Hydrothermal Quartz Vein Formation, Revealed by Coupled SEM-CL Imaging and Fluid Inclusion Microthermometry: Shuteen Complex, South Gobi, Mongolia

Abstract. Scanning electron microscopy-cathodoluminescence (SEM-CL) imaging of vein quartz in the Cu-mineralised, Shuteen Complex (South Gobi, Mongolia) has revealed a complex history of crystal growth, dissolution and microfracture healing, associated with several hydrothermal events that could not be detected using other observational techniques (e.g. transmitted/reflected light microscopy, back-scattered electron imaging, or secondary electron imaging).
The quartz initially grew as CL-bright/grey crystals in a 345±30C liquid reservoir, as inferred by the analysis of primary liquid fluid inclusions (average Th of 343C; 6.6∼7.7 wt% NaCl_eq). Quartz precipitation occurred at the edge of the crystals as reservoir fluids cooled to 260±25C, as indicated by micron-scale CL-dark/CL-bright quartz growth bands containing abundant fluid inclusions (with an average T_h values of 261C). Pressure fluctuations were the likely cause of dissolution, as SEM-CL imaging reveals the quartz have corroded or rounded crystal edges, and precipitation of later quartz into open space. SEM-CL imaging shows the quartz contains healed microfractures that trapped low salinity fluids (3.9 wt% NaC1_eq) with Th values of 173±15C.
SEM-CL imaging provides a means of deciphering the thermal and chemical evolution of the fossil Shuteen hydrothermal system, and the nature of hydrothermal quartz vein-forming processes, by facilitating the correlation of distinct fluid inclusion populations and their relative chronology, with specific hydrothermal events.     

Mineralogy and geochemistry of a Late Permian coal in the Dafang Coalfield, Guizhou, China: influence from siliceous and iron-rich calcic hydrothermal fluids

This paper describes the influence of siliceous and iron-rich calcic low-temperature hydrothermal fluids (LTHF) on the mineralogy and geochemistry of the Late Permian No. 11 Coal (anthracitic, R_r=2.85%) in the Dafang Coalfield in northwestern Guizhou Province, China. The No. 11 Coal has high contents of vein ankerite (10.2 vol.%) and vein quartz (11.4 vol.%), with formation temperatures of 85 and 180 °C, respectively, indicating that vein ankerite and vein quartz were derived from low-temperature calcic and siliceous hydrothermal fluids in two epigenetic episodes. The vein quartz appears to have formed earlier than vein ankerite did, and at least three distinct stages of ankerite formation with different Ca/Sr and Fe/Mn ratios were observed.The two types of mineral veins are sources of different suites of major and trace metals. Scanning electron microscope and sequential extraction studies show that, in addition to Fe, Mg, and Ca, vein ankerite is the dominant source of Mn, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the coal, and the contents of these five elements are as high as 0.09% and 74.0, 33.6, 185, and 289 μg/g, respectively. In contrast, vein quartz is the main carrier mineral for platinum-group elements (PGEs) Pd, Pt, and Ir in the coal, and the contents of Pd, Pt, and Ir are 1.57, 0.15, and 0.007 μg/g, respectively. Sequential extraction showed a high PGE content in the silicate fraction, up to 10.4 μg/g Pd, 1.23 μg/g Pt, and 0.05 μg/g Ir, respectively. It is concluded that the formation of ankerite and quartz and the anomalous enrichment of trace elements in the No. 11 Coal in the Dafang Coalfield, Guizhou, result from the influx of calcic and siliceous low-temperature hydrothermal fluids.     

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.     

Sedimentary evidence and luminescence and ESR dating of Early Pleistocene high lake levels of Megalake Tengger,northwestern China

The timing of high lake-level stands during the Late Pleistocene in western China remains controversial. Here we report new results from Megalake Tengger based on a study of palaeo-shorelines and a drill core from Baijian Lake in the northwestern Tengger Desert. Multiple dating methods, based on luminescence signals (quartz optically stimulated luminescence, K-feldspar post infrared-infrared stimulated luminescence) and electron spin resonance signals of quartz, were used to date beach sands from palaeo-shoreline profiles at altitudes of ~1310 m (+20 m above lake level), ~1320 m (+30 m) and ~1350 m (+60 m), and from the top 20 m of sandy sediments from the drill core obtained from the modern beach of Baijian Lake. The dating results show that high lake-level stands associated with the previously reported Megalake Tengger (~1310–1320 m) occurred during the late Early to Middle Pleistocene, which is much earlier than previously reported. In addition, no geomorphological evidence of shorelines and sedimentary evidence from the drill core profile were found to support the previously reported Late Pleistocene lake levels. Our results indicate that the exact age of the previously reported ‘high lake level event’ in a large part of northwestern China during the Late Pleistocene needs to be re-evaluated.     

南京周家山下蜀黄土石英颗粒特征及其物源意义

下蜀黄土的成因和物源一直是学术界研究的热点。对南京周家山下蜀黄土的石英粒度和石英表面微结构进行分析,结果显示:粉砂粒级石英颗粒（5~50 μm）占绝对优势;<20 μm组分平均含量为42.76%,<30 μm组分平均含量为62.98%;粒度分布曲线和累积曲线总体具有颗粒偏细,呈正偏态,分选较差,峰形尖锐,双峰曲线不对称的特征;粒级-标准偏差曲线呈“双峰”分布,两个明显的标准偏差峰值分别出现在7.962 1 μm和39.905 2 μm。石英颗粒表面形态主要以次棱角状为主;表面机械结构具有丰富的蝶形坑、曲脊、贝壳状断口,部分表面出现平行节理面、V形坑;不同粒级组分表面形态和机械结构特征存在差异。分析表明,南京周家山下蜀黄土属典型风成成因堆积物,是多源区物质高度混合搬运堆积的结果。     

广西珊瑚钨锡矿床成矿年代学研究及其地质意义

珊瑚钨锡矿床位于富贺钟钨锡多金属成矿集中区的中部,是南岭钨锡多金属成矿带内典型的热液石英脉型矿床之一。本文采用白云母~(40)Ar-~(39)Ar法和石英流体包裹体Rb-Sr法,对矿床V32号含矿石英脉进行精细年代学研究,获得石英脉中白云母~(40)Ar-~(39)Ar坪年龄为101.7±0.7 Ma(MSWD=0.34),正等时线年龄为102.0±1.0 Ma(MSWD=1.17);石英流体包裹体Rb-Sr等时线年龄为106.4±3.5 Ma(MSWD=0.83)。它们在误差范围内一致,是华南地区燕山晚期成岩成矿高峰期的产物。同时通过石英包裹体H-O同位素组成的初步分析,认为成矿流体属于"再平衡岩浆水",主要来自岩浆,在矿床深部可能存在隐伏花岗岩体。该成果对研究区域成矿规律,指导类似地区的找矿勘查工作具有重要意义。     

胶东金翅岭金矿构造控矿规律及找矿预测

金翅岭金矿是胶东招远北部的一个典型石英脉型金矿,构造是金矿最为重要的控矿因素。在前人资料的基础上,综合分析了矿区构造控矿特征,总结了构造控矿规律:矿脉分支复合,表现为NE向矿脉产生SN,NNE向次级矿脉,NNE向矿脉产生NE向次级矿脉;矿体厚度与金品位呈负相关,深部次级矿脉群在P4脉下盘出现;矿脉侧伏角和倾伏向变化处矿体富集,表现为SW向侧伏的P4矿脉,矿体富集于-240 m,侧伏角变大,同时倾伏向由SW向转变为NW向的部位。最后建立了平面和剖面P4矿脉的波形函数,并对深部进行了预测。     

柴达木盆地西北缘石英闪长岩的形成时代、岩石成因及地质意义

柴达木盆地西北缘石英闪长岩Al2O3含量较高,全碱(Alk)含量较低,Na2OK2O,铝饱和指数A/CNK为0.87~0.91,属钙碱性准铝质岩石系列。球粒陨石标准化的稀土元素配分曲线表现为轻稀土元素富集型,轻、重稀土元素分馏明显,Eu弱负异常;微量元素地球化学特征显示,岩石富集Rb、Th、U等大离子亲石元素,亏损Nb、Ta、P、Ti等高场强元素,Nb/La和Rb/Nb比值较低,具有I型花岗岩的特征。石英闪长岩Ca O/Na2O比值较高(2.32~2.64),结合源岩判别图解综合推断其源于变玄武岩的部分熔融。全岩Zr饱和温度计算结果显示初始岩浆温度768℃;岩石地球化学特征表明岩浆源区压力1.5 Ga,源岩部分熔融的残留相可能为石榴子石+角闪石+金红石。经过锆石阴极发光分析和MC-LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb测年,获得206Pb/238Pb加权平均年龄为252±1 Ma,代表了柴达木盆地西北缘石英闪长岩的成岩年龄。结合区域地质演化特征,认为该岩体形成于与板块俯冲有关的火山弧构造环境,是晚二叠世末期宗务隆洋壳向柴北缘欧龙布鲁克地块俯冲,变玄武岩在相对较高的温压条件下发生部分熔融形成的。