Lead-arsenic soil geochemical study as an exploration guide over the Killik volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit, Northeastern Turkey

A mountainous terrain, the eastern Pontide tectonic belt, located in northeastern Turkey, contains more than 60 known volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits that differ in reserves (0.1–30 million tonnes) and grades. Soil geochemistry is conventionally used in exploration programs to discover concealed VMS deposits in the region. In the present study, Pb and As element pair were used as pathfinder elements to investigate the relationship of their anomalies to a completely delineated ore deposit (Killik VMS deposit) in an orientation survey that served as a natural physical model. Two hundred forty soil samples were analyzed in the present study. The two elements, which represent the opposite ends of the mobility range, revealed high contrast and overlapped each other at the location of the ore deposit due to enhancement of the anomalies by hydromorphic dispersion, which is an indication that soil samples would produce reliable results. The successful delineation of the deposit is remarkable considering the rough topography and the climatic limitations. Previously the extremely moist and temperate climate was thought to cause excessive leaching of the trace element pathfinders from the ore deposits to produce extensive anomalies usually extending away from the mineralization thus, leading to erroneous results and/or extensive anomalous areas. But the present research has shown that the method can be used effectively if the sampling and data evaluation is carefully conducted.     

Age, distribution, tectonics, and eustatic controls of the Paranense and Caribbean marine transgressions in southern Bolivia and Argentina

Marine transgression onto the South American continent took place at least twice in the Miocene along distinct paleogeographic corridors. The first event occurred between 15 and 13 Ma and the second between 10 and 5? Ma. Each event has particular dominant variables (tectonism, eustacy, sediment accumulation rate) that permitted the preservation of the record and development of the sea on the continent. The 15–13 Ma transgression was tectonically and eustatically controlled, flooding older sedimentary accommodation zones on the South American plate during a global high sea level, whereas the 105? Ma event was predominantly tectonically controlled, generated by tectonic loading created in the Cordillera Oriental fold-and-thrust belt. A new 7.72±0.31 Ma ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar date from the Río Parapetí in Bolivia suggests that the 15–13 Ma transgression registered in Argentina produced no continental connection to the Caribbean transgression, registered in Bolivia, because of temporal constraints.     

Metamorphic evolution of the Maud Belt: P–T–t path for high-grade gneisses in Gjelsvikfjella, Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica

A metamorphic petrological study, in conjunction with recent precise geochronometric data, revealed a complex P–T–t path for high-grade gneisses in a hitherto poorly understood sector of the Mesoproterozoic Maud Belt in East Antarctica. The Maud Belt is an extensive high-grade, polydeformed, metamorphic belt, which records two significant tectono-thermal episodes, once towards the end of the Mesoproterozoic and again towards the late Neoproterozoic/Cambrian. In contrast to previous models, most of the metamorphic mineral assemblages are related to a Pan-African tectono-thermal overprint, with only very few relics of late Mesoproterozoic granulite-facies mineral assemblages (M₁) left in strain-protected domains. Petrological and mineral chemical evidence indicates a clockwise P–T–t path for the Pan-African orogeny. Peak metamorphic (M_2b) conditions recorded by most rocks in the area (T = 709–785 °C and P = 7.0–9.5 kbar) during the Pan-African orogeny were attained subsequent to decompression from probably eclogite-facies metamorphic conditions (M_2a).The new data acquired in this study, together with recent geochronological and geochemical data, permit the development of a geodynamic model for the Maud Belt that involves volcanic arc formation during the late Mesoproterozoic followed by extension at 1100 Ma and subsequent high-grade tectono-thermal reworking once during continent–continent collision at the end of the Mesoproterozoic (M₁; 1090–1030 Ma) and again during the Pan-African orogeny (M_2a, M_2b) between 565 and 530 Ma. Post-peak metamorphic K-metasomatism under amphibolite-facies conditions (M_2c) followed and is ascribed to post-orogenic bimodal magmatism between 500 and 480 Ma.     

Kinematic analysis of sinistral cataclastic shear zones along the northern margin of the Mino Belt, central Japan

In this paper, cataclastic shear zones along the northern margin of the Mino Belt, central Japan are described, and the significance of the shearing in the tectonic evolution of SW Japan is examined. The Mino Belt in SW Japan is composed of accretionary complexes of Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age. Field investigation revealed that remarkable cataclastic shear zones trending east to northeast run along the northern margin of the Mino Belt. Closely spaced cleavage is developed in these shear zones. Lineation on the cleavage plunges at shallow to moderate angles. Deformation structures (e.g. composite planar fabric and asymmetric structure of clasts) in the sheared rocks clearly indicate a sinistral sense of shear. The shearing ceased by latest Cretaceous time, because the sheared rocks are overlain by unsheared Upper Cretaceous volcanic rocks. The sinistral shearing may be closely related to Cretaceous sinistral movement along the eastern margin of Asia. Sinistral shearing along the northern margin of the Mino Belt can be considered as a key for re-examining the tectonic development of SW Japan.     

Fluid generation and evolution during exhumation of deeply subducted UHP continental crust: Petrogenesis of composite granite–quartz veins in the Sulu belt,China

Composite granite–quartz veins occur in retrogressed ultrahigh pressure (UHP) eclogite enclosed in gneiss at General's Hill in the central Sulu belt, eastern China. The granite in the veins has a high‐pressure (HP) mineral assemblage of dominantly quartz+phengite+allanite/epidote+garnet that yields pressures of 2.5–2.1 GPa (Si‐in‐phengite barometry) and temperatures of 850–780°C (Ti‐in‐zircon thermometry) at 2.5 GPa (~20°C lower at 2.1 GPa). Zircon overgrowths on inherited cores and new grains of zircon from both components of the composite veins crystallized at c. 221 Ma. This age overlaps the timing of HP retrograde recrystallization dated at 225–215 Ma from multiple localities in the Sulu belt, consistent with the HP conditions retrieved from the granite. The ε_Hf(t) values of new zircon from both components of the composite veins and the Sr–Nd isotope compositions of the granite consistently lie between values for gneiss and eclogite, whereas δ¹⁸O values of new zircon are similar in the veins and the crustal rocks. These data are consistent with zircon growth from a blended fluid generated internally within the gneiss and the eclogite, without any ingress of fluid from an external source. However, at the peak metamorphic pressure, which could have reached 7 GPa, the rocks were likely fluid absent. During initial exhumation under UHP conditions, exsolution of H₂O from nominally anhydrous minerals generated a grain boundary supercritical fluid in both gneiss and eclogite. As exhumation progressed, the volume of fluid increased allowing it to migrate by diffusing porous flow from grain boundaries into channels and drain from the dominant gneiss through the subordinate eclogite. This produced a blended fluid intermediate in its isotope composition between the two end‐members, as recorded by the composite veins. During exhumation from UHP (coesite) eclogite to HP (quartz) eclogite facies conditions, the supercritical fluid evolved by dissolution of the silicate mineral matrix, becoming increasingly solute‐rich, more ‘granitic’ and more viscous until it became trapped. As crystallization began by diffusive loss of H₂O to the host eclogite concomitant with ongoing exhumation of the crust, the trapped supercritical fluid intersected the solvus for the granite–H₂O system, allowing phase separation and formation of the composite granite–quartz veins. Subsequently, during the transition from HP eclogite to amphibolite facies conditions, minor phengite breakdown melting is recorded in both the granite and the gneiss by K‐feldspar+plagioclase+biotite aggregates located around phengite and by K‐feldspar veinlets along grain boundaries. Phase equilibria modelling of the granite indicates that this late‐stage melting records P–T conditions towards the end of the exhumation, with the subsolidus assemblage yielding 0.7–1.1 GPa at <670°C. Thus, the composite granite–quartz veins represent a rare example of a natural system recording how the fluid phase evolved during exhumation of continental crust. The successive availability of different fluid phases attending retrograde metamorphism from UHP eclogite to amphibolite facies conditions will affect the transport of trace elements through the continental crust and the role of these fluids as metasomatic agents interacting with the mantle wedge in the subduction channel.     

内蒙古自治区重要矿种成矿规律综述

2007~2013年开展的内蒙古矿产资源潜力评价项目,对铁、铜、铅锌、金、银、钨、钼、铬、镍等重要矿种进行了区域成矿规律总结,为矿产资源潜力评价提供了基础资料。文章即是对该项工作部分成果的概括总结。主要进展包括:在全国Ⅲ级成矿区带划分的基础上,首次进行了覆盖全自治区的Ⅳ级成矿亚带的划分,共划分出34个Ⅳ级成矿亚带;对内蒙古铁、铜等11个重要矿种的主要矿床类型及成矿特征进行了概述,对其时空分布规律做了归纳,认为全区70%以上的矿床数量和资源储量均集中在Ⅲ_5、Ⅲ_6、Ⅲ_8、Ⅲ_10和Ⅲ_11五个成矿区带。此外,不同矿种甚至同一矿种,由于成矿地质背景的差异,在不同的三级区带中的分布也不一样。主要成矿期为元古宙和中生代,次为太古宙和晚古生代,不同矿种的重要成矿期也不完全相同。从区域演化的角度探讨了构造与成矿的关系,认为不同的构造演化阶段形成不同的矿床类型和不同矿种的矿床,其中,古大陆边缘裂谷带以白云鄂博式铁_稀土元素矿床为代表,而大兴安岭岩浆岩带则以产出与燕山期中酸性火山侵入杂岩有关的多金属矿产为特点。     

前陆盆地钾盐矿床成因及模式——以西班牙北部埃布罗盆地为例

前陆盆地蕴藏有巨量的钾盐资源,而对于其内的钾盐矿床成因和模式还欠缺系统的总结。西班牙埃布罗盆地是由于伊比利亚和欧亚块体碰撞而形成的前陆盆地。始新世晚期(约36 Ma)海水完全从盆地退出后,在极端干旱气候作用下,由于碰撞造山导致盆地的封闭作用,在南比利牛斯前陆盆地系统的前渊带(即埃布罗盆地北部)形成了典型的厚层含钾石盐_光卤石的正常海相蒸发岩序列。后期受到构造挤压作用,钾盐地层以盐底劈的形式出露在背斜核部。埃布罗盆地钾盐成因是构造、气候和物源三者耦合作用的结果,与中国库车前陆盆地有很大的相似性。据此,作者建议可重点关注盆地南北盐丘地带苏维依组蒸发岩以及卤水的迁移方向。     

广西油麻坡钨钼矿床成岩成矿年代学研究及其地质意义

广西博白_岑溪断裂带位于钦杭成矿带南段,既是一条长期活动的地体边界断裂带,也是一条岩浆活动频繁的W_Mo_Sn_Pb_Zn_Sb_Au_Ag多金属成矿带。文章以该带中的广西博白县油麻坡矽卡岩型钨钼矿床为研究对象,在详细的岩性鉴别和划分的基础上,对矿区内花岗岩类进行了单颗粒锆石LA_ICP_MS锆石U_Pb测年,获得深灰色花岗斑岩的等时线年龄为(479.7±3.9)Ma,灰色黑云母花岗闪长岩为(109.7±1.1)Ma,浅灰色细粒白云母花岗岩为(103.3±1.2)Ma。辉钼矿Re_Os测年获得加权平均年龄为(97.4±1.9)Ma。由此可见,油麻坡岩体为一个复式岩体,由早奥陶世(加里东期)的花岗斑岩和早白垩世(燕山晚期)的黑云母花岗闪长岩和细粒白云母花岗岩组成,其中,黑云母花岗闪长岩构成油麻坡岩体的主体。钨钼矿形成于早白垩世晚期(即燕山晚期),与黑云母花岗闪长岩和白云母花岗岩密切相关。这些高精度测年数据的获得,进一步表明博白断裂带是一条长期活动的断裂,其在加里东期已经活动,并伴有岩浆岩的侵位。燕山晚期,该断裂重新复活,并导致大量的岩浆活动和一定强度的W_Mo_Sn_Pb_Zn_Sb_Au_Ag成矿作用,形成由多个大_中型矿床组成的多金属成矿带。博白_岑溪成矿带属于华南100~80 Ma大规模成矿的一部分,成矿背景与华南地区白垩纪的地壳伸展、钦杭成矿带的再次裂陷有关。     

三位一体找矿预测模型的表达式

三位一体找矿预测模型是勘查区找矿预测理论遵循的原则。三位是指成矿地质体、成矿结构面、成矿作用标志,一体是指矿体、矿床或矿田。可以理解为成矿地质体、成矿结构面、成矿作用标志决定矿体、矿床或矿田产出的空间位置,反映的是成矿要素与成矿产物之间的空间关系,或者空间结构模型,是由某一个成矿地质体决定的矿床成矿系统的最小单元,如某斑岩体决定的次火山热液成矿系统和同生断裂决定的热水沉积成矿系统。 根据中国地质调查局(2016)颁发的1:50 000 矿产地质调查工作指南(试行),成矿地质体是指与矿床形成在时间、空间和成因上有密切联系的地质体。成矿结构面是指赋存矿体的显性或隐性存在的岩石物理及化学性质不连续面,也就是赋存矿体的各类界面。成矿作用标志是指能够直接指示矿体赋存位置的、对找矿预测具有特殊意义的标志(中国地质调查局,2016)。矿床成岩成矿年代学及成矿作用产物与成矿地质体的空间关系表明,成矿地质体在成矿过程中,仍然主要起导矿构造的作用,尽管部分成矿现象类似于侧分泌成矿,但规模热液矿床的形成必然伴随着大规模流体沿构造通道持续或间歇性运移。完整的成矿系统必然包含源、运、储三个基本环节(翟裕生,2005),所以成矿地质体也可以表述为导矿构造,进而将三位一体找矿预测模型定性地表述为导矿构造、成矿结构面和成矿作用标志决定成矿作用产物产出的空间位置。模型的定量表示则需要研究导矿构造、成矿结构面和成矿作用标志的响应范围及其耦合关系。     

丝绸之路经济带甘肃黄金段找矿勘查新进展

丝绸之路经济带已成为国家战略,赋于了上合组织新的内涵,也给地质工作者提出了新的要求。甘肃是古丝绸之路的锁匙之地,是丝绸之路经济带上的“黄金路段”。2014年甘肃省提出利用拥有古丝绸之路贯穿境内1600 km的战略通道优势,打造丝绸之路经济带的黄金段,使其成为向西开放的战略平台、经贸物流的区域中心、产业合作的示范基地、人才交流的桥梁纽带。本文就甘肃省矿产资源优势、找矿勘查新进展及向西走出去提出建议。