Geology and Genesis of Orogenic Gold Deposits, Xiaoqinling District, Southeastern China

Abstract

Orogenic gold vein deposits in the Xiaoqinling district are situated in a basement-cored uplift along the southern margin of the North China craton. The deposits are hosted by Late Archean to Paleoproterozoic amphibolite-facies country rocks, varying in lithology from clastic and chemical sedimentary units to felsic and mafic volcanic rocks and plutons. Absolute and relative age relationships indicate a late Mesozoic emplacement of the lodes, which is subsequent to the deformation associated with the Middle to Late Triassic Qinling orogen along the craton margin. All auriferous quartz veins are hosted in faults. The ores are generally composed of quartz veins with various amounts of pyrite, galena, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and carbonates. Mineralization can be separated into three distinct stages. Ore fluids are H2O dominant, with approximately 20 to 30 and 10 to 20 mole% CO2 for gold-bearing stage I and II veins, respectively. Vein formation pressures and temperatures were 2.2 kbar and 300 to 370°C for stage I and 1.6 kbar and 250 to 320°C for stage II. The narrow range of δ18O values for ore fluids from the deposits throughout the Xiaoqinling district indicate a common deep fluid source, most likely of magmatic origin. The 34S data suggest sulfur originated from a magmatic fluid of approximately 2 ± 2%, with significant local sulfur contributions leading to large variations in the ore-stage sulfide minerals. The most probable mechanism for the deposition of gold is phase separation caused by the partial loss of volatiles such as CO2 and CH4.