Fluid Evolution and Ore Genesis of the Songjianghe Au Deposit in Eastern Jilin Province, NE China: Constraints from Fluid Inclusions and H-O-S-Pb Isotope Systematics

The medium-sized Songjianghe Au deposit is located in the southeastern part of the Jiapigou-Haigou gold belt (JHGB) in central eastern Jilin Province, NE China. The gold mineralization is primarily characterized by disseminated-style ores and hosted in the low-/medium-grade metamorphic rocks of the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Qi Yu, Keyong Wang, Xuebing Zhang, Qingfei Sun, Wenqiang Bai, Chao Ma, Yongchun Xiao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-05-01
Series:Minerals
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/13/5/652
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Summary:The medium-sized Songjianghe Au deposit is located in the southeastern part of the Jiapigou-Haigou gold belt (JHGB) in central eastern Jilin Province, NE China. The gold mineralization is primarily characterized by disseminated-style ores and hosted in the low-/medium-grade metamorphic rocks of the Seluohe Group. The ore bodies are governed by NNW-striking brittle-ductile structures and spatially correlated with silicic and sericitic alterations. Four alteration/mineralization stages have been distinguished: (I) Quartz-pyrrhotite-pyrite, (II) quartz-polymetallic sulfides, (III) quartz-pyrite, and (IV) quartz-calcite. The fluid inclusion (FI) assemblage in quartz from Stage I comprises C1-type, C2-type, C3-type, and VL-type FIs, with total homogenization temperatures (Th-total) of 292.8 to 405.6 °C and salinities of 2.8 to 9.3 wt% NaCl eqv. Quartz from Stage II (main ore stage) developed C2-, C3-, and VL-type FIs, with a Th-total of 278.5 to 338.9 °C and salinities of 2.8 to 8.1 wt% NaCl eqv. Stage III is characterized by coexisting C3- and VL-type FIs in quartz, with a Th-total of 215.9 to 307.3 °C and salinities of 2.4 to 7.2 wt% NaCl eqv. Only VL-type FIs are observed in Stage IV, with a Th-total of 189.5 to 240.4 °C and salinities of 3.7 to 5.7 wt% NaCl eqv. The Laser Raman spectroscopic results demonstrated minor CH<sub>4</sub> in the C-type FIs from Stages I and II. The results suggest that ore fluids may have evolved from a medium-high temperature, low-salinity immiscible CO<sub>2</sub>-NaCl-H<sub>2</sub>O ± CH<sub>4</sub> system to a low temperature, low-salinity homogeneous NaCl-H<sub>2</sub>O system. Fluid immiscibility caused by the rapid drop in pressure may have been the main trigger for gold-polymetallic sulfide precipitation. The Songjianghe Au deposit may have been formed under 352–448 °C and 850–1380 bar pressure, based on the isochore intersection for Stage II fluid inclusions. The H-O isotopic compositions (Stage I: δ<sup>18</sup>O<sub>fluid</sub> = 5.6 to 5.8‰, δD = −96.2 to −95.7‰; Stage II: δ<sup>18</sup>O<sub>fluid</sub> = 3.7 to 4.2‰, δD = −98.7 to −89.8‰; Stage III: δ<sup>18</sup>O<sub>fluid</sub> = 1.2 to 1.4‰, δD = −103.5 to −101.2‰) indicate that the hydrothermal fluids are dominated by magmatic water in the early stages (Stages I and II) and mixed with meteoric water since Stage III. The pyrite S-Pb isotope data (δ<sup>34</sup>S: −2.91 to 3.40‰; <sup>206</sup>Pb/<sup>204</sup>Pb: 16.3270 to 16.4874; <sup>207</sup>Pb/<sup>204</sup>Pb: 15.2258 to 15.3489; <sup>208</sup>Pb/<sup>204</sup>Pb: 36.6088 to 36.7174), combined with Pb isotopic compositions of the intrusive rocks and wall rocks (the Seluohe Group) in the ore district, indicate that the ore-forming materials at Songjianghe are predominantly from a magmatic source and may have been affected by the contamination of the Seluohe Group. In accordance with the features of ore geology, ore-forming fluids and metals, and geodynamic setting, the Songjianghe Au deposit belongs to a mesothermal magmatic hydrothermal vein gold deposit, which formed in the intermittent stage of Paleo-Pacific plate subduction during the Late Jurassic.
ISSN:2075-163X