Preliminary data of the Cannero Riviera mineralized system (Southern Alpine Domain, Western Alps, Italy)

Matteo Oberto (1) & Alessandro Petroccia (1)
(1) Department of Earth Sciences, University of Turin, Via Valperga Caluso 35, Turin, Italy. Corresponding author e-mail: matteo.oberto183@gmail.com

Geometry and composition of veins associated with ore deposits, combined with mineralogical and textural constraints, are indispensable to understand the evolution of mineralized systems. The never mined Cannero Riviera mineralized system (VCO province, Western Alps, Italy), has been detected in 2015 by Alpine Gold Lodes Snc and after investigated during the Oberto's Master Thesis in 2019. Preliminary field data, integrated microstructural and petrographic investigations, combined with SEM-EDS and ICP and XRF techniques are fundamental tools to unravel mineralized systems. Our results highlighted the strong relationship between orebody and the Rio Cannero Fault activity, well displayed mainly along the Cannero stream (N46°1'37''; E8°39'24''). This work allows unraveling, for the first time in this area, how different ore parageneses superimpose each other. Two mineralization styles have been detected. The first (Type a) is mainly made by mm-grained arsenopyrite, pyrite and pyrrhotine in quartz-carbonatic gangue, with sometimes important amounts of scheelite and gold. The second (Type b) is represented by less than mm-grained arsenopyrite, pyrite and galena accompanied by mm-grained scheelite, apatite, and electrum. Despite more data are needed to better constraint the structural framework, temperature, timing and the source of the ore fluids, our preliminary data suggest a new possible pre-Alpine deposit.

Western Alps, Southern Alpine Domain, vein, mineralization, gold, scheelite.