Halogen elements as indicator of deep-seated orebodies in the Chadong As–Ag–Au deposit, western Guangdong, China

Halogen elements play an important role in the metallogenesis of metallic ore deposits and are involved in the whole process of remobilization, transport and precipitation of metallic elements. However, with the exception of fluorine, which, as a component of fluorite and mica minerals, can be occasionally concentrated in ores, Cl, Br and I are hard to enrich in the ores. Investigations have found that the halogen elements tend to diffuse toward country rocks with the development of hydrothermal alteration in the process of their involvement in metallogenesis, especially during the post-ore stage when extensive halogen diffusion halos over orebodies would be formed. Such halogen element diffusion halos over the Chadong As–Ag–Au deposit extend as widely as 200 m. The largest diffusion extent is for I and the diffusion halos of Br are most noticeable 50–130 m away from the orebodies. In areas of ore exposure and the strongly altered zone, the Cl, Br and I contents are close to those of the strata with a V-shaped distribution pattern in the periphery of the mining district. Comparatively speaking, in going away from the altered zone, the major metallic elements Au and Ag in the deposit tend to decrease suddenly to their normal contents in the strata. This variation feature of halogen elements can be used as geochemical indicators for exploring concealed orebodies at depth. In the Chadong ore deposit, halogen element anomalies can be used to predict concealed orebodies at the depth range of 0–200 m.