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