10.57647/ijes.2025.18286

Ore-forming Fluid Evolution in the Shourab Gold Prospect, Isfahan: Insights from Quartz Chemistry and Fluid Inclusions

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  • Alireza Rezaei Alishahdani1,
  • Alireza Jafarirad1,
  • Zahra Alaminia2,
  • Mehran Arian1,
  • Hemayat Jamali3,
  • Manuel Nopeia4,5,
  • Renaldi Suhendra6,
  1. Department of Earth Sciences, SR.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
  2. Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
  3. Department of Geology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
  4. Future Cooperative Research Organization, Akita University, Akita, Japan
  5. Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, South Africa
  6. Research Center for Geological Resources, National Research, and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Indonesia

Received: 2025-07-11

Revised: 2025-09-29

Accepted: 2025-10-13

Copyright (c) -1 Alireza Rezaei Alishahdani, Alireza Jafarirad, Zahra Alaminia, Mehran Arian, Hemayat Jamali, Manuel Nopeia, Renaldi Suhendra (Author)

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Rezaei Alishahdani, A., Jafarirad, A., Alaminia, Z., Arian, M., Jamali, H., Nopeia, M., & Suhendra, R. (2026). Ore-forming Fluid Evolution in the Shourab Gold Prospect, Isfahan: Insights from Quartz Chemistry and Fluid Inclusions. Iranian Journal of Earth Sciences. https://doi.org/10.57647/ijes.2025.18286
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Abstract

This study investigates the ore-forming fluid evolution in the Shourab gold prospect, Central Iran, through integrated quartz chemistry and fluid inclusion analysis. The Shourab gold prospect occurs within the early Eocene diorite to granodiorite, intruding the Cretaceous carbonate and volcanic rocks. The prospect displays alteration zone of sodic-calcic, biotite-magnetite, carbonatization, and silicification associated with gold mineralization. Early-stage quartz from biotite-magnetite alteration zone contains elevated Ti (BDL-410 ppm), formed from high-temperature (Th of fluid inclusions= 343–495 °C, mode= 390 °C) and saline (11–29 wt% NaCl eq., avr. 17 wt% NaCl eq.). Late-stage quartz in silicified zones shows significant Al (704–2307 ppm) and alkali enrichment (BDL–349 ppm Na and 96–247 ppm K), associated with cooler (198–338 °C, mode= 324 °C), less saline fluids (7–11 wt% NaCl eq., avr. 8 wt% NaCl eq.). Gold mineralization is associated with late-stage fluids, where cooling of hydrothermal fluids promoted metal deposition. Veins formed by low-temperature, less saline fluids with high Al and alkali elements in quartz serve as a potential for Au mineralization and can guide future exploration in the region.

Keywords

  • Central Iran,
  • Shourab,
  • Quartz chemistry,
  • Fluid inclusions,
  • Gold mineralization
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