The Relationship Between Mineralogical Characteristics and Isotopic Composition of Sphalerite,as Exemplified by the Huxu Deposit,China

The relationship between mineralogical characteristics and isotopic composition of sphalerite,as exemplified by the Huxu deposit,China

The relationship between mineralogical characteristics and isotopic composition of sulfides has not received its proper share of attention from geologists, although many references are available concerning the application of sulfur isotopes to geological problems. Located in the vicinity of the contact region between the Yangtze Platform and the South China Caledonian Folding Zone, the Huxu deposit is hosted in a structural zone in quartz-diorite-porphyrite emplaced in Jurassic volcanic rocks. Sphalerite and galena are the principal ore minerals in the deposit. (1) Sphalerite is highly variable in color and this variation can be related to its chemical composition and sulfur isotopic characters. Dark colored sphalerites are poor in Zn and Ni, rich in Pb, Cu, Fe, Ag and Au and have high δ³⁴S values, while the opposite is true for light-colored ones. (2) δ³⁴S of sphalerite is negatively correlated with the contents of Zn and Ni and positively correlated with the contents of Pb, Cu, Ag and Au, with the absolute values of the correlation coefficients being greater than 0.7. The above two characters suggest that the sulfur isotopic composition of sphalerite is controlled not only by the physicochemical conditions under which the mineral was formed, but also by mineralogical characteristics of the host mineral. (3) Apparent correlations exist among the constituent elements in the sphalerite. For example, Zn is negatively correlated with Cu, Pb, Fe, Ag and Au and positively correlated with Ni. (4) Sphalerites of the same color in the same hand specimen always show similar characters with respect to trace element and sulfur isotopes. (5) Two distinct trends of evolution can be recognized between Zn and Cu, Zn and Pb, Zn and Ag and between these elements on one hand and δ³⁴S on the other, reflecting that the ore-forming solutions may have resulted from mixing of fluids of different origins. (6) Pb is uniformly distributed in sphalerite and shows positive correlations with Cu, Fe, Ag and δ³⁴S, suggesting isomorphic substitution in the sphalerite lattice. This project was financially supported by the Open Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences.