Constraints on the Genesis of the Shuangwang Gold Deposit in Qinling Orogen, Central China: Evidence from In Situ Trace Element and Sulfur Isotope

Abstract

The Shuangwang gold deposit, with more than 70 tons of Au, is located in the Fengxian-Taibai ore concentration area in the Qinling Orogen of central China, hosted in a Northwest-trending breccia belt. Fragments of the breccia body are cemented by ankerite, albite, quartz, calcite, and pyrite. Four metallogenic stages are identified in mineral paragenesis: quartz-albite, ankerite-pyrite-albite, pyrite-quartz-calcite, and fluorite-anhydrite. Pyrite, as the main gold-bearing mineral, was formed in the syn-ore and post-ore stages, which are analyzed for trace elements. The experimental results show that Au (0.02 to 11.68 ppm), As (198.45 to 5502.86 ppm), Ag (0.00 to 1.56 ppm), Co (0.02 to 1002.75 ppm), Ni (0.15 to 646.30 ppm), Cu (0.00 to 64.76 ppm), Sb (0.00 to 4.67 ppm), Zn (0.23 to 260.59 ppm), Pb (0.00 to 10.42 ppm), Se (0.00 to 386.24 ppm), and Bi (0.00 to 47.72 ppm) are enriched in syn-ore pyrite much more than in post-ore pyrite, especially arsenic. The high arsenic content and rapid crystallization of pyrite may be the main reasons for precipitation of gold. δ34SV-CDT values of pyrite formed in stage II (PyII) vary from 11.1 to 15.2‰ (mean = 12.9‰), while those for pyrite formed in stage III (PyIII) vary from 11.1 to 13.5‰ (mean = 12.0‰). In situ sulfur isotope analysis indicates that sulfur of the Shuangwang deposit comes from the wallrock, mixed with sulfur from magma.