Polymetallic assemblages with precious metal tellurides and sulfosalts from the Furtei epithermal Au deposit, Sardinia, Italy: Paragenesis and genetic significance

Ore bodies of the Furtei epithermal gold deposit, W Sardinia, are highly enriched in telluride minerals. The association of hessite, stützite, sylvanite, petzite, coloradoite, altaite, with native tellurium indicates direct magmatic inputs to the mineralizing solutions: a transition of this magmatic hydrothermal system from porphyry to high sulfidation epithermal mineralization environments is envisaged. Sulfidation states of telluride bearing ore fluids fluctuated between IS and HS conditions within the same mineralization, with telluride minerals related to both HS and IS assemblages. On the basis of available corroborative electron microprobe data on the telluride-rich parts of drillcore samples, the relationship between mineral assemblages and sulfidation states of fluids is assessed.