngest volcanic rocks in the Great Basin and consists
Vogel et al., 1998), and porphyry molybdenum-related intru- mostly of basalt, basaltic andesite, and rhyolite with relatively
sions at Mount Hope, Nevada (Westra and Riedell, 1996), scarce rocks with intermediate composition. The bimodal as-
and Pine Grove, Utah (Keith and Shanks, 1988). Rocks of the semblage formed in a continental rifting environment during
interior andesite-rhyolite assemblage are generally calc-alka- Basin and Range extension, largely east of the contempora-
line, but they are notably more potassic and silicic than typi- neous western andesite assemblage (Figs. 2b and c; McKee,
cal arc-related magmas (Christiansen and Yeats, 1992). Most 1971; Christiansen and Yeats, 1992; Noble, 1972). The early
rocks contain hydrous mafic mineral assemblages with abun- mafic rocks of the bimodal assemblage include the Steens
dant hornblende and/or biotite phenocrysts. Mountain Basalt in southeastern Oregon and northwestern
Rocks of the interior andesite-rhyolite assemblage gener- Nevada (Figs. 1, 4–7; Carlson and Hart, 1987), and these
ally have been explained as products of subduction-related rocks are temporally and compositionally similar to the Co-
magmatism related to shallow east-dipping subduction of the lumbia River Basalt in the Columbia plateau (Fig. 1; Hooper
Farallon plate beneath western North America in a back-arc and Hawkesworth, 1993).
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1832 DAVID A. JOHN
F F
Western Andesite
Bimodal Basalt-Rhyolite Assemblage
Assemblage Paradise Range
Northern Nevada Rift Kate Peak Formation
National District Bodie Hills
Steens Mountain Goldfield
Tholeiitic
McDermitt Tholeiitic
Calc-alkaline
Calc-alkaline
A M A M
FIG. 4. AFM diagrams for igneous rocks from (A) the bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage and (B) the western andesite
assemblage. Tholeiitic and calc-alkaline fields from Irvine and Baragar (1971). Data from O’Neil et al. (1973), Whitebread
(1976), Conrad (1984), Vikre (1985), Carlson and Hart (1987), John (1992), Wallace and John (1998), John et al. (2000), R.P.
Ashley (writ. commun., 2000), and C.D. Henry (writ. commun., 2000).
Volcanism related to the bimodal basalt-rhyolite assem- Thompson, 1978). The rift, filled in part by mafic dike swarms
blage began in the northern Great Basin at approximately and lava flows, extends approximately 500 km from the Ore-
16.5 Ma and continues locally to the present day. Bimodal gon-Nevada border to south-central Nevada (Blakely and
volcanism in the north-central Great Basin began near Mc- Jachens, 1991; Zoback et al., 1994; John et al., 2000). Most ig-
Dermitt, Nevada, and initially may have been concentrated at neous activity related to the rift lasted from about 16.5 to 15
the north end of the northern Nevada rift, a narrow north- Ma (John et al., 2000).
northwest–trending zone defined by a prominent linear mag- The bimodal assemblage has a wide range of rock composi-
netic anomaly (Figs. 1 and 2c; Mabey, 1966; Zoback and tions: olivine basalt, pyroxene andesite and basaltic andesite,
25
Western Andesite Assemblage

Bodie
Kate Peak Formation
20 Goldfield
Paradise Range
Bimodal Assemblage
National District
Steens Mountain
FeO*/MgO
15
Northern Nevada Rift
McDermitt
10
Tholeiitic
Calc-alkaline
0
45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80
SiO2 (weight percent)
FIG. 5. Silica vs. FeO*/MgO diagram for igneous rocks from western andesite and bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblages.
Tholeiitic and calc-alkaline fields from Miyashiro (1974). Data from Whitebread (1976), Conrad (1984), Vikre (1985), Carl-
son and Hart (1987), John (1992), Wallace and John (1998), John et al. (2000), R.P. Ashley (writ. commun., 2000), and C.D.
Henry (writ. commun., 2000). FeO* = total Fe as FeO.
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12
Tephriphonolite
Rhyolite
Trachydacite
10
Phonotephrite
Trachyandesite
Na2O+K2O (weight percent)
8
Tephrite Basaltic Bodie
trachyandesite Kate Peak Formation
Goldfield
Paradise Range
6
Bimodal Assemblage
Trachybasalt National District
Steens Mountain
4 Dacite
McDermitt
Andesite
Basaltic
Basalt andesite
2
0
45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80
FIG. 6. Total alkali-silica diagram for Miocene igneous rocks from the western andesite and bimodal basalt-rhyolite as-
semblages. Rock classification from IUGS (Le Bas et al., 1986). Large number of trachydacite samples from the northern
Nevada rift are from the northern Shoshone and Sheep Creek Ranges and not representative of the rift as a whole (John et
al., 2000). Data from O’Neil et al. (1973), Whitebread (1976), Conrad (1984), Vikre (1985), Carlson and Hart (1987), John
(1992), Wallace and John (1998), John et al. (2000), R.P. Ashley (writ. commun., 2000), and C.D. Henry (writ. commun.,
2000).

6 Bodie
Kate Peak Formation
Goldfield
Paradise Range
5 Bimodal Assemblage
National District
K2O (weight percent)
Steens Mountain
4 McDermitt
High-sulfidation deposits
worldwide (Arribas,1995)
1
0
45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80
FIG. 7. Silica vs. K2O diagram for Miocene igneous rocks from the western andesite and bimodal basalt-rhyolite assem-
blages. Data from O’Neil et al. (1973), Whitebread (1976), Conrad (1984), Vikre (1985), Carlson and Hart (1987), John
(1992), Wallace and John (1998), John et al. (2000), R.P. Ashley (writ. commun., 2000), and C.D. Henry (writ. commun.,
2000). Note the generally higher K2O contents for intermediate and silicic compositions of the bimodal assemblage rocks
that are mostly outside the range of rocks genetically associated with high-sulfidation gold deposits from throughout the
world (Arribas, 1995).
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1834 DAVID A. JOHN
and both subalkaline and peralkaline rhyolite are the most al., 1991; Christiansen and Yeats, 1992) or due to a complex
common rock types (Fig. 6). Peralkaline rhyolite ash-flow combination of processes resulting from the interaction of
tuffs (comendites), commonly containing sodic pyroxenes and buoyancy stored in the crust and the removal or alteration of
amphiboles, are a notable part of this assemblage (e.g., Mc- mantle lithosphere (Sonder and Jones, 1999).
Dermitt caldera complex; Conrad, 1984; Rytuba and McKee,
1984). Intermediate compositions (siliceous andesite, dacite, Magmatic oxidation state of the western andesite
and trachydacite) generally are uncommon except in the cen- and bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblages
tral and northern parts of the northern Nevada rift (John et One of the most striking differences between the bimodal
al., 2000). Most rocks of the bimodal assemblage form a and western andesite assemblages is the variation in phe-
potassium-rich tholeiitic series (Figs. 4, 5, and 7; Noble et al., nocryst mineral assemblages and other petrographic features,
1988; McKee and Moring, 1996; John et al., 1999). Anhy- which suggest that magmas of the western andesite were
drous mineral assemblages are typical, suggesting low mag- more oxidized and water rich than magmas of the bimodal as-
matic water contents (≤3 wt % H2O; Burnham, 1979; Can- semblage. These inferences are supported by petrologic stud-
dela, 1997), and include fayalite-bearing ferrorhyolites that ies of Fe-Ti oxide minerals in the two assemblages (Fig. 8).
form prominent flow-dome complexes along part of the Petrologic studies of the oxidation state of Miocene mag-
northern Nevada rift (Wallace, 1993). matism in the northern Great Basin are limited. Conrad
The bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage was erupted dur- (1984) studied silicic ash-flow tuffs and related lava flows of
ing continental rifting (Basin and Range extension), which the ca. 16 Ma McDermitt caldera complex in north-central
formed the modern physiography of the Great Basin (Noble, Nevada that are part of the bimodal basalt-rhyolite assem-
1972; Zoback et al., 1981). The older phases of the assemblage. He showed that these rocks were erupted at relatively
blage were formed in a back-arc environment and were re- high temperatures and had low oxygen fugacities, between
lated either to back-arc extension (Christiansen and Lipman, the iron-wustite (IW) and fayalite-magnetite-quartz (FMQ)
1972; Carlson and Hart, 1987) and/or to impingement of the oxygen buffers (Fig. 8). Honjo et al. (1992) studied Fe-Ti
Yellowstone hot spot (mantle plume) on the crust at about oxide minerals in 12 to 8 Ma rhyolite ash-flow tuffs and lava
16.5 Ma near McDermitt along the Nevada-Oregon border flows of the Snake River plain north of the Great Basin (Fig.
(Fig. 1; Zoback and Thompson, 1978; Christiansen and Yeats, 1). They showed that these rocks were erupted at high tem-
1992; Pierce and Morgan, 1992; Parsons et al., 1994). The peratures, with most oxygen fugacities near the fayalite-mag-
younger parts of the assemblage formed during continental netite-quartz oxygen buffer (Fig. 8).
extension unrelated to subduction, possibly due to lithos- Reconnaissance electron microprobe analyses of Fe-Ti
pheric extension over a mantle plume (Noble, 1988; Fitton et oxide minerals were made on glassy rocks from the bimodal
-6
HM
-8
NNO
-10
FMQ
-12 MW
log fO2
SO 2
-14 H 2S
Western andesite assemblage
Paradise Range
-16 Kate Peak Formation
Bodie Hills
Tonopah (Mizpah Formation)
CO 2 Bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage
-18 CH 4 Northern Nevada rift
McDermitt caldera
Snake River Plain
-20
700 750 800 850 900 950 1000 1050 1100
Temperature (°C)
FIG. 8. Temperature-log oxygen fugacity diagram for Miocene igneous rocks of the western andesite and bimodal basalt-
rhyolite assemblages. Temperature and oxygen fugacity estimates calculated from electron microprobe analyses of rim com-
positions of magnetite-ilmenite pairs in glassy lava flows using the computer program QUILF (Andersen et al., 1991). All
mineral pairs checked for possible equilibrium using Mg/Mn partitioning relationships (Bacon and Hirschmann, 1988). Data
for McDermitt caldera complex from Conrad (1984). Oxygen buffer curves: FMQ = fayalite-magnetite-quartz, HM =
hematite-magnetite, MW = magnetite-wustite, NNO, nickel-nickel oxide. SO2-H2S and CO2-CH4 equilibrium curves from
Ohmoto and Goldhaber (1997).
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and western andesite assemblages. Samples of 16 to 14.7 Ma City area that postdate formation of the Comstock Lode but
rhyolite, dacite, and basalt lava flows and shallow intrusive have similar compositions and phenocryst assemblages to
rocks of the bimodal assemblage collected along the northern rocks that are spatially and temporally related to the Com-
Nevada rift (John et al., 2000) yielded temperature and oxy- stock Lode (Thompson, 1956; Bonham, 1969; Vikre, 1989a;
gen fugacity estimates similar to Conrad’s estimates for rocks Hudson, 1993; C.D. Henry, writ. commun., 2000); and from
from the McDermitt caldera (Fig. 8). These samples include the ca. 20.5 Ma Mizpah Formation, which is the major host
basalts from the northern Shoshone Range that are related for low-sulfidation deposits in the Tonopah district (Nolan,
temporally and spatially to the Mule Canyon low-sulfidation 1935; Bonham and Garside, 1979). These data indicate that
gold deposit. magmas of the western andesite assemblage were signifi-
In contrast, samples from four volcanic centers in the west- cantly more oxidized than temporally equivalent magmas in
ern andesite assemblage yielded much higher calculated oxy- the bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage.
gen fugacities, between the nickel-nickel oxide (NNO) and
hematite-magnetite (HM) oxygen buffers, about 2 to 4 log Comparison of tectonic environments, eruptive products,
units greater than estimates for the bimodal assemblage, and and compositional variations between magmatic assemblages
overlapping the SO2/H2S buffer curve (Fig. 8). Porphyry cop- Comparison of the temporally equivalent western andesite
per deposits typically show a similar oxidation state worldwide and bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblages shows significant dif-
(Burnham and Ohmoto, 1980). Estimates of magmatic oxy- ferences that reflect variations in the tectonic environment of
gen fugacity for the western andesite assemblage were ob- magma generation and emplacement. These differences in-
tained from 19 to 15 Ma rocks in the southwestern Paradise clude the types of the eruptions, phenocryst assemblages,
Range that are related genetically to the Paradise Peak high- compositions of the magmas, and duration of magmatic cen-
sulfidation gold-silver deposit (John et al., 1989, 1991; John, ters (Tables 1–3).
1992; Sillitoe and Lorson, 1994); from 15 to 8 Ma lava flows Rocks of the bimodal assemblage tend to occur as (1) wide-
and domes in the Bodie Hills that are related temporally and spread, relatively thin mafic lava flows, feeder dikes, and
spatially to low-sulfidation deposits in the Bodie and Aurora small cinder and/or spatter cones that locally formed conti-
districts and to a high-sulfidation prospect at East Brawley nental shield volcanoes; (2) silicic flows and domes with
Peak (O’Neil et al., 1973; Chesterman and Gray, 1975; Osborne, small-volume pyroclastic ejecta; and (3) silicic ash-flow tuffs,
1991; Breit et al., 1995); from lava flows in the 12 to 11 Ma commonly of peralkaline composition that locally were re-
upper part of the Kate Peak Formation in the Reno-Virginia lated to formation of ash-flow calderas (Fig. 9). Mafic rocks
BIMODAL BASALT-RHYOLITE ASSEMBLAGE

Rhyolite domes Rift graben Caldera Shield Volcano
Basalt dike
swarm
Rhyolite Extension
Crust
Basalt and (or) Basaltic andesite
Mantle Plume?
Lithospheric Mantle
FIG. 9. Cartoon showing magmatic-tectonic setting of the bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage in the northern Great Basin.
Upwelling of athenospheric mantle into the lithosphere, possibly due to impingement of a mantle plume, led to partial melt-
ing of the subduction-modified lithospheric mantle (Fitton at al., 1991). Continental extension allowed rapid ascent of water-
poor mafic magmas through the crust and eruption as thin lava flows, shield volcanoes, and dike swarms with little interac-
tion with the crust. Small amounts of partial melting of the base of the crust resulted from basalt underplating and formed
reduced, water-poor rhyolitic melts. The rhyolite magmas erupted as domes and lava flows, and local accumulation of these
melts in moderate depth magma chambers led to eruptions of ash-flow tuffs and formation of ash-flow calderas.
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TABLE 2. Representative Ages of Magmatism and Hydrothermal Ore Deposits in the Western Andesite and Bimodal Basalt-Rhyolite Assemblages, Northern Great Basin
1836
Location Age range of Composition and type Hydrothermal Type and age (Ma) of Production/reserves References
igneous activity (Ma) of igneous activity ore deposits hydrothermal ore deposits1
Western andesite assemblage

Southwest 23.5(?) to 15.5; Andesite, dacite, and Paradise Peak HS, 18.8 to 24,316,000 t ore, Ekren et al. (1980); Fiannaca (1987);
Paradise mostly 19 to 15.5 minor rhyolite; lava flows, 18.0 (K-Ar) 1,626,000 oz Au, John et al. (1989, 1991); John (1992);
Range/Gabbs flow breccias, lahars, >23,991,000 oz Ag Albino and Boyer (1992);
Valley Range domes,and dikes Sillitoe and Lorson (1994)
Goldyke HS, 18.3 (K-Ar) Small production
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00
Santa Fe, Pearl, Isabella HS, 19.5 to 19.0 (K-Ar) 12,657,861 t ore, 356,700 oz
Au, >721,523 oz Ag
Virginia 20.1 to 10.3 Andesite, dacite, and minor Comstock Lode LS, 14.1 to 12.2 (K-Ar) Approx 8.4 Moz Au, Bonham (1969); Vikre et al. (1988);
Range rhyolite; lava flows, flow approx 193 Moz Ag Vikre (1989a, 1998); Albino (1991);
breccias, lahars, domes and Van Nieuwenhuyse (1991);
dikes; granodiorite stock Hudson (1993); John et al. (1999)
Ramsey-Comstock LS, 10.5; HS, 9.3 (K-Ar) Approx 11,000 t ore,
18,650 oz Au
Talapoosa LS, 10.8 (K-Ar); 11,215 t ore, 7,549 oz Au,
10.2 (Ar-Ar) 102,596 oz Ag
Gooseberry LS, 10.3 (K-Ar) 561,317 t ore, 84,866 oz
Au, 3,566,143 oz Ag
Washington Hill HS, 12.9 to 10.0 (K-Ar) No production
Bodie- 15.4 to 7.8 Andesite, dacite, and Bodie LS, 8.0 to 7.1 (K-Ar); 1.5 Mt ore, Silberman et al. (1972); O’Neil et al.
Aurora Hills rhyolite; lava flows, flow 8.41 to 8.23 (Ar-Ar) 1,456,000 oz Au, (1973); Chesterman and Gray (1975);
breccias, lahars, tuff 7,280,000 oz Ag McKee and Klock (1984); Chesterman
breccia, dikes, and domes et al. (1986); Osborne (1991); Breit
et al. (1995); Berger et al. (1999)
Aurora LS, 10.3 (K-Ar) 3.86 Mt ore, 1,817,000 oz
1836
Au, 20,605,000 0z Ag
East Brawley Peak HS, 13.7 (K-Ar), No production
DAVID A. JOHN
12.34 (Ar-Ar)
Masonic HS, 12.8 (K-Ar) 74,694 t ore, 55,791 oz Au,
38,749 oz Ag
Goldfield 23.4(?) to 20.3 Trachyandesite, rhyodacite, Goldfield HS, 21.0 to 20.0 (K-Ar) 4.19 Moz Au, 1.45 Moz Ag Ashley (1974 (1979, 1990); Ashley
and rhyolite; lava flows and and Silberman (1976); Vikre (1989b)
breccias, tuff breccia, and domes
Bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage

Snowstorm Approx. 15.5 to Basalt/basaltic andesite Midas LS, 15.1-15.2 (Ar-Ar) 322,000 oz Au, 2,123,000 Wallace (1993); Goldstrand and
Mountains 13.4 flows and dikes; rhyolite oz Ag (production); 3 Mt Schmidt, 2000); Leavitt et al., 2000b);
lava flows, dikes, and tuffs ore, 2.45 Moz Au, 29.47 A.R. Wallace, oral commun. (2000)
Moz Ag (1999 year end
reserves)
Slumbering >16.5 to 16.3 Rhyolite porphyry; andesite Sleeper LS, 16.12 to 15.51 (Ar-Ar) 55.4 Mt ore, 1.68 Moz Au, Nash et al. (1991); Conrad et al. (1993);
Hills flows and minor tuffs 2.17 Moz Ag Nash et al. (1995); Nash and Trudel
(1996); Conrad and McKee (1996)
Jumbo LS, 17.3 (K-Ar) Unknown
Northern 16.4 to 14.7 Basalt, andesite, and Mule Canyon LS, 15.59 (Ar-Ar) 9 Mt ore, 1 Moz Au Thomson et al. (1993); John et al., 2000);
Shoshone Range trachydacite; lava flows, (1996 pre-mining John and Wallace, 2000); D.A. John
dikes, and minor tuffs reserves) and R.J. Fleck, unpub. data (2000)
Hog Ranch 15.2 to 14.9 Peralkaline rhyolite Hog Ranch LS, 15.2 to 14.8 (K-Ar) 6,576,000 t ore, 193,000 Harvey et al. (1986); Bussey (1996)
ash-flow tuff oz Au, >25,700 oz Ag Halsor et al. (1988)
DeLamar 16.6 to 16.1 Basalt, latite, quartz latite, DeLamar LS, 15.7 (K-Ar) 19,582,000 t ore,
rhyolite; lava flows, domes, 943,589 oz Au,
and tuff breccia 37,936,000 oz Ag
1 HS = high-sulfidation, LS = low-sulfidation
TABLE 3. Representative Chemical Analyses of the Bimodal Basalt-Rhyolite and Western Andesite Assemblages
Bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage Western andesite assemblage
Sample no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Field no. 99-DJ-5 99-DJ-21 97-DJ-3 97-DJ-7 84-DJ-232 99-PR-8 99-PR-4 84-DJ-113
SiO2 (wt %) 50.81 58.02 68.28 73.84 55.18 60.38 68.71 73.78
Al2O3 16.72 14.16 13.54 13.10 19.07 16.98 16.19 14.34
FeO* 9.14 9.91 6.01 2.81 7.29 4.91 2.63 1.74
MgO 7.99 3.00 0.54 0.14 3.35 2.97 1.19 0.72
CaO 10.70 6.42 2.58 0.84 7.89 7.46 3.38 1.57
K2O 0.53 2.34 4.70 5.55 1.58 2.30 3.25 2.76
Na2O 2.58 3.42 3.27 3.29 3.51 3.93 3.97 4.57
TiO2 1.09 1.76 0.76 0.30 1.12 0.67 0.42 0.26
P2O5 0.28 0.78 0.23 0.11 0.50 0.31 0.18 0.11
MnO 0.16 0.18 0.08 0.03 0.10 0.09 0.08 <.03
Ba (ppm) 342 888 1,614 1,161 1,050 1,269 1,174 1,000

Rb 8 60 150 206 34 54 89 140
Sr 282 346 240 109 1,220 910 694 230
Zr 88 204 380 347 110 133 148 126
Y 27 42 50 83 na 18 13 10
Nb 5.9 14.1 24.8 32.9 <10 5.5 9 10
La 12.5 36.5 64.8 97.1 28.0 22.4 28.0 52
Ce 26.5 73.6 121.6 185.7 57.5 41.7 49.6 46
Ta 0.29 0.86 1.46 2.40 0.44 0.39 0.78 na
Th 2 7 18 27 3.9 3 9 na
Mg# 60.9 35.1 13.7 8.2 45.0 51.9 44.6 42.4

Ba/La 27 24 25 12 38 57 42 19
K/La 353 531 602 474 469 855 964 730
Ba/Nb 58 63 65 35 >105 231 130 100
Zr/Nb 15 14 15 11 >11 24 16 13
Ba/Ta 1,170 1,033 1,106 483 2,386 3,269 1,507
Notes: Major and trace element analyses by XRF techniques; REE, Ta, and Th by ICP-MS (samples 1-4, 6-7) or INAA (sample 5); analyses 1-4 and 6-7
performed at GeoAnalytical Laboratory, Washington State University; analyses 5 and 8 by USGS laboratories, Denver, CO
Major elements recalculated to 100% volatile free; FeO* = total Fe as FeO; na = not analyzed; Mg# =100*MgO/(MgO + FeO*) (mole percent)
Sample descriptions: 1 = partly glassy, coarsely porphyritic olivine-plagioclase-clinopyroxene basalt flow, base of Mule Canyon sequence, northern Shoshone
Range, NV; 2 = devitrified aphyric andesite flow, top of Mule Canyon sequence, northern Shoshone Range, NV; 3 = glassy, porphyritic plagioclase-clinopyrox-
ene-olivine dacite, southwestern Sheep Creek Range, NV; 4 = devitrified, coarse-grained sanidine-quartz-plagioclase-olivine rhyolite porphyry dome, southwest
Sheep Creek Range, NV; 5 = devitrified, vesicular fine-grained olivine-bearing basaltic andesite lava flow, Paradise Range, NV; 6 = glassy, medium-grained horn-
blende-plagioclase-clinopyroxene andesite, southwestern Paradise Range, NV; 7 = glassy, fine-grained biotite-hornblende-plagioclase dacite, southwestern Par-
adise Range, NV; 8 = devitrified, medium-grained biotite-quartz-sanidine-plagioclase rhyolite dike, southwestern Paradise Range, NV
and rocks of intermediate composition generally have only abundant phenocrysts of hydrous minerals (hornblende ± bi-
sparse phenocrysts of plagioclase, olivine, clinopyroxene, and otite), as well as plagioclase, clino- and orthopyroxenes, and
Fe-Ti oxides. Silicic rocks commonly contain quartz and Fe- Fe-Ti oxide minerals, suggesting high magmatic water con-
rich olivine phenocrysts. Phenocrysts of hydrous minerals (bi- tents. Titanomagnetite is a prominent phenocryst phase in all
otite and/or hornblende) are absent in most rocks, even those rock compositions, whereas ilmenite is sparse to absent. These
with potassium-rich, intermediate to silicic compositions characteristics and Fe-Ti oxide data discussed above indicate
(John et al., 1999, 2000), suggesting low magmatic water con- that the western andesite magmas were water rich (>3–5 wt %
tents (≤3 wt %; Burnham, 1979; Candela, 1997). Ilmenite H2O) and had relatively high oxygen fugacities (Carmichael,
forms prominent phenocrysts in all compositions, whereas ti- 1967; Burnham, 1979; Luhr, 1992; Candela, 1997).
tanomagnetite is sparse or absent, particularly in rocks of in- Models linking stress regime, rate of magma supply, and
termediate and silicic compositions. Magmatic sulfides volcanism are consistent with the observed types of eruptions
(mostly pyrrhotite) are common in all compositions. These and with the variable stress regimes inferred for the western
characteristics and magmatic temperature and oxygen fugac- andesite and bimodal assemblages in the northern Great
ity estimates discussed above indicate that magmas of the bi- Basin (Nakamura, 1977; Hildreth, 1981; Takada, 1994; Tosdal
modal assemblage were relatively high temperature, water poor, and Richards, 2001). Much of the western andesite assem-
and had low oxygen fugacities and low viscosities, as previously blage was erupted during oblique subduction along the west-
noted along the Snake River plain by Honjo et al. (1992). ern coast of North America in the Walker Lane belt, a region
Rocks of the western andesite assemblage generally formed of transcurrent faulting containing local transtensional zones
stratovolcanoes, dome fields, and subvolcanic intrusions, in- that may have focused magma emplacement (e.g., Breit et al.,
cluding granitoid plutons. Lahars and flow breccias are com- 1995; Berger and Drew, 1997; Berger et al., 1999). In this tec-
mon. Most rocks are strongly porphyritic, and they contain tonic environment, moderate to high rates of magma supply
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1838 DAVID A. JOHN
coupled with low differential horizontal stress allowed differences between them (Figs. 4–7, Table 3). The bimodal
volatile-rich magmas to rise along dilatant zones to shallow assemblage is a K-rich tholeiitic series using classification
crustal levels through buoyancy rather than from magmatic schemes of Irvine and Baragar (1971) and Miyashiro (1974;
overpressuring (Fig. 10). This resulted in formation of subcir- Figs. 4 and 5). Intermediate and silicic rocks are noteworthy
cular polygenetic stratovolcanoes directly overlying subvol- for their extremely low Mg and high Fe contents, and their
canic intrusions (e.g., Bodie-Aurora Hills, Chesterman and compositions show a strong Fe enrichment trend (Mg no.,
Gray, 1975; Breit et al., 1995; Virginia Range, Thompson, Table 3; John et al., 1999). These rocks are highly enriched in
1956; Vikre, 1989a; Hudson, 1993), an environment also con- large ion lithophilic elements (K, Rb, Ba), Th, rare earth ele-
ducive for the formation of porphyry copper deposits (Tosdal ments, and high field strength elements (Ti, Nb, Ta, Y, Zr),
and Richards, 2001). In contrast, the bimodal assemblage was and they have low Sr contents. In contrast, rocks from the
erupted during continental rifting under conditions of high western andesite assemblage do not show an Fe enrichment
differential horizontal stress and a moderate extension rate, trend, have relatively low Ti, Nb, Ta, Y, and Zr contents, and
and, except for the initial stages of this magmatic assemblage, have high Ba/Nb, Ba/La, K/La, Ba/Ta, and Zr/Nb ratios typi-
magma supply rates probably were lower than for the western cal of subduction-related calc-alkaline magmas (Table 3; Gill,
andesite assemblage. In this tectonic environment, exten- 1981; Luhr, 1992; Davidson and de Silva, 1995).
sional faults allowed rapid ascent of mafic magmas from the Rocks of the western andesite assemblage probably were
lithosphere, leading to formation of monogenetic volcanoes generated by partial melting of the mantle wedge above sub-
and elongate or elliptical, subvolcanic intrusions and strongly ducting oceanic lithosphere of the Farallon plate (Fig. 10).
aligned dike swarms (Fig. 9; e.g., central northern Nevada Compositional characteristics of this assemblage indicate that
rift; John et al., 2000). melting was enhanced by volatile flux from the subducting
Although magmatic activity spanned considerable time in plate, resulting in oxidized, water-rich magmas enriched in K,
both assemblages, individual volcanic centers in the western Rb, Sr, and Ba relative to high field strength elements. These
andesite assemblage generally were much longer lived than magmas were emplaced mostly into the Walker Lane belt.
those in the bimodal assemblage (Table 2). Typical volcanic Mafic rocks of the bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage gen-
fields in the western andesite assemblage were active for 3 to erally have compositions and isotopic characteristics, suggest-
8 m.y., although compositions and loci of eruptions within in- ing formation from a subduction-enriched lithospheric mantle
dividual fields varied through time. In contrast, magmatic source (Fig. 10; Fitton et al., 1991). The silicic rocks probably
centers in the bimodal assemblage were seldom active for were produced by small amounts of partial melting of the
more than 1 to 2 m.y., and many of the mafic rocks were not lower crust, resulting from underplating by basaltic magmas
erupted from magmatic centers. (Honjo et al., 1992). Sparse intermediate compositions may
Comparison of the compositional characteristics of suites of be the result of mixing of basalt and rhyolite magmas facili-
rocks from the two magmatic assemblages highlight systematic tated by extensional faulting, as suggested by Johnson and
WESTERN ANDESITE ASSEMBLAGE
Composite volcanoes develop

above shallow magma chambers
Transpression: magmas rise
Pull-apart buoyantly along dilatant zones
basin (Walker Lane Belt)
Oblique subduction
Farallon plate
North
Oceanic litho America
sphe
re
Accumulation of melt
Sl at base of lithosphere
ab Partial melting in (MASH zone)
de sub-arc mantle
hy
dr wedge
at
io
n
FIG. 10. Model for the magmatic-tectonic setting of the western andesite assemblage. Along the western side of the Great
Basin, oblique subduction of oceanic lithosphere (Farallon plate) beneath North America was occurring. Downgoing oceanic
crust dehydrated, releasing volatiles that facilitated partial melting of the mantle wedge. These volatile-rich mafic melts rose
buoyantly to the base of the lithosphere and ponded in the MASH zone (melting, assimilation, storage, and homogenization;
Hildreth and Moorbath, 1988), where they extensively interacted with the lower crust and probably formed diffuse
batholiths. Transtensional zones and pull-apart basins developed locally due to strike-slip faulting parallel to the arc and al-
lowed the hydrous magmas to rise buoyantly to shallow crustal levels and further fractionate and interact with the crust. Some
of these magmas erupted, forming polygenetic stratovolcanoes directly over the shallow magma chambers. Modified from
Tosdal and Richards (2001).
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Grunder (2000) for rocks of intermediate composition in the formation and associated magmatism (Table 4; John, 1999,
10.4 Ma bimodal suite in southeast Oregon. 2000; John et al., 1999). Some important differences include:
(1) tectonic setting; (2) characteristics of associated igneous
Miocene and Early Pliocene Epithermal Gold-Silver rocks and possible relationship to magmatism; (3) duration of
Deposits in the Northern Great Basin associated magmatism and hydrothermal activity; (4) areal ex-
Epithermal gold-silver deposits of Miocene to early Pliocene tent of hydrothermal systems and hydrothermal alteration; (5)
age are abundant in the northern Great Basin and include the other types of associated deposits; (6) geochemical character-
world-class Comstock Lode, Goldfield, Tonopah, and Ken istics, metal contents, and metal ratios of ores; (7) ore miner-
Snyder (Midas) deposits (Fig. 2b and c). These deposits can alogy; (8) inferred sulfidation and oxidation states of ore flu-
be broadly separated into two groups, high-sulfidation (acid- ids; and (9) stable isotope composition, salinity, and gas
sulfate) and low-sulfidation (adularia-sericite types), based on content of ore fluids.
their ore assemblages and associated hydrothermal alteration Tectonic setting of magmatism and epithermal deposits:
(Table 4; Heald et al., 1987; White and Hedenquist, 1990; Eruption of much of the western andesite assemblage may
Hedenquist et al., 2000). Both deposit types are abundant in have been localized in transtensional zones related to strike-
the northern Great Basin (Fig. 2b and c). As discussed below, slip faults in the Walker Lane belt (e.g., Breit et al., 1995;
ore assemblages suggest that low-sulfidation deposits in the Berger and Drew, 1997; Berger et al., 1999). Similarly, many
western andesite assemblage have oxidation and sulfidation epithermal and porphyry systems in the western andesite as-
states transitional between the low-sulfidation deposits in the semblage may have been localized in extensional duplexes
bimodal assemblage and high-sulfidation deposits. This ob- and releasing bends related to these strike-slip faults (e.g.,
servation has led to subdivision of low-sulfidation deposits Borealis, Eng, 1991; Haney et al., 2000; Rawhide, Black et al.,
into two subtypes (types 1 and 2 of John et al., 1999; inter- 1991, Gray, 1996; Santa Fe, Albino and Boyer, 1992; Bodie-
mediate-sulfidation and end-member low-sulfidation types of Aurora, Berger et al., 1999; Breit et al., 1995; B. Maher, oral
Hedenquist et al., 2000), based on characteristics of ore as- commun., 2001; Goldfield, Berger and Drew, 1997; Com-
semblages, metal contents and ratios, and volcano-tectonic stock Lode, Berger, 1996). Although several epithermal de-
setting (Tables 4 and 5; Albino and Margolis, 1991; Margolis, posits in the western andesite assemblage may have formed
1993; John, 1999, 2000; John et al., 1999; Hedenquist et al., during large-magnitude Miocene extension (e.g., Tonopah,
2000). Low-sulfidation deposits in the bimodal assemblage Seedorff, 1991), most deposits are associated with rocks
formed in an extensional (rift) environment and most com- erupted after large-magnitude extension, as shown by pro-
monly were associated with rhyolitic flows and domes of the nounced angular unconformities, during periods of more
bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage. Low-sulfidation deposits moderate extension possibly related to strike-slip faulting of
in the western andesite assemblage formed in constructional the Walker Lane belt.
volcanic settings, commonly in zones of strike-slip faulting, In contrast, the bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage was
and generally were associated with andesite and/or dacite erupted in an extensional environment during continental
stratovolcanoes and dome fields. rifting. The types of eruptions and orientations of dikes and
In the northern Great Basin, high-sulfidation deposits are shallow intrusions in this assemblage are consistent with an
restricted to the western andesite assemblage, whereas low- extensional tectonic environment that allowed rapid ascent of
sulfidation deposits with variable characteristics are present mafic magmas from the upper mantle (see above), and little
in both magmatic assemblages (Table 5; Fig. 2b and c). Most evidence is present for strike-slip faulting during the early (ca.
low-sulfidation deposits in the bimodal assemblage formed in 17–10 Ma) stages of magmatism when most epithermal de-
two distinct settings (Table 4; John et al., 1999): hosted by, or posits in this assemblage formed. Although small amounts of
spatially and temporally associated with, rhyolite flow domes oblique-slip displacement have been documented for a few
and flow sequences (e.g., Sleeper, DeLamar, National, Jar- epithermal deposits in the bimodal assemblage (e.g., Ken
bidge) or associated with mafic flows and dikes of the north- Snyder deposit, Midas district; Goldstrand and Schmidt,
ern Nevada rift (e.g., Mule Canyon, Buckhorn). In addition, 2000), displacement on most faults controlling mineralization
several shallow-depth, low-sulfidation deposits of Pliocene(?) appears to be dominantly dip-slip (e.g., Sleeper, Nash et al.,
age are hosted by clastic sedimentary rocks. These deposits 1995; Mule Canyon, John and Wallace, 2000), and strike-slip
are younger than most other epithermal deposits in the north- faults do not appear to have played a major role in the forma-
ern Great Basin, explaining the preservation of hot-spring tion of most epithermal deposits in the bimodal assemblage.
features, and appear to be unrelated to magmatism (e.g., Sul- Associated igneous rocks and relationship to magmatism:
phur (Crofoot-Lewis), Ebert et al., 1996; Wind Mountain, Epithermal gold-silver deposits in the western andesite as-
Wood, 1991). A few epithermal deposits also are present in semblage generally have close spatial, temporal, and genetic
late Eocene to early Miocene caldera-related volcanic centers links to magmatism, as shown by field relationships,
of the interior andesite-rhyolite assemblage (Fig. 2a), most geochronology, stable isotope data, alteration zonation, tem-
notably the huge, late Oligocene low-sulfidation deposit at peratures of hydrothermal mineral assemblages, and salinities
Round Mountain; these deposits are not discussed in this and gas contents of ore fluids (e.g., Comstock Lode, Gold-
paper. field, and Paradise Peak: Taylor, 1973; Ashley, 1974, 1979;
Vikre et al., 1988; Vikre, 1989a, b; John et al., 1989, 1991; Rye
Deposit characteristics et al., 1992; Sillitoe and Lorson, 1994). The advanced argilli-
Characteristics of low-sulfidation deposits vary significantly cally altered hosts to high-sulfidation deposits, such as Gold-
reflecting fundamental differences in their environments of field and Paradise Peak, are inferred to have formed from
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TABLE 4. Characteristics of Miocene and Early Pliocene Epithermal Gold-Silver Deposits in the Northern Great Basin
1840
Deposit type High-sulfidation Low-sulfidation Low-sulfidation
Alternative deposit types Acid-sulfate1 Adularia-sericite,1 type 1 low-sulfidation,2 Adularia-sericite,1 type 2 low-sulfidation,2
intermediate-sulfidation2 end-member low-sulfidation3
Igneous association Western andesite Western andesite Bimodal
Igneous setting Andesite/dacite stratovolcanoes and dome Andesite/dacite stratovolcanoes and dome Rhyolite domes; mafic dikes intruding mafic
fields in subduction-related continental fields in subduction-related continental volcanic piles and volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks
margin volcanic arc margin volcanic arc
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00
Tectonic setting Transtensional zones related to strike-slip faults Transtensional zones related to strike-slip faults Extensional faults related to continental rifting
Mineralization style Residual (“vuggy”) silicified zones and quartz Vuggy, often rhythmically banded and comb Narrow (≤2 m wide), rhythmically banded silica
veins locally containing pods of massive sulfides; texture veins; mineralized zones generally ±calcite ±adularia veins; veins may extend along
hydrothermal/tectonic breccias ≤10 m wide, may be continuous for kilometerss strike for several kilometerss; hydrothermal/
along strike and up to 1 km downdip; repeated tectonic breccias; repeated fault brecciation
fault brecciation
Hydrothermal alteration Widespread propylitic alteration; inner zones Regional propylitic alteration (calcite-chlorite ± Narrow zones of argillic (smectite/illite) alteration;
of vuggy silica, advanced argillic (kaolinite/ epidote); narrow zones of superimposed adularia, inner zones of silica-illite ± adularia; silica is
dickite, diaspore, pyrophyllite, andalusite), sericite, and argillic alteration around quartz ± mostly opal or chalcedony; local peripheral
alunitic, and sericitic alteration; barren carbonate ± adularia veins; barren steam-heated propylitic alteration (calcite-chlorite ± epidote);
lithocaps of silicification argillic alteration overlying boiling zones barren steam-heated argillic alteration overlying
boiling zones
Metals produced Au, Ag ±Cu Au, Ag ±Cu, Pb, Zn Au, Ag ±Hg
Geochemical signature Au, Ag, As, Sb, Pb, ±Bi, Cu, Hg, Mo, Sn, Te, Zn Au, Ag, Ba, Mn, ±Cu, Pb, Se, Zn Au, Ag, As, Sb, Se, Hg, ±Mo, Tl, W
1840
Ag/Au Generally low, 1:5 to 2:1 (Paradise Peak is High, generally 10:1 to 100:1 Moderate, generally 2:1 to 10:1 (bonanza veins at
DAVID A. JOHN
anomalously high 15:1) Sleeper about 1:1)
Base metal content (Cu + Pb + Zn) Generally high; Cu production in some districts Variable, but generally >200 ppm Low, generally ≤200 ppm
Ore mineralogy Pyrite, gold, enargite/luzonite, sphalerite, Pyrite, electrum, silver sulfides and sulphosalts; Pyrite/marcasite, arsenopyrite, electrum, gold,
covellite, ±chalcopyrite, galena, tetrahedrite/ local sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite Ag selenides and sulfides, stibnite, local
tennantite, bismuthanite, stibnite, Au tellurides pyrrhotite, minor local sphalerite, galena,
chalcopyrite, tetrahedrite, Se sulphosalts
Gangue mineralogy Quartz, opal, chalcedony, barite, local alunite, Quartz, carbonate, sericite ± adularia, Opal-chalcedony, quartz, illite/sericite, ±adularia,
kaolinite rare chlorite ±carbonate, ±montmorillinite
Sulfide content High Variable, can be high in deeper parts of systems Variable, but generally low (<1%); deposits hosted
(30%) by mafic rocks of the northern Nevada rift may
contain up to 30% Fe sulfide
Ore fluids Low pH, high ƒO2 and ƒS2, variable salinity Neutral pH, low to moderate ƒO2 and ƒS2, low Neutral pH to slightly acidic, low ƒO2 and ƒS2, low
(deep halite-saturated fluids) to moderate salinities (1–6 wt % NaCl equiv), salinity (≤2 wt % NaCl equiv)
locally CO2 rich
Temperature of ore formation <200° (Paradise Peak, Borealis) to 200° to 280°C Generally ≤200°C (deposits in the National
>300°C (Goldfield) district and parts of the Midas district to
approx 300°C)
1Heald et al. (1987)

2
John et al. (1999)
3
Hedenquist et al. (2000)
TABLE 5. Miocene and Early Pliocene Epithermal Gold-Silver Deposits in the Northern Great Basin
Western andesite assemblage Bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage
Low-sulfidation High-sulfidation Low-sulfidation Low-sulfidation, nonmagmatic
Aurora Borealis Buckhorn Florida Canyon(?)

Bodie Golden Dome Bullfrog Sulphur (Crofoot-Lewis)
Como Goldfield Delamar Wind Mountain
Comstock Lode Masonic Fire Creek
Divide Morningstar (Monitor district) Goldbanks
Gilbert Paradise Peak Grassy Mountain
Gooseberry Peavine-Wedekind High Grade
Hasbrouck Mountain Ramsey-Comstock Hog Ranch
Olinghouse Santa Fe Ivanhoe
Silver Peak Jarbidge
Talapoosa Manhattan(?)
Tonopah Midas
Zaca (Monitor district) Mountain View
Mule Canyon
Interior andesite assemblage National
Quartz Mountain
Low-sulfidation Rock Creek
Atlanta(?) Seven Troughs
Bell Mountain Sleeper
Faiview Tenmile
Round Mountain
Tuscarora
Wonder
condensation of magmatic vapor (Vikre, 1989b; Rye et al., Duration of magmatism and hydrothermal activity: The
1992; also see reviews by Hedenquist and Lowenstern, 1994; western andesite assemblage was characterized by long-lived,
Arribas, 1995), followed by a magmatic liquid that deposits polygenetic stratovolcanoes and dome fields (Tables 1 and 2).
ore (Hedenquist et al., 1998). Hydrothermal fluids that Eruptions within volcanic centers, such as those in the Vir-
formed bonanza ores at the Comstock Lode also appear to ginia Range and in the Bodie Hills, may have spanned a pe-
have had a significant magmatic component (Taylor, 1973; riod of 7 to 10 m.y., and hydrothermal systems forming ep-
O’Neil and Silberman, 1974; Vikre, 1989a, Simmons, 1995). ithermal gold-silver deposits and porphyry-style altered and
In contrast, epithermal deposits in the bimodal assemblage low-grade base and precious metal mineralized rocks in these
generally are spatially and temporally associated with volcan- areas most likely were active repeatedly during much of the
ism, but their genetic relationship to magmatism is less cer- life span of the magmatism (Table 2). In contrast, the bimodal
tain (e.g., National district, Vikre, 1985, 1987; Sleeper, Nash assemblage was characterized by much shorter lived, mono-
et al., 1995; Saunders and Schoenly, 1995). genetic volcanic fields consisting mostly of mafic cinder
As discussed above, magmas of the western andesite as- cones, sheet flows, and dike swarms and silicic domes. Indi-
semblage were relatively water rich and oxidized, which are vidual volcanic centers seldom were active for more than 1 to
characteristics typical of subduction-related calc-alkaline vol- 2 m.y. (Tables 1 and 2). Most hydrothermal activity that
canic arcs that generate porphyry copper-gold deposits formed epithermal deposits in the bimodal assemblage oc-
throughout the Circum-Pacific (e.g., Burnham, 1979; Burn- curred during a brief time interval between about 16 and 14
ham and Ohmoto, 1980; Hedenquist and Lowenstern, 1994; Ma that corresponded to the peak of magmatic activity in this
Sillitoe, 2000). Rocks in this assemblage are similar in com- assemblage in the northern Great Basin (Noble et al., 1988;
position to those that formed high-sulfidation deposits else- McKee and Moring, 1996; John et al., 1999). In contrast, ep-
where and are distinct from the sparse intermediate compo- ithermal deposits in the western andesite assemblage formed
sition rocks of the bimodal assemblage (Table 3, Fig. 7; throughout the duration of magmatism, between about 21 to
Arribas, 1995). In contrast, magmas of the bimodal assem- 4 Ma (Silberman et al., 1976; McKee and Moring, 1996; John
blage had low water contents and low oxygen fugacities, and et al., 1999).
silicic magmas probably were strongly contaminated by Areal extent of hydrothermal systems and hydrothermal al-
crustal materials (Honjo et al., 1992; John et al., 2000). Hy- teration: Regional-scale propylitic alteration affected large
drothermal systems related to these magmas can form de- areas of the western andesite assemblage. This alteration was
posits enriched in lithophile elements (Li, Cs, Rb), Hg, Be, developed most prominently around the Comstock Lode in
and U (e.g., McDermitt caldera complex, Rytuba and Glanz- the Virginia Range and in the Markleeville area (Monitor dis-
man, 1979). These magmas also can be affiliated with re- trict) in eastern California, where more than 100 km2 of mid-
duced Mo-Sn-W-rich porphyry systems, such as the Izzen- dle Miocene volcanic rocks and Mesozoic basement rocks un-
hood and Ivanhoe Sn-bearing rhyolites (Fries, 1942; Wallace derwent strong propylitic alteration (Coats, 1940; Wilshire,
and John, 1998). 1957; Whitebread, 1976; Vikre, 1989a). In these districts,
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1842 DAVID A. JOHN
small (less than a few square kilometers) areas of other types greater As, Hg, Sb, Se, and Tl contents, lower Ag/Au ratios,
of hydrothermal alteration were widely distributed and su- and lower base metal contents (Cu + Pb + Zn) than low-sul-
perimposed on the regional propylitic alteration. In contrast, fidation deposits in the western andesite assemblage (Table 4;
regional-scale propylitic alteration did not develop in bimodal John et al., 1999). Ores in low-sulfidation deposits in the
assemblage rocks, and alteration zones tend to be narrow and western andesite assemblage commonly have greater Ba, Mn,
largely restricted to wall rocks immediately adjacent to the and Te contents than deposits in the bimodal assemblage. Sil-
faults that channeled ore-forming hydrothermal fluids (John ver/gold ratios of the bimodal assemblage deposits typically
et al., 1999; John and Wallace, 2000; Leavitt et al., 2000a). are <10 and are near 1 in many deposits (Long et al., 1998;
The regional-scale propylitic alteration in the western an- John et al., 1999). In contrast, Ag/Au ratios generally are >10
desite assemblage was probably a function of the style and in low-sulfidation deposits in the western andesite assem-
duration of magmatic activity (long-lived stratovolcanoes and blage, and deposits such as Comstock Lode and Tonopah av-
abundant subjacent volatile-rich intrusions). These volcanic eraged 23 and 94, respectively (Bonham, 1969; Bonham and
centers most likely had substantial topographic relief with Garside, 1979). Base metal contents (Cu + Pb + Zn) generally
large hydraulic heads to recharge ground water. The large hy- are low in low-sulfidation deposits in the bimodal assemblage,
draulic gradients, combined with numerous shallow intru- seldom exceeding 200 ppm (e.g., Vikre, 1985; Monroe et al.,
sions, resulted in large, long-lived and extensive hydrothermal 1988; Nash et al., 1995; Bussey, 1996; John and Wallace,
systems. In contrast, most volcanic centers in the bimodal as- 2000). Base metal contents generally are higher in low-sulfi-
semblage were relatively short lived, and volatile-rich subvol- dation deposits in the western andesite assemblage, com-
canic intrusions were uncommon. For example, magmatic ac- monly >500 ppm Cu + Pb + Zn, and parts of the northern bo-
tivity around the Mule Canyon deposit in the bimodal nanza in the Comstock Lode exceeded 30 wt percent
assemblage probably spanned no more than 1.7 m.y., with sphalerite, galena, and chalcopyrite (Vikre, 1989a). However,
most igneous and hydrothermal activity occurring within a few low-sulfidation deposits in the western andesite assem-
about 800,000 yr (Table 2). Most lava flows here are thin, and blage that are associated with rhyolitic volcanism have notably
despite the location of the deposit along of the western side low base metal contents (e.g., Aurora, Osborne, 1991; B.
of the northern Nevada rift, substantial relief apparently was Maher, writ. commun., 2000; Rawhide, Black et al., 1991;
absent (John et al., 2000). Gray, 1996). Ores in high-sulfidation deposits in the western
Other associated mineral deposits: In the western andesite andesite assemblage generally contain still higher Cu + Pb +
assemblage, high-sulfidation deposits are present in many dis- Zn contents, and by-product copper was produced from sev-
tricts containing low-sulfidation deposits (Fig. 2b), and it has eral districts (Goldfield, Masonic, Peavine-Wedekind, Fig. 2b).
been suggested that porphyry copper-gold deposits may un- Ore mineralogy: Ore mineralogy is one of the most distinc-
derlie high-sulfidation deposits in several districts, including tive differences between the low-sulfidation deposits in the
the Goldfield, Monitor, Peavine-Wedekind, and Golden two magmatic assemblages (Tables 4 and 6). Nearly all low-
Dome districts (Fig. 2b; Hudson, 1977, 1983; Wallace, 1979; sulfidation deposits in the bimodal assemblage contain abun-
Albino, 1991; Canby, 1992; Rytuba, 1996). Sillitoe and Lorson dant silver selenide minerals (generally naumanite, Ag2Se,
(1994) noted alteration patterns characteristic of a porphyry
gold system several kilometers west of the Paradise Peak
high-sulfidation deposit, and Hollister and Silberman (1995) TABLE 6. Ore Mineral Characteristics of Miocene and Early Pliocene
suggested that porphyry copper-gold mineralization may un- Low-Sulfidation Gold-Silver Deposits, Northern Great Basin
derlie gold-rich polymetallic veins in the Bodie district. Nu- (common, present in most deposits; uncommon, present in a few deposits)
merous porphyry copper deposits are present in more deeply
eroded parts of the Miocene Cascades arc farther north, such Western
as the Glacier Peak and Earl/Margaret (Mount St. Helens) Mineral andesite assemblage Bimodal assemblage
deposits in Washington (Power, 1985; Derkey at al., 1990). In
Pyrite Ubiquitous Ubiquitous
addition, stratiform sulfur replacement deposits genetically
Marcasite Rare Common
related to high-sulfidation deposits are present locally in east- Pyrrhotite Rare or absent Uncommon
ern California and western Nevada in the western part of the Arsenian pyrite/ Absent Uncommon
arc (Rytuba, 1996; Vikre, 2000), notably at the Leviathan marcasite
mine in the Monitor district (Evans, 1977). In contrast, no Arsenopyrite Rare or absent Common
high-sulfidation or porphyry Cu-Au deposits are known in the Silver sulfides Ubiquitous Common
bimodal assemblage. Because of the low water contents, re- Silver sulfosalts Common Uncommon
duced nature, and deep emplacement of the magma cham- Silver selenides Rare Ubiquitous
bers, there is little likelihood that these types of deposits are Electrum Common Common (commonly dendritic)
present in bimodal assemblage rocks (see below; John et al., Chalcopyrite Common Common (trace amounts)
Tetrahedrite/
1999).
tennantite Common Uncommon (trace amounts)
Geochemical characteristics, metal contents, and metal ra- Stibnite Uncommon Common
tios of ores: Geochemical characteristics, Ag/Au ratios, and Galena Common Uncommon (trace amounts)
base metal contents of low-sulfidation deposits vary signifi- Sphalerite Common (Fe-poor) Uncommon (trace amounts,
cantly within deposits, between deposits, and between mag- Fe-rich, inhomogeneous)
matic assemblages. In general, however, ores in low-sulfida- Hematite Rare Absent
tion deposits in the bimodal assemblage have significantly
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and/or aguilarite, Ag4SeS). In contrast, silver selenide miner- studies of deposits in the National district (1985) in the bi-
als are rare to absent in low-sulfidation deposits in the west- modal assemblage and of the Comstock Lode (1989a) in the
ern andesite assemblage, but significant Se may be incorpo- western andesite assemblage are two of the most complete
rated into tetrahedrite or other sulfosalts (e.g., Comstock studies. Comparison of the Comstock Lode to the National
Lode, Vikre, 1989a; Gooseberry, Perkins, 1987) or in acan- district indicates that bonanza ores in the Comstock Lode
thite. For example, acanthite in the Comstock Lode contains formed at higher oxygen and sulfur fugacities than ores in the
1 to 10 mole percent Se (Vikre, 1989a), and acanthite from National district (Figs. 11 and 12). Reconnaissance studies of
Tonopah contains 1 to 8 mole percent Se (D.A. John, unpub. other deposits in the western andesite assemblage (Bodie,
data, 2000). Other mineralogical differences include marca- Tonopah, and Zaca mine, Monitor district) and in the bimodal
site, which is abundant in most deposits in the bimodal as- assemblage (Mule Canyon, Rosebud, and Buckhorn) also
semblage but absent in low-sulfidation deposits in the west- support this distinction in oxygen and sulfur fugacities (Figs.
ern andesite assemblage, arsenopyrite, which is abundant in 11 and 12, Tables 4 and 7). Lower sulfur and oxygen fugaci-
many deposits in the bimodal assemblage but generally ab- ties for low-sulfidation deposits in the bimodal assemblage
sent in deposits in the western andesite assemblage, and also are suggested by the presence of pyrrhotite and/or ar-
pyrrhotite, which is present in several deposits in the bimodal senopyrite and by the ubiquitous presence of silver selenides
assemblage but typically absent in deposits in the western an- in these deposits and the incorporation of Se into sulfosalts
desite (Table 6; John et al., 1999). Stibnite (or berthierite, rather than into selenide minerals in deposits in the western
Vikre, 1985) is present in many low-sulfidation deposits in the andesite assemblage (Margolis, 1993; Simon et al., 1997). The
bimodal assemblage, whereas Sb is incorporated mostly into generally low Fe contents of sphalerite (Table 7), the occur-
tetrahedrite or other sulfosalts in low-sulfidation deposits in rence of tetrahedrite-tennantite, and the local presence of
the western andesite. Sphalerite in deposits in the bimodal as- hematite and/or Fe-rich chlorite in ore assemblages (e.g., Au-
semblage tends to be Fe rich and compositionally zoned, rora; Osborne, 1991) in low-sulfidation deposits in the west-
whereas sphalerite in low-sulfidation deposits in the western ern andesite assemblage also indicate higher oxygen and sul-
andesite assemblage is Fe poor and compositionally homoge- fur fugacities than in deposits in the bimodal assemblage. The
nous (Table 7; P.G. Vikre, writ. commun., 2000; see below). presence of stibnite and local berthierite rather than tetra-
Relative oxidation and sulfidation states of ore assemblages: hedrite in many low-sulfidation deposits in the bimodal as-
Ore mineral assemblages and mineral compositions suggest semblage also may indicate lower sulfur fugacities (Seal et al.,
that low-sulfidation deposits in the western andesite assem- 1990).
blage generally formed at higher sulfur and oxygen fugacities Stable isotope composition, salinity, and gas content of ore
than low-sulfidation deposits in the bimodal assemblage and fluids: Available fluid inclusion data indicate that the low-sul-
are transitional with high-sulfidation deposits (Figs. 11 and fidation deposits in the bimodal assemblage have very low
12; John et al., 1999; Hedenquist et al., 2000). Relatively few salinity ore fluids. Such low-salinity fluids were incapable of
detailed studies of ore assemblages and ore fluids for epither- transporting significant quantities of silver and base metals
mal deposits in the northern Great Basin exist; consequently, (Henley, 1990), explaining their generally low contents in
a rigorous evaluation of sulfidation and oxidation states of ore these ores. For example, ore-stage fluids in the National dis-
assemblages and ore fluids is not attempted here. Vikre’s trict had maximum salinities of 1.3 wt percent NaCl equiv
TABLE 7. Iron Contents of Sphalerite in Miocene and Early Pliocene Epithermal Deposits, Northern Great Basin
Sample no. No. analyses1 XFe(min)2 XFe(max)2 Mineral assemblage3
Tonopah (Belmont mine)

Tonopah 1A 17 0.2 1.2 qtz-ill-calcite-py-spl-cp-gl
Tonopah E4-B 48 0.2 1.7 qtz-ill-py-spl-gl-el-acan
Bodie (Red Cloud mine)

99-DJ-72E 11 0.3 1.7 qtz-ill-cp-spl-tet-py-el-hessite
99-DJ-72D 9 0.4 2.0 qtz-ill-cp-spl-py-tet-gl
Zaca mine
D-6 17 0.7 2.1 qtz-Ksp-ill-py-cp-spl-tet-gl-mo
D-8 31 0.5 1.5 qtz-Ksp-ill-py-cp-spl-tet-gl
Rosebud mine
Rosebud 1 19 3.3 13.7 qtz-ill-dickite-mc-cp-tet-spl-asp-el
Rosebud 3b 6 0.8 13.5 qtz-ill-py-tet-spl-cp-el-gl
Mule Canyon mine

97-MC-1 1 10.0 10.0 qtz-ad-ill-py-mc-asp-spl
1 Number of electron microprobe analyses

2
Fe/(Fe + Zn), in mole percent
3
Mineral abbreviations: acan = acanthite, ad = adularia, asp = arsenopyrite, cp = chalcopyrite, el = electrum, gl = galena, ill = illite, Ksp = K feldspar,
mc = marcasite, mo = molybdenite, py = pyrite, qtz = quartz, spl = sphalerite, tet = tetrahedrite
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 1843

1844 DAVID A. JOHN
-30 Sparse gas analyses of fluid inclusions suggest that ore-stage

fluids in low-sulfidation deposits in the western andesite as-
KAOLINITE
ALUNITE
250°C
Acid-sulfate (high-sulfidation)
semblage (Comstock Lode, Tonopah) may have had larger
HSO4- (Heald et al., 1987)
ANGLESITE dissolved gas contents than ore fluids in low-sulfidation de-
GALENA posits in the bimodal assemblage (National, Sleeper, Dixie
Adularia-sericite prospect of the Midas district; Vikre, 1985, 1989a; Graney
(low-sulfidation) and Kesler, 1995; Saunders and Schoenly, 1995; Ioannou and
(Heald et al., 1987) Spooner, 2000).
COVELLITE HEMATITE Stable isotope analyses of ores from low-sulfidation de-
DIGENITE
CHLORITE
posits in the bimodal and western assemblage assemblages
-35 H2S show that both deposit types were dominated by meteoric wa-
Log ƒO2
.1% PYRITE+BORNITE (Na,K)SO4- ters over the life of the systems (O’Neil et al., 1973; Taylor,
CHALCOPYRITE 1973; O’Neil and Silberman, 1974; Vikre, 1987, 1989a). How-
Western ever, ore fluids in bonanza parts of the Comstock Lode ap-
ENARGITE Andesite pear to have had a significant magmatic component
TENNANTITE
1 mole % FeS in ZnS (30–75%). Such evidence has not been found to date in most
other deposits (Taylor, 1973; Vikre, 1989a; Simmons, 1995).
Bimodal
PYRRHOTITE
CHLORITE
5 PYRITE+STIBNITE
Discussion
BERTHIERITE
10
HS- Most Miocene and early Pliocene epithermal gold-silver
-40
+BORNITE
PYRITE
deposits of the northern Great Basin are spatially and tempo-
RITE
PYRRHOTITE
rally related to two distinct magmatic assemblages that
CHALCOPY
K-FELDSPAR
MUSCOVITE
KAOLINITE
formed in differing tectonic settings (Figs. 11 and 12). Types

CHLORITE
and characteristics of epithermal deposits vary systematically

10% 1% between the two magmatic assemblages, suggesting that mag-
mas may have played a fundamental role in the genesis of
2 4 6 8 10 these deposits. The differences described here between types
pH of epithermal deposits could arise from (1) variable basement
FIG. 11. Log fO2-pH diagram at 250°C, total sulfur = 0.02 m, and salinity
and/or volcanic wall rocks, (2) variable tectonic and hydro-
= 1 m with Na/K = 9. Modified from Heald et al. (1987). Dotted curve show- logic environments of magmatism and ore formation, (3) vari-
ing berthierite stability from Barton and Skinner (1979). Fields inferred for able amounts and/or types of magmatic input to ore-forming
ore fluids for low-sulfidation deposits in the western andesite and bimodal as- fluids, or (4) most likely, a combination of the above.
semblages based on ore assemblages and compositional data for the National
district from Vikre (1985), data for the Comstock Lode from Vikre (1989a),
and reconnaissance data for Tonopah, Bodie, Zaca, Rosebud, Mule Canyon, Effects of basement and volcanic wall rocks
and Buckhorn collected as part of this study (see text). Fields for acid-sulfate
and adularia-sericite deposits from Heald et al. (1987). Ore fluids for adu-
Although basement terranes and the types of rocks in these
laria-sericite deposits are assumed to be in equilibrium with Fe-rich chlorite terranes vary significantly across the Great Basin (Fig. 3;
and hematite. Ores in most low-sulfidation deposits in the northern Great Stewart and Carlson, 1978; Ludington et al., 1996a), base-
Basin lack these minerals, suggesting lower oxidation states. ment rocks do not vary significantly between the two major
Miocene magmatic assemblages. Furthermore, the continen-
tal margin of North America, as inferred from the initial
87
(Vikre, 1985a), bonanza ore fluids at Sleeper had salinities of Sr/86Sr = 0.706 isopleth, crosses the bimodal and western
0.1 to 0.6 wt percent NaCl equiv (Saunders and Schoenly, andesite assemblages and does not correlate with the types of
1995), and bonanza vein fluids at Midas had salinities of about epithermal deposits present in these assemblages (Fig. 2b
0.5 to 0.6 wt percent NaCl equiv (Blair, 1991; Goldstrand and and c). These relationships suggest that variations in the types
Schmidt, 2000; Ioannou and Spooner, 2000). In contrast, lim- and characteristics of the epithermal deposits in the two mag-
ited data for ore fluids in the western andesite assemblage matic assemblages are not related primarily to variations in
suggest somewhat higher salinities, including some bonanza the types of basement rocks.
ore fluids at the Comstock Lode with salinities as much as 6 Variations in the oxidation state of volcanic wall rocks and
wt percent NaCl equiv (Vikre, 1989a), ore fluids at Aurora preore-stage hydrothermal alteration may influence the char-
with 2 to 6 wt percent NaCl equiv (Osborne, 1991), and ore acteristics of the epithermal deposits. In volcanic rocks of the
fluids at Tonopah with 0.8 to 2.0 wt percent NaCl equiv bimodal assemblage, propylitic alteration is limited, probably
(Fahley, 1979), although the possible effect of dissolved CO2 reflecting the absence of large, long-lived, volatile-rich strato-
in inclusion fluids on calculated salinities (Hedenquist and volcanoes and the resulting lack of large hydrothermal sys-
Henley, 1985) is not discussed in these studies. At DeLamar, tems driven by shallow intrusions. Relatively small volumes of
a low-sulfidation deposit in the bimodal assemblage that has reduced ore fluids flowing through relatively reduced wall
an anomalously high Ag/Au ratio of 40, late-stage ore fluids rocks resulted in the maintenance of reduced conditions
had salinities of 2.8 to 3.8 wt percent NaCl equiv (Halsor et throughout the hydrothermal system. In contrast, large areas
al., 1988), so the high Ag contents there may correspond to of relatively oxidized propylitic alteration form wall rocks of
relatively high salinity ore fluids. low-sulfidation deposits in the western andesite assemblage.
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 1844

-6
250°C Acid-sulfate
COVELLITE (high-sulfidation)
DIGENITE (Heald et al., 1987)
KAO
ALU
NIT
LIN
E
ITE
-8
0.1 mole % FeS PYRITE+BORNITE FAMATINITE
CHALCOPYRITE TETRAHEDRITE
ORPIMENT
LOG ƒS2
REALGAR Western ENARGITE

TENNANTITE
-10 Andesite
1%
PYRITE
REALGAR
ARSENIC
4% Adularia-sericite
STIBNITE + PYRITE (low-sulfidation)
-12 Bimodal BERTHiERITE
PYRITE+ARSENIC (Heald et al., 1987)
ARSENOPYRITE
10%
ANGLESITE
GALENA
S
S
Zn
Zn
HEMATITE
in
in
S
S
Fe
Fe
e%
PYRRHOTITE e%
%
ol
10
ol
m
CHLORITE
m
1
4
-14
-41 -39 -37 -35 -33 -31
LOG ƒO2
FIG. 12. Log δO2-log δS2 diagram at 250°C. Modified from Heald et al. (1987). Fields inferred for ore fluids for low-sul-
fidation deposits in the western andesite and bimodal assemblages based on ore assemblages and compositional data for the
National district from Vikre (1985), data for the Comstock Lode from Vikre (1989a), and reconnaissance data for Tonopah,
Bodie, Zaca, Rosebud, Mule Canyon, and Buckhorn collected as part of this study (see text). Berthierite and arsenic mineral
stability curves calculated from equations in Barton and Skinner (1979). Kaolinite-alunite equilibrium drawn for pH = 2.8
and total sulfur = 0.02 m. Fields for acid-sulfate and adularia-sericite deposits from Heald et al. (1987). Ore fluids for adu-
laria-sericite deposits are assumed to be in equilibrium with Fe-rich chlorite and hematite. Ores in most low-sulfidation de-
posits in the northern Great Basin lack these minerals, suggesting lower oxidation states.
The relatively oxidized ore fluids of the low-sulfidation de- Giggenbach (1995) estimated that these fluids contain only
posits in the western andesite assemblage thus could reflect about 6 percent magmatic component. Giggenbach (1992c)
both the propylitized, relatively oxidized volcanic wall rocks estimated that geothermal systems in other subduction-re-
and the direct input of oxidized magmatic fluids. lated andesitic arcs, such as the Philippines, could contain as
much as 50 percent magmatic water.
Effects of tectonic and hydrologic environments Geothermal systems in the Taupo Volcanic Zone are broadly
The proportion and composition of magmatic components analogous to hydrothermal systems thought to have formed
in deep geothermal fluids that can form epithermal gold- epithermal gold-silver deposits worldwide (e.g., White, 1955,
silver deposits may vary with tectonic environment. Giggen- 1981; Henley and Ellis, 1983; Giggenbach, 1992a, 1997;
bach (1992b, 1995) suggested that the composition of deep Hedenquist and Lowenstern, 1994; Simmons and Browne,
geothermal fluids in the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand, 2000). Although locally high concentrations of precious met-
is a function of their tectonic setting and source magmas. The als have been found in the eastern, arc-related Taupo Vol-
eastern margin of the Taupo Volcanic Zone is characterized canic Zone geothermal systems, no economic quantities have
by subduction-related, arc-type andesitic magmatism. Deep yet been found. In the Taupo Volcanic Zone, both the rift-
geothermal fluids in this area have high CO2 contents and related rhyolitic magmas and arc-related andesitic magmas
high CO2/Cl, CO2/3He, and N2/Ar ratios. Based on relative are calc-alkaline and relatively oxidized (magmatic oxygen fu-
contents of B, Cl, Li, and Cs, Giggenbach (1995) suggested gacity ≥Ni-NiO buffer; Graham et al., 1995; Price et al.,
that these deep geothermal fluids were derived from an- 1999), unlike the reduced, tholeiitic magmas of the bimodal
desitic magmas and contained an average of about 14 percent assemblage in the northern Great Basin. Furthermore, min-
magmatic component. The western portion of the Taupo Vol- eralogical studies of drill core from the Broadlands geother-
canic Zone is a rift environment undergoing crustal extension, mal system in the eastern part of the Taupo Volcanic Zone in-
and the bimodal basalt-rhyolite magmatism is dominated by dicate relatively reduced hydrothermal fluids (low ƒO2 and
silicic volcanism. Deep geothermal fluids here have lower ƒS2) (Browne and Lovering, 1973), suggestive of bimodal, rift-
CO2 contents and lower CO2/Cl ratios than geothermal sys- related volcanism if hydrothermal fluid composition is influ-
tems in the eastern Taupo Volcanic Zone. Low CO2/3He and enced by magma composition. However, the variable amounts
N2/Ar ratios are consistent with mantle-derived volatiles, and and types of magmatic input to geothermal systems in the
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1846 DAVID A. JOHN
Taupo Volcanic Zone may be broadly characteristic of differ- magmas (Heinrich et al., 1999). The resulting brine may cool
ing tectonic environments, continental rift-related bimodal and form porphyry Cu-Au mineralization in and adjacent to
magmatism versus subduction-related andesitic arc magma- the crystallizing magma (Fig. 13a). The vapor phase may sep-
tism (Giggenbach, 1997), similar to the contrasting magmatic- arate and rise as an SO2-rich plume that may mix with ground
tectonic environments in the Miocene Great Basin. water, cool, and react with surrounding wall rocks to form ex-
tensive areas of propylitic alteration (the “primary neutraliza-
Magmatic contribution to ore-forming fluids tion” of Giggenbach, 1997; Fig. 13a) or it may react directly
and other components with volcanic wall rocks forming areas of advanced argillic al-
The magmatic contribution, if any, to ore-forming fluids of teration and acid-leaching characteristic of the upper parts of
most low-sulfidation deposits in the northern Great Basin re- porphyry copper systems and early alteration in high-sulfida-
mains ambiguous. The correlation between characteristics of tion deposits. Injection of unseparated, low- to moderate-
the low-sulfidation deposits and magma composition and oxi- salinity (ca. 5–10 wt % NaCl equiv), metal-rich, oxidized mag-
dation state suggests there may be a magmatic contribution to matic fluids into ground water during the late stages of
the ore-forming fluids. However, data critical to assess the magma crystallization may lead to the formation of relatively
magmatic contribution to these fluids, such as gas analyses of base metal and silver-rich low-sulfidation deposits in more
fluid inclusions and stable isotope analyses of ore-stage min- distal parts of the hydrothermal system and high-sulfidation
erals, are sparse or lacking for most deposits. deposits in the advanced argillically altered rocks (Fig. 13a;
Noble et al. (1988) and Connors et al. (1993) proposed that Hedenquist and Lowenstern, 1994; Shinohara and Heden-
basaltic magmas of the bimodal assemblage were the primary quist, 1997; Hedenquist et al., 1998).
source of gold, sulfur, and chloride in low-sulfidation deposits In reduced, water-poor magmas of the bimodal assem-
in the bimodal assemblage. They noted that the age of these blage, sulfur is present primarily as H2S, and the magmas may
deposits is restricted mostly between 16 to 14 Ma during the become saturated with an immiscible sulfide melt relatively
peak intensity of basaltic volcanism in the northern Great early during their crystallization (Whitney, 1984, 1988; Can-
Basin, and that continental tholeiites, such as basaltic magmas dela, 1997). Copper will tend to partition into this sulfide
in the bimodal assemblage, are relatively enriched in gold phase. The low water contents of these magmas result in late
compared to more silicic rocks. Connors et al. (1993) showed fluid saturation that limits partitioning of compatible mag-
that rhyolitic magmas of the bimodal assemblage and else- matic elements such as Cu into a magmatic aqueous vapor
where generally have low gold contents and were unlikely phase (Candela, 1997). Late vapor saturation of these mag-
sources for gold in the epithermal deposits in the bimodal as- mas also results in a vapor rich in Au, As, and Sb (Heinrich et
semblage. Noble et al. (1988) suggested that basaltic magmas al., 1999), but the sulfur fugacity will be low due to buffering
of the bimodal assemblage provided the gold, sulfur, and by pyrrhotite and magnetite (Whitney, 1984, 1988). Gold may
chloride in the epithermal deposits in this assemblage, either be transported as a bisulfide complex in the vapor (Heinrich
directly from degassing of the magmas or by leaching of rela- et al., 1999) and subsequently absorbed by meteoric water to
tively gold rich basalts. However, as noted by White and generate the fluids that form low-sulfidation deposits with
Hedenquist (1990), continental tholeiites similar to those of low Ag/Au ratios and high As, Hg, and Sb. In the extensional
the bimodal assemblage generally are not prospects for ep- tectonic environment in which this assemblage formed where
ithermal gold-silver deposits. basalts were able to rapidly ascend from the upper mantle,
The magmatic oxidation state and water content of magmas hydrothermal fluids also may have risen rapidly from depth
significantly influence the types and compositions of fluids re- along deep open faults, as suggested by colloidal transport of
leased during cooling, crystallization, and degassing of mag- electrum in many of the low-sulfidation deposits (Saunders et
mas (e.g., Burnham and Ohmoto, 1980; Candela, 1997; Hein- al., 1996).
rich et al., 1999), and the absence of porphyry copper-gold Alternatively, the role of magmas in forming low-sulfidation
and high-sulfidation gold deposits in the bimodal basalt-rhyo- deposits in the bimodal assemblage may have been little more
lite assemblage probably is the direct result of the reduced than acting as a heat source to drive convective meteoric-hy-
and water-poor nature of magmas in this assemblage. Hein- drothermal systems. The geochemical signature for the low-
rich et al. (1999) showed that Au, Cu, As, and Sb are strongly sulfidation deposits (Au, Ag, As, Hg, Sb, Se, Tl) is similar to
partitioned into the vapor phase during vapor and liquid that for Carlin-type deposits (e.g., Arehart, 1996; Hofstra and
phase separation in high-temperature saline fluid systems but Cline, 2000) with several notable exceptions (John and Wal-
that oxidation state strongly affects metal partitioning. In re- lace, 2000): in low-sulfidation deposits Ag contents are higher
duced magmas, Cu and Au are much more strongly parti- than in Carlin-type deposits, and the low-sulfidation deposits
tioned into the vapor phase, probably due to complexing by exhibit significant potassium metasomatism. Also, ore fluids
HS-, than in oxidized magmas where sulfur is present mostly in low-sulfidation deposits generally have much lower gas
as SO2 (Fig. 8; Whitney, 1984, 1988). Silver and other base contents, probably due to the loss of CO2, H2S and other
metals (Pb, Zn) that are complexed by Cl- are strongly parti- gases during boiling. Extensive decarbonation and argillic al-
tioned into the saline brine. teration of host rocks in Carlin-type deposits indicate moder-
In the oxidized, water-rich magmas of the western andesite ately acidic fluids not in equilibrium with adularia. Most Car-
assemblage, early saturation of the magma resulted in exsolu- lin-type deposits are thought to have formed by cooling of
tion of a Cl- and S-rich aqueous fluid (Burnham, 1979). Par- deeply circulating meteoric and/or metamorphic water that
titioning of Au and Cu into the vapor relative to the brine was scavenged metals, sulfur, and carbon from basement rocks
not as strong as in the more reduced bimodal assemblage (e.g., Hofstra and Cline, 2000), and low-sulfidation deposits
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 1846

A 500°-900°C
Volcanic-Hydrothermal
WESTERN ANDESITE SO2,HCl,CO2 System
ASSEMBLAGE 100°C
CO2,H2S 200°-300°C
Geothermal System CO2,HCl,S
Stratiform S
Hot Springs
Stratiform S
300 °
Intermediate- 20
0°
sulfidation ing
oil 30
0
High-sulfidation
Au-Ag °
B
Au-Cu
Primary
Miocene Intermediate neutralization
Volcanic Rocks
Porphyry Cu-Au
Porphyry intrusions
600°
1 km
Approximate
Basement Rocks scale
Liquid flow
Vapor ascent
Saline magmatic fluid
B SLEEPER DEPOSIT,
BIMODAL ASSEMBLAGE
WEST EAST
Sleeper ce FIG. 13. Schematic models of contrasting magmatic and/or tectonic set-
o surfa
Deposit Pale
ene tings for epithermal deposits in the western andesite and bimodal basalt-rhy-
DEPTH BELOW MIDDLE MIOCENE PALEOSURFACE
Bonanza
le Mioc
0 veins Midd olite assemblages. A. Western andesite assemblage. Porphyry copper-gold
and high- and low-sulfidation deposits are centered around stratovolcanoes
and shallow intrusions that are localized by transtensional faults in the Walker
1 Lane belt. Volatile-rich magma is degassing and crystallizing inward as a
high-level porphyry intrusion. This intrusion fractures its wall rocks and itself
as it cools, solidifies, and exsolves an aqueous fluid. This magmatic fluid sep-
Stockwork/ arates (boils), forming a saline brine and a low-salinity acidic vapor and fur-
2 Sill breccia ore ther hydrofracting the intrusion and its wall rocks. The brine may cool to
form porphyry-style alteration and Cu-Au-Mo mineralization in the intrusion
and adjacent wall rocks. The acid-rich vapor may rise and condense, forming
3 advanced argillic alteration typical of high-sulfidation Au-Cu deposits. It also
Mesozoic
may condense into ground water, cool, and form extensive areas of propylitic
basement alteration through water-rock interaction (primary neutralization). Low- to
moderate-salinity, metal-rich, unseparated magmatic fluid may be injected
4
into ground water during the late stages of magma crystallization, flow later-
ally away from the volcano, and boil, forming low-sulfidation Au-Ag deposits
and stratiform sulfur deposits (Hedenquist et al., 1998). Modified from
5 Hedenquist and Lowenstern (1994). B. Bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage.
In the bimodal assemblage, the link to magmatism is more tenuous. Low-sul-
Stock(?) 1 Kilometer fidation deposits formed in two environments. At Sleeper, host rocks are a
rhyolite flow and dome complex (Sleeper rhyolite) that overlies a relatively
thin Miocene volcanic and sedimentary sequence. The volcanic rocks are
MIOCENE ROCKS Normal fault
strongly fault controlled, filling extensional grabens formed during volcan-
Rhyolite tuff Hydrothermal flow-path
Normal fault
ism. Dominantly meteoric waters flowed up high-angle faults, boiled, and de-
MIOCENE ROCKS posited bonanza quartz-adularia gold veins. A steam-heated zone of argillic
Sleeper rhyolite
Rhyolite tuff Hydrothermal
Boiling zone flow-path alteration lay above the ore and boiling zones. The water table apparently
Andesite
Sleeper rhyolite CO2-rich steam dropped and a second period of stockwork and breccia ore formed at slightly
Sedimentary rocks Boiling zone greater depths. From Nash et al. (1995).
Andesite
could be shallow-level manifestations of similar hydrothermal in the sulfidation state of ore assemblages. They noted that this
systems driven by magmatic heat sources. subdivision was not simply a distinction in sulfide mineral as-
semblages, but rather an attempt to “recognize and distinguish
Classification of epithermal deposits and use of the possibility that intermediate-sulfidation deposits form in
the term intermediate-sulfidation deposits different tectonic settings and have different magmatic affilia-
Hedenquist et al. (2000) proposed the subdivision of low- tions” (p. 250). They also noted that their proposed subdivision
sulfidation deposits into two groups, intermediate-sulfidation was based in part on characteristics of low-sulfidation deposits
and end-member low-sulfidation, based on inferred variations in the northern Great Basin (John, 1999; John et al., 1999).
0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 1847

1848 DAVID A. JOHN
The usefulness of a classification system for deposit types is ore-forming fluids for most low-sulfidation deposits in the bi-
dependent on identification of characteristics that allow clear modal assemblage remains ambiguous.
separation of deposits into distinct groups. In general, The distribution and characteristics of Miocene and early
Miocene and early Pliocene low-sulfidation deposits in the Pliocene magmatism and epithermal deposits in the north-
northern Great Basin clearly separate into two groups as out- ern Great Basin have important implications for exploration
lined in Tables 4 and 6. These two groups of deposits gener- both there and in other areas with similar tectonic-magmatic
ally are spatially and temporally associated with different settings:
compositions and styles of magmatism, formed in different
tectonic settings, contain consistent mineralogical differ- 1. Porphyry Cu-Au and high-sulfidation Au-Ag deposits are
ences, and have different Au/Ag ratios. However, the sulfida- found only in the western andesite assemblage. Their forma-
tion and oxidation states of most deposits have not been rig- tion is favored by the shallow intrusion of moderate to large
orously evaluated, and the genetic relationship of most bodies of oxidized calc-alkaline magma with high water con-
low-sulfidation deposits in the bimodal assemblage to mag- tent that is characteristic of this assemblage. These deposits
matism remains unresolved. In addition, there are several are absent in the continental rift-related bimodal basalt-rhyo-
exceptions to these generalized groupings; deposits in the Au- lite assemblage.
rora and Rawhide districts in the western andesite assem- 2. Recent structural analyses of several epithermal deposits
blage that contain minor amounts of selenide minerals and in the western andesite assemblage suggest that many de-
have low base metal contents and reduced sulfide mineral as- posits are localized in releasing bends and stepovers in
semblages relative to other intermediate-sulfidation deposits transtensional zones related to strike-slip faults. These struc-
in the western andesite assemblage, and deposits in the De- tures may have guided emplacement of both magmas and
lamar district in the bimodal assemblage that have anom- mineral deposits and may be useful exploration guides within
alously high Ag/Au ratios relative to other end-member low- local areas.
sulfidation deposits. Deposits in the Aurora and Rawhide 3. Low-sulfidation deposits in the western andesite assem-
districts are spatially and temporally associated with rhyolite blage formed peripherally to high-sulfidation gold deposits
dome complexes, similar to low-sulfidation deposits in the bi- and suspected porphyry Cu-Au systems. These deposits
modal assemblage and atypical of most other epithermal de- formed throughout the life of the western andesite assem-
posits in the western andesite assemblage. Deposits in the blage (22–4 Ma) and are themselves small parts of much
Delamar district that lie north of the Great Basin along the larger hydrothermal systems that may be largely concealed
Snake River plain may overlie lower crustal rocks different beneath younger, unmineralized rocks. These deposits gener-
from other deposits in the Great Basin and may have formed ally have higher Ag/Au ratios and base metal contents than
from ore fluids with higher salinities than other low-sulfida- low-sulfidation deposits in the bimodal assemblage.
tion deposits in the bimodal assemblage. 4. Low-sulfidation deposits in the bimodal assemblage, typ-
If the classification system for epithermal deposits pro- ically of a bonanza vein character, formed primarily in a nar-
posed by Hedenquist et al. (2000) is to be widely adopted, de- row (16–14 Ma) time window during the early stages of the
tailed studies of deposits in other regions that formed in vari- Basin and Range extension. These deposits and their alter-
able tectonic settings from variable styles of magmatism ation products are controlled closely by faults related to this
should be conducted to see if there are consistent relation- extension and did not develop large areas of propylitic alter-
ships between deposit characteristics, magmatism, and tec- ation. This small footprint means that they are easily covered
tonic setting, as discussed above. A more rigorous evaluation by younger, unmineralized rocks, thus making exploration for
of the sulfidation and oxidation states of ore-forming fluids in these narrow vein deposits difficult.
well characterized deposits also should be undertaken to see
if there are consistent variations in the sulfidation and oxida- Acknowledgments
tion state that correlate with other deposit characteristics and Discussions with Alan Wallace, Barney Berger, Jeff Heden-
justify separation of intermediate-sulfidation deposits from quist, Stuart Simmons, Larry Garside, Hal Bonham, Chris
other low-sulfidation deposits. Henry, Jim Rytuba, Steve Ludington, Peter Vikre, Marco
Einaudi, Eric Saderholm, Dick Tosdal, and Al Hofstra are
gratefully acknowledged. Chris Henry and Roger Ashley pro-
Conclusions and Implications for Exploration vided unpublished data. Jeff Hedenquist, Steve Ludington,
Many major epithermal gold-silver deposits, including the Ted Theodore, Peter Vikre, Alan Wallace, Eric Seedorff, Stu-
world-class Comstock Lode, Tonopah, Goldfield, and Ken Sny- art Simmons, Noel White, and Barney Berger provided help-
der (Midas), formed during the Miocene and early Pliocene in ful comments on earlier versions of this paper.
the northern Great Basin. These deposits are closely associated January 30, July 18, 2001
spatially and temporally with two magmatic assemblages—
western andesite and bimodal basalt-rhyolite—that were wide- REFERENCES
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0361-0128/98/000/000-00 $6.00 1848

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Economic Geology

Vol. 96, 2001, pp. 1827–1853

Miocene and Early Pliocene Epithermal Gold-Silver Deposits in the

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istics of epithermal gold-silver deposits formed in the north-

ern Great Basin. The characteristics of low-sulfidation de-

10 Ma Colorado posits of the western andesite and bimodal assemblages are

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36°N High-sulfidation deposits

Assemblage Western andesite Bimodal basalt-rhyolite

Magmatic sulfides Uncommon Pyrrhotite blebs abundant in all compositions

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40° relationship of extension to magmatism, and the mechanism

debated topics with no general agreement (e.g., Wernicke,

1985, 1992; Gans, 1987; Wernicke et al., 1987; Gans et al.,

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Western Andesite Assemblage

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Western Andesite Assemblage

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BIMODAL BASALT-RHYOLITE ASSEMBLAGE

Basalt and (or) Basaltic andesite

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Western andesite assemblage

Bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage

Bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage Western andesite assemblage

Ba (ppm) 342 888 1,614 1,161 1,050 1,269 1,174 1,000

Mg# 60.9 35.1 13.7 8.2 45.0 51.9 44.6 42.4

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WESTERN ANDESITE ASSEMBLAGE

Composite volcanoes develop

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Igneous association Western andesite Western andesite Bimodal

Metals produced Au, Ag ±Cu Au, Ag ±Cu, Pb, Zn Au, Ag ±Hg

anomalously high 15:1) Sleeper about 1:1)

1Heald et al. (1987)

Western andesite assemblage Bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage

Low-sulfidation High-sulfidation Low-sulfidation Low-sulfidation, nonmagmatic

Aurora Borealis Buckhorn Florida Canyon(?)

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Sample no. No. analyses1 XFe(min)2 XFe(max)2 Mineral assemblage3

Tonopah (Belmont mine)

Bodie (Red Cloud mine)

Mule Canyon mine

1 Number of electron microprobe analyses

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-30 Sparse gas analyses of fluid inclusions suggest that ore-stage

formed in differing tectonic settings (Figs. 11 and 12). Types

and characteristics of epithermal deposits vary systematically

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REALGAR Western ENARGITE

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