The grain-size characteristics of Quaternary deposits at Xingshan near Siping in Jilin province, China

This research paper analyses the grain-size characteristics of the Quaternary deposits at Xingshan near Siping, Jilin province in China by employing graphic measures to study the grain size distribution and its mode of transport and deposition. The Quaternary deposits at Xingshan lie unconformable on Cretaceous rocks made of siltstone, mudstone and sandstone. The average grain size is between 8.06 to 8.55Ф （0. 002 6 0. 003 7 mm）. The Quaternary deposits at Xingshan mainly compose of very fine silt to clay. The compositions of the grade are clay 63 % and silt 37 %. The clay size components are weathered debris transported and deposited by flowing water from the SE highlands or hills to the low lying NW Xingshan plains whereas the silty components accumulated by aoelian process. The Quaternary deposits at Xingshan accumulated in the middle and late Pleistocene interglacial periods from （459.12 - 39.03 ） ka to （88.92 - 7.56 ） ka. The standard deviation ranged from 0.96 to 1.36%, indicating that the sediments are moderately to poorly sorted, Coefficient of skewness ranged from 0.16 - 0.31 with an average skewness of 0. 218, （Positively skewed towards fine）. Kurtosis values （0.84- 1.05） from the grain size distribution and visual inspection of the frequency curves indicate platykurtic to mesokurtic curves and unimodal to bimodal grain-size distribution. The type of deposit formation is sand dune and the source is at a distal from its provenance.     

Deposit modeling of a nickel belt in Finland

Data from 34 Ni−Cu deposits of the 315^c-striking, 420-km long, and 10–40-km wide Kotalahtinickel belt have been recorded in the previously described system of the Ore Data File of Finland. For comparison data from four Ni−Cu deposits outside the belt have been collected. The statistical treatment of the data begins with cluster analysis and four classes are distinguished on the basis of 303 data elements. These classes form eight groups within the linear belt. Two groups containing the largest deposits, Hitura and Kotalahti, are processed by characteristic analysis, and factor analysis is applied to test the interdependence of the characteristics. This paper was presented at the International Geological Correlation Program (IGCP) Project 98: “Standards for Computer Applications in Resource Studies” held at Taita Hills, Kenya, November 8–15, 1977.     

The Balderton Sand and Gravel: Pre-Ipswichian cold stage fluvial deposits near Lincoln,England

The Balderton Terrace marks a former course of the River Trent between Newark and the Lincoln Gap. The principal deposit, the Balderton Sand and Gravel, is interpreted as a braided river sediment. Ice wedge casts truncated by intraformational erosion surfaces at many levels indicate syndepositional permafrost. Remnant cover deposits overlying the Balderton Sand and Gravel include the partly aeolian Whisby Sand. Locally, both the upper part of the Balderton Sand and Gravel and the cover deposits exhibit features indicative of temperate climate pedogenesis. All these deposits are affected by subsequent cryoturbation. On the basis of these features and the geomorphological and topographical relationship to other terrace deposits of the area, the Balderton Sand and Gravel and Whisby Sand are regarded as post-Hoxnian and pre-lpswichian, i.e. Wolstonian. Electron spin resonance age determinations for fossil elephant teeth and amino acid analyses on molluscs from the Balderton Sand and Gravel suggest correlation with Oxygen Isotope Stage 6. The Balderton Sand and Gravel has yielded a cold-climate mammalian fauna dominated by woolly mammoth and woolly rhinoceros, though rarer species suggest periods of milder climate. Silts from channels near the base of the deposit have produced pollen, mollusc, ostracod and beetle assemblages also indicating a cold climate.     

甘南毕家山铅锌矿床地质特征与成因

该矿床由两种类型矿化组成:(1)与所谓“微石英岩”密切共生的成层碎屑矿;(2)层状矿下伏石灰岩顶部的网脉矿。矿石硫化物在同位素组成上与围岩中的黄铁矿显然不同,其δ~(34)S值( 15至 18)表明可能是海水来源的,由海水硫酸离子在较高温度下无机还原而成。矿石中的碳酸盐矿物以较低的δ~(13)C和较高的δ~(18)O值不同于围岩石灰岩,前者表明可能有深成碳参加,后者表明成矿流体可能在较高温度下与硅酸盐岩石达到了同位素平衡。氧化硅的δ~(18)O值很重,落入海相燧石的变化范围。区域内没有火山活动的确切证据,以海水来源为主的成矿流体可能是沿分开不同地层小区的区域性断裂循环并被加热的。     

长江三峡阶地的成因机制

根据对长江三峡阶地堆积物进行的野外调查与室内分析发现三峡阶地的成因具有以下特点:构成阶地上部的河漫滩相堆积、中部的冲积砾石层与作为阶地基座的基岩平台是在不同时期形成的;阶地上部河漫滩相堆积是在中全新世气候温暖、长江三峡高水位条件下形成的.因此,长江三峡阶地是在构造上升的基础上由于气候及长江三峡流量及水位变化而形成的,并非一定是间歇性构造上升的标志.     

中国东部前寒武纪铅锌矿床的分布及类型特征

中国东部前寒武纪铅锌矿资源分布广泛,目前已探明储量的前寒武纪铅锌矿床有51处,其中超大型矿床1处,特大型矿床3处,大型矿床7处,中型矿床12处,其余为小型。这类矿床主要形成于中新元古代的裂谷系和裂谷系边缘的不同地质构造单元,其分布受构造控制,集中分布于华北陆块北缘东、中、西段元古宙裂谷系和扬子陆块西侧康滇地轴震旦系裂谷带东侧的边缘活动带,并以华北陆块北缘为主;成矿作用总体受火山-沉积-变质作用控制,具层控性;成矿时代有从北向南变新的趋势。根据矿床围岩的不同,可把矿床主要分为VHMS、Sedex、MVT三大类型,其中以Sedex型最为重要,规模也最大。     

Noril’sk–Talnakh Cu–Ni–PGE deposits: a revised tectonic model

The Norilsk mining district is located at the northwest margin of the Tunguska basin, in the centre of the 3,000×4,000 km Siberian continental flood basalt (CFB) province. This CFB province was formed at the Permo-Triassic boundary from a superplume that ascended into the geometric centre of the Laurasian continent, which was surrounded by subducting slabs of oceanic crust. We suggest that these slabs could have reached the core–mantle boundary, and they may have controlled the geometric focus of the superplume. The resulting voluminous magma intruded and erupted in continental rifts and related extensive flood basalt events over a 2–4 Ma period. Cu–Ni–PGE sulfide mineralization is found in olivine-bearing differentiated mafic intrusions beneath the flood basalts at the northwestern margin of the Siberian craton and also in the Taimyr Peninsula, some 300 km east of a triple junction of continental rifts, now buried beneath the Mesozoic–Cenozoic sedimentary basin of western Siberia. The Norilsk-I and Talnakh-Oktyabrsky deposits occur in the Norilsk–Kharaelakh trough of the Tunguska CFB basin. The Cu–Ni–PGE-bearing mineralized intrusions are 2–3 km-wide and 20 km-long differentiated chonoliths. Previous studies suggested that parts of the magma remained in intermediate-level crustal chambers where sulfide saturation and accumulation took place before emplacement. The 5–7-km-thick Neoproterozoic to Palaeozoic country rocks, containing sedimentary Cu mineralization and evaporites, may have contributed additional metal and sulfur to this magma. Classic tectonomagmatic models for these deposits proposed that subvertical crustal faults, such as the northeast-trending Norilsk–Kharaelakh fault, were major trough-parallel conduits providing access for magmas to the final chambers. However, geological maps of the Norilsk region show that the Norilsk–Kharaelakh fault offsets the mineralization, which was deformed into folds and offset by related reverse faults, indicating compressional deformation after mineralization in the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic. In addition, most of the intrusions are sills, not dykes as should be expected if the vertical faults were major conduits. A revised tectonic model for the Norilsk region takes into account the fold structure and sill morphology of the dominant intrusions, indicating a lateral rather than vertical emplacement direction for the magma into final chambers. Taking into account the fold structure of the country rocks, the present distribution of the differentiated intrusions hosting the Norilsk-I and Talnakh–Oktyabrsky deposits may represent the remnants of a single, >60 km long, deformed and eroded palm-shaped cluster of mineralized intrusions, which are perceived as separate intrusions at the present erosional level. The original direction of sill emplacement may have been controlled by a northeast-trending paleo-rise, which we suggest is present at the southeastern border of the Norilsk–Kharaelakh trough based on analysis of the unconformity at the base of the CFB. The mineralized intrusions extend along this rise, which we interpret as a structure that formed above the extensionally tilted block in the metamorphic basement. Geophysical data indicate the presence of an intermediate magma chamber that could be linked with the Talnakh intrusion. In turn, this T-shaped flat chamber may link with the Yenisei–Khatanga rift along the northwest-trending Pyasina transform fault, which may have served as the principal magma conduit to the intermediate chamber. It then produced the differentiated mineralized intrusions that melted through the evaporites with in situ precipitation of massive, disseminated, and copper sulfide ore. The Norilsk–Kharaelakh crustal fault may not relate to mineralization and possibly formed in response to late Mesozoic spreading in the Arctic Ocean.Editorial handling: P. Lightfoot     

Hydrothermal mixing,carbonate dissolution and sulfide precipitation in Mississippi Valley-type deposits

A large number of Mississippi Valley-Type (MVT) deposits are located within dissolution zones in carbonate host rocks. Some genetic models propose the existence of cavities generated by an earlier event such as a shallow karstification, that were subsequently filled with hydrothermal minerals. Alternative models propose carbonate dissolution caused by the simultaneous precipitation of sulfides. These models fail to explain either the deep geological setting of the cavities, or the observational features which suggest that the dissolution of carbonates and the precipitation of minerals filling the cavities are not strictly coeval. We present a genetic model inspired by the textural characteristics of MVT deposits that accounts for both the dissolution of carbonate and precipitation of sulfides and later carbonates in variable volumes. The model is based on the mixing of two hydrothermal fluids with a different chemistry. Depending on the proportion of the end members, the mixture dissolves and precipitates carbonates even though the two mixing solutions are both independently saturated in carbonates. We perform reactive transport simulations of mixing of a regional groundwater and brine ascending through a fracture, both saturated in calcite, but with different overall chemistries (Ca and carbonate concentrations, pH, etc). As a result of the intrinsic effects of chemical mixing, a carbonate dissolution zone, which is enhanced by acid brines, appears above the fracture, and another zone of calcite precipitation builds up between the cavity and the surrounding rock. Sulfide forms near the fracture and occupies a volume smaller than the cavity. A decline of the fluid flux in the fracture would cause the precipitation of calcite within the previously formed cavities. Therefore, dissolution of carbonate host rock, sulfide precipitation within the forming cavity, and later filling by carbonates may be part of the same overall process of mixing of fluids in the carbonate host rock.Editorial handling: C. Everett     

Nd-Sr-Pb isotopic constraints on metal and fluid sources in W-Sb-Au mineralization at Woxi and Liaojiaping (Western Hunan,China)

This paper presents Nd-Sr-Pb isotope data on scheelite, inclusion fluids and residues of gangue quartz, and sulfides from the W-Sb-Au ore deposits at Woxi and Liaojiaping (LJP) in the Xuefeng Uplift Belt (XUB), Western Hunan, China. Sm and Nd concentrations in scheelite from Woxi are much lower than in scheelite from LJP and can be distinguished by their high ¹⁴⁷Sm/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios of ~1.25 from the much lower ratios around 0.26 in scheelites from the LJP. Nd values (compared to values at 200 Ma, which is the average timing of granitoid emplacement during the Indosinian-Yanshanian periods in the XUB) are around –10 for the LJP and compare well with the range of –5 to –11 defined by the granitoids, whereas they are around –27 for scheelite from Woxi. This might indicate that REEs in the mineralizing fluids at LJP originated from granitoids that are concentrated along the southern border of the XUB, whereas in the case of Woxi, the original fluids might have been masked by REEs released during intense high-temperature wall rock alteration of unexposed Precambrian basement rocks at depth. Sr isotopes of scheelite from these two deposits show similar relations to host / nearby rocks, in that ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (T=200 Ma) ratios of ~0.721 for LJP scheelite agree with values ranging between 0.718 – 0.726 for granitoids, whereas these ratios are much higher (i.e. 0.745) for scheelite from Woxi and correspond to the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (T=200 Ma) ratio range of 0.743 – 0.749 for Precambrian host slates. Crushing experiments to release inclusion fluids from gangue quartz and sulfides deposited during later stages of ore deposition in both deposits failed to provide accurate and geologically meaningful two-point (fluid-residue) tie lines in Rb-Sr isochron diagrams. However, Sr released from fluid inclusions generally reveals lower initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios than the respective residues and shows affinities to ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (T=200 Ma) values of Indosinian-Yanshanian granitoids, both at Woxi and LJP. Pb stepwise leaching of scheelite and sulfides did not result in sufficient spreads in Pb isotope diagrams and therefore no information regarding exact mineralization ages in the two deposits could be deduced. Overall, ore Pb isotopes reveal upper crustal signatures and are compatible with Pb isotope signatures of the predominant Precambrian slates in the Woxi area. Steep trajectories through late stage quartz-sulfide mineralization in Pb isotope diagrams may hint at mixing scenarios involving Pb from the host rocks and a component with lower ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios relative to ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios, which cannot be linked to any known reservoir in the XUB mining district. Sr isotopes of four out of seven residual sulfide samples from Woxi plot along a paleomixing line at an age of 199 ± 8 Ma, supporting a mixing scenario for the fluids indicated by the Pb isotopes and pointing to a possible genetic relationship with the emplacement of Indosinian—Yanshanian granitoids. The budgets of REEs, Rb-Sr and Pb in the original fluids were severely affected by contamination of these elements apparently during intense wall rock alteration but, after sealing of the major pathways, the mineralizing fluids tend to have better preserved their original signatures. These attest a genetic relationship between the metallogeny in the XUB W-Sb-Au province and the emplacement of Indosinian-Yanshanian granitoids during Mesozoic intracontinental tectonic uplift and thrusting.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at Editorial handling: B. Lehmann     

Types,geological features and geodynamic significances of gold-copper deposits in the Kanggurtag metallogenic belt,eastern Tianshan,NW China

Occupying the middle of the central Asia Paleozoic accretionary and collisional orogenic belt, the eastern Tianshan area has a great economic potential due to Au-Cu mineralization during syn- and post- orogenic events. In the Kanggurtag Au-Cu metallogenic belt, three major types of gold deposits have been recognized: ductile-shear-zone-hosted gold deposits, magmatic hydrothermal gold deposits, and epithermal gold deposits. Four kinds of copper deposits have also been identified recently: the porphyry-type, the skarn-type, the magmatic type, and volcanic/sedimentary-type. Tectonically, the development of these late Paleozoic gold and copper deposits was closely associated with the subduction and collision of the ancient Tianshan ocean that intervened between the Tarim craton and the Siberian block. In the early to mid-Carboniferous, N-dipping subduction beneath the Dananhu arc generated magmatic intrusions, leading to formation of the porphyry Cu deposits. The magmatic front migrated southward to form the Yamansu arc upon the Kanggurtag accretionary wedge. In the latest Carboniferous to early Permian, during the closure of the ancient Tianshan ocean, large mafic-ultramafic complexes were emplaced, resulting in several magmatic copper-nickel deposits. Gold deposits of the shear-zone-type are controlled by the Kanggurtag ductile shear zone, which is related to collisional orogenesis. The epithermal gold deposits are associated with extensional tectonics and post-tectonic volcanic activity. The tectonic settings, geological features, and temporal and spatial distributions of these different types of gold and copper deposits reflect, to a great extent, the accretionary and collisional tectonics that occurred between the northern margin of the Tarim block and the southern margin of the Siberian block.