Shear-hosted Mesothermal Vein System in the Jiapigou Goldfield, Northeast China: Implication for Subsequent Exploration

Abstract. The auriferous mesothermal lodes and veins occurred in the Jiapigou Goldfield, Jilin Province, Northeast China, are inevitably hosted by shear zones or fractures of varying orientations and magnitudes. Our recent study suggests that the Jiapigou major shear zone (JMSZ) - a regional NW-SE-trending driving structure, played an essential role in the formation and localization of the shear-hosted auriferous mesothermal systems. Regional dextral shearing of the JMSZ controlled the general occurrences and orientations of lodes and veins, and consequently, constrained the development of the internal structures, geometric details and final localization of lodes and veins. Therefore, the development and final localization of shear-hosted gold system can be comprehensively recognized in terms of both the Riedel shear system theory and the effects of the regional prolonged progressive deformation of subhorizontally right-lateral shearing. The lodes and veins belonging to "R-" and "D-shear" would tend to be much more stable along their strike and dip directions than those belonging to "T-fracture" in the Riedel shear system. However, due to the prolonged progressive deformation, the original T-fractures might undergo local strain localization and partitioning and finally were modified into hybrid fractures filled by auriferous quartz veins, as displayed by many typical lodes and veins occurred in the Jiapigou Goldfield. In order to refine predictive exploration modeling, it is important to understand the structural attributes, geometries, and final localization kinematics of ore-hosting shears in a huge shear system as that developed in the Jiapigou Goldfield.