Geochemical Characteristics and Metallogenesis of the Qingkuangshan Ni‐Cu‐PGE Mineralized Mafic‐Ultramafic Intrusion in Huili County,Sichuan Province,SW China

The Qingkuangshan Ni-Cu-PGE deposit, located in the Xiaoguanhe region of Huili County, Sichuan Province, is one of several Ni-Cu-PGE deposits in the Emeishan Large Igneous Province (ELIP). The ore-bearing intrusion is a mafic-ultramafic body. This paper reports major elements, trace elements and platinum-group elements in different types of rocks and sulfide-mineralized samples in the intrusion. These data are used to evaluate the source mantle characteristics, the degree of mantle partial melting, the composition of parental magma and the ore-forming processes. The results show that Qingkuangshan intrusion is part of the ELIP. The rocks have trace element ratios similar to the coeval Emeishan basalts. The primitive mantle-normalized patterns of Ni-Cu-PGE have positive slopes, and the ratios of Pd/Ir are lower than 22. The PGE compositions of sulfide ores and associated rocks are characterized by Ru depletion. The PGE contents in bulk sulfides are slightly depleted relative to Ni and Cu, which is similar to the Yangliuping Ni-Cu-PGE deposit. The composition of the parental magma for the intrusion is estimated to contain about 14.65 wt% MgO, 48.66 wt% SiO2 and 15.48 wt% FeOt, and the degree of mantle partial melting is estimated to be about 20%. In comparison with other typical Ni-Cu-PGE deposits in the ELIP, the Qingkuangshan Ni-Cu-PGE deposit has lower PGE contents than the Jinbaoshan PGE deposit, but has higher PGE contents than the Limahe and Baimazhai Ni-Cu deposit, and has similar PGE contents to the Yangliuping Ni-Cu-PGE deposit. The moderate PGE depletions in the bulk sulfide of the Qingkuanghan deposit suggest that the parental magma of the host intrusion may have undergone minor sulfide segregation at depth. The mixing calculations suggests that an average of 10% crustal contamination in the magma, which may have been the main cause of sulfide saturation in the magma. We propose that sulfide segregation from a moderately PGE depleted magma took place prior to magma emplacement at Qingkuangshan, that small amounts of immiscible sulfide droplets and olivine and chromite crystals were suspended in the ascending magma, and that the suspended materials settled down when the magma passed trough the Qingkuangshan conduit. The Qingkuangshan sulfide-bearing intrusion is interpreted to a feeder of Emeishan flood basalts in the region.     

Siderophile and chalcophile elemental constraints on the origin of the Jinchuan Ni-Cu-(PGE) sulfide deposit, NW China

The Jinchuan deposit, NW China, is one of the world’s most important Ni-Cu-(PGE) sulfide deposits related to a magma conduit system and is hosted in an ultramafic intrusion. The intrusion is composed of lherzolite and dunite with the two largest sulfide ore bodies (named as ore body 1 and 2) in its middle portion. The sulfide ores may be disseminated, net-textured, or massive. The disseminated and net-textured sulfide ores are characterized by variable but generally low PGE concentrations: 10-3200 ppb Pt, 240-9800 ppb Pd, 17-800 ppb Ir, 25-1500 ppb Ru, and 15-400 ppb Rh in 100% sulfides. The massive sulfide ores are extremely low in Pt (<30 ppb) on a 100% sulfides and have very high Cu/Pd ratios, ranging from 10⁴ to 4.5 × 10⁵. The low PGE contents suggest that the sulfide ores formed from the silicate magmas that had already experienced prior-sulfide separation.Our calculations indicate that if the first stage basaltic magmas had contained 6.3 ppb Pt, 6.2 ppb Pd, and 0.1 ppb Ir, 0.008% sulfide removal would result in PGE-depletion in the residual magma with 0.57 ppb Pt, 0.25 ppb Pd, and 0.009 ppb Ir. The Jinchuan sulfides were formed by a second stage of sulfide segregation from a PGE-depleted magma under silicate/sulfide liquid ratios (R-factor) ranging from 10³ to 10⁴ in a deep-seated staging chamber. The massive sulfide ores and some of the net-textured sulfide ores exhibit strong negative Pt-anomalies that cannot be explained by sulfide segregation under variable R-factors. Instead, the sulfide melts that formed the massive ores were segregated from magmas experienced prior fractionation of Pt-Fe alloy. Alternatively, the Pt may have been selectively leached by hydrothermal fluids during remobilization of the sulfide melts that produced the massive sulfides, which occur in cross-cutting veins. We propose that the Jinchuan intrusion and ore bodies were formed by injections of sulfide-free and sulfide-bearing olivine mushes from a deep-seated staging chamber.     

云南朱布镁铁-超镁铁岩体地球化学特征及成因机理探讨

云南朱布镁铁-超镁铁岩体赋存中型铜镍铂族元素矿床,侵位于元谋群片岩和花岗片麻岩中,岩体垂直分异明显,自下而上为橄榄岩、橄辉岩、辉石岩、辉长岩等相带.矿体以底部“边缘矿”为主,上部有呈透镜状产出的少量“上悬矿”.本文报道了朱布岩体主元素、微量元素、铂族元素(PGE)和 Sr-Nd 同位素组成新的测试结果.分析表明朱布岩体具有拉斑玄武质岩浆分异演化趋势,富集 LREE 的分布模式,弱的Nb 异常和较明显的 Sr 负异常,并与峨眉山大火成岩省(ELIP)苦橄岩相类似,暗示两者可能存在成因上的联系.朱布岩体的铂族元素相对分布模式为“Pt-Pd”富集型,原始地幔标准化曲线向左陡倾.较高的(87Sr/86Sr)i (0.7096~0.7107)和较低的εNd(t)(-3.1~-2.3),表明朱布岩浆受到了地壳物质不同程度的混染.通过岩浆演化过程反演,得出其母岩浆性质为苦橄质,并估算地壳混染程度在3%~20%之间,发现在 R (岩浆与熔离硫化物的比例)值为1000~5000时比较吻合朱布样品中硫化物的实际测定值,证实了朱布岩体可能为开放系统的岩浆房,经过多级富集过程,先熔出的硫化物从后续多期次岩浆中吸收了大量 PGE,岩浆房中同时存在堆晶和岩浆演化,分别形成了底层橄榄岩和上部的辉长岩,中间过渡为橄辉岩和辉石岩     

Mineralogical,petrological, and geochemical studies of the Limahe mafic–ultramatic intrusion and associated Ni–Cu sulfide ores,SW China

The Limahe Ni–Cu sulfide deposit is hosted by a small mafic–ultramafic intrusion (800 × 200 × 300 m) that is temporally associated with the voluminous Permian flood basalts in SW China. The objective of this study is to better understand the origin of the deposit in the context of regional magmatism which is important for the ongoing mineral exploration in the region. The Limahe intrusion is a multiphase intrusion with an ultramafic unit at the base and a mafic unit at the top. The two rock units have intrusive contacts and exhibit similar mantle-normalized trace element patterns and Sr–Nd isotopic compositions but significantly different cumulus mineralogy and major element compositions. The similarities suggest that they are related to a common parental liquid, whereas the differences point to magma differentiation by olivine crystallization at depth. Sulfide mineralization is restricted to the ultramafic unit. The abundances of sulfides in the ultramafic unit generally increase towards the basal contacts with sedimentary footwall. The δ ³⁴S values of sulfide minerals from the Limahe deposit are elevated, ranging from +2.4 to +5.4‰. These values suggest the involvement of external S with elevated δ ³⁴S values. The mantle-normalized platinum-group element (PGE) patterns of bulk sulfide ores are similar to those of picrites associated with flood basalts in the region. The abundances of PGE in the sulfide ores, however, are significantly lower than that of sulfide liquid expected to segregate from undepleted picrite magma. Cr-spinel and olivine are present in the Limahe ultramafic rocks as well as in the picrites. Mantle-normalized trace element patterns of the Limahe intrusion generally resemble those of the picrites. However, negative Nb–Ta anomalies, common features of contamination with the lower or middle crust, are present in the intrusion but absent in the picrites. Sr–Nd isotopes suggest that the Limahe intrusion experienced higher degrees of contamination with the upper crust than did the picrites. The results of this study permit us to suggest that the parental magma of the Limahe intrusion was derived from picritic magma by olivine fractionation and contamination in a staging chamber at mid-crustal levels. Depletion of PGE in the sulfide ores in the Limahe intrusion is likely due to previous sulfide segregation of the parental magmas in the staging chamber. Sulfide mineralization in the Limahe intrusion is related to second-stage sulfide segregation after the fractionated magmas acquired external S from pyrite-bearing country rocks during magma ascent to the Limahe chamber. The abrupt change in mineralogical and chemical compositions between the ultramafic unit and the overlying unit suggests that at least two separate pulses of magma were involved in the development of the Limahe intrusion. We propose that the Limahe intrusion was once a wider part of a dynamic conduit that fed magma to the overlying subvolcanic dykes/sills or lavas. The ultramafic unit formed by the first, relatively more primitive magma, and the mafic unit formed by the second, relatively more fractionated magma. Immiscible sulfide droplets that segregated from the first magma settled down with olivine crystals to form the sulfide-bearing, olivine-rich rocks in the base of the intrusion. The overlying residual liquids were then pushed out of the chamber by the second magma. Critical factors for the formation of an economic Ni–Cu sulfide deposit in such a small intrusion include the dynamic petrologic processes involved and the availability of external sulfur. The Limahe deposit reminds us that small, multiphase, mafic–ultramafic intrusions in the region should not be overlooked for the potential of economic Ni–Cu sulfide deposits.     

Re-Os同位素对峨眉山大火成岩省成因制约的探讨

峨眉山大火成岩省（ELIP）主要由玄武岩、玄武质火山碎屑岩及少量的苦橄岩（包括越南的科马提岩）、长英质岩石以及层状岩体和岩墙组成,其物质来源直接关系到其成因是否与地幔柱活动有关。Re-Os同位素体系是地核、地幔和地壳物质的最佳示踪剂。前人对ELIP内的Re-Os同位素研究表明,低Ti玄武岩的Os含量为0．006&#215;10^-9-0．40010^-9,^187Os／^188Os初始值为0．1371～1．403,并提出其与地幔柱活动有关;而高Ti玄武岩的Os含量为0．00410^-9～0．56010^-9,^187Os／^188Os初始值为0．1271～5．19,认为起源于大陆岩石圈地幔或地幔柱上升过程中受到大量岩石圈地幔“混染”（xu JF et al．,2007）;科马提岩的0s含量为1．2410^-9～7．0010^-9,^187Os／^188Os初始值为0．1251～0．1261,苦橄岩的Os含量为0．3210^-9～2．32910^-9,^187Os／^188Os初始值为0．1233～0．1266,指示苦橄岩和科马提岩均来自亏损地幔源区（Hanski et al．,2004;陈雷等,2007）。本文利用Os含量最低、^187Os／^188Os最高的高Ti玄武岩作为地壳端员,用铁质陨石、原始上地幔（PUM）和亏损地幔（DMM）作为地核和各种地幔端员,分别做二元混合计算,结果显示绝大多数玄武岩和所有苦橄岩及科马提岩均落在地壳和DMM混合曲线附近,并且邻区特提斯洋地幔岩与DMM具有相近的Os含量和^187Os／^188Os组成,据此推测峨眉山火成岩的形成与特提斯洋的活动有关,主要受控于地壳和亏损地幔的相互作用。     

Phase Equilibria Constraints on Relations of Ore-bearing Intrusionswith Flood Basalts in the Panxi Region, Southwestern China

There are two types of temporally and spatially associated intrusions within the Emeishan large igneous province (LIP); namely, small uitramafic subvolcanic sills that host magmatic Cu-Ni-Platinum Group Element (PGE)-bearing sulfide deposits and large mafic layered intrusions that host giant Ti-V magnetite deposits in the Panxi region. However, except for their coeval ages, the genetic relations between the ore-bearing intrusions and extrusive rocks are poorly understood. Phase equilibria analysis (Q-PI-OI-Opx-Cpx system) has been carried out to elucidate whether ore-bearing Panzhihua, Xinjie and Limahe intrusions are co-magmatic with the picrites and flood basalts (including high-Ti, low-Ti and alkali basalts), respectively. In this system, the parental magma can be classified as silica-undersaturated olivine basalt and silica-saturated tholeiite. The equivalents of the parental magma of the Xinjie and Limahe peridotites and picrites and iow-Ti basalts are silica-undersaturated, whereas the Limahe gabbro-diorites and high-Ti basalts are silica-saturated. In contrast, the Panzhihua intrusion appears to be alkali character. Phase equilibria relations clearly show that the magmas that formed the Panzhihua intrusion and high-Ti basalts cannot be co-magmatic as there is no way to derive one liquid from another by fractional crystallization. On the other hand, the Panzhihua intrusion appears to be related to Permian alkali intrusions in the region, but does not appear to be related to the alkali basalts recognized in the Longzhoushan lava stratigraphy. Comparably, the Limabe intrusion appears to be a genetic relation to the picrites, whereas the Xinjie intrusion may be genetically related to be low-Ti basaits. Additionally, the gabbro-diorites and peridotites of the Limahe intrusion are not co-magmatic, and the former appears to be derived liquid from high-Ti basalts.     

Heterogeneous Os isotope compositions in the Kalatongke sulfide deposit, NW China: the role of crustal contamination

Re–Os isotope compositions of mantle-derived magmas are highly sensitive to crustal contamination because the crust and mantle have very different Os isotope compositions. Crustal contamination may trigger S saturation and thus the formation of magmatic Ni–Cu–(PGE) sulfide deposits. The ∼287-Ma Kalatongke norite intrusion of NW China are hosted in carboniferous tuffaceous rocks and contain both disseminated and massive sulfide mineralization. The Re–Os isotope compositions in the intrusion are highly variable. Norite and massive sulfide ores have γ _Os values ranging from +59 to +160 and a Re–Os isochron age of 239 ± 51 Ma, whereas disseminated sulfide ores have γ _Os values from +117 to +198 and a Re–Os isochron age of 349 ± 34 Ma. The variability of Os isotope compositions can be explained as the emplacement of two distinct magma pulses. Massive sulfide ores and barren norite in the intrusion formed from the same magma pulse, whereas the disseminated sulfide ores with more radiogenic Os isotopes formed from another magma pulse which underwent different degrees of crustal contamination. Re–Os isotopes may not be suitable for dating sulfide-bearing intrusions that underwent variable degrees of crustal contamination to form magmatic sulfide deposits.     

Platinum-Group Element Geochemical Characteristics of the Picrites and High-Ti Basalts in the Binchuan Area,Yunnan Province

The Binchuan area of Yunnan is located in the western part of the Emeishan large igneous province in the western margin of the Yangtze Block.In the present study,the Wuguiqing profile in thickness of about 1440 m is mainly composed of high-Ti basalts,with minor picrites in the lower part and andesites,trachytes,and rhyolites in the upper part.The picrites have relatively higher platinum-group element（PGE） contents（ΣPGE=16.3-28.2 ppb）,with high Cu/Zr and Pd/Zr ratios,and low S contents（5.03-16.9 ppm）,indicating the parental magma is S-unsaturated and generated by high degree of partial melting of the Emeishan large igneous province（ELIP） mantle source.The slightly high Cu/Pd ratios（11 000-24 000） relative to that of the primitive mantle suggest that 0.007%sulfides have been retained in the mantle source.The PGE contents of the high-Ti basalts exhibit a wider range（ΣPGE=0.517-30.8 ppb）.The samples in the middle and upper parts are depleted in PGE and haveε_Nd（260 Ma） ratios ranging from -2.8 to -2.2,suggesting that crustal contamination of the parental magma during ascent triggered sulfur saturation and segregation of about 0.446%-0.554% sulfides,and the sulfide segregation process may also provide the ore-forming material for the magmatic Cu-Ni-PGE sulfide deposits close to the studied basalts.The samples in this area show Pt-Pd type primitive mantle-normalized PGE patterns,and the Pd/Ir ratios are higher than that of the primitive mantle（Pd/Ir=1）,indicating that the obvious differentiation between Ir-group platinum-group elements（IPGE） and Pd-group platinum-group elements（PPGE） are mainly controlled by olivine or chromites fractionation during magma evolution.The Pd/Pt ratios of most samples are higher than the average ratio of mantle（Pd/Pt=0.55）,showing that the differentiation happened between Pt and Pd.The differentiation in picrites may be relevant to Pt hosted in discrete refractory Pt-alloy phase in the mantle;whereas the differentiation in the high-Ti basalts is probably associated with the fractionation of Fe-Pt alloys,coprecipitating with Ir-Ru-Os alloys.Some high-Ti basalt samples exhibit negative Ru anomalies,possibly due to removal of laurite collected by the early crystallized chromites.     

攀西小关河地区核桃树富铂岩浆硫化物矿床岩石地球化学特征及成矿机制研究

核桃树富铂岩浆硫化物矿床位于四川会理县小关河地区,是峨眉山大火成岩省中含较高铂族元素含量的岩浆硫化物矿床之一。本文通过对核桃树岩体及部分硫化物矿石主量元素、微量元素及铂族元素的系统分析,讨论了该岩体的岩浆源区及母岩浆性质、地幔部分熔融程度,并探讨了其成因机制。研究认为,核桃树含矿岩体属拉斑玄武岩成因系列,具有与峨眉山玄武岩相似的微量元素组成特征,是峨眉山大火成岩省构造-岩浆活动的产物;铂族元素的原始地幔标准化配分型式与金宝山铂钯矿相似,没有PGE相对于Ni和Cu的明显亏损,Pt和Pd相对Os、Ir、Ru和Rh富集,为PPGE富集的左倾型式,Pd/Ir=1.5~13.1,低于一般大陆拉斑玄武岩,与原始地幔接近。通过岩石地球化学及模拟分析表明,成矿母岩浆MgO约为11.93%、SiO_2约为49.88%、FeOT约为13.71%、TiO_2约为2.61%,为高Mg拉斑玄武质岩浆,是由类似于洋岛玄武岩岩浆源区成分的地幔经过较高程度(约20.17%)的部分熔融形成的苦橄质岩浆演化而来。与小关河地区主要的几类岩浆硫化物矿床的镍铜铂族元素组成及硫化物熔离模式对比分析发现,核桃树高的PGE含量和低的Cu/Pd比值说明了该矿床的硫化物是从PGE不亏损的玄武质岩浆中熔离出来的,类似金宝山矿床。成岩成矿机制分析认为,部分熔融形成的苦橄质岩浆在上升的过程中,发生了以橄榄石(约12.7%)为代表的镁铁质矿物堆积,并形成残余髙镁玄武质岩浆;部分残余髙镁玄武质岩浆向浅部运移过程中,由于温度降低、混染等因素的影响,导致岩浆S饱和,触发硫化物熔离作用的发生(R值为2000~50000),熔离出硫化物熔体与岩浆通道内晶出的橄榄石构成含矿"晶粥",在构造挤压作用下,在浅部岩浆房中由于重力影响发生堆积作用形成具有较富PGE的含矿岩体,R值较大变化正好与PGE含量较大变化相对应。     

Os isotopic constraints on Archean mantle dynamics

The Re-Os isotopic systematics of two ca. 2.7-Ga komatiite flows from Belingwe, Zimbabwe are examined. Rhenium and Os concentrations in these rocks are similar to concentrations in other Archean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic komatiites. Despite the excellent preservation of primary magmatic minerals, the Re-Os systematics of whole-rock samples of the komatiites show open-system behavior. Consistent model ages for several whole-rock samples suggest a disturbance to the system during the Proterozoic. Despite the open-system behavior in the whole rocks, Re-Os systematics for concentrates of primary magmatic olivine and spinel indicate generally closed-system behavior since the magmatic event that produced the rocks. Regression of the data for the mineral concentrates yields an age of 2721 ± 21 Ga, which is consistent with Pb-Pb and Sm-Nd ages that have been previously reported for the komatiites (Chauvel et al., 1993), and an initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratio of 0.11140 ± 84 (γ_Os = +2.8 ± 0.8).The 2 to 3% enrichment in ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratio of the mantle source of the komatiites, relative to the chondritic composition of the contemporaneous convecting upper mantle, most likely reflects either the incorporation of substantially older (≥ 4.2 Ga), Re-rich recycled mafic crust into the mantle source of the komatiites or the contribution of suprachondritic Os to the source from the putative ¹⁸⁷Os-enriched outer core. The former interpretation would indicate the Hadean formation and recycling of mafic crust. The latter interpretation would require early formation of a substantial inner core followed by upwelling of a mantle plume from the core-mantle boundary, at least as far back as the Late Archean. Either interpretation requires large-scale mantle convection during the first half of Earth history.     

Re-Os systematics of komatiites and komatiitic basalts at Dundonald Beach, Ontario, Canada: Evidence for a complex alteration history and implications of a late-Archean chondritic mantle source

Osmium isotopic compositions, and Re and Os concentrations have been examined in one komatiite unit and two komatiitic basalt units at Dundonald Beach, part of the 2.7 Ga Kidd-Munro volcanic assemblage in the Abitibi greenstone belt, Ontario, Canada. The komatiitic rocks in this locality record at least three episodes of alteration of Re-Os elemental and isotope systematics. First, an average of 40% and as much as 75% Re may have been lost due to shallow degassing during eruption and/or hydrothermal leaching during or immediately after emplacement. Second, the Re-Os isotope systematics of whole rock samples with ¹⁸⁷Re/¹⁸⁸Os ratios >1 were reset at ∼2.5 Ga, possibly due to a regional metamorphic event. Third, there is evidence for relatively recent gain and loss of Re in some rocks.Despite the open-system behavior, some aspects of the Re-Os systematics of these rocks can be deciphered. The bulk distribution coefficient for Os (D_Os^solid/liquid) for the Dundonald rocks is ∼3 ± 1 and is well within the estimated D values obtained for komatiites from the nearby Alexo area and stratigraphically-equivalent komatiites from Munro Township. This suggests that Os was moderately compatible during crystal-liquid fractionation of the magmas parental to the Kidd-Munro komatiitic rocks. Whole-rock samples and chromite separates with low ¹⁸⁷Re/¹⁸⁸Os ratios (<1) yield a precise chondritic average initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratio of 0.1083 ± 0.0006 (γ_Os = 0.0 ± 0.6) for their well-constrained ∼2715 Ma crystallization age. The chondritic initial Os isotopic composition of the mantle source for the Dundonald rocks is consistent with that determined for komatiites in the Alexo area and in Munro Township, suggesting that the mantle source region for the Kidd-Munro volcanic assemblage had evolved with a long-term chondritic Re/Os before eruption. The chondritic initial Os isotopic composition of the Kidd-Munro komatiites is indistinguishable from that of the projected contemporaneous convective upper mantle. The uniform chondritic Os isotopic composition of the Kidd-Munro komatiites contrasts with the typical large-scale Os isotopic heterogeneity in the mantle sources for ca. 89 Ma komatiites from the Gorgona Island, arc-related rocks and present-day ocean island basalts. This suggests that the Kidd-Munro komatiites sampled a late-Archean mantle source region that was significantly more homogeneous with respect to Re/Os relative to most modern mantle-derived rocks.     

Phase Equilibria Constraints on Relations of Ore‐bearing Intrusions with Flood Basalts in the Panxi Region,Southwestern China

There are two types of temporally and spatially associated intrusions within the Emeishan large igneous province (LIP); namely, small ultramafic subvolcanic sills that host magmatic Cu-Ni-Platinum Group Element (PGE)-bearing sulfide deposits and large mafic layered intrusions that host giant Ti-V magnetite deposits in the Panxi region. However, except for their coeval ages, the genetic relations between the ore-bearing intrusions and extrusive rocks are poorly understood. Phase equilibria analysis (Q-Pl-Ol-Opx-Cpx system) has been carried out to elucidate whether ore-bearing Panzhihua, Xinjie and Limahe intrusions are co-magmatic with the picrites and flood basalts (including high-Ti, low-Ti and alkali basalts), respectively. In this system, the parental magma can be classified as silica-undersaturated olivine basalt and silica-saturated tholeiite. The equivalents of the parental magma of the Xinjie and Limahe peridotites and picrites and low-Ti basalts are silica-undersaturated, whereas the Limahe gabbro-diorites and high-Ti basalts are silica-saturated. In contrast, the Panzhihua intrusion appears to be alkali character. Phase equilibria relations clearly show that the magmas that formed the Panzhihua intrusion and high-Ti basalts cannot be co-magmatic as there is no way to derive one liquid from another by fractional crystallization. On the other hand, the Panzhihua intrusion appears to be related to Permian alkali intrusions in the region, but does not appear to be related to the alkali basalts recognized in the Longzhoushan lava stratigraphy. Comparably, the Limahe intrusion appears to be a genetic relation to the picrites, whereas the Xinjie intrusion may be genetically related to be low-Ti basalts. Additionally, the gabbro-diorites and peridotites of the Limahe intrusion are not co-magmatic, and the former appears to be derived liquid from high-Ti basalts.     

金川超大型铜镍硫化物矿床的铂族元素地球化学特征

对金川超大型铜镍岩浆硫化物矿床岩石、矿石的铂族元素地球化学特征研究表明 ,金川岩体的平均Cu/Pd值远大于原生地幔岩浆的Cu/Pd值 ,说明其岩石为因硫化物析离而失去Pd的岩浆所结晶 ;且岩石的PGE具有部分熔融趋势 ,与地幔橄榄岩接近 ,这些均指示存在岩浆熔离作用。该矿床岩石、矿石的PGE球粒陨石标准化分布模式比较对应 ,均可分为两种类型 ,反映了岩浆多次侵入、熔离分异同时成岩成矿的特征。另外 ,PGE S关系分析表明其成岩成矿过程中有少量地壳物质混染。PGE地球化学特征参数还指示了其高镁拉斑玄武质母岩浆的性质。     

PGE geochemistry of the Eagle Ni–Cu–(PGE) deposit, Upper Michigan: constraints on ore genesis in a dynamic magma conduit

The Eagle Ni–Cu–(PGE) deposit is hosted in mafic–ultramafic intrusive rocks associated with the Marquette–Baraga dike swarm in northern Michigan. Sulfide mineralization formed in association with picritic magmatism in a dynamic magma conduit during the early stages in the development of the ~1.1?Ga Midcontinent Rift System. Four main types of sulfide mineralization have been recognized within the Eagle deposit: (1) disseminated sulfides in olivine-rich rocks; (2) rocks with semi-massive sulfides located both above and below the massive sulfide zone; (3) massive sulfides; and (4) sulfide veins in sedimentary country rocks. The disseminated, massive and lower semi-massive sulfide zones are typically composed of pyrrhotite, pentlandite and chalcopyrite, whereas the upper semi-massive sulfide ore zone also contains pyrrhotite, pentlandite, and chalcopyrite, but has higher cubanite content. Three distinct types of sulfide mineralization are present in the massive sulfide zone: IPGE-rich, PPGE-rich, and PGE-unfractioned. The lower and upper semi-massive sulfide zones have different PGE compositions. Samples from the lower semi-massive sulfide zone are characterized by unfractionated PGE patterns, whereas those from the upper semi-massive sulfide zone show moderate depletion in IPGE and moderate enrichment in PPGE. The mantle-normalized PGE patterns of unfractionated massive and lower semi-massive sulfides are subparallel to those of the disseminated sulfides. The results of numerical modeling using PGE concentrations recalculated to 100% sulfide (i.e., PGE tenors) and partition coefficients of PGE between sulfide liquid and magma indicate that the disseminated and unfractionated massive sulfide mineralization formed by the accumulation of primary sulfide liquids with similar R factors between 200 and 300. In contrast, the modeled R factor for the lower semi-massive sulfide zone is <100. The fractionated sulfide zones such as those of the IPGE-rich and PPGE-rich massive sulfides and the upper semi-massive sulfide zone can be explained by fractional crystallization of monosulfide solid solution from sulfide liquids. The results of numerical modeling indicate that the sulfide minerals in the upper semi-massive sulfide zone are the products of crystallization of fractionated sulfide liquids derived from a primary sulfide liquid with an R factor similar to that for the disseminated sulfide mineralization. Interestingly, the modeled parental sulfide liquid for the IPGE-rich and PPGE-rich massive sulfide zones has a higher R factor (~400) than that for the unfractionated massive sulfide mineralization. Except one sample which has unusually high IPGE and PPGE contents, all other samples from the Cu-rich sulfide veins in the footwall of the intrusion are highly depleted in IPGE and enriched in PPGE. These signatures are generally consistent with highly fractionated sulfide liquids expelled from crystallizing sulfide liquid. Collectively, our data suggest that at least four primary sulfide liquids with different R factors (<100, 200–300, ~400) were involved in the formation of the Eagle magmatic sulfide deposit. We envision that the immiscible sulfide liquids were transported from depth by multiple pulses of magma passing through the Eagle conduit system. The sulfide liquids were deposited in the widened part of the conduit system due to the decreasing velocity of magma flow. The presence of abundant olivine in some of the sulfide ore zones indicates that the ascending magma also carried olivine crystals. Sulfide saturation was attained in the parental magma due in large part to the assimilation of country rock sulfur at depth.     

甘肃黑山铜镍硫化物含矿岩体的地质特征及橄榄石成因探讨

黑山铜镍硫化物含矿岩体位于中亚造山带南缘北山褶皱带东部,对该岩体的研究有助于正确理解造山带型铜镍硫化物的成矿作用。详细的野外基础地质特征表明黑山矿区仅出露单一的新元古代青白口系地层,无寒武纪地层出露。黑山含矿岩体由早期的方辉橄榄岩、二辉橄榄岩和橄榄辉长苏长岩,以及稍晚期的辉长岩脉组成。黑山岩体位于黑山背斜南翼,其初始产状应为一水平或近水平的岩床状岩体,因后期褶皱作用,岩体发生了倾斜形成现今的产状。黑山岩体中橄榄石Fo值为80.5~87.0,其Ni含量为1070×10^-6~3461×10^-6。借助"MELTS"软件,我们进一步厘定了黑山母岩浆为高镁玄武岩浆 (12.81% MgO, 10.84% FeO, 430×10^-6 Ni)。研究表明,黑山橄榄石的主要控制因素为:1)母岩浆的成分;2)后续新鲜岩浆的补充混合作用;3)硫化物熔离作用;4)晶间硅酸盐熔浆作用;5)橄榄石与硫化物之间发生的Fe-Ni交换。模拟计算表明,硫化物熔离与橄榄石结晶几乎同时发生,橄榄石与硫化物的最小质量比约为20:1。1号矿体及矿化体的橄榄石比4号矿体更富Mg和Ni,并且还呈现非常好的负相关关系,表明这些橄榄石与硫化物发生了不同程度的Fe-Ni交换,而与其发生Fe-Ni交换的硫化物更富Ni以及共生的岩浆更为原始。这很可能是因为黑山岩体形成于开放的岩浆通道系统,早期融离的硫化物与后续的新鲜的硫不饱和岩浆发生反应,使得该类硫化物含量减少但硫化物中的金属元素含量增高从而形成1号矿体及矿化体。     

GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PLATINUM GROUP ELEMENTS IN JINCHUAN SUPER-LARGE SULFIDE COPPER-NICKEL DEPOSIT, JINCHANG CITY, GANSU PROVINCE, CHINA

The platinum-group element geochemistry of rocks and ores from Jinchuan super-large copper-nickel sulfide deposit is systemically studied in this paper. The Cu/Pd mean ratio of Jinchuan intrusion is lower than that of original mantle magma, which indicates that these ultrabasic rocks were crystallized from magma that lost Pd in the form of melting segregation of sulfides. The PGE of the rocks show trend of partial melting, similar to that of mantle peridotite, which shows that magma formation occurs during rock-forming and ore-forming processes. The chondrite normalized PGE patterns of the rocks and ores are well related to each other, which signifies the signatures of multi-episode magmatic intrusion, melting and differentiation in the formation processes of rocks and ores. In addition, analyses about the relation between PGE and S, and study on Re-Os isotopes indicate that few contamination of the crustal substances occurred during the magmatic intrusion and the formation of deposit. However, contamination by crustal substances helps to supply part of the S for the enrichment of PGE. Meanwhile, the hydrothermal process is also advantageous for the enrichment of PGE, especially lbr Pt and Pd, due to deep melting segregation. The characteristic parameters （such as Pt/（Pt＋Pd）, （Pt＋Pd）/（Ru＋Ir＋Os）, Pd/Ir, Cu/（Ni＋Cu）, and so on.） for platinum-group elements for Jinchuan sulfide copper-nickel deposit show the same features as those for sulfide copper-nickel deposit related to basic magma, which also illustrates its original magma property representative of Mg-high tholeiite. Therefore, it is the marie （not ultramafic） magma that resulted in the formation of the superlarge sulfide copper-nickel deposit enriched in Cu and PGE. To sum up, the geochemical characteristics of platinum-group elements in rocks and ores from Jinchuan copper-nickel sulfide deposit are constrained by the continental rift tectonic environment, the parent magma features, the enriched mantel magma source, the complex metallogenesis and PGE geochemical signatures, and this would be rather significant for the study about the genetic mechanism of copper-nickel sulfide deposits.     

Petrogenesis of the Pt–Pd mineralized Jinbaoshan ultramafic intrusion in the Permian Emeishan Large Igneous Province,SW China

The Jinbaoshan ultramafic intrusion is a sheet-like body with a thick wehrlite unit in the center and thin pyroxenite units at the margins. PGE are enriched in several disseminated sulfide zones in the intrusion. Olivine from the intrusion has low Fo and depleted Ni contents compared to olivine from coeval Emeishan picrites. Whole rock major and trace element concentrations suggest that the Jinbaoshan wehrlites originally contained <30% trapped liquid. The total amount of sulfide in the rocks exceeds that which could have been dissolved in the trapped liquid. The Jinbaoshan wehrlites are interpreted to represent residual assemblages formed by dissolution of plagioclase by passing magma. No clear evidence of crustal contamination is indicated by S, Nd and Os isotopes. We envision that sulfide saturation occurred at depth due to olivine and chromite crystallization. Immiscible sulfide droplets were transported to the Jinbaoshan conduit where they accumulated and reacted with magma successively passing through the conduit to achieve high PGE concentrations.     

Variable initial Pb isotopic compositions of rocks associated with the UG2 chromitite, eastern Bushveld Complex

An investigation of the Pb isotopic compositions of plagioclase and sulfide in a stratigraphic interval including the UG2 chromitite of the eastern Bushveld Complex has been conducted to determine the Pb isotopic composition(s) of the magma(s) that crystallized to form this part of the intrusion, gain a better understanding of why coexisting plagioclase and sulfide commonly exhibit widely different Pb isotopic compositions, and explore the use of Pb isotopes in deducing post-accumulation history. Analyses were obtained in situ with a NuPlasma multicollector ICP-MS coupled with 193 nm Excimer or 213 nm lasers.Most plagioclase compositions fall on the ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb vs ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb geochron of 2.06 Ga, which is the solidification age of the intrusion. The measured ratios have not been affected by radiogenic ingrowth, and plagioclase generally remained closed to Pb exchange after initial cooling. The array of plagioclase compositions on the geochron is significantly larger than that defined by analytical error. This indicates that in terms of Pb at least two different magma compositions were present. The composition of the least radiogenic magma was approximated by that of the contemporaneous BSE with μ (²³⁸U/²⁰⁴Pb) and ω (²³²Th/²⁰⁴Pb) values of ≈9.0 and 35, respectively, suggesting a mantle derivation with little or no involvement of the continental crust, while the second magma possessed a Pb isotopic composition similar to the upper crust with μ ≈ 9.6.Compared to plagioclase, sulfides generally possess slightly higher ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios for equivalent ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios such that their compositions fall between the 2.06 and 1.86 Ga geochrons. The latter age is much younger than the cooling age. The data are interpreted to mean that the Bushveld Complex remained buried in the crust at temperatures of several hundred °C for about 200 Ma after solidification, and that any sulfides accessible to fluid continued to re-equilibrated during this time with more radiogenic Pb. The sulfide Pb may have been transported into the Bushveld Complex by fluids from an external reservoir when the rocks were still partially molten and thus permeable. Alternatively, the sulfide Pb may have originated mainly from radiogenic decay of U and Th present in minerals other than the sulfides in the immediately surrounding Bushveld rocks, followed by local redistribution of Pb by whatever fluid was present. Indeed, some sulfides are characterized by ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios sufficiently high that an external source is unlikely. This observation and the fact that the sulfides display small-scale heterogeneity suggest that most, if not all, of the radiogenic sulfide Pb was locally derived. It also implies that during the post-solidification, re-equilibration period there was no large-scale fluid-flow through the microfracture network because otherwise the isotopic heterogeneities would not have been preserved. The minerals in 2 of the 19 samples studied contain young Pb, presumably introduced by meteoric waters that permeated the macrofracture network.     

Origin of ultra-nickeliferous olivine in the Kevitsa Ni–Cu–PGE-mineralized intrusion, northern Finland

The 2,058 ± 4 Ma mafic–ultramafic Kevitsa intrusion is located in the Central Lapland greenstone belt, northern Finland. It is hosted by a Paleoproterozoic volcano–sedimentary sequence that contains komatiitic volcanic rocks and sulfide- and graphite-rich black schists. Economic Ni–Cu–(PGE) sulfide mineralization occurs in the middle part of the ultramafic lower unit of the intrusion. Two main types of ore are distinguished, “normal” and “Ni–PGE” ores. The normal ore is characterized by ~2 to 6 vol% disseminated sulfides and average Ni and Cu grades of 0.3 and 0.42 wt %, respectively (Ni/Cu < 1). The Ni–PGE ore has broadly similar sulfide contents, but a higher Ni grade and lower Cu grade. As a result, the Ni/Cu ratio reaches 15, much higher than in the normal ore. The Ni–PGE ores occur as irregular, discontinuous, lense-like bodies in the ultramafic rocks. Notably, the olivines in the Ni–PGE ore contain extremely high Ni contents of up to 14,000 ppm, which is significantly higher than the Ni content of olivine in other mafic–ultramafic igneous rocks globally (up to ~5,000 ppm) and in harmony with the associated Ni-rich sulfide assemblage containing pentlandite, millerite and pyrite. Microprobe mapping of olivine from the Ni–PGE ore suggests relatively low and homogeneous S contents and homogeneous distribution of Ni, Mg, Fe, which is inconsistent with the presence of sulfide inclusions in the olivine grains, or diffusion of Ni from interstitial sulfides into the olivine grains. We therefore conclude that Ni substitutes for Mg in the olivine lattice. The clinopyroxenes from the Ni–PGE ore also have unusually high Ni concentrations reaching 1,500 ppm and show a positive correlation with the nickel content of the associated olivine. The Ni_cpx/Ni_olivine is ~0.1 to 0.2 corresponding to high T partitioning of Ni between clinopyroxene and olivine. K _D of 20 can account for the partitioning of nickel between olivine and the sulfide phase, consistent with magmatic equilibration. These data suggest that the olivine, clinopyroxene, and sulfides all crystallized from a basaltic magma with an unexceptionally high Ni content ranging from 300 to 1,100 ppm. The Ni–PGE ores are spatially associated with ultramafic xenoliths. Olivine in these ultramafic xenoliths have relatively high Fo contents (up to 90 mol %) and high Ni contents (up to 5,200 ppm) suggesting that the xenoliths formed from a komatiitic parental magma. It is proposed that assimilation by the Kevitsa magma of massive or semi-massive sulfides associated with komatiitic rocks elevated the Ni content of the magma and resulted in the formation of Ni–PGE ores and related extremely Ni-rich olivines.     

World-class Ni-Cu-PGE deposits: key factors in their genesis

Magmatic Ni-Cu sulfide deposits form as the result of segregation and concentration of droplets of liquid sulfide from mafic or ultramafic magma, and the partitioning of chalcophile elements into these from the silicate melt. Sulfide saturation of a magma is not enough in itself to produce an ore deposit. The appropriate physical environment is required so that the sulfide liquid mixes with enough magma to become adequately enriched in chalcophile metals, and then is concentrated in a restricted locality so that the resulting concentration is of ore grade. The deposits of the Noril'sk region have developed within flat, elongate bodies (15 × 2 × 0.2 km) that intrude argillites, evaporites and coal measures, adjacent to a major, trans-crustal fault and immediately below the centre of a 3.5 km-thick volcanic basin. Studies of the overlying basalts have shown that lavas forming a 500 m-thick sequence within these have lost 75% of their Cu and Ni and more than 90% of their PGE. Overlying basalts show a gradual recovery in their chalcophile element concentrations to reach “normal” values 500 m above the top of the highly depleted zone. The ore-bearing Noril'sk-type intrusions correlate with those basalts above the depleted zone that contain “normal” levels of chalcophile elements. The high proportion of sulfide (2–10 wt.%) associated with the Noril'sk-type intrusions, the high PGE content of the ores, the extensive metamorphic aureole (100–400 m around the bodies), and the heavy sulfur isotopic composition of the ores (+8–+12 ∂³⁴S) are explicable if the ore-bearing bodies are exit conduits from high level intrusions, along which magma has flowed en route to extrude at surface. The first magma to enter these intrusions reacted with much evaporitic sulfur, at a low “R” value and thus gave rise to sulfides with low metal tenors. Successive flow of magma through the system progressively enriched the sulfides in the conduits, losing progressively less of their chalcophile metals, and thus accounting for the upward increase in metals in successive lava flows above the highly depleted flows. The Voisey's Bay deposit lies partly within a 30–100 m-thick sheet of troctolite, interpreted as a feeder for the 1.334 Ga Voisey's Bay intrusion, and partly at the base of this intrusion, where the feeder adjoins it. Studies of olivine compositions indicate that an early pulse of magma through the feeder and into the intrusion was Ni depleted but that subsequent pulses were much less depleted. Trace element, Re-Os and S and O isotope data, and mineralogical studies indicate that the magma pulses interacted with country gneiss, probably principally in a deeper level intrusion, extracting SiO₂, Na₂O, K₂O and possibly sulfur form the gneiss, which accounts for the magma becoming sulfide saturated. The Jinchuan deposit of north central China occurs within a 6 km-long dyke-like body of peridotite. The compositions of olivine within the dyke, the igneous rocks themselves, and the ore are all inconsistent with derivation of the body from ultramafic magma, as originally supposed, and indicate that the structure forms the keel of a much larger intrusion of magnesian basalt magma. Flow of magma into the intrusion has resulted in olivine and sulfide being retained where the keel was widening out into the intrusion. The West Australian komatiite-related deposits occur in thermal erosional troughs which have developed due to the channelisation of magma flow and the resulting thermal erosion of underlying sediments and basalt by the hot komatiite magma. The sediments are sulfide-rich, and may have contributed substantially to the sulfide of the ores. The mineralisation in the Duluth complex occurs in troctolitic intrusions along the western margin of the complex as a result of magma interacting with and extracting sulfur from the underlying graphite- and sulfide-bearing sediments. No magma flow channels have been identified so far, and the lack of magma flow subsequent to the development of sulfide immiscibility is regarded as the reason why these deposits are not of economic grade. When most major Ni-Cu sulfide deposits are compared, they prove to have a number of features in common; olivine-rich magma, proximity to a major crustal fault, sulfide-bearing country rocks, chalcophile element depletion in related intrusive or extrusive rocks, field and/or geochemical evidence of interaction between the magma and the country rocks, and the presence of or proximity to a magma conduit. The features are thought to explain the three key requirements (sulfide immiscibilty, adequate mixing between sulfides and magma, and localisation of the sulfides) discussed and have important implications with respect to exploration. Received: 9 January 1998 / Accepted: 21 September 1998