Paleoproterozoic Iron Oxide Apatite (IOA) and Iron Oxide-Copper-Gold (IOCG) mineralization in the East Arm Basin, Northwest Territories, Canada

The Paleoproterozoic East Arm Basin of Canada hosts polymetallic vein, Iron Oxide-Apatite (IOA), and potential Iron Oxide-Copper-Gold (IOCG) mineral occurrences, mainly associated with a belt of ca. 1.87 Ga intermediate-composition sills termed the Compton intrusions. Advances in our knowledge of the East Arm Basin and of IOA and IOCG deposits within the broader context of iron oxide and alkali-calcic alteration systems enables a new regional analysis of this mineralization and facilitates comparison of these mineral occurrences and host rocks to the nearby Great Bear magmatic zone IOCG districts. The Compton intrusions and co-magmatic Pearson Formation volcanic rocks are comparable in age and composition to intrusive plus volcanic rocks of the Great Bear magmatic zone that host IOA-IOCG mineralization. Taking into account fault displacements, emplacement of Compton intrusions and Pearson Formation volcanic rocks are also consistent with the architecture of modern arcs, supporting a direct relationship wi...