Element-Assemblage Zoning Features of Gold Deposits in the Cambrian Silicalite Formation,Western Qinling

The gold deposits, occurring in the south subzone of western Qinling, are the onlytypical and important strata-bound gold deposits, which are associated with submarine exhala-tive sedimentation. The god deposits include the La, erma ore deposit, the Qiongmo ore de-posit and the Yaxiang ore occurrence. They are hosted in the Cambrian silicalite formationcomposed of black chert and slate. The presence of typical chert offers important evidence to e-valuate the Possib1e submarine exhalative system and its role in the formation of the gold de-posits, which are closely associated with percolation and diffusion in the horizontal, vertical andaxial directions. Element-assemblage zonation is clearly seen due to differences in element con-centrations in different directions. Such a zonation makes gold, selenium, uranium, copper,stibium, molybdenum, mercury, etc. precipitate in the form of simple 0r composite orebodies.The establishment of the element-assemblage zonation is highly helpful for evaluating directlythe metallogenesis of gold deposits.