The principal target of interest for Cerrado Gold is the Serra Alta Deposit which appears to have the best potential for the development of significant tonnage. As such, the remainder of this report will concentrate on Serra Alta, with only brief descriptions of other target areas.
Deposit Types
Two main deposit types (+ subtypes) are currently recognized at the MDC Project:
- Reduced intrusion-related gold (± coeval sheeted veins), and
- Orogenic/lode gold (regardless of host-rock type).
Reduced intrusion-related gold systems (RIRGS) represent a newer genetic model relative to orogenic gold systems, having only been recognized by researchers since the 1990s to early 2000s as analytical capabilities improved. They can be difficult to distinguish from their orogenic counterparts due to shared/overlapping characteristics and often similar geological settings (Hart and Goldfarb, 2005; Lafrance, 2019). The problem is that intrusions may be emplaced in large deformation zones, and the associated (± sheeted) vein sets may be later sheared and mistaken for orogenic vein systems (Lafrance, 2019).
Serra Alta Mineralization
The Serra Alta deposit is interpreted as an intrusion-related gold system, with mineralization associated with hydrothermally altered and locally veined granitic rocks. Abundant mineralized shoots are clearly controlled by varying densities of vein and veinlet swarms that are weakly enriched in sulphides (pyrite, gal ........