Fluid evolution and ore genesis of the A'gui Cu deposit in southern Great Xing'an Range, Northeast China: Evidence from fluid inclusion and C–H–O–S–Pb isotopes

Abstract

The A'gui Cu deposit is located in the eastern slope of the southern Great Xing'an Range (SGXR), and it is a vein-type Cu deposit spatially and temporally related to the Cretaceous monzogranite which intruded Pingshan Formation. Vein-type Cu orebodies are mainly hosted in the NE and nearly EW faults. Previous studies on the A'gui deposit mainly focused on geological exploration, and there was no study on its fluid evolution and genesis. Therefore, we carried out conducted fluid inclusion and stable isotope (C–H–O–S–Pb) analysis to study the fluid evolution, fluid and ore-forming material sources and genesis of the A'gui deposit. According to the field investigations and mineral crosscutting relationships, four paragenetic stages were identified: quartz–pyrite–chalcopyrite–pyrrhotite–arsenopyrite ± magnetite (Stage I), quartz–pyrite–chalcopyrite (Stage II), quartz–chalcopyrite ± pyrite–sphalerite–galena (Stage III) and carbonate ± quartz (Stage IV). From Stage I to Stage II, the assemblage of fluid inclusions (FIs) in quartz is characterized by the development of daughter mineral–bearing three–phase FIs (SL–type), vapour FIs (V–type), vapour–rich two–phase aqueous FIs (LV–type) and liquid–rich two–phase aqueous FIs (VL–type). Only VL–type FIs appeared in the Stage III quartz and Stage IV calcite. The homogenization temperatures of FIs in stages I, II, III and IV are 329–390 °C, 255–336 °C, 166–244 °C and 120–157 °C, with salinities of 3.37–45.33 wt%, 3.53–39.76 wt%, 4.17–7.86 wt% and 3.37–7.15 wt% NaCl eqv., respectively. The fluid inclusion type assemblage suggested that obvious fluid boiling occurred in the Stage I and Stage II. Fluid boiling may be the reason for the precipitation of useful minerals. According to the HO isotope analysis of stages I–II quartz (δ18OH2O = −2.1 to 3.2 ‰, δDV–SMOW = −128.4 ‰ to −110.6 ‰), the fluid was originally magmatic water. From Stage III to Stage IV (δ18OH2O = −12.3 to −2.3 ‰, δDV–SMOW = −129.6 ‰ to −104.2 ‰), the HO isotope value is obviously close to the meteoric water line, indicating that meteoric water is mixed with evolved magmatic solutions. The ore–forming fluid of the A'gui deposit represents a medium–high temperature NaCl-H2O magmatic hydrothermal system. The C isotope compositions (δCV–PDB = −5.74 ‰ to −4.76 ‰) in stage IV indicate that the C in the fluid was derived from a magmatic source and was affected by meteoric water. In addition, the measured S isotope compositions in stages I–III of the hydrothermal fluids (δ34SV–CDT = 2.2 to 3.7 ‰) indicate that S mainly comes from granitic magma. Further, the Pb isotope (206Pb/204Pb = 18.276–18.367, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.52–15.556, 208Pb/204Pb = 38.157–38.193) in stages I–III indicate that the ore-forming materials are derived from the mixture of mantle and orogenic material. In summary, this study showed the A'gui is a typical magmatic hydrothermal vein-type Cu deposit that related to Cretaceous monzogranite formed under the joint constraints of Mongolia-Okhotsk Ocean and Paleo-Pacific Ocean tectonic system. Fluid boiling and mixing are the main ore-forming mechanism.