Caracterización geoquímica, mineralógica y espectral para la definición de la zonación hidrotermal en el target San Gabriel , provincia de Loja.

Abstract

Abstract: This study characterizes the hydrothermal alteration domains of the San Gabriel Target, southern Ecuador, with the aim of establishing diagnostic mineral associations and vectors toward mineralization of economic interest. A total of 8,889 spectral measurements were processed using TSG8 and ioGAS software, together with 10,538 multi-element geochemical analyses (ME-MS61), which were interpreted using the Scott Halley methodology. The results reveal the widespread occurrence of illite throughout the study area, occurring in different mineral associations. Integration of spectral and geochemical data established mineral associations that are spatially related to A-type veins and anomalous Cu concentrations. The Illite Chlorite association represents a vector toward mineralization characterized by A-type veins >2 vol.% and Cu concentrations >2,000 ppm. The resulting mineralogical distribution indicates the superposition of lower-temperature hydrothermal events over a system compatible with a Cu Au porphyry environment, providing useful criteria for guiding exploration campaigns. The absence of diagnostic minerals of potassic alteration, together with the presence of later hydrothermal events, suggests that these events may have overprinted the original alteration assemblages or resulted in telescoping of the hydrothermal system.