Assessment of Geochemical Characteristics of the Zarzime Gold Deposit, Iran with a Geometallurgical Approach

Predicting the geometallurgical characteristics of metallic deposits, particularly gold deposits, is of utmost importance during the exploration stage. This approach was implemented for the Zarzima gold deposit in Mouchesh, Kurdistan province, Iran, using a comprehensive exploration data processing. Extensive exploration activities such as acquiring 43 litho-geochemical samples, taking 59 continuous chip samples and 21 channel samples from 11 trenches, and drilling 30 boreholes with a total length of 1481 m have been carried out in the deposit. All obtained samples were chemically analyzed for Au and a set of 26 elements, especially Cu, Ag, As, Zn, Sb, Fe, and S. To achieve the goal, first, microscopic mineralogical studies, statistical analysis of data, plotting of 2D isograde maps, drawing 2D and 3D strip-logs, producing 3D lithology and assay models, as well as creating starburst maps were performed. Afterward, the ratios of parageneses including As, Sb, Fe, S, Ag, Cu, and Zn to the Au grade were calculated both at the surface exploration works and boreholes. Accordingly, the qualitative and quantitative correlations of the principal elements associated with Au were calculated and analyzed for both surface and subsurface datasets. The results of the research reveal that based on field observations, existing data, and conducted studies, the Zarzima gold deposit is a hydrothermal low-sulfidation type. The average Au grade of the entire deposit is 1.367 ppm, and the average Fe/Au, S/Au, As/Au, Sb/Au, Ag/Au, Cu/Au, and Zn/Au ratios are equal to 550111.5, 32291.4, 77.4, 35.1, 6.11, 3620.8, and 5185 respectively, illustrating relatively high concentrations of S, Cu, and Zn with respect to gold. Therefore, geometallurgical considerations must be taken into account during the gold leaching stage using the cyanidation method.