The Dudica Epithermal Cu–Au Deposit (Republic of North Macedonia)

— The Dudica deposit is located in the southern part of the Republic of North Macedonia (RNM), not far from the border with Greece in the Kozuf–Aridean volcanic region. The deposit is genetically associated with the Neogene igneous event (≥6 Ma, K/Ar), which is manifested at the intersection of northeast trending faults with the northwest trending Vardar fault zone. The REE spectrum of volcanic rocks here is characterized by a weak negative Eu anomaly and enrichment in light REE (LREE) relative to heavy REE (HREE). Mineralization is found in veins, veinlets, and dissemination; Cu concentration is around 0.5%; Au, up to 1 g/t. The principal ore minerals are chalcopyrite, bornite, enargite, covellite, chalcocite, and digenite; pyrite, galena, sphalerite, marcasite, and native gold are less frequent. The δ 34 S isotope composition falls within a narrow interval of +1.00 to +2.50‰, indicative of the igneous origin. The data obtained suggest that the Dudica deposit belongs to the class of the high-sulfidation epithermal deposits.