Metallogenic Epoch and Ore-forming Environment of the Lamasu Skarn-porphyritic Cu-Zn deposit,western Tianshan,Xinjiang,NW China

Granitic rocks, widely developed in the Lamasu copper ore region, western Tianshan were formed at 390.5±7.7 Ma according to the SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating of the plagioclase granite porphyry. Based on the regional tectonic evolution and published chronological data of both diagenesis and mineralization, the Biezhentao- Kokirqin region was rolled into the orogen associated with the closure of Yili Ocean during early Devonian. The N-S-trending thrust faults were formed during this period and accompanied by the intrusion of granitic rocks. On this stage, the paleo-Asian Ocean Plate entered into the early collision orogenic phase and the plagioclase granite porphyry intruded （390.5±7.7 Ma） and replaced with limestone of the Mesoproterozoic Kusongmuqieke Group, Jixianian System and formed the early phase of skarn-type copper mineralization in the Lamasu region. Furthermore, the subduction-melting of Bayingou Ocean Plate during Carboniferous generated a deep-seated magmatic chamber in the Lamasu copper ore region which located in the northwestern part of the Paleozoic Biezhentao-Kokirqin island arc. The magmatic chamber segregated Cu-bearing magmas, which transported upward to the shallow earth crust along the faults or fractures and formed the Cu-hosting porphyry. According to the research on the characteristics of the ore deposit and the ore-forming environment as mentioned above, the Lamasu Cu-Zn deposit was characterized by the superposing of mineralization at different geological settings and it was skarn-porphyritic type.

Temporo-Spatial Distribution and Evolution of Ore Deposits in the West Sector of the Northern Qilian Mountains

The west sector of the northern Qilian Mountains is well-known for the Jingtieshan-type iron deposits. A new breakthrough has been made in prospecting for gold and copper in recent years. In this paper, the distribution characteristics of ore deposits in the study area are discussed from the viewpoint of tectonic evolution. It is suggested that there are 9 stages of mineralization from the Palaeoproterozoic to Indosinian. Four minerogenetic series and two minerogenetic subseries of ore deposits are recognized. Iron mineralization occurred in several stages, while most of the metals were accumulated in large amounts in the Caledonian. The enrichment and mineralization of gold is related to large-scale shear-strike-slip faults and the ascent and unloading of deep-seated fluids.

Geochronology and Geochemistry of the Middle Proterozoic Aoyougou Ophiolite in the North Qilian Mountains,Northwestern China

The Aoyougou ophiolite lies in an early Palaeozoic orogenic belt of the western North Qilian Mountains, near the Aoyougou valley in Gansu Province, northwestern China. It consists of serpentinite, a cumulate sequence of gabbro and diorite, pillow and massive lavas, diabase and chert. Ages of 1840±2 Ma, 1783±2 Ma and 1784±2 Ma on three zircons from diabase, indicate an early Middle Proterozoic age. The diabases and basalts show light rare-earth element enrichment and have relatively high TiO2 contents, characteristic of ocean island basalts. All of the lavas have low MgO, Cr, Ni contents and Mg numbers indicating a more evolved character. They are believed to have been derived from a more mafic parental magma by fractionation of olivine, Cr-spinel and minor plagioclase. Based on the lava geochemistry and regional geology, the Aoyougou ophiolite was probably believed to have formed at a spreading centre in a small marginal basin. Subduction of the newly formed oceanic lithosphere in the Middle Proterozoic produced a trench-arc-basin system, which is preserved in the North Qilian Mountains.

The Dongcaohe ophiolite from the North Qilian Moun-tains: A fossil oceanic crust of the Paleo-Qilian ocean

The Dongcaohe ophiolite, located at the south of the North Qilian subduction complexes, is a tectonic block with an exposed area of about 3 km×6 km. It consists of an intrusive section overlain by an ex- trusive section. The lower part of the intrusive section consists of cyclic layers of cumulate dunites, troctolites, anorthosites, anorthositic gabbros, and gabbros with small discordant dunite and troctolite bodies. This layered sequence grades upward to isotropic gabbros and gabbronorites, which are overlain by the extrusive sequence of diabasic sheeted dikes and basaltic lavas. The overall mineral crystallization sequence was olivine±Cr-spinel, plagioclase, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, and Fe-Ti oxides. The Cr-spinel (Mg#: 42-66, Cr#: 41-57) in these layered cumulates and present-day abyssal peridotites have similar compositions. Also, the compositional variations of the plagioclase and cli- nopyroxene in the intrusive section reflect crystallization from melts compositionally similar to the present-day ocean basalts. Moreover, the rare earth element (REE) and multi-element distribution pat- terns of the intrusive and extrusive lithologies in the Dongcaohe ophiolite are consistent with crystal- lization of mid-ocean ridge basalts. The zircon grains separated from the gabbronorite have an SHRIMP average 206Pb/238U weighted age of 497 ± 7 Ma, which is considered as the tectonic emplacement age of the Dongcaohe ophiolite. The field occurrence, mineral and whole-rock compositions indicate that the Dongcaohe ophiolite represents a well-persevered oceanic crustal fragment composed of a complete oceanic crustal section of layered cumulates at bottom upgrading through isotropic cumulates to sheeted dikes and lava flows.