Alteration and ore assemblages of the LaRonde Zone 5 (LZ5) deposit and Ellison mineralized zones, Doyon-Bousquet-LaRonde mining camp, Abitibi, Quebec
Authors: Boily-Auclair É , Mercier-Langevin P , Ross P -S , Pitre D 
Published: February 2022

The LaRonde Zone 5 (LZ5) mine is part of the Doyon-Bousquet-LaRonde mining camp and is located in the southern part of the Abitibi greenstone belt in northwestern Quebec. The LZ5 deposit consists of three stacked mineralized corridors: Zone 4, Zone 4.1, and Zone
5. Zones 4 and 4.1 are discontinuous satellite mineralized corridors, whereas Zone 5 represents the main mineralized body.
The mineralized zones of the LZ5 deposit and adjacent Ellison property (Ellison A and B zones) are hosted in the strongly-deformed, 2699-2695 Ma transitional to calcalkaline, intermediate to felsic, volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the Bousquet Formation upper member, which is part of the Blake
River Group (2704-2695 Ma). Zones 4, 4.1, and 5 at the LZ5 mine are hosted in intermediate volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the Westwood andesitic to rhyodacitic unit (unit 5.1a), which forms the base of the upper member of the Bousquet Formation. The Ellison Zone A is hosted higher up in the
stratigraphic sequence within a newly described intermediate volcanic unit. The Ellison Zone B is hosted in felsic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the Westwood feldsparphyric rhyolite dome (subunit 5.3a-(b)).
Mineralization in all three zones of the LZ5 deposit consists of discordant networks of millimeter- to centimeter-thick pyrite ±chalcopyrite ±sphalerite ±pyrrhotite veins and veinlets (10-20 % of the volume of the rock) and, to a lesser extent, very finely disseminated pyrite and
boudinaged veins (less than or equal to 5 vol. % each) in strongly altered host rocks. Gold commonly occurs as microscopic inclusions in granoblastic pyrite and at the triple junction between recrystallized grains. The veins, stockworks, and disseminations were intensely folded and transposed in
the steeply south-dipping, east-west trending S2 foliation. The vein network is at least partly discordant to the stratigraphy. A distal alteration halo envelops the LZ5 mineralized corridors and consists of a sericite-carbonate-chlorite- feldspar ±biotite assemblage. A proximal
sericite-carbonate-chlorite-pyrite-quartz- feldspar-biotite ±epidote alteration assemblage is present within the LZ5 mineralized zones.
A local proximal alteration assemblage of sericite-quartz-pyrite is also locally developed within Zone 4 and Zone 5 of the LZ5 deposit. Mass gains in Fe2O3 (t) and K2O, and mass losses in CaO, MgO, Na2O, and locally SiO2, are characteristic of the LZ5 alteration zones. The Ellison zone A and B are
similar to LZ5 in terms of style of mineralization, but thin (10-20 cm) veins or bands of semi-massive to massive, finely recrystallized disseminated pyrite (0.1-1 mm) are distinctive. Chalcopyrite and sphalerite are also slightly more abundant in the mineralized corridors of the Ellison property
and are usually associated with elevated gold grades. The zones are also slightly richer than at LZ5 in terms of gold and silver content, but narrower and less continuous in general. The Ellison Zone A is characterized by gains in Fe2O3 (t) and K2O and losses in CaO, MgO, Na2O, and SiO2. Gains in
Fe2O3 (t) and local gains in K2O, MgO, and MnO, and losses in CO2, Na2O, P2O5, and SiO2, characterize the felsic host rocks of the Zone B corridor.
The style of mineralization at LZ5 (pyrite ±chalcopyrite veins and veinlets, ±disseminated pyrite with low base metal content), its setting (i.e. in rocks of intermediate composition at the base of the upper member of the Bousquet Formation), and the geometry of its ore zones (stacked
lenses of sulfide veins and veinlets, without massive sulfide lenses) differ from the other major deposits of the Doyon-Bousquet-LaRonde mining camp.
Despite these differences, this study indicates that the LZ5 and Ellison mineralized corridors are of synvolcanic hydrothermal origin and have most likely been formed by convective circulation of seawater below the seafloor. An influx of magmatic fluids from the Mooshla synvolcanic intrusive complex
or its parent magma chamber could explain the Au enrichment at LZ5, as has been suggested for other deposits of the camp. Evidence for a pre-deformation synvolcanic mineralization at LZ5 includes ductile deformation and recrystallization of the sulfides, the stacked nature of its ore zones,
subconcordant alteration halos that envelop the mineralized corridors, evidence that the mineralized system was already active when the LZ5 lenses were deposited and control on mineralization by primary volcanic features such as the permeability and porosity of the volcanic
rocks.