Three assemblages of sulphosalt minerals have been identified at the Zarshuran Carlin-like gold deposit, northwest Iran. Invisible gold is present in arsenian pyrite that formed both before and after the sulphosalt assemblages. The mineral paragenesis and the temperature ranges of sulphosalt crystallization suggest two phases of gold mineralization that could have resulted from one evolving hydrothermal fluid. The first phase of gold mineralization was derived from an antimonyrich and arsenic-poor fluid at a temperature greater than 300°C. The second phase of gold mineralization was derived from an arsenic-rich fluid in the temperature range 120-250°C.
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