Abstract:
The Aurora copper occurrence is situated in the northeastern region of Brazil (Ceará State), within the Borborema Province and the Meso-Neoproterozoic mobile belt of the Transversal Zone Domain, along the Patos Shear Zone. The host rocks are composed mainly of metavolcanosedimentary units of the Cachoeirinha Group. Intense shearing and brecciation are related to hydrothermal processes and copper mineralization at the Aurora Prospect. Choritization and albitization superposed by later K-feldspar and hematite hydrothermal alteration are related with copper mineralization. The ore zones consist of veins and disseminated sulfides. The ore paragenesis comprises mainly chalcopyrite, chalcocite and pyrite. The structural control related to shear zone, the intense hydrothermal alteration and the style of mineralization indicate that the Aurora copper occurrence represents a Neoproterozoic to Paleozoic IOCG type of mineralization.
Keywords:
Aurora Prospect; copper; hydrothermal; chalcopyrite; hematite; breccia; IOCG; Borborema Province