Cadmium isotope fractionation in the Fule Mississippi Valley-type deposit, Southwest China

Abstract

High-precision cadmium (Cd) isotope compositions are reported for sphalerite, galena, and smithsonite from the Fule Zn–Pb–Cd deposit, a typical Mississippi Valley-type deposit in Southwest China. Dark sphalerite has lighter δ114/110Cd values (0.06 to 0.46 ‰) than light sphalerite (0.43 to 0.70 ‰), and the Cd in galena is primarily in the form of sphalerite micro-inclusions with δ114/110Cd of −0.35 to 0.39 ‰. From early to late stages, δ114/110Cd values of smithsonite regularly increase from 0.19 to 0.42 ‰, whereas Cd/Zn ratios decrease from 252 to 136; the δ114/110Cd variation pattern of supergene smithsonite reflects kinetic Rayleigh fractionation during low-temperature processes. From the bottom to the top of the orebody, the dark sphalerite has different patterns in δ114/110Cd values, Cd/Zn ratios, δ34S values, and Fe concentrations compared to the light sphalerite, indicating that dark and light sphalerite formed by different processes. The varying patterns of δ144/110Cd values and Cd/Zn ratios within light sphalerite are similar to those of layered smithsonite, and the δ144/110Cd values have a positive correlation with δ34S values, indicating that Cd isotope fractionation in the light sphalerite was due to kinetic Rayleigh fractionation. Instead, in dark sphalerite, the δ144/110Cd values have a negative correlation with δ34S values and a positive correlation with the Cd/Zn ratio. Thus, it can be concluded that dark sphalerite could be modeled in terms of two-component mixing (basement fluid and host-rock fluid), which is in agreement with previous explanations for the negative correlation between δ66Zn and δ34S in some typical Zn–Pb deposits. We propose that the significant variation in Cd isotope composition observed in the Fule Zn–Pb–Cd deposit confirms that Cd isotopes can be used for tracing fluid evolution and ore formation.