Abstract
The Sanbao Mn–Ag (Zn-Pb) deposit located in the Laojunshan ore district is one of the most important deposits that has produced most Ag and Mn metals in southeastern Yunnan Province, China. Few studies are available concerning the distribution and mineralization of Ag, restricting further resource exploration. In this study, detailed mineralogy, chronology, and geochemistry are examined with the aim of revealing Ag occurrence and its associated primary base-metal and supergene mineralization. Results show that manganite and romanèchite are the major Ag-bearing minerals. Cassiterite from the Mn–Ag ores yielded a U–Pb age of 436 ± 17 Ma, consistent with the Caledonian age of the Nanwenhe granitic pluton. Combined with other geochemical proxies (Zn-Pb-Cu-Sn), the Sanbao Mn–Ag deposit may originally be of magmatic hydrothermal origin, rather than sedimentary. The Ag-rich (Zn-Pb (Sn)-bearing) ore-forming fluids generated during the intrusion of the granite flowed through fractures and overprinted the earlier Mn mineralization. Secondary Ag (and possibly other base-metals) enrichment occurred through later supergene weathering and oxidation.
Highlights
Mn–Ag deposits are among the most important types of silver deposits in China
The electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) results show that the main Ag-bearing minerals are manganite and romanèchite
Results of manganite and romanèchite from electron probe X-ray microanalysis are listed in Tables 2 and 3
Summary
Mn–Ag deposits are among the most important types of silver deposits in China. It is difficult to separate Ag from manganese–silver ores due to a lack of research into the occurrence state (form) of silver and a lack of metallogenic models [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Research on mineralogy and metallogenesis is helpful to illuminate the existing state of silver and establish the actual metallogenetic model of these Mn–Ag deposits. Mn and Ag are the dominant metals produced in the Sanbao deposit. The Sanbao Mn–Ag deposit, located in the Laojunshan ore district in the southeast of the Yunnan Province of China, is one of the important Mn and Ag metal resources in southwestern China. In addition to Mn, this deposit is characterized by Ag enrichment with a mean value of 221 ppm and special Ag-bearing minerals
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