Cenozoic Mineralization in China, as a Key to Past Mineralization and a Clue to Future Prospecting

Many Cenozoic metal deposits have been found during the past decade. Among them, the Fuwan Ag deposit in Guangdong is the largest Ag deposit in China. Besides, the largest Cu deposit of China in Yulong, Tibet, the largest Pb-Zn deposit of China in Jinding, Yunnan, and the largest Au deposit of China in Jinguashi,Taiwan, were also formed in the Cenozoic. Why so many important "present" deposits formed during such a short period of geological history is the key problem. The major reason is that different tectonic settings control different kinds of magmatic activity and mineralization at the same time. In southwestern China, porphyry-type Cu deposits such as Yulong were formed during the early stage of the Himalayan orogeny, sediment-hosted Pb-Zn deposits such as Jinding were formed within intermontane basins related to deep faults, and carbonatite-related deposits such as the Maoniuping REE deposit and alkalic magmatic rock-related deposits such as the Beiya Au deposit originated from the mantle source.     

Yangshan Gold Deposit:The Largest Carlin and Carlin-like Type Gold Deposit in China

Gold Headquarter of the CAPF has discovered the Yangshan super large-scale gold deposit in Gansu Province, which is a great breakthrough of gold exploration and prospecting in Western Qinling Mountains of China. The gold resources of this deposit achieved 308 tons with increasing potentials. Preliminary geological investigations indicate that the Yangshan gold deposit is located in the intra-continental collision orogenic belt; and the deposit was formed during the continent-continent collision orogenic processes. The geological characteristics of the deposit are similar to that of the typical Carlin-type gold deposits, while differences still exist. The ore-forming background is notably different from the Carlin gold deposit province in the United States; and the ore-forming fluids are similar with that of the orogenic-type gold deposit. Accordingly, the Yangshan gold deposit is a transitional type between the Carlin-type and the orogenic type gold deposits. At present, the Yangshan gold deposit is the largest Carlin and Carlin-like type gold deposit that is ever discovered in China. Researches on metallogeny, metallogenic model and ore-enrichment regularities of the Yangshan gold deposit are crucial to meet the pressing needs of the current geological investigation and ore exploration of the deposit.     

Re-Os Dating of Molybdenite from the Yaogangxian Tungsten Deposit, South China, and Its Geological Significance

The Yaogangxian tungsten deposit is located in the central part of the Nanling polymetailic metallogenic province. The orebodies occur as veins. Wolframite and molybdenite are the dominant ore minerals. Two samples were selected for molybdenite Re-Os dating in order to elucidate the timing of mineralization. Re-Os datings of molybdenite from quartz-woiframite veins and disseminated in granite yield ages of 153±7 Ma and 163.2±4.2 Ma respectively. The results indicate that the Yaogangxian tungsten deposit is the product of large-scale metallogenesis in the middle Yanshanian period in South China, and that the evolution from late magmatic to postmagmatic hypothermal mineralization occurred at about 10 Ma. The rhenium content of molybdenite in the Yaogangxian tungsten deposit suggests that the ore materials originated from the crust.     

Re-Os Dating of the Pulang Porphyry Copper Deposit in Zhongdian,NW Yunnan, and Its Geological Significance

The Pulang porphyry copper deposit is located in the Zhongdian island arc belt, NW Yunnan, in the central part of the Sanjiang area, SW China, belonging to the southern segment of the Yidun island arc belt on the western margin of the Yangtze Platform. In the Yidun island arc, there occur well-known "Gacun-style" massive sulfide deposits in the northern segment and plenty of porphyry copper deposits in the southern segment, of which the Pulang porphyry copper deposit is one of the representatives. Like the Yulong porphyry copper deposit, this porphyry copper deposit is also one of the most important porphyry copper deposits in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. But it is different from other porphyry copper deposits in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (e.g. those in the Gangdise porphyry copper belt and Yulong porphyry copper belt) in that it formed in the Indosinian period, while others in the Himalayan period. Because of its particularity among the porphyry copper deposits of China, this porphyry copp     

New Discovery of Molybdenite in the Dongping Gold Deposit,Hebei Province,China and its Re-Os Geochronological Implications

The Dongping gold deposit is located on the northern margin of the North China Craton,and is the largest alkaline pluton-related gold deposit in China(Bao et al.,2014),which is characterized by its large amounts of tellurides.The deposit is largely hosted in the Shuiquangou syenitic complex and consists of auriferous quartz veins and disseminated sulfide ores.It has been extensively studied since its discovery in the 1980s;however the geochronology and genesis of the deposit are still controversial.Nie(1998)considered that the deposit was formed in the Devonian.     

包裹体研究与石碌铁矿成因的探讨

Shilu iron deposit is one of the highly economically important rich iron deposits in China. Based upon the research results on its ore composition and fluid inclusions, it can be reasonably explained that the genesis of this iron deposit is such that marine voleanic sediments there suffered later regional metmnorphism and hydrothermal reformation. The temperature of regional metamorphism ranges from 465 to 536℃,while that of hydrothermal reformation from 344 to 396℃. The latter seems to be related to the migmatization of Zhan Xian stock near Shilu iron deposit, Due to the hydrothermal reformation, the ore-forming materials were mobilized and transfered from the marine sedimentary rocks, subsequently redepositing and concentrating as a rich iron deposit in the present site.     

Phase Chemistry Study of the Dangxiongcuo Salt Lake Brine:Isothermal Evaporation at 25℃

正Production of lithium carbonate from brines has become the dominate trend in the world from the beginning of this century.Dangxiongcuo,a carbonate-type salt lake,is located in the interior of the Tibetan Plateau,China.As a salt lake deposit,rich in Li,B,K and other useful trace     

Selection and Basic Properties of the Buffer Material for High-Level Radioactive Waste Repository in China

Radioactive wastes arising from a wide range of human activities are in many different physical and chemical forms, contaminated with varying radioactivity. Their common features are the potential hazard associated with their radioactivity and the need to manage them in such a way as to protect the human environment. The geological disposal is regarded as the most reasonable and effective way to safely disposing high-level radioactive wastes in the world. The conceptual model of geological disposal in China is based on a multi-barrier system that combines an isolating geological environment with an engineered barrier system. The buffer is one of the main engineered barriers for HLW repository. It is expected to maintain its low water permeability, self-sealing property, radio nuclides adsorption and retardation properties, thermal conductivity, chemical buffering property, canister supporting property, and stress buffering property over a long period of time. Bentonite is selected as the main content of buffer material that can satisfy the above requirements. The Gaomiaozi deposit is selected as the candidate supplier for China＇s buffer material of high level radioactive waste repository. This paper presents the geological features of the GMZ deposit and basic properties of the GMZ Na-bentonite. It is a super-large deposit with a high content of montmorillonite （about 75 %）, and GMZ-1, which is Na-bentonite produced from GMZ deposit is selected as the reference material for China＇s buffer material study.     

Experimental Study on Gold Dissolution from Hosting Minerals of the Hadamengou Gold Deposit and the Implications

The Hadamengou gold deposit is located in western part of the northern margin of the North China craton. It is a hydrothermal deposit related to alkaline magmatism. Dissolution of Au, Fe from pyrite and iron oxide （including magnetite and hematite） individual minerals in the three main types of ore shows： in iron oxides （magnetite and hematite）, Au and Fe were dissolved simultaneously and their solubilities are positively correlated, which means Au is mainly chemical-bonded （lattice gold） and/or colloidal-adsorbed in iron oxides; while in pyrite, on the contrary, Au dissolution obviously lags behind Fe and the solubility of Au shows negative relationship with that of Fe, which indicates Au is mainly hosted as grains of elemental gold （or native gold） within pyrite. Previous studies revealed that the Hadamengou gold deposit is characterized by intensive K-feldspathization and holds high content of iron oxides occasionally replaced by sulfides, which was caused by oxidizing K-enriched alkaline fluids under a stretching geodynamic setting. These geological features, together with the high Au-content in iron oxides, comparable with that of the Olympic Dam deposit in South Australia, suggest that this deposit is the first example of iron oxide-type gold deposits in China.     

Anomalous Enrichment of Silver in Organic Matter of the Songxi Shale-hosted Ag-Sb Deposit in Northeastern Guangdong

The silver contents of organic matter in the host rocks of the Songxi shale-hosted Ag-Sb deposit of northeastern Guangdong, South China, have been directly determined using the electron microprobe technique. The silver contents in two types of organic matter, marine vitrinite and solid bitumen, vary in the range from 100×10-6to 350×10-6, which are from tens of times to thousands of times higher than those of the host rocks in the ore deposit. The average silver content of the organic matter is also several times higher than the pay grade of silver for commercial mining of the ore deposit. It is quite obvious that the organic matter of the host rocks in the ore district is characterized by an anomalous enrichment of silver. The results of this study indicate that the silver anomalies in the organic matter have been derived from both the host rocks and the silver-bearing fluids of the Songxi black shale ore source. In the course of sedimentation and later hydrothermal reworking, organic matter was able     

In Situ Rb-Sr Dates of Muscovite and Sulfur Isotope of Pyrite from the Yangshan Gold Deposit in Western Qinling,China

Located along the southern part of the West Qinling orogenic belt, the Yangshan gold deposit is one of the largest in China. The major gold ores of Yangshan are disseminated in metasedimentary host rocks with minor native gold amounts in stibnite-gold quartz veins. Pyrite and arsenopyrite are the major Au-bearing minerals. Hydrothermal muscovite from gold-bearing quartz veins was dated using the in situ Rb-Sr method to determine the formation age of the Yangshan gold deposit. The Rb-Sr isochron ...     

Geology and Geochemistry of the Shizitou Molybdenum Deposit,Jiangxi Province: Implications for Geodynamic Setting and Metallogenesis

The Shizitou molybdenum(Mo) deposit in Yongping, Jiangxi, is an important, recently discovered deposit in the eastern section of the Qin–Hang metallogenic belt. The Mo deposit is located in the outer contact zone between the porphyritic biotite granite and the Neoproterozoic migmatite, and present in the deep central part of the intrusion. Re–Os dating and S and Pb isotopic analysis have been conducted to assess the metallogenesis of the Shizitou Mo deposit. S, Pb and Re isotopes show that the ore–forming materials were derived from the porphyritic biotite granitic magma, which originated from the mixing of mantle and crust. Re–Os dating of molybdenite from the ores gives a model age from 156.9±2.2 to 158.5±2.4 Ma, with a weighted mean age of 158±1 Ma and an isochron age of 158.0±2.5 Ma. Geological and geochemical characteristics of the ore deposit and the related granitoids indicate that the Shizitou deposit is a Climax–type Mo deposit. Based on previous studies of the Qin–Hang metallogenic belt, two metallogenic events are believed to have occurred during 172–145 Ma and 137–132 Ma. These two metallogenic periods are consistent with the timing of two metallogenic peaks during the middle to late Jurassic and the Cretaceous in South China. These events represent responses to the partial back–arc extension associated with the subduction of the Izanagi plate beneath the Eurasian continent and the rapid northeastward movement of the subducting Izanagi plate.     

Hydrothermal Sedimentary Mineralization of the Super‐large Bamianshan Fluorite Deposit in Zhejiang Province,China

The Bamianshan fluorite deposit is a super-large one recently discovered in Zhejiang Province of China. This paper presents an analysis of its geological background, orebody and ore characteristics, petrochemical characteristics of host rocks, rare earth elements (REE) of rocks and ores, fluid inclusions in fluorite and Sm-Nd isotopic features in an effort to study its sedimentary mineralization. The result shows that the super-large Bamianshan fluorite deposit is of hydrothermal sedimentation genesis, deformed by the later hydrothermal fluid. Integrated with host rocks and orebody characteristics, it is inferred that the deposit originates from the Cambrian sedimentary rocks. And the later magmatic activities deformed some orebodies in different degrees, forming steeply dipping vein orebodies in the tectonic belts regionally.     

Geochemistry, geochronology and mineralization of the rare-metal granites in the Daping Ta-Nb deposit, Fujian Province, South China

<正>1 Introduction Rare-metal granites are widely distributed in South China.The Daping porphyritic granitic Ta-Nb deposit,located in the Yongding area of south Fujian province,South China,is a large rare-metal deposit recently discovered.Few studies have been made of its petrology,mineralogy,geochemistry,chronology and metallogeny.In recent years,several exploratory drillings have been done in this deposit.These drilling holes,from 380 to 600     

Timing of formation of the Hongdonggou Pb-Zn polymetallic ore deposit,Henan Province,China: Evidence from Rb-Sr isotopic dating of sphalerites

The Hongdonggou Pb-Zn polymetallic ore deposit,located in the southwestern part of the Luanchuan Mo-W-Pb-Zn-Ag polymetallic ore mineralization in Henan Province,China,is an important part of the East Qinling metallogenic belt.The orebodies in the deposit,which are vein,bedded and lenticular,are mainly hosted in the syenite porphyry,and formed within the carbonate and clastic rocks of the Yuku and Qiumugou formations partially.The genesis of the deposit has previously been argued to be of hydrothermal-vein type or of skarn-hydrothermal type.In this study,we report the results of Rb-Sr isotopic dating based on sphalerites from the main orebody of the Hongdonggou Pb-Zn polymetallic ore deposit,which yield an isochron age of 135.7 ± 3.2 Ma,constraining the timing of mineralization as early Cretaceous.The age is close to those reported for the Pb-Zn deposits in the Luanchuan ore belt.The(~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr),values of the sphalerites(0.71127 + 0.00010) are lower than that of terrigenous silicates(0.720) and higher than the mantle(0.707),suggesting that the metallogenic components were mainly derived through crust-mantle mixing.Combining the results from this study with those from previous work,we propose that the Hongdonggou Pb-Zn polymetallic ore deposit is a hydrothermal-vein deposit associated with the early Cretaceous tectonothermal event,and the mineralization is controlled by NWand near EW-trending faults in the Luanchuan Mo-W-Pb-Zn-Ag polymetallic ore concentration belt.     

^40Ar-^39Ar Isotopic Dating of the Xianghualing Sn-polymetallic Orefield in Southern Hunan, China and Its Geological Implications

The Xianghualing Sn-polymetallic orefield in Hunan Province, southern China, is a large-size tin orefield. Although numerous studies have been undertaken on this orefield, its genesis, mineralization age, and tectonic setting are still controversial, mainly because of the lack of reliable geochronological data on tin mineralization. The 40Ar/39Ar stepwise heating dating method was first employed on muscovite from different deposits in this orefield. The muscovite sample from the Xianghualing Sn-polymetallic deposit defines a plateau age of 154.4±1.1 Ma and an isochron age of 151.9±3.0 Ma; muscovite from the Xianghuapu W-polymetallic deposit yields a plateau age of 161.3±1.1 Ma and an isochron age of 160.0±3.2 Ma; muscovite from the Jianfengling greisen-type Sn-polymetallic deposit gives a plateau age of 158.7±1.2 Ma and an isochron age of 160.3±3.2 Ma. The tungsten-tin mineralization ages in the Xianghualing area are therefore restricted within 150-160 Ma. The tungsten -tin mineralization in Xianghualing occurred at the same time as the regional tin-tungsten mineralization including the Furong tin orefield, Shizhuyuan tungsten-tin polymetallic deposit and Yaogangxian tungsten-polymetallic deposit. Thus, the large-scale tungsten-tin metallogenesis in South China occurring at 160-150 Ma. probably is closely related to asthenospheric upwelling and crust-mantle interaction under a geodynamic setting of crustal extension and lithosphere thinning during the transformation of tectonic regimes during the Mid-Late Jurassic.     

Early Paleozoic Magmatism and Gold Mineralization in the Northern Altun, NW China

This paper discusses the relationships between granitic magmatism and gold mineralization and the exhumation history of the Dapinggou gold deposit in northern Altun, NW China based on the geochronological data, including zircon U-Pb ages, Rb-Sr isochron age and 40Ar-39Ar dating and MDD modeling data. The main granitic magmatism age in this area is attained from the ID TIMS U-Pb geochronology of zircons from the Kuoshibulak granite, the biggest granite in the northern Altun area, which gives a concordant age of 443±5 Ma in the Late Ordovician. Zircon ID TIMS U-Pb geochronology of the West Dapinggou biotite granite west of the Dapinggou gold deposit gives concordant ages around 485±10 Ma, representing the early stage of Ordovician magmatism. The Rb-Sr isochron age (487±21 Ma) of 6 quartz inclusion samples from quartz veins in this gold deposit is very close to that of the West Dapinggou granite. MDD modeling of step heating 40Ar-39Ar data of K-feldspar from the same West Dapinggou biotite granite gives     

阳储岭斑岩钨钼矿床地质地球化学特征及其成因探讨

The Yangchuling porphyry W-Mo-deposit is a new-type tungsten deposit discovered recently in southern China. Being of certain economic significance, this type of deposits promises some new prospects for the availability of increasing tungsten resource. The ore-bearing rock mess, intermediate to acid in composition, is a composite rock body resulted from comagmatic, multiple-stage intrusion during Middle-Late Yanshan Period. Spatially, the rock mass is controlled by the Guangji-Anqing-Nanjing deep fault. As a typical porphyry deposit, the ore-bearing rocks (granodiorite porphyry,mozonitic granite porphyry, and camouflage breccia) belong to sub-volcanic facies characteristic of near-surface environment. The rocks have suffered, strong hydrothermal alteration which is closely related to mineralization. The deposit is classified as mesoepithermal deposit and our study shows that W and Mo come from the granodiorite,granodiorite porphyry and mozonitie granodiorite porphyry, which are believed to be derived through remelting from some W-rich basement roeks contaminated with minor amounts of upper mantle material.     

Ore-forming Fluid and Mineral Source of the Hongshi Copper Deposit in the Kalatage Area, East Tianshan, Xinjiang, NW China

The Hongshi copper deposit is located in the middle of the Kalatage ore district in the northern segment of the Dananhu-Tousuquan island-arc belt in East Tianshan, Xinjiang, NW China. This study analyses the fluid inclusions and H, O, and S stable isotopic compositions of the deposit. The fluid-inclusion data indicate that aqueous fluid inclusions were trapped in chalcopyrite-bearing quartz veins in the gangue minerals. The homogenization temperatures range from 108°C to 299°C, and the salinities range from 0.5% to 11.8%, indicating medium to low temperatures and salinities. The trapping pressures range from 34.5 MPa to 56.8 MPa. The δ18OH2O values and δD values of the fluid range from ?6.94‰ to ?5.33‰ and from ?95.31‰ to ?48.20‰, respectively. The H and O isotopic data indicate that the ore-forming fluid derived from a mix of magmatic water and meteoric water and that meteoric water played a significant role. The S isotopic composition of pyrite ranges from 1.9‰ to 5.2‰, with an average value of 3.1‰, and the S isotopic composition of chalcopyrite ranges from ?0.9‰ to 4‰, with an average value of 1.36‰, implying that the S in the ore-forming materials was derived from the mantle. The introduction of meteoric water decreased the temperature, volatile content, and pressure, resulting in immiscibility. These factors may have been the major causes of the mineralization of the Hongshi copper deposit. Based on all the geologic and fluid characteristics, we conclude that the Hongshi copper deposit is an epithermal deposit.     

Trace Elements in Sphalerite from the Dadongla Zn-Pb Deposit, Western Hunan–Eastern Guizhou Zn-Pb Metallogenic Belt, South China

The western Hunan–eastern Guizhou Zn-Pb metallogenic belt is one of the important Zn-Pb mineralization regions in China. The Dadongla deposit, located in the northeast of Guizhou Province, is one of the typical Zn-Pb deposits in the region and has estimated resources more than 12 million metric tons (Mt) with an average grade of 4.11 wt% Zn+Pb. Its orebodies are hosted in the lower Cambrian Aoxi Formation dolomite, occurring as bedded, para-bedded in shape, and in conformity with the wall rock. The ore mineral assemblage is simple, dominated by sphalerite with minor pyrite and galena, and the gangue minerals are composed of dolomite, calcite with minor bitumen and barite. In view of the lack of geological and geochemical researches, the genesis of Zn-Pb ore is still unclear. Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) spot and mapping analyses were used to obtain sphalerite trace element chemistry in the Dadongla Zn-Pb deposit in Guizhou, China, aiming to constrain its ore genesis. The results show that sphalerite is characterized by the enrichment of Cd, Fe, Ge and Hg, corresponding with that of typical MVT deposits. Four zones were identified in the sphalerite crystal from Dadongla from the center to margin according to the color bands, in which the zone in the center, representing the early ore-stage sphalerite, is characterized by enrichment of Cd relatively, while the zone forming at late ore-stage is enriched in Ge and Hg relatively. The finding was controlled by differential leached metals content in ore-forming fluid from its source rock. Notably, critical element Ge trends to be enriched at the late ore-stage and follows a substitution of 2Zn2+? Ge4++□ (vacancy). Moreover, the calculated ore-forming temperature ranges from 79.9°C to 177.6°C by the empirical formula, which is similar to that of typical Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) deposits. Compared with the features of trace elements in sphalerite from different types of deposits, together with the geology, the Dadongla deposit belongs to an MVT Zn-Pb deposit.