Temporal and spatial separation mechanisms of the Cu and Mo mineralization in the Dabate porphyry deposit, Western Tianshan, Xinjiang, China

Abstract

Dabate deposit is a typical porphyry Cu-Mo deposit in the Western Tianshan, Xinjiang, China. Both the Cu and Mo mineralization are mainly associated with intrusion of rhyolite porphyry. Distinguishing from typical porphyry deposits, the Cu mineralization and Mo mineralization are separated from each other on both the temporal and spatial scales. The Cu orebodies are mainly hosted in the contact zone between the rhyolite porphyry and Tuosiku’ertawu Formation and predominantly occur as fluorite-arsenopyrite-Cu-sulfides ± K-feldspar ± quartz veins (Cu-1 stage), whereas the Mo orebodies are mostly hosted in the inner part of the rhyolite porphyry and are typically presented as Mo-2 stage quartz-molybdenite veins (external Cu and internal Mo). Total homogenization temperatures (Th, L-V) for boiling fluid inclusion assemblage of the Mo-2 stage occurred at 302 to 358 °C, with corresponding salinities of 1.4 to 38.1 wt% NaCleqv. H-O isotope data indicate that the Mo mineralization fluids were mainly derived from magmatic water. The non-boiling fluids of the Cu-1 stage originated from magmatic fluids and meteoric water, which were characterized by high temperature (323 to 379 °C) and low salinity (2.6 to 5.9 wt% NaCleqv) as well as Cu, As, and volatile enrichment. These features are different from the initial magmatic fluids of this deposit, indicating that the Cu mineralization may occur before the Mo mineralization (early Cu and late Mo) and the magmatic fluid components of the Cu-1 stage should be derived from the condensation of the low-salinity vapor generated by boiling of the hydrothermal fluids (351 to 405 °C; 1.8 to 40.1 wt% NaCleqv) for the earliest Mo-1 stage barren quartz veins. The positive δ34S values (5.5 to 9.8‰) of sulfides indicate that the sulfur in the ore-forming fluids was derived from magma and country rocks. The subtle change in fluid conditions from the high temperature (peak range 340 to 360 °C), alkaline, and slightly more oxidized of the Cu-1 stage to high temperature (peak range = 320 to 340 °C), more reduced, and acidic of the Mo-2 stage gave rise to the temporal separation of Cu and Mo mineralization. The Cu, As, and volatiles (e.g., CO2, HF), preferentially partitioned into the vapor phase, were highly enriched in Cu ore-forming fluids, whereas Mo mineralization fluids contained the majority of Mo with strong preference for the brine phase. Therefore, the spatial separation of the Cu and Mo mineralization could be attributed to selectively fractionating between the vapor phase and hypersaline liquid of the Cu and Mo metals during the process of fluid boiling.