Geological setting of the Rapu Rapu gold-rich volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits, Albay Province, Philippines

Gold-rich Fe–Cu–Zn volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits occur within strata of probable Jurassic age on Rapu Rapu Island in Albay Province, Philippines. Massive sulfides at the Ungay Malobago and Hixbar deposits are spatially associated with dacitic volcanic rocks within a highly-deformed sequence of mafic volcanic and quartzofeldspathic sedimentary rocks. The massive sulfide deposits formed at the stratigraphic contact between footwall dacites and hangingwall mafic volcanic and quartzofeldspathic rocks. The deposits and their host strata have undergone regional metamorphism with strong penetrative deformation. Metamorphic mineral assemblages and textural evidence suggest that peak metamorphism was upper-greenschist to lower-amphibolite grade and syn-D 1 deformation. Based on the age of regional metamorphism, deformation is inferred to be mid-Tertiary in age. Deformation at Rapu Rapu resulted in reorientation of the strata into a broad antiform with strong shallow-plunging elongation fabrics, overturning of the volcanic sequence that hosts the Ungay Malobago deposit, and complex folding of the mineralized zones. The present highly linear form of the Ungay Malobago deposit is mainly a product of this ductile strain. Immobile element ratios for a given lithology generally remain constant in saprolitic samples, and thus provide an effective identification tool even in strongly weathered rocks. Lithogeochemical data define a bimodal volcanic suite that is comparable to bimodal assemblages that occur in several modern back-arc basins in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, including those behind the Vanuatu and the New Britain arcs. On Rapu Rapu, the dacitic rocks are enriched in light REE and have high Zr/Y ratios, which indicates a calc–alkaline affinity and suggests a mature island-arc setting. The quartzofeldspathic sedimentary rocks are more widespread than the dacites and have notably lower Zr/Y ratios; they may have been derived from erosion of a distant volcanic arc. The mafic volcanic rocks are dominantly low-K arc tholeiites of basaltic to andesitic composition, but with modest enrichment in the light REE; comparable rocks can be found in the Vanuatu and New Britain back-arc basins.