Formation of the Dongmozhazhua Pb–Zn Deposit in the Thrust‐Fold Setting of the Tibetan Plateau,China: Evidence from Fluid Inclusion and Stable Isotope Data

The Dongmozhazhua deposit, the largest Pb–Zn deposit in south Qinghai, China, is stratabound, carbonate‐hosted and associated with epigenetic dolomitization and silicification of Lower–Middle Permian—Upper Triassic limestones in the hanging walls of a Cenozoic thrust fault system. The mineralization is localized in a Cenozoic thrust‐folded belt along the northeastern edge of the Tibetan plateau, which was formed due to the India–Asia plate collision during the early Tertiary. The deposit comprises 16 orebodies with variable thicknesses (1.5–26.3 m) and lengths (160–1820 m). The ores occur as dissemination, vein, and breccia cement. The main sulfide assemblage is sphalerite + galena + pyrite + marcasite ± chalcopyrite ± tetrahedrite, and gangue minerals consist mainly of calcite, dolomite, barite, and quartz. Samples of pre‐ to post‐ore stages calcite yielded δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values that are, respectively, similar to and lower than those yielded by the host limestones, suggesting that the calcite formed from fluids derived from carbonate dissolution. Fluid inclusions in calcite and sphalerite in the polymetallic sulfidization stage mostly comprise liquid and gas phases at room temperature, with moderate homogenization temperatures (100–140°C) and high salinities (21–28 wt% NaCl eq.). Micro‐thermometric fluid inclusion data point to polysaline brines as ore‐forming fluids. The δD and δ¹⁸O values of ore fluids, cation compositions of fluid inclusions, and geological information suggest two main possible fluid sources, namely basinal brines and evaporated seawater. The fluid inclusion data and regional geology suggest that basinal brines derived from Tertiary basins located southeast of the Dongmozhazhua deposit migrated along deep detachment zones of the regional thrust system, leached substantial base metals from country rocks, and finally ascended along thrust faults at Dongmozhazhua. There, the base‐metal‐rich basinal brines mixed with bacterially‐reduced H₂S‐bearing fluids derived from evaporated seawater preserved in the Permo–Triassic carbonate strata. The mixing of the two fluids resulted in Pb–Zn mineralization. The Dongmozhazhua Pb–Zn deposit has many characteristics that are similar to MVT Pb–Zn deposits worldwide.     

Chemical and physical responses to deformation in micaceous quartzites from the Tauern Window, Eastern Alps

Micaceous quartzites from a subvertical shear zone in the Tauern Window contain abundant quartz clasts derived from dismembered quartz‐tourmaline veins. Bulk plane strain deformation affected these rocks at amphibolite facies conditions. Shape changes suggest net shortening of the clasts by 11–64%, with a mean value of 35%. Quartz within the clasts accommodated this strain largely via dislocation creep processes. On the high‐stress flanks of the clasts, however, quartz was removed via solution mass transfer (pressure solution) processes; the resulting change in bulk composition allowed growth of porphyroblastic staurolite + chlorite ± kyanite on the clast flanks. Matrix SiO₂ contents decrease from c. 83 wt% away from the clasts to 49–58% in the selvages on the clast flanks. The chemical changes are consistent with c. 70% volume loss in the high‐stress zones. Calculated shortening values within the clast flanks are similar to the volume‐loss estimates, and are greatly in excess of the shortening values calculated from the clasts themselves. Flow laws for dislocation creep versus pressure solution imply large strain‐rate gradients and/or differential stress gradients between the matrix and the clast selvages. In a rock containing a large proportion of semirigid clasts, weakening within the clast flanks could dominate rock rheology. In our samples, however, weakening within the selvages was self limiting: (1) growth of strong staurolite porphyroblasts in the selvages protected remaining quartz from dissolution; and (2) overall flattening of the quartz clasts probably decreased the resolved shear stress on the flanks to values near those of the matrix, which would have reduced the driving force for solution‐transfer creep. Extreme chemical changes nonetheless occurred over short distances. The necessity of maintaining strain compatibility may lead to significant localized dissolution in rocks containing rheologic heterogeneities, and overall weakening of the rocks may result. Solution‐transfer creep may be a major process whereby weakening and strain localization occur during deep‐crustal metamorphism of polymineralic rocks.     

The effect of fluid composition on the behavior of well cemented, quartz-rich sandstone during faulting

Previous studies [O'Kane, A., Onasch, C.M., Farver, J., 2007. The role of fluids in low-temperature, fault-related deformation of quartz arenite. Journal of Structural Geology 29, 819--836; Cook, J., Dunne, W.M., Onasch, C.M., 2006. Development of a dilatant damage zone along a thrust relay in a low-porosity quartz arenite, Journal of Structural Geology 28, 776–792] found that quartz arenite within two fault zones in the Appalachian foreland thrust belt displays very different structural styles and histories despite deforming at similar pressures and temperatures during the Alleghanian orogeny. A comparison of the grain-scale deformation and fluid histories using transmitted and cathodoluminescence microscopy and fluid inclusion microthermometry, shows that fluid composition was a controlling factor for causing these differences. The Cove fault zone deformed in the presence of aqueous fluids, first a CaCl₂ brine and then an iron-rich fluid. The precipitation of quartz cement from the brine kept pace with brittle deformation, maintaining overall rock cohesion in the fault zone. The introduction of iron-rich fluids caused a switch from precipitation to dissolution of quartz, along with precipitation of goethite. In a damage zone along a backthrust in the Cave Mountain anticline, early deformation occurred in the presence of an aqueous fluid from which quartz was precipitated. The latest deformation, however, occurred in the presence of a methane-rich fluid, which inhibited the precipitation of quartz cement producing porous breccias and open fractures despite deformation at 6 km depth. Fluid composition not only affected cementation in the fault zones, but also the selection of grain-scale deformation mechanisms. Therefore, it is a controlling factor in determining the behavior and strength of these fault zones.     

Fluid inclusion evidence for deep burial of the Tertiary accretionary wedge of the Carpathians

Hydrothermal quartz from mineralized joints of the Carpathian accretionary wedge contains immiscible aqueous, oil‐condensate, methane and carbon dioxide‐rich fluid inclusions. Distribution patterns of the inclusion trapping PT parameters point to a crack‐seal mechanism during upward and lateral migration of hot methane‐rich fluids from overpressured sediments at the base of the accretionary wedge. A simple equation is proposed to calculate depths from densities and trapping pressures of the buoyant inclusion fluids. In the Carpathian accretionary wedge, the paleofluid pressures of 52–306 MPa correspond to a 5‐ to 11‐km‐thick overburden. Prior to exhumation, thickness of the wedge must have attained 10–25 km, of which only c. 50% was preserved until recently. Anomalously high methane densities (up to 0.43 g cm^?3) recorded in the lowermost nappe sheets are provisionally interpreted as a result of supralithostatic overpressure due to thermal cracking of oil and kerogen to methane and pyrobitumen at temperatures above 200 °C.     

Metamorphism and microstructures along a high-temperature metamorphic field gradient: the north–eastern boundary of the Královský hvozd unit (Bohemian Massif, Czech Republic)

A metamorphic field gradient has been investigated in the Moldanubian zone of the central European Variscides encompassing, from base to the top, a staurolite–kyanite zone, a muscovite–sillimanite zone, a K‐feldspar–sillimanite zone, and a K‐feldspar–cordierite zone, respectively. The observed reaction textures in the anatectic metapsammopelites of the higher grade zones are fully compatible with experimental data and petrogenetic grids that are based on fluid‐absent melting reactions. From structural and microstructural observations it can be concluded that the boundary between the kyanite–staurolite zone and the muscovite‐ and K‐feldspar–sillimanite zones coincides with an important switch in deformation mechanism(s). Besides minor syn‐anatectic shearing (melt‐enhanced deformation), microstructural criteria point (a) to a switch in deformation mechanism from rotation recrystallization (climb‐accommodated dislocation creep) to prism slip and high‐temperature (fast) grain boundary migration in quartz (b) to the activity of diffusion creep in quartz–feldspar layers, and (c) to accommodation of strain by intense shearing in fibrolite–biotite layers. It is suggested that any combination of these deformation mechanisms will profoundly affect the rheological characteristics of high‐grade metamorphic rocks and significantly lower rock strength. Hence, the boundary between these zones marks a major rheological barrier in the investigated cross section and probably also in other low‐ to medium‐pressure/high‐temperature areas. At still higher metamorphic grades (K‐feldspar‐cordierite zone), where the rheologically critical melt percentage is reached, rock rheology is mainly governed by the melt and other deformation mechanisms are of minor importance. In the study area, the switch in deformation mechanism(s) is responsible for large‐scale strain partitioning and concentration of deformation within the higher‐temperature hanging wall during top‐to‐the‐S thrusting, thus preserving a more complete petrostructural record within the rocks of the footwall including indications for a ?Devonian high‐ to medium‐pressure/medium‐temperature metamorphic event. Thrusting is accompanied by diapiric ascent of diatexites of the K‐feldspar‐cordierite zone and infolding of the footwall, suggesting local crustal overturn in this part of the Moldanubian zone.     

Remnants of premetamorphic fluid and oxygen isotopic signatures in eclogites and garnet clinopyroxenite from the Dabie-Sulu terranes, eastern China

A combined oxygen‐isotope and fluid‐inclusion study has been carried out on high‐ and ultrahigh‐pressure metamorphic (HP/UHPM) eclogites and garnet clinopyroxenite from the Dabie‐Sulu terranes in eastern China. Coesite‐bearing eclogites/garnet clinopyroxenite and quartz eclogites have a wide range in whole‐rock δ¹⁸O_VSMOW, from 0 to 11‰. The high‐T oxygen‐isotope fractionations preserved between quartz and garnet preclude significant retrograde isotope exchange during exhumation, and the wide range in whole‐rock oxygen‐isotope composition is thought to be a presubduction signature of the precursors. Aqueous fluids with variable salinities and gas species (N₂‐, CO₂‐, or CH₄‐rich), are trapped as primary inclusions in garnet, omphacite and epidote, and in quartz blebs enclosed within eclogitic minerals. In high‐δ¹⁸O HP/UHPM rocks from Hujialin and Shima, high‐salinity brine and/or N₂ inclusions occur in garnet porphyroblasts, which also contain inclusions of coesite, Cl‐rich blue amphibole and dolomite. In contrast, in low‐δ¹⁸O eclogites from Qinglongshan and Huangzhen, the Cl concentrations in amphibole are very low, < 0.2 wt.%, and low‐salinity aqueous inclusions occur in quartz inclusions in epidote porphyroblasts and in epidote cores. These low‐salinity fluid inclusions are believed to be remnants of meteoric water, although the fluid composition was modified during pre‐ and syn‐peak HP/UHPM. Eclogites at Houshuichegou and Hetang contain CH₄‐rich fluid inclusions, coexisting with high‐salinity brine inclusions. Methane was probably formed under the influence of CO₂‐rich aqueous fluids during serpentinisation of mantle‐derived peridotites prior to or during plate subduction. Remnants of premetamorphic low‐ to high‐salinity aqueous fluid with minor N₂ and/or other gas species preserved in the Dabie‐Sulu HP/UHPM eclogites and garnet clinopyroxenite indicate a great diversity of initial fluid composition in the precursors, implying very limited fluid–rock interaction during syn‐ and post‐peak HP/UHPM.     

Domainal variations of U–Pb monazite ages and Rb–Sr whole-rock dates in polymetamorphic paragneisses (KTB Drill Core, Germany): influence of strain and deformation mechanisms on isotope systems

Polyphase metamorphic paragneisses from the drill core of the continental deep drilling project (KTB; NW Bohemian Massif) are characterized by peak pressures of about 8 kbar (medium‐P metamorphism) followed by strain accumulation at T >650 °C, initially by dislocation creep and subsequently by diffusion creep. U–Pb monazite ages and Rb–Sr whole‐rock data vary in the dm‐scale, indicating Ordovician and Mid‐Devonian metamorphic events. Such age variations are closely interconnected with dm‐scale domainal variations of microfabrics that indicate different predominant deformation mechanisms. U–Pb monazite age variations dependent on microfabric domains exceed grain‐size‐dependent age variations. In ‘mylonitic domains’ recording high magnitudes of plastic strain, dislocation creep and minor static annealing, monazite yields concordant and near concordant Lower Ordovician U–Pb ages, and the Rb–Sr whole‐rock system shows isotopic disequilibrium at an mm‐scale. In ‘mineral growth/mobilisate domains’, in which diffusive mass transfer was a major strain‐producing mechanism promoting diffusion creep of quartz and feldspar, and in which static recrystallization (annealing) reduced the internal free energy of the strained mineral aggregates, concordant U–Pb ages are Mid‐Devonian. Locally, in such domains, Rb–Sr dates among mm³‐sized whole‐rock slabs reflect post‐Ordovician resetting. In ‘transitional domains’, the U–Pb‐ages are discordant. We conclude that medium‐P metamorphism occurred at 484±2 Ma, and a second metamorphic event at 380–370 Ma (Mid‐Devonian) caused progressive strain in the rocks. Dislocation creep at high rates, even at high temperatures, does not reset the Rb–Sr whole‐rock system, while diffusion creep at low rates and stresses (i.e. low ε/D_eff ratios), static annealing and the presence of intergranular fluids locally assist resetting. At temperatures above 650 °C, diffusive Pb loss did not reset Ordovician U–Pb monazite ages, and in domains of overall high imposed strain rates and stresses, resetting was not assisted by dynamic recrystallization/crystal plasticity. However, during diffusion creep at low rates, Pb loss by dissolution and precipitation (‘recrystallization’) of monazite produces discordance and Devonian‐concordant U–Pb monazite ages. Hence, resetting of these isotope systems reflects neither changes of temperature nor, directly, the presence or absence of strain.     

Fluid overpressure along an Oligocene out-of-sequence thrust in the Shimanto Belt,SW Japan

Out-of-sequence thrusts (OSTs) exposed in ancient accretionary prisms are considered as fossil analogs of present-day megasplay faults in subduction margins and can provide direct information about the conditions of deformation during thrust activity. In modern as well as in ancient accretionary prisms, first-order megasplay faults or OSTs truncate or merge with faults of lesser importance called second-order OSTs. Structural analysis of the Makinokuchi fault, a branch of an Oligocene to lower Miocene second-order OST in the Tertiary Shimanto Belt of central Kyushu, SW Japan, brings information about the conditions of deformation at the time of thrusting. The studied exposure shows that the fault footwall and, to a much lesser extent, the fault hanging-wall, consist of quartz-cemented syntectonic dilatant hydraulic breccias testifying to pore fluid pressures larger than the least principal stress component. The footwall sandstones are crossed by several centimeters thick quartz veins that merge with the footwall breccias. The continuity between the veins and the breccias suggest that the veins acted as conduits which likely collected fluids from the footwall side sandstones upward and toward the fault. Fluid inclusions indicate that the quartz cementing the breccias and that filling the feeder veins crystallized from similar fluids and under similar pressure and temperature conditions (245–285 °C and 5–8 km depth). These similarities suggest that the fluids responsible for syn-tectonic hydraulic brecciation were collected from the footwall through the conduits. The fluid inclusion trapping temperatures are close to the temperatures expected to be reached along the seismogenic zone. Our analysis shows that fluid overpressures can play a key role in the growth and activity of second-order OSTs in accretionary prisms and suggests that fluids collected along second-order OSTs or splay faults may flow upward along first-order OSTs or megasplay faults.     

Tectonically driven fluid flow and gold mineralisation in active collisional orogenic belts: comparison between New Zealand and western Himalaya

Hydrothermal activity and mesothermal-styled gold mineralisation occurs near the main topographic divide of most active or young collisional mountain belts. The Southern Alps of New Zealand is used in this study as a model for the mineralising processes. The collisional tectonics results in a two-sided wedge-shaped orogen into which rock is transported horizontally. Upper crustal rocks pass through the orogen and leave the orogen by erosion, whereas lower crustal rocks are deformed into the mountain roots. High relief drives meteoric water flow to near the brittle–ductile transition. Lower to upper greenschist facies metamorphic reactions, driven by deformation at the crustal decollement and in the root, release water-rich fluids that rise through the orogen. Intimate chemical interaction between fluid and rock results in dissolution and later precipitation of gold, arsenic and sulphur. Fluid flow and mineralisation in the topographic divide region is facilitated by a network of steeply dipping faults and associated rock damage zones where oblique strike-slip faults intersect the thrust faults that strike subparallel to the main mountain range.The Nanga Parbat massif of the western Himalaya is an example of an active collisional zone which hosts hydrothermal activity but no gold mineralisation. The lack of gold mineralisation is due to the following factors: CO₂-dominated rising metamorphic fluid in dehydrated amphibolite-granulite facies metamorphic rocks does not dissolve gold and arsenic; hot (up to 400 °C) meteoric water confined to fractures in the gneiss limits dissolution of gold and arsenic; low density of hot water/dry steam, and low reduced sulphur content of fluid, restrict solubility of gold and arsenic; absence of fracture networks in the core of the massif and the small volumes of circulating fluid limit metal concentration; and lack of reactive rock compositions limits chemically mediated metal deposition.     

Structural and metamorphic evolution of the Moornambool Metamorphic Complex,western Lachlan Fold Belt,southeastern Australia

The wedge‐shaped Moornambool Metamorphic Complex is bounded by the Coongee Fault to the east and the Moyston Fault to the west. This complex was juxtaposed between stable Delamerian crust to the west and the eastward migrating deformation that occurred in the western Lachlan Fold Belt during the Ordovician and Silurian. The complex comprises Cambrian turbidites and mafic volcanics and is subdivided into a lower greenschist eastern zone and a higher grade amphibolite facies western zone, with sub‐greenschist rocks occurring on either side of the complex. The boundary between the two zones is defined by steeply dipping L‐S tectonites of the Mt Ararat ductile high‐strain zone. Deformation reflects marked structural thickening that produced garnet‐bearing amphibolites followed by exhumation via ductile shearing and brittle faulting. Pressure‐temperature estimates on garnet‐bearing amphibolites in the western zone suggest metamorphic pressures of ～0.7–0.8 GPa and temperatures of ～540–590°C. Metamorphic grade variations suggest that between 15 and 20 km of vertical offset occurs across the east‐dipping Moyston Fault. Bounding fault structures show evidence for early ductile deformation followed by later brittle deformation/reactivation. Ductile deformation within the complex is initially marked by early bedding‐parallel cleavages. Later deformation produced tight to isoclinal D₂ folds and steeply dipping ductile high‐strain zones. The S₂ foliation is the dominant fabric in the complex and is shallowly west‐dipping to flat‐lying in the western zone and steeply west‐dipping in the eastern zone. Peak metamorphism is pre‐ to syn‐D₂. Later ductile deformation reoriented the S₂ foliation, produced S₃ crenulation cleavages across both zones and localised S₄ fabrics. The transition to brittle deformation is defined by the development of east‐ and west‐dipping reverse faults that produce a neutral vergence and not the predominant east‐vergent transport observed throughout the rest of the western Lachlan Fold Belt. Later north‐dipping thrusts overprint these fault structures. The majority of fault transport along ductile and brittle structures occurred prior to the intrusion of the Early Devonian Ararat Granodiorite. Late west‐ and east‐dipping faults represent the final stages of major brittle deformation: these are post plutonism.     

Fluid flow,metasomatism and amphibole deformation in an imbricated ophiolite,North Cascades,Washington

Metasomatic tremolite-rich mylonites are widespread in imbricate thrust slices of ultramafic rocks of the ophiolitic Ingalls Complex in Washington State. Protoliths for these amphibolite-facies mylonites were peridotite and serpentinite. Abundant syntectonic tremolite veins in the ultramafites record narrowly channelized flow of infiltrating fluids, whereas metasomatic mylonite zones record more pervasive flow. Fluids were probably released mainly by prograde devolatization reactions within serpentinite and mafic ophiolitic rocks that experienced earlier hydrothermal metamorphism.Olivine apparently deformed by dislocation creep in the mylonites. In the tremolite-rich rocks, locally preserved amphibole porphyroclasts deformed mainly by microfracturing. Acicular tremolites, which dominate the mylonites, form syntectonic overgrowths on porphyroclasts and probably record diffusive mass transfer which may have accompanied cataclasis. Acicular tremolites subsequently were folded and define both post-crystalline crenulations and polygonal arcs.Fluid flow, deformation and metamorphism were apparently complexly interrelated in the imbricate zone. Thrusts juxtaposed contrasting rock types that were sources and sinks for fluids, and shear zones focused fluid flow. Metamorphism probably facilitated deformation through the release of fluids during dehydration reactions. High fluid pressure may have led to hydraulic fracturing and may have controlled strain softening in the tremolitic mylonite zones as it favored microcracking and diffusive mass transfer over dislocation creep. Infiltrating metasomatic fluids probably play an important role in the evolution of shear zones in many ultramafic bodies during medium-grade metamorphism.     

Isotopic evidence for channeled fluid flow in low-grade metamorphosed Jurassic accretionary complex in the Northern Chichibu belt, western Shikoku, Japan

The low‐grade metamorphosed Jurassic accretionary complex of the Northern Chichibu Belt, Hijikawa area, western Shikoku, is divided into two units, the Hijikawa and Kanogawa units, that are separated by an out‐of‐sequence thrust (OOST), the Ozu‐Kawabegawa Fault. The Kanogawa unit south of the Ozu‐Kawabegawa fault consists mainly of sandstone, shale, broken formation of alternating sandstone and shale, greenstone, chert, and pelitic melange, while the Hijikawa unit is characterized by a stack of subunits separated by small‐scale thrusts. The subunits are mainly made up of basic, pelitic and psammitic semischists, schistose pelitic melange, and chert. Petrological and mineralogical constraints suggest peak metamorphic conditions of 204–247 °C at 1–3 kbar in the Kanogawa unit, and 228–289 °C at 3–5.6 kbar in the Hijikawa unit. Quartz and quartz‐calcite veins are widely developed in the study area, especially in the Hijikawa unit. Regional variations in stable isotopic data show that the δ¹⁸O_quartz and δ¹⁸O_calcite values in veins tend to increase towards the Ozu‐Kawabegawa Fault. The δ¹⁸O_{whole rock} values are remarkably high in some subunits close to OOSTs within the Hijikawa unit. Oxygen isotopic compositions from vein quartz indicate that a higher δ¹⁸O fluid migrated upward from depth along the Ozu‐Kawabegawa Fault within the accretionary prism during prehnite‐pumpellyite facies metamorphism. The fluid source is inferred to be pelitic rocks at higher temperatures and greater depths within the accretionary prism.     

Fracturing,fluid flow and shear zone development: Relationships between chemical and mechanical processes in Proterozoic mafic dykes from southwestern Montana,USA

Fluids can play an important role in the localization of deformation in the deep crust, yet the specific mechanisms active during the complex interactions between metasomatism, metamorphism and deformation remain elusive. Precambrian metagabbronorite dykes in southwest Montana contain fractures filled with Hbl±Grt and discrete cm‐scale shear zones with well‐preserved strain gradients. This system offers an ideal opportunity to constrain the chemical and mechanical processes that facilitated strain localization. An early M₁ assemblage of Grt₁+Cpx₁+Pl₁+Qz developed at conditions of 0.51–0.85 GPa and 500–700°C and is preserved largely as a static replacement of relict igneous phases (Opx, Pgt, Pl) in coronitic textures. An M₂ assemblage characterized by Grt₂+Pl₂±Cpx₂+Hbl+Scp+Qz developed at 0.86–1.00 GPa and 660–730°C coincided with fluid flow and deformation associated with shear zone development. Microstructural observations in marginal protomylonite/mylonite and laminated ultramylonite suggest a shear zone evolution that involved (1) nucleation from pre‐existing fractures that were sites for major fluid infiltration, (2) initial widening coincident with grain‐size reduction by microfracturing, dislocation creep, and synkinematic metamorphic reaction by solution transfer, and (3) a switch in the dominant deformation mechanisms active in the ultramylonite from grain‐size insensitive mechanisms to grain‐size sensitive granular flow accommodated by fluid‐assisted diffusion. Throughout this evolution, the effective bulk compositions of the rock volumes responding to metamorphism changed through a combination of mechanical and metasomatic processes.     

Geology, Wall-rock Alteration and Vein Paragenesis of the Bilimoia Gold Deposit, Kainantu Metallogenic Region, Papua New Guinea

The Bilimoia deposit (2.23 Mt, 24 g/t Au), located in the eastern Central Mobile Belt of mainland Papua New Guinea, is composed of fault‐hosted, NW–NNW‐trending Irumafimpa–Kora and Judd–Upper Kora Au‐quartz veins hosted by Middle–Late Triassic basement that was metamorphosed to medium‐grade greenschist facies between Middle–Late Triassic and Early–Middle Jurassic. Mineralizing fluids were introduced during crustal thickening, rapid uplift, change of plate motions from oblique to orthogonal compression, active faulting and S₃ and S₄ events in an S₁–S₄ deformation sequence. The Bilimoia deposit is spatially and temporally related to I‐type, early intermediate to felsic and late mafic intrusions emplaced in Late Miocene (9–7 Ma). Hydrothermal alteration and associated mineralization is divided into 10 main paragenetic stages: (1) chlorite–epidote‐selvaged quartz–calcite–specularite vein; (2) local quartz–illite–pyrite alteration; (3) quartz–sericite–mariposite–fuchsite–pyrite wall‐rock alteration that delimits the bounding shears; (4) finely banded, colloform‐, crustiform‐ and cockade‐textured and drusy quartz ± early wolframite ± late adularia; (5) hematite; (6) pyrite; (7) quartz ± amethyst‐base metal sulfides; (8) quartz–chalcopyrite–bornite–Sn and Cu sulfides–Au tellurides and Te ± Bi ± Ag ± Cu ± Pb phases; (9) Fe ± Mn carbonates; and (10) supergene overprint. Fluid inclusions in stage 4 are characterized by low salinity (0.9–5.4 wt% NaCl equivalent), aqueous–carbonic fluids with total homogenization temperatures ranging from 210 to 330°C. Some of the inclusions that homogenized between 285 and 330°C host coexisting liquid‐ and vapor‐rich (including carbonic) phases, suggesting phase separation. Fluid inclusions in quartz intergrown with wolframite have low salinity (0.9–1.2 wt% NaCl equivalent), aqueous–carbonic fluids at 240–260°C, defining the latter’s depositional conditions. The ore fluids were derived from oxidized magmatic source initially contaminated by reduced basement rocks. Wall‐rock alteration and involvement of circulating meteoric waters were dominant during the first three stages and early part of stage 4. Stage 5 hematite was deposited as a result of stage 4 phase separation or entrainment of oxygenated groundwater. Gold is associated with Te‐ and Bi‐bearing minerals and mostly precipitated as gold‐tellurides during stage 8. Gold deposition occurred below 350°C due to a change in the sulfidation and oxidation state of the fluids, depressurization and decreasing temperature and activities of sulfur and tellurium. Bisulfides are considered to be the main Au‐transporting complexes. The Bilimoia deposit has affinities that are similar to many gold systems termed epizonal orogenic and intrusion‐related. The current data allow us to classify the Bilimoia deposit as a fault‐controlled, metamorphic‐hosted, intrusion‐related mesothermal to low sulfidation epithermal quartz–Au–Te–Bi vein system.     

Metamorphic evolution of blueschists of the Altınekin Complex,Konya area,south central Turkey

The Altınekin Complex in south central Turkey forms part of the south‐easterly extension of the Tavşanlı Zone, a Cretaceous subduction complex formed during the closure of the Neo‐Tethys ocean. The protoliths of metamorphic rocks within the Altınekin Complex include peridotites, chromitites, basalts, ferruginous cherts and flysch‐facies impure carbonate sediments. Structurally, the complex consists of a stack of thrust slices, with massive ophiolite tectonically overlying a Cretaceous sediment‐hosted ophiolitic mélange, in turn overlying a sequence of Mesozoic sediments. Rocks within the two lower structural units have undergone blueschist–facies metamorphism. Petrographic, mineral–chemical and thermobarometric studies were undertaken on selected samples of metasedimentary and metabasic rock in order to establish the time relations of deformation and metamorphism and to constrain metamorphic conditions. Microstructures record two phases of plastic deformation, one predating the metamorphic peak, and one postdating it. Estimated peak metamorphic pressures mostly fall in the range 9–11 kbar, corresponding to burial depths of 31–38 km, equivalent to the base of a continental crust of normal thickness. Best‐fit peak metamorphic temperatures range from 375 to 450°C. Metamorphic fluids had high H₂O:CO₂ ratios. Peak metamorphic temperature/depth ratios (T/d values) were low (c. 10–14°C/km), consistent with metamorphism in a subduction zone. Lawsonite‐bearing rocks in the southern part of the ophiolitic mélange record lower peak temperatures and T/d values than epidote blueschists elsewhere in the unit, hinting that the latter may consist of two or more thrust slices with different metamorphic histories. Differences in peak metamorphic conditions also exist between the ophiolitic mélange and the underlying metasediments. Rocks of the Altınekin Complex were subducted to much shallower depths, and experienced higher geothermal gradients, than those of the NW Tavşanlı Zone, possibly indicating dramatic lateral variation in subduction style. Retrograde P–T paths in the Altınekin Complex were strongly decompressive, resulting in localized overprinting of epidote blueschists by greenschist–facies assemblages, and of lawsonite blueschists by pumpellyite–facies assemblages. The observation that the second deformation was associated with decompression is consistent with, but not proof of, exhumation by a process that involved deformation of the hanging‐wall wedge, such as gravitational spreading, corner flow or buoyancy‐driven shallowing of the subduction zone. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Footwall mineralization during Late Miocene extension along the West Cycladic Detachment System,Lavrion, Greece

The West Cycladic Detachment System (WCDS) has been mapped from the western Cycladic islands to Lavrion (mainland Greece), where several top‐to‐SSW low‐angle normal faults at different structural levels are observed. Near the detachment horizon, hydrothermal fluid flow originating from Miocene intrusions lead to high‐temperature carbonate strata‐bound Pb–Ag–Zn ore deposits. Zircon (U–Th)/He cooling ages from the mineralized footwall are 7.1 ± 0.6 to 7.9 ± 0.6 Ma. Carbon‐ and O‐isotope analyses of the carbonate host indicate high water‐to‐rock ratios during brittle deformation‐induced metasomatism, and that this interaction, unrelated to proximity of the intrusions, plays the dominant role in the mineralization. The Late Miocene geology of Lavrion is strikingly similar to Serifos island on the SE termination of the WCDS, both characterized by strong localization of detachment faulting and the interaction of brittle deformation with the injection of fluids related to granitoid intrusions.     

Ore‐Forming Fluids as Sampled by Sulfide‐ and Quartz‐Hosted Fluid Inclusions in the Jinwozi Lode Gold Deposit,Eastern Tianshan Mountains of China

The Jinwozi lode gold deposit in the eastern Tianshan Mountains of China includes auriferous quartz veins and network quartz veins that are exemplified by the Veins 3 and 210, respectively. This paper presents H‐, O‐isotope compositions and gas compositions of fluid inclusions hosted in sulfides and quartz, and S‐, Pb‐isotope compositions of sulfide separates collected from the principal Stage 2 ores in Veins 3 and 210. Fluid inclusions trapped in quartz and sphalerite are pseudo‐secondary and primary. They were trapped from the fluids during the successive or alternate precipitation of quartz with sulfides. H‐ and O‐isotope compositions of fluid inclusion of three pyrite and one quartz separates from Vein 210 plot within the field of degassed melt, which is evidence for the incorporation of magmatic fluid as well with some possibility of contribution of metamorphic water to the hydrothermal system since the two datasets show a higher oxygen isotopic ratio than those of degassed melt. However, δD and δ¹⁸O values of fluid inclusions hosted in sulfides and quartz from Vein 3 are distinctly lower than those from Vein 210. In addition, salinities of fluid inclusion from Vein 3, approximately 3 to 6 wt% NaCl equivalent, are considerably lower than those from Vein 210, which are approximately 8 to 14 wt% NaCl equivalent. Ore‐forming fluids of Veins 3 and 210 have migrated through the relatively high and low levels in the imbricate‐thrust column where rock deformation is characterized by dilatancy or ductile–brittle transition, respectively. Therefore, the ore‐forming fluid of Vein 3 is interpreted to have mixed with greater amounts of meteoric‐derived groundwater than that of Vein 210. Fluid inclusions hosted in sulfides contain considerably higher abundances of gaseous species of CO₂, N₂, H₂S, and so on, than those hosted in quartz. Many of these gaseous species exhibit linear correlations with H₂O. These linear trends are interpreted in terms of mixing between magmatic fluid and groundwater. The relative enrichment of gaseous species in fluid inclusions hosted in sulfides, coupled with the banded ore structure, suggests that the magmatic fluid was involved with the ore‐forming fluid in pulsation. Lead isotope compositions of 21 pyrite and galena separates form a linear trend, suggesting mixing of metallic materials from diverse reservoirs. The δ³⁴S values of pyrite and galena range from +5.6‰ to +7.9‰ and from +3.1‰ to +6.3‰, respectively, indicating sulfur of the Jinwozi deposit has been leached mainly from the granodiorite and partly from the Jinwozi Formation by the circulating ore‐forming fluid.     

Reactive flow of mixed CO2–H2O fluid and progress of calc-silicate reactions in contact metamorphic aureoles: insights from two-dimensional numerical modelling

Previous models of hydrodynamics in contact metamorphic aureoles assumed flow of aqueous fluids, whereas CO₂ and other species are also common fluid components in contact metamorphic aureoles. We investigated flow of mixed CO₂–H₂O fluid and kinetically controlled progress of calc‐silicate reactions using a two‐dimensional, finite‐element model constrained by the geological relations in the Notch Peak aureole, Utah. Results show that CO₂ strongly affects fluid‐flow patterns in contact aureoles. Infiltration of magmatic water into a homogeneous aureole containing CO₂–H₂O sedimentary fluid facilitates upward, thermally driven flow in the inner aureole and causes downward flow of the relatively dense CO₂‐poor fluid in the outer aureole. Metamorphic CO₂‐rich fluid tends to promote upward flow in the inner aureole and the progress of devolatilization reactions causes local fluid expulsion at reacting fronts. We also tracked the temporal evolution of P‐T‐X_CO2conditions of calc‐silicate reactions. The progress of low‐ to medium‐grade (phlogopite‐ to diopside‐forming) reactions is mainly driven by heat as the CO₂ concentration and fluid pressure and temperature increase simultaneously. In contrast, the progress of the high‐grade wollastonite‐forming reaction is mainly driven by infiltration of chemically out‐of‐equilibrium, CO₂‐poor fluid during late‐stage heating and early cooling of the inner aureole and thus it is significantly enhanced when magmatic water is involved. CO₂‐rich fluid dominates in the inner aureole during early heating, whereas CO₂‐poor fluid prevails at or after peak temperature is reached. Low‐grade metamorphic rocks are predicted to record the presence of CO₂‐rich fluid, and high‐grade rocks reflect the presence of CO₂‐poor fluid, consistent with geological observations in many calc‐silicate aureoles. The distribution of mineral assemblages predicted by our model matches those observed in the Notch Peak aureole.     

Deformation history of the Hampden Synform in the Eastern Fold Belt of the Mt Isa terrane

The moderately metamorphosed and deformed rocks exposed in the Hampden Synform, Eastern Fold Belt, in the Mt Isa terrane, underwent complex multiple deformations during the early Mesoproterozoic Isan Orogeny (ca 1590–1500 Ma). The earliest deformation elements preserved in the Hampden Synform are first‐generation tight to isoclinal folds and an associated axial‐planar slaty cleavage. Preservation of recumbent first‐generation folds in the hinge zones of second‐generation folds, and the approximately northeast‐southwest orientation of restored L¹ ₀ intersection lineation suggest recumbent folding occurred during east‐west to northwest‐southeast shortening. First‐generation folds are refolded by north‐south‐oriented upright non‐cylindrical tight to isoclinal second‐generation folds. A differentiated axial‐planar cleavage to the second‐generation fold is the dominant fabric in the study area. This fabric crenulates an earlier fabric in the hinge zones of second‐generation folds, but forms a composite cleavage on the fold limbs. Two weakly developed steeply dipping crenulation cleavages overprint the dominant composite cleavage at a relatively high angle (>45°). These deformations appear to have had little regional effect. The composite cleavage is also overprinted by a subhorizontal crenulation cleavage inferred to have developed during vertical shortening associated with late‐orogenic pluton emplacement. We interpret the sequence of deformation events in the Hampden Synform to reflect the progression from thin‐skinned crustal shortening during the development of first‐generation structures to thick‐skinned crustal shortening during subsequent events. The Hampden Synform is interpreted to occur within a progressively deformed thrust slice located in the hangingwall of the Overhang Shear.     

Early Palaeozoic subduction in the southeastern Lachlan Fold Belt,Batemans Bay,New South Wales

The southeastern Lachlan Fold Belt at Batemans Bay on the New South Wales south coast is an accretionary complex with a prolonged deformation history. Early features include synsedimentary folds, mélange, disaggregated bedding and faults. Fabrics within the clast-in-matrix mélange and mudstone match those found in cores from the lower slopes of modern accretionary prisms. At the toe of the accretionary prism, the contact between the craton-derived Adaminaby Group and ocean floor deposits of the Wagonga Group is conformable. As subduction continued, the early structures were overprinted by (D₁) deformation that produced meridional north – south-trending, tight to isoclinal folds (F₁) and associated axial-plane cleavage (S₁). This west-dipping subduction occurred in the Late Ordovician/Early Silurian but probably began much earlier. A younger regional deformation (D₂) resulted in north – south-trending, open to tight folds (F₂), slightly oblique to F₁, and an axial-surface cleavage (S₂).