Ore deposits of the Numanoue mine located in eastern Hokkaido, are typical epithermal gold-silver bearing quartz veins in the Neogene Tertiary. The country rocks of the ore deposits are liparitic rocks which are widely distributed throughout the vicintiy.
The veins are divided into two types: one filling up along the faults and the other filling up the fissures. Thus, these types are dissimilar in some diminsions and structures of the veins. It is considered that the veins were made by at least two mineralizations. In the first mineralization, siliceous solution did not contain useful elements, and in the second mineralization useful minerals which are gold, silver and sulphide minerals (except pyrite) were deposited. Gangue mineral is chiefly quartz. In those ore deposits, various wall-rock alterations had occurred before the vein formation. Remarkable alterations are silicification, aduraliazation, chloritization and sericitization. Silicified-aduralized rocks and chloritized rocks develop in the central part of the liparite body and they show a banded distribution. Sericitized leek is distributed in the southwestern part of the one.
The veins formed in the altered rock body, usually have a banded structure. The various vein characters have close relation to the features of the altered rocks, and most of the ore shoots are found in chloritized rocks.
Moreover, it is a distinctive character of the ore deposits that both wall-rocks and veins are remarkably oxidized.
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