Chemical Compositions of Fluid Inclusions in the Jalal-Abad iron oxide deposit, North West of Zarand, Using LA-ICP-MS Microanalysis

The Poshtebadam Bafq Zarand district in central Iran is a world class iron oxide province. This region contains over two billion tons of iron ore reserves within more than 34 major magnetic anomalies and deposits in an area of 7,500 km2 (Stosch et al., 2011). The Jalal-Abad iron ore deposit (200Mt at 45% Fe, 1.18% S and 0.08% P) is located 38 km northwest of Zarand, 16 km southeast of the Rizu town in the Kerman province, Iran. Iron ore deposits are hosted by the Early Cambrian Rizu Series, composed mainly of sedimentary, volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks which are dominated by dolomite, sandstone, shale, siltstone, tuff, ignimbrite and rhyodacite. The origin of the iron oxide deposits is controversial and various genetic models have been suggested. Some researchers believe in magmatic origins or Kiruna type, while others suggest metasomatic replacement from preexisting rocks (Stosch et al., 2011). LA-ICP-MS has been used to characterize the multi element chemistry of the diverse fluid inclusions found in the Jalal-Abad iron oxide deposit. The aim of this investigation was to understand the genesis of the ore body and identify possible hydrothermal fluid sources in the Jalal-Abad district.