Pyrite chemistry: A new window into Au-Te ore-forming processes in alkaline epithermal districts, Cripple Creek, Colorado

Tellurium has a wide variety of applications, most importantly in the solar energy industry and is eco-toxicologically significant; however, the magmatic-hydrothermal processes causing the pronounced Te enrichment together with Au in some epithermal districts are still poorly constrained. Hydrothermal and alkaline magmatic activity in post-subduction environments are suggested to be a critical component in the evolution of this Te-rich sub-class of low-sulfidation epithermal deposits. Cripple Creek represents an example for a world-class low-sulfidation epithermal Au-Te anomaly in the continental crust. This area represents a natural laboratory to investigate the processes of ore-formation and Au-Te enrichment in alkaline igneous rock-hosted epithermal systems.