a 1 78 ga large igneous province in the north china craton the xiong er volcanic province and the north china dyke swarm abstract the 1 78 ga xiong er volcanic province xvp and coeval north china giant mafic dyke swarm ncds are the most important magmatic events occurring after the amalgamation of the north china craton ncc the xvp consists of 3 7 km of extrusive volcanics and some feeder dykes sills located along the southern margin of the ncc and extending over an area 0 06 m km2 compositions vary from basalt to rhyolite but are predominantly intermediate in terms of silica content there are also minor sedimentary intercalations and pyroclastic units the sedimentary interlayers indicate an environment changing from continental facies to oceanic facies up section the xvp is characterized by fractional crystallization from an em i type mantle source and both continental arc andean type and rift environments have been proposed the ncds is widespread in the central ncc with an outcrop area 0 1 m km2 and are exposed at variable depths up to 20 km deepest in the north dyke compositions vary from basalt to andesite and dacite but are dominantly mafic and comprise two series of magmatism previous studies revealed that the ncds recorded assimilation and fractional crystallization of an em i type magma source with a minor dm contribution in the younger magmas both syn collisional and intra continental anorogenic environments have been proposed spatial and petrogenic correlations suggest a cogenetic relationship between the ncds and xvp and considered together they define a large igneous province lip of 0 1 m km2 in area and 0 1 m km3 in volume which is also notable for its continuous compositional range from mafic to felsic with no gap at intermediate compositions the petrology is explained by a common magma source that undergoes a silica poor and iron enriched fractionation trend at depth followed by a silica rich and iron poor fractionation trend in shallow level magma conduits dykes and surface lavas a mantle plume is favored as the cause of this 1 78 ga north china lip

la icp ms u pb zircon geochronology geochemistry and kinetics of the wenquan ore bearing granites from west qinling china abstract many hydrothermal cu mo au deposits related to granitoid intrusives were recently discovered in the west qinling orogenic belt wqob these deposits were mainly formed during the late indosinian epoch ca 214 ma and the regional geological setting of cu mo ore formation in wqob during this epoch is poorly understood until now this paper describes the geochronology and geochemistry of the wenquan ore bearing pluton a composite granite body to study the geologic background of magmatic emplacement and ore formation the mo mineralisation occurs at the contact between a fine grained biotite monzogranite and a medium to fine grained porphyritic monzogranite zircon 206pb 238u ages of 223 3 ma biotite monzogranite and 225 3 ma porphyritic monzogranite were obtained geochemical analyses show that the wenquan pluton is a high k calc alkaline to shoshonite series rock with relatively high lree and low hree and a moderate to weak negative eu anomaly relatively negative anomalies of ba ti p nb ta also exist these results imply that the wenquan pluton was emplaced during a transitional process from collision to extension between the yangtze craton and north china craton during the later indosinian epoch the east qinling orogenic belt eqob and wqob had similar tectonic settings and intensive magmatic activity and mo mineralisation occurred the eqob was then involved in the mesozoic subduction of the pacific plate and its subsequent tectonic evolution was different from that of the wqob

genesis and evolution of the leimengou porphyry mo deposit in west henan province east qinling dabie belt china constraints from hydrothermal alteration fluid inclusions and stable isotope data abstract the leimengou mo deposit is located in the east qinling dabie metallogenic mo belt located at the southern margin of the north china craton the deposit is hosted within the mesozoic leimengou granite porphyry pluton and at the contact between the granite and late archean gneisses in light of mineral assemblage and crosscutting relationships among veinlets the mineralization and alteration can be classified in four distinct stages 1 a mo barren pre mineralization stage of alteration characterized by massive k feldspar alteration of the granite porphyry 2 a k feldspar quartz vein stage that formed veinlets with minor molybdenite 3 a quartz sulfide veinlet stage which is the main stage of mineralization and 4 post mineralization quartz calcite vein stage stage 1 alteration is associated with fluid inclusions of low medium salinity 2 4 13 1 wt naclequiv that homogenized at medium to high temperatures 238 476 c stage 2 mineralization is associated with fluid inclusions that homogenized at 201 389 c and that have salinities of 2 0 13 6 wt naclequiv fluid inclusions that formed during stage 3 have homogenization temperatures of 205 370 c and corresponding salinities of 1 0 17 6 wt naclequiv to 31 4 40 6 wt naclequiv indicative of fluid immiscibility and mixing of hydrothermal fluids with meteoric water stage 4 h2o nacl fluids were trapped at lower temperatures 148 246 c and have salinities of 1 7 7 9 wt naclequiv stages 1 to 4 have calculated 18ofluid values of 3 6 4 3 2 7 2 8 0 6 2 3 and 3 2 to 3 8 respectively with dfluid values of 72 to 80 83 to 90 68 to 82 and 81 to 90 respectively these results are consistent with the fluid inclusion data outlined above and suggest that early fluids were exsolved from the granitic magma and underwent progressive mixing with meteoric water molybdenum was initially transported from the crystallizing magma in a hot alkaline and oxidized fluid while decreasing temperatures and ph water rock interaction and fluid immiscibility during fluid ascent resulted in its precipitation and deposition

compositional polarity of triassic granitoids in the qinling orogen china implication for termination of the northernmost paleo tethys abstract the qinling orogen was formed from the closure of the northernmost paleo tethys sea and the tectonic suturing of the yangtze and north china cratons the timing of this collision and the tectonic framework are debated the widely developed triassic granitoids in the western qinling orogen offer a key to understand the tectonic evolution of this region here we compile the geological geochemical and geochronological data of the triassic granitoids from the qingling orogen and conclude that the granitoids north of the mian lue suture were emplaced in an active continental margin related to the northward subduction of the mian lue oceanic plate during 248 200 ma the granitoids can be classified into i and s types with the former constituting the major variety northward from the mian lue fault an s type granite belt appears followed by and locally overlapping with an i type granite belt the i type granite belt can be subdivided into four sub belts from south to north with increasing contents of k2o k2o na2o sio2 th and u and the ratios of k2o na2o rb sr and 87sr 86sr i but decreasing contents of na2o al2o3 mg and ehf t except for the northernmost belt which occurs in the huaxiong block of the north china craton this geochemical polarity of i type granitoids and the zoned distribution of s and i types granitoids cannot be explained through continental collision orogeny including syn to post collision but can be well interpreted by considering the progressive subduction of the northernmost branch of the paleo tethys as represented by the mian lue ocean thus the termination of the northernmost paleo tethys and the onset of the continental collision between the yangtze and the north china plates are considered to have occurred at about 200 ma during the transition from triassic to jurassic our model is also supported by the available data from other studies and provides a revised framework for the timing and tectonics of assembly of the yangtze and the north china cratons

geochronology and isotopic character of ultrahigh pressure metamorphism with implications for collision of the sino korean and yangtze cratons central china the collision zone between the sino korean and yangtze cratons in central china is marked by subduction related metamorphic rocks composed of crustal protoliths these range in metamorphic grade from ultrahigh pressure eclogite to low greenschist facies the paragenesis of the ultrahigh pressure rocks coesite and diamond bearing indicates subduction to depths greater than 120 km as a result of continental collision despite extreme metamorphic conditions zircons have not undergone pb loss but rather illustrate two periods of growth crystallization between 700 and 800 ma and ultrahigh pressure metamorphism at 218 2 5 ma previous studies have predicted a time transgressive collision but age data presented in this study indicate that the collision was approximately coeval along the length of the suture u pb zircon ages of these ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks are 218 4 2 5 ma and 217 1 8 7 ma for the dabie mountains and shandong peninsula respectively the similar ages imply that the tan lu fault which offsets the ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks is a secondary feature not related to collision or subduction whole rock isotopic data show that both rb sr and u pb were open systems during metamorphism but that sm nd probably remained closed nd initial isotopes display crustal signatures indicating that the crust subducted as a coherent slab rather than becoming intercalated with mantle material at depth sm nd data in conjunction with u pb zircon dating indicate that the ultrahigh pressure rocks are not typical yangtze craton basement 2 9 ga but that they originally crystallized in a rift environment between 700 and 800 ma discrepancies between 40ar 39ar plateaus sm nd isochrons and u pb zircon ages render calculation of a p t t path unrealistic

highly fractionated late triassic i type granites and related molybdenum mineralization in the qinling orogenic belt geochemical and u pb hf and re os isotope constraints abstract we present new data on the highly fractionated late triassic i type liyuantang granite which is located in the middle segment of the south qinling subzone of central china and is associated with molybdenum mineralization zircon u pb dating indicates that the granite was emplaced at 210 1 1 9 ma with a single zircon containing an inherited core that yielded an age of 449 8 7 1 ma magmatic zircons from the granite have e hf t values of 4 0 to 1 5 whereas the inherited zircon core has a e hf t value of 5 3 calculated hf model ages of crust formation are indicative of substantial contributions from melting of proterozoic crust that ranges in age from 1501 to 1155 ma the granite contains high concentrations of si al na and k is enriched in rb th and u has elevated rb sr and ga al ratios and is depleted in ti fe mn mg ca and p with significantly negative eu anomalies eu 0 33 0 50 similar to other highly fractionated i type granites these data indicate that the magmas that formed the liyuantang pluton were produced during partial melting of proterozoic garnet absent quartz amphibolites the magmas then fractionated apatite feldspar ti bearing phases biotite and hornblende prior to emplacement re os isotope analysis of molybdenite from the study area yields a mineralization age of 200 9 6 2 ma suggesting that the liyuantang molybdenum deposit formed during a previously unrecognized mineralization event the present results together with previous data demonstrate that highly fractionated i type granites associated with the second pulse of magmatism in the south qinling subzone should be considered highly prospective for mineral exploration focusing on triassic early jurassic granitoids

isotope geochemistry of the tieluping silver lead deposit henan china a case study of orogenic silver dominated deposits and related tectonic setting the tieluping silver deposit which is sited along ne trending faults within the high grade metamorphic basement of the xiong er terrane in the qinling orogenic belt is part of an important recently discovered mesozoic orogenic type ag pb belt ore formation includes three stages an early barren quartz pyrite stage e an intermediate polymetallic sulfide ore stage m and a late barren carbonate stage l carbon sulfur and lead isotope systematics indicate that the e stage fluids are deeply sourced the l stage fluids are shallow sourced meteoric water whereas the m stage fluids are a mix of deep sourced and shallow sourced fluids sulfur and lead isotope data show that the ore forming fluids must have originated from a source with elevated radiogenic lead and low 34s values that differs significantly from exposed geologic units in the xiong er terrane the lower crust and the mantle this supports the view that the carbonate shale chert sequences of the guandaokou and luanchuan groups south of the machaoying fault might be the favorable sources although little is known about their isotopic compositions a tectonic model that combines collisional orogeny metallogeny and hydrothermal fluid flow is proposed to explain the formation of the tieluping silver deposit during the mesozoic collision between the north china craton and south china block early mid triassic indosinian orogeny crustal slabs containing the carbonate shale chert sequences of the guandaokou and luanchuan groups locally rich in organic matter carbonaceous shale were thrust northwards beneath the xiong er terrane along the machaoying fault metamorphic devolatilisation of this underthrust slab probably provided the ore forming fluids to develop the ag pb ore belt which includes the tieluping silver deposit fluids and magmas were emplaced during extensional stages related to the jurassic cretaceous yanshanian orogeny

timing of the yuchiling giant porphyry mo system and implications for ore genesis the yuchiling mo deposit is a recently discovered giant porphyry system in the east qinling mo belt china its apparent causative intrusion i e the yuchiling granite porphyry is the youngest intrusion phase 4 of the heyu multiphase granite batholith which was emplaced between 143 and 135 ma new robust constraints on the formation of the yuchiling porphyry mo system are provided by combined zircon u pb biotite 40ar 39ar and molybdenite re os dating zircon grains from the mo mineralized granite porphyry yield weighted 206pb 238u age of 134 0 1 4 ma n 19 2 error mswd 0 30 magmatic biotite from the same sample yield a 40ar 39ar plateau age of 135 1 1 4 ma 2 error and an inverse isochron age of 135 6 2 0 ma n 7 2 error mswd 10 8 which are effectively coincident with the zircon u pb age within analytical error three pulses of mineralization can be deduced from the molybdenite re os ages namely 141 137 and 134 ma which agree well with the zircon u pb ages of granitic phases 1 2 and the yuchiling porphyry phase 4 respectively these well constrained temporal correlations indicate that mo mineralization was caused by pulses of granitic magmatism and that the ore forming magmatic hydrothermal activity responsible for the yuchiling porphyry mo system lasted about 8 ma the yuchiling mo deposit represents a unique style of porphyry mo system formed in a post collision setting and associated with f rich high k calc alkaline intrusions which differ from convergent margin associated porphyry mo deposits

triassic diorites and granitoids in the foping area constraints on the conversion from subduction to collision in the qinling orogen china abstract the western qinling is characterized by triassic granitic plutons which are keys to constrain the timing of subduction and collisional processes between the north china and south china blocks this paper presents a set of new la icpms u pb zircon geochronology major and trace element geochemistry for several representative diorite and granitoid plutons in the foping area the diorites are characterized by high mgo al2o3 y and yb contents but low sio2 sr y and la yb ratios as well as depletion of nb ta p and ti suggesting derived from a subduction related setting la icpms zircon u pb age of 216 9 1 5 ma mswd 0 69 from the diorite constrains the time of the subduction event the medium and fine grained monzogranites as well as the biotite granites exhibit relative high sio2 mgo and rb low y and yb contents and low sr y and la yb ratios as well as various depletions of nb ta p and ti these features indicate a derivation from lower continental crust but had been influenced by slab released fluids in a syn collisional setting the medium grained monzogranite and biotite granite yield la icpms zircon u pb ages of 207 3 2 1 ma mswd 1 8 and 201 6 1 2 ma mswd 1 04 respectively proposing the syn collision during ca 207 201 ma geochemical and geological evidences suggest that the granodiorites intruding in the syn collisional monzogranites were related to the post orogenic collapse after the collision between the north china and south china blocks the la icpms u pb zircon age of 189 3 2 9 ma mswd 5 6 for the granodiorite constrains the time of the post orogenic collapse our geochronological and geochemical data provide important constraints on the triassic evolution from subduction to collision then up to post collisional collapse along the qinling orogen

triassic mineralization with cretaceous overprint in the dahu au mo deposit xiaoqinling gold province constraints from shrimp monazite u th pb geochronology abstract the xiaoqinling terrane in central china is the second largest gold producing area in china previous application of age constraints has yielded ages for the gold mineralization ranging from paleoproterozoic through triassic indosinian to jurassic and cretaceous yanshanian shrimp u th pb dating of hydrothermal monazite in a mo mineralized quartz vein from the dahu au mo deposit in the northern xiaoqinling terrane identifies two mineralization episodes hydrothermal monazite intergrown with molybdenite yields an initial precipitation age of 216 5 ma which is identical to but more precise than the molybdenite re os isochron age of 218 41 ma a younger generation of monazite is distinguished by data falling on a mixing array it is inferred that the younger monazite was formed at the expense of the older ones during the yanshanian probably during a single event that occurred at 125 ma combining these results with available geochronological data and geological evidence we conclude that molybdenum mineralization accompanied by monazite deposition took place in the indosinian followed by a yanshanian tectono hydrothermal event that resulted in large scale gold mineralization in the xiaoqinling terrane our observation demonstrates that monazite is sensitive to hydrothermal overprint and thus is useful for dating fluid infiltration event

pb sr nd isotope constraints on the fluid source of the dahu au mo deposit in qinling orogen central china and implication for triassic tectonic setting abstract the dahu au mo deposit is a structure controlled lode system occurring in the northern xiaoqinling terrane huaxiong block qinling orogen this paper reports a new sr nd pb isotope dataset obtained for ore sulfides and the hostrocks within the taihua supergroup in an attempt to constrain the source of the ore forming fluids from a new dimension 16 sulfide samples yield i sr ratios of 0 70470 0 71312 with an average of 0 70854 e nd t values between 13 5 and 18 1 with average of 15 1 and 206 pb 204 pb i 207 pb 204 pb i and 208 pb 204 pb i ratios of 17 033 17 285 15 358 15 438 and 37 307 37 582 with averages of 17 162 15 405 and 37 440 respectively 5 gneiss samples from the taihua supergroup yield i sr ratios of 0 70947 0 73201 averaging 0 72294 e nd t values of 20 0 to 31 1 averaging 25 1 and 206 pb 204 pb i 207 pb 204 pb i 208 pb 204 pb i ratios of 17 127 18 392 15 416 15 604 and 37 498 37 814 with averages of 17 547 15 470 and 37 616 respectively these data show that the ore sulfides have less radiogenic sr nd pb isotope systematics than the hostrocks and suggest that the ore forming fluids which interacted with the wallrocks to form ores must be sourced from a depleted mantle or a depleted subducted oceanic slab in combination with the spatial scenario and geochemical signatures of the triassic magmatites and mineral systems we argue that in the triassic the mianlue ocean was not completely closed and that the northward oceanic plate subduction still survived along the mian lue suture which caused the late triassic magmatism and associated mineralization in qinling orogen including the au mo dahu deposit

re os and sr nd pb isotope constraints on source of fluids in the zhifang mo deposit qinling orogen china abstract the zhifang mo deposit is located in the northeastern qinling orogen along the southern margin of the north china craton the deposit represents a quartz vein system hosted in the mesoproterozoic xiong er group volcanic rocks we identify three hydrothermal stages early middle and late characterized by veinlets of quartz pyrite quartz molybdenite pyrite chalcopyrite galena sphalerite and quartz carbonate assemblages respectively five molybdenite samples from the zhifang deposit yield re os ages ranging from 241 2 1 6 ma to 247 4 2 5 ma with an isochron age of 246 0 5 2 ma 2 mswd 7 4 and a weighted mean age of 243 8 2 8 ma 2 mswd 5 5 the re os age shows that the mo mineralization occurred during the indosinian orogeny and suggests that the mineralization is unrelated to the yanshanian magmatism or the paleo mesoproterozoic volcanic hydrothermal event this study also reports a new sr nd pb isotope dataset from ore sulfides in an attempt to constrain the source of the ore forming fluids ten sulfide samples from middle stage of the zhifang mo deposit yield i sr t ratios of 0 710286 0 711943 with an average of 0 711004 e nd t values between 19 5 and 14 8 with an average of 16 7 and 206 pb 204 pb i 207 pb 204 pb i and 208 pb 204 pb i ratios of 17 126 17 535 15 374 15 466 and 37 485 37 848 with averages of 17 380 15 410 and 37 631 respectively one pyrite from the early stage yield i sr t of 0 722711 0 722855 with an average of 0 722783 which is higher than those of the middle stage sulfides and suggests equilibration with wallrocks the e nd t values are in the range of 17 3 to 16 6 with a mean at 17 0 and 206 pb 204 pb i 207 pb 204 pb i and 208 pb 204 pb i ratios are 17 386 15 405 and 37 622 respectively the ore sulfides show higher pb isotope ratios higher e nd t and lower i sr t values than the host rocks the results suggest that the ore forming fluids had lower i sr t and higher e nd t values than the ore sulfides and were possibly sourced from the dengfeng complex the southward subduction of the north china craton beneath the huaxiong block during the triassic was possibly responsible for the formation of the waifangshan orogenic mo system

tectonic implications from re os dating of mesozoic molybdenum deposits in the east qinling dabie orogenic belt abstract the east qinling dabie molybdenum belt is part of a larger east west trending metallogenic belt in eastern china most of the molybdenum deposits occur as porphyry or porphyry skarn type but there are also some vein type deposits following systematic re os dating of molybdenite from 13 deposits and comparisons with two previously dated deposits we have recognized that the molybdenum mineralization in the east qinling dabie belt was developed during hydrothermal activity linked to magmatism and the emplacement of granitoid stocks three pulses of granitoid magmatism and mo mineralization are recognized corresponding to significant tectonic events in the east qinling dabie belt vein type deposits dated at 233 221 ma were formed in detachment fractures indicating localized extension within the collisional setting of the north china and yangtze cratons i type and transitional i and s type granites and related mineralization dated at 148 138 ma may have formed part of a continental magmatic arc with widespread magmatism and back arc extension caused by subduction of the izanagi or paleopacific plate beneath the eurasian continent in a wnw ese direction in the late jurassic early cretaceous both s type and transitional s and i type granite associated porphyry molybdenum deposits dated at 131 112 ma are part of an extensive mineralization event throughout east china that can be ascribed to regional large scale lithospheric thinning delamination and thermal erosion

early mesozoic mo mineralization in the qinling orogen an overview abstract as one of the most important mo provinces in the world the qinling orogen is host to mainly late mesozoic late jurassic early cretaceous porphyry mo systems recently additional early mesozoic mainly triassic plus minor early jurassic mo deposits have been identified which occur as fault controlled quartz veins or as carbonatite veins and as such they are fundamentally different from the commonly observed porphyry systems furthermore early mesozoic porphyry systems are also present but they are different from those of late mesozoic age thus early mesozoic mo systems not only offer a new and comprehensive view of the mo metallogenesis but also provide unique insight into the tectonic evolution of the qinling orogen taking into consideration the role of mineral deposits as ideal probes of the geodynamic evolution the known early mesozoic mo deposits in qinling can be classified into three types based on their geological and geochemical features porphyry carbonatite and orogenic systems porphyry mo systems including porphyry porphyry skarn and intrusion related veins are spatially and genetically associated with granitic porphyries they display typical porphyry type alterations and are formed by magmatic water carbonatites are considered as mantle derived igneous rocks and mo mineralization is associated with magmatic fluids orogenic mo systems occur as fault controlled quartz lodes and the ore forming fluids are medium high temperature co2 rich metamorphic fluids spatially early mesozoic porphyry mo systems are concentrated in the western and middle part of the qinling orogen whereas carbonatite veins and orogenic mo systems are located in the northeastern part temporally orogenic mo deposits were the earliest mainly between 220 and 250 ma followed by carbonatite veins mainly between 205 and 225 ma and porphyry mo systems mainly between 190 and 205 ma with some exceptions there is generally a trend of decreasing deposit ages toward the western part of the orogen detailed comparison reveals that the early mesozoic porphyry mo systems in the qinling orogen are different from the late mesozoic ones in terms of their economic importance spatial distribution ore causative intrusions hydrothermal alteration and the ore forming fluids to explain the above geological and geochemical features the triassic qinling is considered as an active continental margin caused by the northward subduction of the mian lue oceanic plate a transition from continental arc to back arc basin is suggested for the formation of triassic orogenic and carbonatite vein mo deposits whereas continental arc is host to the early mesozoic porphyry mo systems

tectonics of an ultrahigh pressure metamorphic terrane the dabie shan tongbai shan orogen china ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks with coesite and diamond form a tectonic slice over 20 km thick called the eclogite zone within the dabie shan complex in the qinling orogen in central china the orogen separates the sino korean block in the north from the yangtze block in the south the dabie shan complex is a composite terrane made up of eclogite facies and amphibolite facies gneiss slices and represents fragments of the lower continental crust of the yangtze block the dabie shan complex is bounded in the south by a triassic foreland fold thrust belt and in the north by a greenschist facies metaclastic unit the foziling group which probably represents the passive continental apron deposits of the yangtze block farther north is a granulite facies gneiss complex the qinling group which has ultramafic slivers and includes the remnants of an island arc with two bounding suture zones north of the qinling group are early paleozoic active margin deposits of the sino korean block the eclogite zone in the dabie shan complex is sandwiched between amphibolite facies gneiss slices dating by sm nd rb sr and ar ar of two eclogite samples from the eclogite zone gives early to middle triassic ages 236 246 ma the initial end values indicate reworking of a 2 11 and 1 55 ga continental crust a himalayan type tectonic evolution is envisaged for the qinling orogen with the creation of a 100 km thick crustal thrust wedge through continuous underplating during the subduction of the yangtze continental lithosphere exhumation of the ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks was chiefly achieved by the southward propagation of the thrust planes thereby isostatically uplifting and eroding the earlier deeply subducted parts of the orogen a total of 680 km of southward thrusting in front of dabie shan is inferred based on the abrupt termination of the tanlu fault normal faulting possibly caused by gravitational collapse probably also had a role in the exhumation process

fluid evolution of the yuchiling porphyry mo deposit east qinling china the yuchiling mo deposit east qinling china belongs to a typical porphyry mo system associated with high k calc alkaline intrusions the pure co2 pc co2 bearing c aqueous h2o naci w and

formation and tectonic evolution of the khondalite series at the southern margin of the north china craton geochronological constraints from a 1 85 ga mo deposit in the xiong ershan area abstract the taihua complex is an important metamorphic rock suite at the southern margin of the trans north china orogen and hosts important mineral deposits its protolith and metamorphic ages are still controversial the 1 85 ga longmendian mo deposit in the xiong ershan is hosted by the khondalite series of the duangou formation taihua complex three kinds of rocks are collected for shrimp cameca u pb dating including the meta sedimentary rock that occurred as wallrock the mo mineralized meta gabbro that intruded the meta sedimentary rock and the leucosome that cut both the meta sedimentary rock and the meta gabbro zircon u pb analyses reveal that the precursor of the meta sedimentary rock was crystallized between 2200 4 and 2742 18 ma with most before 2500 ma whereas the protolith of the meta gabbro was formed at 2178 6 ma anatexis zircons in the leucosome yield a weighted mean age of 1943 8 ma that is indistinguishable with the metamorphic age of the meta gabbro 1952 4 ma in the intensively altered meta gabbro hydrothermal titanites were formed by at least two pulses of crystallization at 1940 7 ma and 1916 9 ma respectively the new data reveal that the khondalite series of the duangou formation were formed between 2200 ma and 2178 ma the results are inconsistent with previous subdivision of the taihua complex into the upper taihua and lower taihua subgroup instead they fit well with the tripartitite divison into the beizi group 3 0 2 55 ga the dangzehe group 2 55 2 3 ga and the shuidigou group 2 3 2 1 ga compiling zircon u pb ages indicate that in the trans north china orogen the 1 95 ga and 1 85 ga metamorphic events are widespread and prominent

structural and geochronological studies on the liba goldfield of the west qinling orogen central china the liba goldfield located to the northeast of the zhongchuan granite in the west qinling orogen wqo of mainland china contains the largest known gold resource of 2 8 moz in the zhongchuan area devonian metasedimentary rocks host the structurally controlled gold mineralization which is associated with silica sericite chlorite carbonate alteration two major styles of mineralization occurred at the goldfield which are disseminated sediment hosted and quartz vein hosted types pyrite arsenopyrite and arsenian pyrite are major gold carriers and gold also occurs as native gold grains and electrum spatially associated with the sulfides numerous felsic intermediate dykes have a similar structural control as the mineralization and their contacts with host rocks are recognized as favorable zones for mineralization detailed fieldwork in conjunction with geochronological studies has helped to define the deformation history and gold metallogenesis of the goldfield three major phases of deformation have been recognized in the zhongchuan area the first deformation d1 event was compressional in broadly a n s orientation the second d2 event was also compressional and orientated in a ne sw direction and the third d3 event was post mineralization and was associated with the emplacement of barren calcite and anhydrite veins compression related to d2 is the key process that controlled the distribution of igneous dykes and gold mineralization in the liba goldfield both igneous and hydrothermal fluids preferentially focused along dilational jogs under local trans extension which took place during the late stage of d2 precise dating with high resolution ion microprobe shrimp u pb on zircon and 40ar 39ar on muscovite biotite hornblende and plagioclase of crosscutting pre mineralization granitic porphyry and diorite dykes have constrained the mineralization age to after ca 227 ma 40ar 39ar analysis of minerals formed in hydrothermal alteration zones associated with gold mineralization indicates that there was a widespread ca 216 ma hydrothermal event that affected almost all lithologies in the area this detailed investigation is the first study to tightly constrain the timing of gold mineralization in the wqo the broadly overlapping timing and similar structural control of the mineralization and igneous dykes show a promising correlation which could be potentially used to map this late triassic gold mineralization event in the wqo

fluid inclusion study of the nannihu giant porphyry mo w deposit henan province china implications for the nature of porphyry ore fluid systems formed in a continental collision setting abstract the nannihu mo w deposit located in the henan province of china is a giant porphyry deposit formed in the qinling orogen during the jurassic continental collision between the north china and yangtze cratons mo w mineralization is associated with the nannihu porphyritic monzogranite occurring as numerous stockwork veinlets in the altered wallrocks and the causative porphyry both the porphyry stock and wallrocks underwent intense hydrothermal alteration ranging outwardly from potassic to phyllic alteration and to carbonation zones with increasing distance from the intrusion the hydrothermal ore forming process can be divided into four stages characterized by veinlets from early to late 1 quartz potassic feldspar molybdenite pyrite 2 quartz molybdenite veins containing minor pyrite and chalcopyrite 3 quartz polymetal sulfide and 4 quartz carbonate fluorite most of the ores are formed during stages 2 and 3 four types of fluid inclusions fis are distinguished in this study based on petrographic and microthermometric criteria i e pure co 2 nacl h 2 o co 2 h 2 o and daughter mineral bearing fluid inclusions all of the four types of fis can be observed in the hydrothermal quartz formed in stages 1 2 and 3 while the stage 4 minerals contain only nacl h 2 o fluid inclusions fluid inclusions of stage 1 are mainly homogenized between 350 and 460 c with salinities ranging from 5 7 to 17 9 wt nacl equiv the stage 2 fis yield homogeneous temperatures of 300 380 c and salinities of 3 5 16 9 wt nacl equiv fis of stage 3 are homogenized between 250 and 370 c with salinities of 1 8 14 3 and 28 6 39 1 wt nacl equiv fis of stage 4 are homogenized at temperatures of 115 to 265 c yielding salinities of 0 5 to 1 2 wt nacl equiv daughter minerals such as halite chalcopyrite and some unknown minerals are frequently present in stage 3 fis which probably represent a reducing and oversaturated fluid system resulting from fluid boiling the daughter mineral bearing fis coexist with vapor and liquid rich nacl h 2 o fis that have contrasting salinities these fis are homogenized in divergent ways at similar temperatures suggesting that fluid boiling took place in stages 2 and 3 the estimated pressures range from 70 to 270 mpa in stage 1 through 30 150 mpa in stage 2 to 30 85 mpa in stage 3 corresponding to a depth of no less than 3 km in other words the ore forming fluids are characterized by high temperature high salinity high f o 2 and high co 2 content and fluid boiling resulted in co 2 release f o 2 decrease and ore mineral precipitation we suggest that the co 2 rich fluid is a distinctive feature of porphyry systems developed in continental collision setting in transitional compressional to extensional regime contrasting to the co 2 poor nacl h 2 o fluids observed in volcanic arcs

zircon u pb ages and geochemistry of the wenquan mo bearing granitioids in west qinling china constraints on the geodynamic setting for the newly discovered wenquan mo deposit abstract east qinling is the largest porphyry molybdenum province in the world these mo deposits have been well documented in west qinling however few mo deposits have been discovered although granitic rocks are widespread recently the wenquan porphyry mo deposit has been discovered in gansu province which provides an insight into mo mineralization in west qinling in this paper we report pb isotope compositions for k feldspar and sulfides s isotope ratios for sulfides the results obtained from petrochemical study and from in situ la icp ms zircon u pb dating and hf isotopes the granitoids are enriched in lile and lree with ree and trace element patterns similar to continental crust suggesting a crustal origin the mg 40 05 to 56 34 and cr and ni contents are high indicating a source of refractory mafic lower crust the e hf t values of zircon grains from porphyritic monzogranite range from 2 9 to 0 6 and from granitic porphyry vary from 3 3 to 1 9 the zircons have t dm2 of 1014 to 1196 ma for the porphyritic monzogranite and 954 to 1224 ma for the granitic porphyry implying that these granitoids were likely derived from partial melting of a late mesoproterozoic juvenile lower crust the pb isotope compositions of the granitoids are similar to granites in south china showing that the magma was sourced from the middle lower crust in the southern qinling tectonic unit the pb isotopic contrast between the mo bearing granitoids and ores shows that the pb in the ore forming solution was derived from fractionation of a triassic magmatic system 34 s values of sulfides are between 5 02 and 5 66 similar to those associated with magmatic hydrothermal systems la icp ms zircon u pb dating yields crystallization ages of 216 2 1 7 and 217 2 2 0 ma for the granitoids consistent with a previously reported molybdenite re os isochron age of 214 4 7 1 ma this suggests that the mo mineralization is related to the late triassic magmatism in the west qinling orogenic belt in view of these geochemical results and known regional geology we propose that both granitoid emplacement and mo mineralization in the wenquan deposit resulted from the triassic collision between the south qinling and the south china block along the mianlue suture since triassic granitoid plutons commonly occur along the qinling orogenic belt the triassic wenquan mo bearing granitoids highlight the importance of the triassic tectono magmatic belt for mo exploration in order to apply this metallogenic model to the whole qinling orogen further study is needed to compare the wenquan deposit with other deposits

u pb zircon ages constrain the architecture of the ultrahigh pressure qinling dabie orogen china new shrimp and tims zircon ages 40ar 39ar ages and eclogite locations contribute significantly to our understanding of the ultrahigh pressure dabie shan 1 the geographic extent of the yangtze craton that was subducted to ultrahigh pressure extends to the northern edge of the dabie shan 2 the northern half of the dabie shan is a magmatic complex intruded over a 10 myr interval between 137 and 126 ma that accommodated 100 n s stretching of the pre existing collisional architecture 3 granitic orthogneisses and enclosing ultrahigh pressure paragneisses have indistinguishable zircon populations the population of triassic zircon ages ranges from 219 to 245 ma leading us to question the prevailing assumption that 219 ma zircons formed at ultrahigh pressure and to propose instead that they reflect late retrogression at crustal pressures following the bulk of exhumation

the xiong er volcanic belt at the southern margin of the north china craton petrographic and geochemical evidence for its outboard position in the paleo mesoproterozoic columbia supercontinent abstract the xiong er volcanic belt covering an area of more than 60 000 km 2 along the southern margin of the north china craton has long been considered an intra continental rift zone and recently interpreted as part of a large igneous province formed by a mantle plume that led to the breakup of the paleo mesoproterozoic supercontinent columbia however such interpretations cannot be accommodated by lithology mineralogy geochemistry and geochronology of the volcanic rocks in the belt lithologically the xiong er volcanic belt is dominated by basaltic andesite and andesite with minor dacite and rhyolite different from rock associations related to continental rifts or mantle plumes which are generally bimodal and dominated by mafic components however they are remarkably similar to those rock associations in modern continental margin arcs in some of the basaltic andesites and andesites amphibole is a common phenocryst phase suggesting the involvement of h 2 o rich fluids in the petrogenesis of the xiong er volcanic rocks geochemically the xiong er volcanic rocks fall in the calc alkaline series and in most tectono magmatic discrimination diagrams the majority of the xiong er volcanic rocks show affinities to magmatic arcs in the primitive mantle normalized trace element diagrams the xiong er volcanic rocks show enrichments in the lile and lree and negative nb ta ti anomalies similar to arc related volcanic rocks produced by the hydrous melting of metasomatized mantle wedge nd isotope compositions of the xiong er volcanic rocks suggest that 5 15 older crust has been transferred into the upper lithospheric mantle by subduction related recycling during archean to paleoproterozoic time available shrimp and la icp ms u pb zircon age data indicate that the xiong er volcanic rocks erupted intermittently over a protracted interval from 1 78 ga through 1 76 1 75 ga and 1 65 ga to 1 45 ga though the major phase of the volcanism occurred at 1 78 1 75 ga such multiple and intermittent volcanism is inconsistent with a mantle plume driven rifting event but is not uncommon in ancient and existing continental margin arcs taken together the xiong er volcanic belt was most likely a paleo mesoproterozoic continental magmatic arc that formed at the southern margin of the north china craton similar paleo mesoproterozoic continental magmatic arcs were also present at the southern and southeastern margins of laurentia the southern margin of baltica the northwestern margin of amonzonia and the southern and eastern margins of the north australia craton which are considered to represent subduction related episodic outbuilding on the continental margins of the paleo mesoproterozoic supercontinent columbia therefore in any configuration of the supercontinent columbia the southern margin of the north china craton could not have been connected to any other continental block as proposed in a recent configuration but must have faced an open ocean whose lithosphere was subducted beneath the southern margin of the north china craton

geologic framework and tectonic evolution of the qinling orogen central china abstract the geologic framework of the qinling orogen was built up through interplay of three blocks the north china block including the north qinling the south qinling and the south china block separated by the shangdan and mianlue sutures the shangdan suture resulted from middle paleozoic collision of the north china block and the south qinling the mianlue suture resulted from late triassic collision of the south qinling and the south china block present upper crust of the qinling is structured dominantly by thrust fold systems the north qinling displays thick skinned deformation with crystalline basement involved whilst the south qinling is characterized by thin skinned thrusts and folds detached above the lower sinian two types of precambrian basement crystalline and transitional are defined according to lithology and metamorphic grade and different in age stratigraphic and sedimentary architecture is characterized by distinct zonation the qinling orogen experienced a prolonged continental divergence and convergence between blocks during the period from late neoproterozoic to early paleozoic times the south qinling was the northern margin of the south china block and the north qinling was the southern margin of the north china block separated by a proto tethyan qinling ocean the north qinling evolved into an active margin when the proto tethyan qinling ocean subducted northward during ordovician time collision of the south and north qinling took place in middle paleozoic along the shangdan suture synchronous with the collision rifting occurred at the southern rim of the south qinling and was followed by the opening of the paleo tethyan qinling ocean during the late paleozoic resulting in the splitting of the south china block from the south qinling collision of the south qinling and the south china block came about in the late triassic along the mianlue suture the late triassic collisional orogeny caused extensive fold and thrust deformation and granitoid intrusions throughout the qinling and led to final amalgamation of the north and south china blocks

a classification of mineral systems overviews of plate tectonic margins and examples of ore deposits associated with convergent margins abstract in this contribution i presents definitions of mineral systems followed by a proposed classification of mineral deposits the concept of mineral systems has been tackled by various authors within the framework of genetic models with the aim of improving the targeting of new deposits in green field areas a mineral system has to be considered taking into account by and large space time patterns or trends of mineralisation at the regional scale their tectonic controls and related metallogenic belts this leads to a suggested classification of mineral systems together with a summary of previous ideas on what is without doubt a kind of mine field because if a classification is based on genetic processes these can be extremely complex due to the fact that ore genesis usually involves a number of interactive processes the classification presented is based on magmatic magmatic hydrothermal sedimentary hydrothermal non magmatic and mechanical residual processes an overview of plate tectonics convergent and divergent margins is discussed next convergent plate margins are characterised by a tectonic plate subducting beneath a lower density plate convergent plate margins have landward of a deep trench a subduction accretion complex a magmatic arc and a foreland thrust belt an important feature is the subduction angle a steep angle of descent is exemplified by the mariana or tonga kermadec subduction systems conducive to porphyry high sulphidation epithermal systems whereas in an intra arc rift systems with spreading centres is conducive to the generation of massive sulphide deposits of kuroko affinity a shallower subduction zone is the domain of large porphyry cu mo and epithermal deposits the implications of this difference in terms of metallogenesis are extremely important continent continent arc continent arc arc amalgamation of drifting microcontinents and oceanic collision events are considered to be a major factor in uplift the inception of fold and thrust belts and high p metamorphism examples are the alpine himalayan orogenic belt formed by the closure of the tethys oceanic basins and the great central asian orogenic belt caob a giant accretionary collage of island arcs and continental fragments the closing of oceanic basins and the accretion of allochthonous terranes result in the emplacement of ophiolites by the obduction process divergent plates include mid ocean ridges passive margins and various forms of continental rifting at mid ocean spreading centres magma chambers are just below the spreading centre once the oceanic crust moves away from the ridge it is either consumed in a subduction zone or it may be accreted to continental margins or island arcs spreading centres also form in back arc marginal basins transform settings include transtensional with a component of tension due to oblique divergence transform or strike slip sensu stricto and transpressive with a component of compression due to oblique convergence strike slip faults that form during extensional processes lead to the formation of pull apart basins mineral systems that form at convergent margins the topic of this special issue are succinctly introduced in table 1 table 2 table 3 table 4 table 5 table 6 table 7 as follows principal geological features of selected mineral systems at convergent plate margins and back arcs table 1 their recognition criteria table 2 principal geological features of selected ore deposits of back arc basins and post subduction rifting table 3 and of subduction related magmatic arcs table 4 their respective recognition criteria table 5 accretionary and collisional tectonics and associated mineral systems table 6 principal geological features and associated mineral systems of transform faults table 7

ore geology fluid inclusions and four stage hydrothermal mineralization of the shangfanggou giant mo fe deposit in eastern qinling central china article i nfo the eastern qinling central china containing more than 20 mesozoic porphyry skarn systems is the most important mo province in the world the shangfanggou giant mo deposit luanchuan county henan province is a porphyry skarn system hosted in a lithologic association comprising carbonaceous sandstone shale carbon ate and chert within the neoproterozoic luanchuan group mo ores are mainly altered porphyry skarn and hornfels with minor altered gabbro the mineralization process includes four stages potassic alteration of the porphyry and skarnization of dolomite marble in stage 1 stockworks of quartz molybdenite sulfide stage 2 pyrite quartz sulfides stage 3 and carbonate quartz fluorite stage 4 respectively mo mineralization was generally associated with strong silicification and or phyllic alteration the fluid inclusions in minerals include three compositional types i e co2 bearing c type aqueous w type and daughter mineral bearing s type minerals formed in stages 1 to 3 contain all the three types of fis but the stage 4 minerals only contain the w type fis oxides and cu phosphate are recognized as daughter minerals in s type inclusions in minerals of stage 1 whereas the daughter sulfide and reducing gases such as co ch4 h 2 sa nd c2h6 can be observed in quartz of stages 2 and 3 suggesting that the ore forming fluids were initially oxidizing and then evolved to reducing boiling fluid inclusion assemblages can be observed in minerals formed in stage 2 or earlier but not in stage 3 or later fluid boiling caused co2 escape oxygen fugacity decrease and rapid precip itation of ore minerals and was a key factor causing mo mineralization at shangfanggou data and interpreta tions presented in this contribution show that the fluids forming the shangfanggou mo deposit evolved from co2 rich high salinity hypothermal to co2 poor low salinity epithermal low t the mo mineralization at theshangfanggoudepositmainlyoccurredatdepthof6 6 7 0 km deeperthanthemajorityofporphyrysystems in volcanic arcs which resulted from a co2 rich magma fluid system originating from partial melting of thick ened lower crust the shangfanggou mineral system developed during 158 134 ma when the yangtze north china continental collision began to evolve from compression to extension magmatic hydrothermal deposits developed in a continental collision regime are generally formed by co2 rich high salinity fluids

geology geochemistry and genesis of the qianfanling quartz vein mo deposit in songxian county western henan province china abstract the qianfanling mo deposit located in songxian county western henan province china is one of the newly discovered quartz vein type mo deposits in the east qinling dabie orogenic belt the deposit consists of molybdenite in quartz veins and disseminated molybdenite in the wall rocks the alteration types of the wall rocks include silicification k feldspar alteration pyritization carbonatization sericitization epidotization and chloritization on the basis of field evidence and petrographic analysis three stages of hydrothermal mineralization could be distinguished 1 pyrite barite quartz stage 2 molybdenite quartz stage 3 quartz calcite stage two types of fluid inclusions including co 2 bearing fluid inclusions and water rich fluid inclusions have been recognized in quartz homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions vary from 133 c to 397 c salinity ranges from 1 57 to 31 61 wt nacl eq there are a large number of daughter mineral co 2 bearing inclusions which is the result of fluid immiscibility the ore forming fluids are medium high temperature low to moderate salinity h 2 o nacl co 2 system the 34 s values of pyrite molybdenite and barite range from 9 3 to 7 3 9 7 to 7 3 and 5 9 to 6 8 respectively the 18 o values of quartz range from 9 8 to 11 1 with corresponding 18 o fluid values of 1 3 to 4 3 and 18 d values of fluid inclusions of between 81 and 64 the 13 c v pdb values of fluid inclusions in quartz and calcite have ranges of 6 7 to 2 9 and 5 7 to 1 8 respectively sulfur hydrogen oxygen and carbon isotope compositions show that the sulfur and ore forming fluids derived from a deep seated igneous source during the peak collisional period between the north china craton and the yangtze craton the ore forming fluids that derived from a deep igneous source extracted base and precious metals and flowed upwards through the channels that formed during tectonism fluid immiscibility and volatile exsolution led to the crystallization of molybdenite and other minerals and the formation of economic orebodies in the qianfanling mo deposit

evaporative loss of moderately volatile metals from the superheated 1849 ma sudbury impact melt sheet inferred from stable zn isotopes the retention of moderately volatile elements on the growing earth remains a major uncertainty in models of terrestrial accretion large impactors were the main carriers of accreted material but their mutual energetic collisions and impacts onto the earth also caused chemical fractionation for which limited experimental data exist the objective of this work was to study several moderately volatile elements in the third largest impact basin preserved on earth at sudbury ontario we conducted a new chemostratigraphic transect n 41 of zn isotope ratios and concentrations by analysing melt sheet and basin fill samples the data were compared to common pb cs cd and sb concentration systematics within the crystallised melt sheet there are strong trends in the extent of moderately volatile element deficits zn isotope composition 66 64znjmc l from 0 18 to 0 47 and initial pb isotope composition the combined evidence suggests that these trends reflect footwall contamination of a melt sheet that had experienced evaporative zn loss of up to 75 80 accounting for plausible isotopic signatures of target rocks the maximum mass dependent zn isotope fractionation e was 0 29 0 04 1 s d which translates to modest fractionation factors 0 99986 to 0 99975 this is comparable to melt fallout glass and fused sands from nuclear detonation sites we attribute the observed zn loss and isotope fractionation to the formation of the impact melt the rapid formation of a solid lid of breccias upon seawater ingress may have prevented stronger evaporative loss and isotope fractionation within the crater fill there is an up stratigraphy increase in zn isotope variability 66 64znjmc l from 0 29 to 1 05 combined with evidence for biogenic reduced c this suggests sedimentation of authigenic particulates within an enclosed crater sea in the melt sheet the zn pb and rb cs pairs experienced different extents of maximum evaporative loss pb up to 98 4 vs zn 78 and cs 90 vs rb 30 the relative loss pattern could reflect evaporation from superheated silicate melt at 1 450 c and 1 atm loss from super liquidus melts formed by bolide impacts could have been a significant process shaping the earth s volatile and moderately volatile inventory

the geology and geochronology of the waifangshan mo quartz vein cluster in eastern qinling china abstract the waifangshan mo quartz vein cluster occurs at the northernmost margin of the qinling orogen the orebodies occur as quartz veins and are controlled by low angle faults we identify three hydrothermal stages characterized by veinlets of quartz pyrite quartz molybdenite pyrite chalcopyrite galena sphalerite and quartz carbonate assemblages respectively the early stage quartz veins were structurally deformed brecciated and filled by non deformed middle or late stage veinlets suggesting that the mineralization is associated with a tectonic transition from compression to extension five molybdenite separates from the zhifang mo deposit yield individual re os ages from 241 2 1 6 to 247 4 2 5 ma with a weighted mean age of 243 8 2 8 ma individual re os isotope ages of four molybdenite samples from the badaogou mo deposit range from 238 9 2 1 to 255 8 2 2 ma with a weighted mean age of 246 10 ma four analyses of molybdenite separates from the xiangchungou mo deposit yield individual re os isotope ages of 243 8 8 8 to 247 7 4 4 ma with a weighted mean age of 246 0 1 1 ma all of these data yield a weighted mean age of 241 9 1 9 ma coeval with the accretionary orogeny we thus conclude that the waifangshan mo quartz veins formed during a transition from continental arc to back arc setting the waifangshan mo quartz veins share similar geological geochemical and geochronological features with the orogenic type systems we propose that the waifangshan mo quartz veins are an orogenic type mo mineralization and possibly represent the deepest member in the crustal continuum model of the orogenic type mineral systems the molybdenite samples from the mo quartz veins in the waifangshan area have low re contents 1 457 to 39 16 ppm suggesting a continental crust dominated source

mesozoic molybdenum deposits in the east qinling dabie orogenic belt characteristics and tectonic settings abstract the east qinling dabie orogenic belt accommodates the largest mo ore district in the world it contains 8 43 mt of proven mo metal reserves which accounts for 66 of the total proven chinese mo reserves the mo ore district includes 24 deposits and 12 occurrences with four major types of mo mineral systems i e porphyry porphyry skarn skarn and hydrothermal veins the latter can be further subdivided into quartz vein and carbonatite vein types although mo mineralization in the belt began in the paleoproterozoic 1680 24 to 2044 14 ma all economically significant deposits were formed during the mesozoic re os dating of molybdenite has shown that there are three episodes of mo mineralization i e late triassic 233 221 ma late jurassic to early cretaceous 148 138 ma and early to middle cretaceous 131 112 ma late triassic mo deposits developed as molybdenite quartz veins and carbonatite vein types stable isotope systematics c o s and high contents of re and sr indicate that the carbonatite mo veins are mantle derived porphyry and porphyry skarn mo mineral deposits were formed in the late jurassic to early cretaceous and early to middle cretaceous the late jurassic to early cretaceous granite porphyries that are associated with the mo deposits usually occupy less than 1 5 km2 at the surface and are situated in the east qinling area far west of china s continental margin on the other hand the early to middle cretaceous batholiths and granite porphyries with associated mo deposits are located in the dabieshan area and eastern part of the east qinling area the late jurassic to early creataceous granitoids and related mo deposits possibly formed in a back arc extensional setting of the eurasian continental margin which was probably triggered by the oblique subduction of the izanagi plate the early to middle cretaceous batholiths and granite porphyries are linked to the tectonic regime of lithospheric thinning asthenospheric upwelling and partial melting of the crust induced by a change in izanagi plate motion parallel to the continent margin in the east qinling dabie belt there are vein type pb zn ag deposits surrounding porphyry and or porphyry skarn mo w deposits forming well defined ore clusters the same spatial arrangement i e porphyry mo stockworks and outlying pb zn ag ore veins is also observed at the deposit scale thus mo porphyry stockworks and distal polymetallic veins belong to the same ore system and may reflect an outward temperature decrease from the highly fractionated granite plutons both porphyry stockworks and polymetallic veins can be used as vectors for further prospecting

a new approach for electron microprobe zircon fission track thermochronology abstract fission track thermochronology ftt has been applied for decades to quantify rates and timing of processes in the shallow crust the most widely used approach is the external detector method edm in this conventional approach an age is obtained by counting both the fossil 238u spontaneous fission and the induced 235u induced fission tracks using an optical microscope the induced tracks are obtained through the irradiation of the sample with thermal neutrons in the nuclear reactor which causes fission of 235u based on the studies carried out by gombosi et al 2014 we present an alternative method of dating zircons using electron probe microprobe analysis epma to measure uranium concentration u the electron microprobe analysis fission track epma ft method was applied to three samples of rapidly cooled zircons the fish canyon tuff pocos de caldas syenite and serra geral zircons the analyses were performed using two approaches 1 using the age equation described in gombosi et al 2014 and 2 using a new age equation calibration developed for this work the results using the gombosi et al 2014 age equation were 26 7 4 1 ma 80 6 12 8 ma and 130 9 20 1 ma respectively and the results using the age equation from this work were 27 8 1 9 ma 83 8 7 7 ma and 136 12 ma respectively the uncertainty of the age is affected mainly by 238u concentration and s the spontaneous fission track density determinations other factors can affect the uncertainty of the age but their contributions are smaller for all samples the yield ages found by the two methods are consistent and overlap within two standard deviations of published reference ages determined from other radiometric techniques i e k ar 40ar 39ar and or u pb and traditional ftt by the edm

la icp ms trace element analysis of pyrite from the xiaoqinling gold district china implications for ore genesis abstract the xiaoqinling district the second largest gold producing district in china is located on the southern margin of the north china craton it consists of three ore belts namely the northern ore belt the middle ore belt and the southern ore belt pyrite from the dahu gold deposit in the northern ore belt and wenyu and yinxin gold deposits in the southern ore belt were investigated using a combination of ore microscopy and in situ laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry la icp ms a range of trace elements was analyzed including au te ag pb bi cu co ni zn mo hg as and si the results show that there are no systematic differences between the trace element compositions of pyrite in the three deposits from different ore belts in general au concentrations in pyrite are low from 2 rich ore fluids spatial association with large scale compressional structures of the qinling orogen 18 o and d data suggestive of mixing between metamorphic and meteoric waters 34 s and pb isotopic data that point to a mixed crustal mantle source all point to typical orogenic type gold deposits high ni concentrations up to 8425 ppm of pyrite possibly linked to deep seated mafic ultramafic metamorphic rocks provide further evidence on the orogenic gold deposit affinity but against the model of a granitic derivation of the mineralizing fluid as previously suggested by some workers generally low au concentration in pyrite is also consistent with those from worldwide orogenic gold deposits therefore the gold mineralization in the xiaoqinling district is described as orogenic type and is probably related to indosinian collision between the north china craton and the yangtze craton

gold deposits in the xiaoqinling xiong ershan region qinling mountains central china the gold rich xiaoqinling xiong ershan region in eastern shaanxi and western henan provinces central china lies about 30 50 km inland of the southern margin of the north china craton more than 100 gold deposits and occurrences are concentrated in the xiaoqinling west xiaoshan middle and xiong ershan east areas late archean gneiss of the taihua group and middle proterozoic metavolcanic rocks of the xiong er group are the main host rocks for the deposits mesozoic granitoids ca 178 104 ma are present in most gold districts but deposits are typically hosted in the precambrian basement rocks hundreds of meters to as far as 10 km from the intrusions and related hornfels zones deposits in the xiaoqinling and xiaoshan areas are best classified as orogenic gold deposits with ores occurring in a number of distinct belts both in quartz veins and disseminated in altered metamorphic rocks alteration assemblages are dominated by quartz sericite pyrite and carbonate minerals the ore forming fluids were low salinity co2 rich and characterized by isotopically heavy 18o four deposits dongchuang wenyu yangzhaiyu and dahu in the xiaoqinling area each contain resources of about 1 moz au some of the gold deposits in the xiong ershan area represent more shallowly emplaced tellurium enriched orogenic systems which include resources of approximately 1 1 5 moz au at shanggong and beiling or tantou others are epithermal deposits e g qiyugou and dianfang that are hosted in volcanic breccia pipes isotopic dates for all gold deposits although often contradictory generally cluster between 172 99 ma and are coeval with emplacement of the post kinematic granitoids the gold deposits formed during a period of relaxation of far field compressional stresses clearly subsequent to the extensive paleozoic early mesozoic accretion of arc terranes and the yangtze craton onto the southern margin of the north china craton hydrothermal and magmatic events occurred locally where extension related precambrian basement uplifting took place along the craton margin fluids for the orogenic gold deposits in the xiaoqinling xiaoshan and xiong ershan areas may have been released from evolving magmas or resulted from prograde metamorphic reactions within the uplift zones alternatively for the epithermal gold deposits at shallower levels in the xiong ershan area gold transporting fluids were mainly exsolved from coeval magmas although meteoric water was also involved in these hydrothermal systems