Intracrystalline migration of polymetallic Au-rich melts in multistage hydrothermal systems: example from the Xiaoqinling lode gold district, central China

Author(s):  
Wei Jian ◽  
Jingwen Mao ◽  
Nigel J. Cook ◽  
Lei Chen ◽  
Guiqing Xie ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Jian ◽  
Jingwen Mao ◽  
Bernd Lehmann ◽  
Nigel J. Cook ◽  
Guiqing Xie ◽  
...  

Abstract We present petrographic and microthermometric evidence for precipitation of Au-Ag-Te–rich melt directly from hydrothermal fluids and subsequent entrapment as primary melt inclusions within pyrite from quartz veins of the Xiaoqinling lode gold district, southern margin of the North China craton. We propose the formation of Au-Ag-Te–rich melt through adsorption-reduction mechanisms on pyrite and subsequent growth of the melt nuclei via direct scavenging of metals from fluids. Because neither initial formation nor later growth of the melt require saturation of the ore fluid with respect to the constituent metals, this mechanism offers a new understanding of the enrichment of low-abundance ore components, such as gold. Our model may thus partly explain the discrepancy between the high gold solubilities reported from experimental studies and the much lower gold concentrations usually measured in natural fluids. This study also implies that Au-Ag-Te–rich melt has probably gone unrecognized in other lode gold deposits in which Au-Ag tellurides are present.


Geology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya-Fei Wu ◽  
Katy Evans ◽  
Si-Yu Hu ◽  
Denis Fougerouse ◽  
Mei-Fu Zhou ◽  
...  

Gold (Au) is largely hosted by pyrite in a variety of hydrothermal systems, but the incorporation of Au into pyrite under disequilibrium conditions remains poorly understood. We integrate synchrotron X-ray fluorescence microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry, and laser ablation–multicollector–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry to constrain the processes that sequester Au into zoned pyrite in the hydrothermal cement of breccia ores from the world-class Daqiao orogenic Au deposit, central China. Euhedral pyrite cores with oscillatory and sector zoning, variable δ34S values, and lower Au-As contents than the mantles are attributed to crystallization during oxidation of metal-depleted ore fluids with local variation in fluid conditions. The isotopically uniform colloform mantles are formed by pyrite crystallites separated by low-angle boundaries and are characterized by unusual decoupling of Au and As. Mantle formation is attributed to rapid disequilibrium precipitation from a metal-rich FeS2-supersaturated fluid. Incorporation of Au into the pyrite mantles was facilitated by abundant lattice defects produced by rapid nucleation. Gold-As–poor pyrite rims were deposited from an evolved ore fluid or other metal-depleted fluids. These results show that chemical variations recorded by fine layering within minerals can provide valuable insights into disequilibrium mass transfer and ore formation. The decoupling between Au and As in pyrite mantles indicates that As is not always a reliable proxy for Au enrichment in rapidly crystallized porous pyrite.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biji Luo ◽  
Hongfei Zhang ◽  
Liqi Zhang ◽  
Chao Zhang ◽  
Fabin Pan ◽  
...  

<p>Porphyries, closely associated with the copper ore deposits in orogenic belts, are usually considered to have high oxygen fugacity and display high Sr/Y ratios. However, it is still ambiguous whether the high oxygen fugacity and the enrichment of copper are inherited from magma source or obtained by magmatic processes, and the linkage between the high Sr/Y magmas and the formation of porphyry Cu deposits remains unclear. To address these issues, an integrated study of zircon geochronology and oxygen fugacity, petrography, geochemical and Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic compositions for was carried our for the Shanyang porphyry groups from the South Qinling Orogen, Central China. The crystallization ages for the Shanyang porphyries range from ca. 152 to 140 Ma. Our results suggest that the Shanyang porphyry groups are high Ba-Sr granitoids, rather than adakitic rocks, and there is no inevitable connection between high Sr/Y magma and the formation of PCDs. Their parental magmas were derived from partial melting of enriched heterogeneous lithospheric mantle that had been metasomatized by fluid or melt released from the previous subducting slab. Through magma differentiation, the Shanyang porphyry magmas changed from the oxidation state (ΔFMQ +1 to +2) to the reduced state (ΔFMQ +1 to -0.5). The redox condition of magma may be very different from its source and can be shifted remarkably during magmatic evolution that caused by fractional crystallization of garnet in the deep crust and magma degassing in the shallow upper crust. Remelting of the early formed sulfides and gas-brine reactions could enrich copper in the exsolved volatile fluid. Furthermore, the periodic and long-lived magmatic-hydrothermal systems in the shallower magma reservoirs play a critical role in the formation of porphyry Cu deposits.</p><p> </p>


1995 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. I. Groves ◽  
J. R. Ridley ◽  
E. M. J. Bloem ◽  
M. Gebre-Mariam ◽  
S. G. Hagemann ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Hongrong Shi ◽  
Jinqiang Zhang ◽  
Bin Zhao ◽  
Xiangao Xia ◽  
Bo Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

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