Chronology of the Tungsten Deposits in Southern Jiangxi Province, and Episodes and Zonation of the Regional W‐Sn Mineralization – Evidence from High‐precision Zircon U‐Pb, Molybdenite Re‐Os and Muscovite Ar‐Ar Ages

Abstract

Abstract:Previous studies have obtained some petrogenetic and metallogenic chronological data with SHRIMP (sensitive high‐resolution ion microprobe) zircon U‐Pb, zircon LA‐ICPMS (laser‐ablation–inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy) U‐Pb, molybdenite Re‐Os isochron and muscovite Ar‐Ar methods in southern Jiangxi Province and its adjacent areas. Based on these, the purpose of this paper is to study the petrogenetic and metallogenic ages and their time gap for different genetic types of W‐Sn deposits, and thus to research their numerous episodes, zonal arrangement and their geodynamic background. The result shows that the large‐scale W‐Sn mineralization in southern Jiangxi Province occurred in the middle to late Jurassic (170–150 Ma), the skarn W‐Sn‐polymetallic deposits formed much earlier (170–161 Ma), and all of the wolframite – quartz vein type, greisen type, altered granite type and fractured zone type tungsten deposits formed in the late Jurassic (160–150 Ma). In one ore field or ore district, greisen type tungsten deposits formed earlier than quartz vein type ones hosted in the endo‐ or exo‐contact zone; and quartz vein type hosted in the endocontact zone formed earlier than that of exocontact zone. There is no significant time difference between tungsten‐tin mineralization and its intimately associated parent granite emplacement (1–6 Ma). They all formed in the same rock‐forming and ore‐forming system and under the same geodynamic setting. Regionally, rock‐forming and ore‐forming processes of the W‐Sn deposits in the Nanling region (include southern Jiangxi Province, southern Hunan Province, northern Guangdong Province and eastern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region) exhibit numerous episodes. The mineralization in the Nanling region mainly occurred at (240–210) Ma, (170–150) Ma and (130–90) Ma. The tungsten‐tin deposits in this region are centered by the largest scale in southern Jiangxi Province and southern Hunan Province, and become small in the east, west, south and north directions. This displays a zonal arrangement and temporal and spatial distribution regularity. Integrated with the latest research results, it is concluded that the W‐Sn mineralization in southern Jiangxi Province and its adjacent areas corresponds to the second large‐scale mineralization in South China. The Indosinian W‐Sn mineralization formed under the extensional tectonic regime between collisional compressional stages, while the Yanshanian large‐scale petrogenetic and metallogenic processes occurred in the Jurassic intraplate extensional geodynamic setting of lithosphere extension.