Alteration of the Bjursås Ore Field, Oxberg, Bergslagen District, Sweden

Abstract: The Bjursås ore field is located within the Bergslagen domain of central Sweden just northwest of the town of Falun. The field hosts small scale mines such as the 17th century Floberg copper mine and has been the focus of mineral exploration on several occasions during the 20th and early 21th century, with no major economic deposits being uncovered as of yet. Currently being explored by Boliden AB, this thesis focuses on alteration patterns in the southern part of the ore field, near the village of Oxberg. Several drill cores provided by Boliden AB have been logged and lithogeochemical samples were taken in intervals to aid in identifying alteration patterns and correlation.Three lithological and chemostratigraphic profiles have been created along a northeastern trend and show that the dominant lithologies are volcaniclastic silt- and sandstones with subordinate segments of pumiceous breccia-sandstones. They are primarily rhyolitic and dacitic. Pyritic argillite sediments belonging to the Oxberg formation occur sporadically and sub-intrusive and sills of amphibolites are common. Impure limestones with abundant quartz grains and limited lateral extents are encountered and suggest that high clastic input dominated during times favourable for limestone formation. The limestones do not host any major base metal mineralisation and coupled with limited lateral extents, do not appear to be a favourable future exploration target within the area.Two main alteration styles are recognised to be present in Oxberg. The first is an MgO-rich biotite-corderite-anthophyllite alteration and is associated with a weak to moderate impregnation of sphalerite and galena. The second is a FeO-rich biotite-garnet-staurolite-corderite alteration associated with magnetite-garnet-actionolite ± diopside skarn. No base metal sulphides are associated with the FeO-rich alteration. The MgO-rich style is interpreted be analogous to a metamorphosed VHMS-style hydrothermal system with a wider strong sericite-quartz alteration in the footwall and Mg-chlorite-rich near vent pipe alteration. The intercepted interval with MgO-rich alteration is located in an interpreted hinge zone of a fold in the Central profile and is interpreted to be a conduit feeder pipe for hydrothermally circulating fluids. Future drilling of this structure to learn the extent of the MgO-rich mineralised zone is recommended as it may lead to a massive sulphide lens.The Large box plot is demonstrated to be a useful tool for vectoring towards mineralisation in the area and may prove useful in future exploration of the area. Samples of sericite-quartz altered rock and MgO-rich alteration plot along trends on the Large box plot with MAI values that increase in the strongly altered sericite-quartz footwall rocks while CCPI values increase in the MgO-rich feeder zone that hosts base metal sulphides.Six chemical groups are identified around the Oxberg area. Of particular interest is the dacitic-andesitic chemical group, specifically siltstones, which display the strongest MgO-rich alteration. These are proposed to be a stratigraphic target interval for exploration and may lead to future base metal sulphide mineralisation in the area as well as the Bjurås ore field as a whole.