Structural, Alteration & Fluid Studies, Golden Pride Au Deposit,
Tanzania
Supervisors
Research Affiliations
Degree Type/Name
Pre-requisites
Student Support
Collaboration
Dr Frank Bierlein and Dr Ivo Vos (Geologist, Resolute Mining
Limited)
Centre for Exploration Targeting
M.Sc - Geology, Earth Science, Minerals Geoscience
Honours Degree in Geology or other kind Geoscience degree.
B.Sc with appropriate experience may be sufficient.
The student undertaking this project is eligible for financial
support provided by the UWA Geoscience Foundation.
This project is a collaboration with Resolute Mining Ltd.
Skills
This research project provides an exciting opportunity for a research student to obtain skills
and experience in structural geology and exploration geochemistry applied to Archaean Au
deposits, skills highly regarded by the mining industry, as well as forming a firm basis for a
research or academic career.
Project Description
Resolute Mining Limited is seeking to develop a
dataset that will aid in more effective
delineation and assessment of targets in the
Archaean Lake Victoria Greenstone Terrane in
Tanzania. This region is a highly prospective gold
district, yet genetic models for gold systems such as
the Golden Pride deposit remain poorly constrained.
Mineralisation in the Golden Pride deposit, which is
located 750km north-west of the port of Dar es
Salaam and 200km south of Lake Victoria, shows
strong structural control, and the potential
involvement of multiple fluids in its genesis. The
current mineable reserves at Golden Pride are all
open cut (about 12 million tonnes at 2.27 g/t for
875,000 contained ounces of gold). The orebody,
however, is open at depth and the reserves are
only limited by drilling. It is planned to drill deeper
holes in the near future to determine if there is a
potential underground mine beneath the current
reserves.
Golden Pride was the first world-class, commercial gold mining project developed in Tanzania
since the country's formation in 1964. It has paved the way for a number of other gold
projects in the Lake Victoria region, in particular the Geita and Bulyanhulu projects. In terms
of Tanzania's gold production Golden Pride ranks third after Geita and Bulyanhulu.
The MSc study will involve petrological and structural studies, whole-rock major and trace
element geochemistry, fluid inclusion investigations, PIMA, stable isotopes and quantitative
mineralogy, and geochronology. It will constrain the P-T-x conditions of the fluid system in the
Golden Pride deposit in space and time. The understanding gained from this space-time fluid
history will result in an improved ore genesis model for the Golden Pride deposit. Via the
integration of the proposed work with ongoing investigations, this deposit model can be
incorporated into mineral exploration strategies aimed at near-mine and regional targets.
This project will integrate with a larger research team at CET investigating the controls on Au
mineralisation systems within the Archaean Lake Victoria Greenstone Terrane in Tanzania.
The main outcome from the project is an integrated 4D model (3D plus time) of the structural,
alteration and fluid architecture of the Golden Pride deposit.
Field work (2 - 4 weeks during initial stage of project)
 Pit Mapping and core logging of structures and associated vein and alteration
assemblages
 Review of available geochemical and geophysical data sets
 Sampling of relevant rocks and diamond core
Laboratory work
 Petrography of hydrothermal alteration zonation
 Paragenesis of hydrothermal vein and alteration mineral assemblages
 Microprobe analyses on selected hydrothermal minerals
 Thermodynamic evaluation of P-T-X conditions of mineralisation
 Structural, geophysical and geochemical analyses
 3D modelling of ore geometry and alteration
Recommended Reading
Gabert et al. (1990). Precambrian Research, vol. 46, pp. 59-69.