Mineral provinces and material provenance of the surficial sediments near the Zhongsha Islands in the South China Sea

Characteristics and distribution patterns of clastic minerals （0. 063 -0. 125 mm） in bottom sediments represent a significant indi- cator for the identification of the origin of sediment. One hundred and fourteen surface sediment samples, which were collected from the area near the Zhongsha Islands in the South China Sea, were analysed to identify the mineral suites and their distributions in the study area. The area can be divided into three mineral provinces ： （Ⅰ） a province of biogenic minerals, which mainly originate from the Zhongsha Atoll ; （ Ⅱ） a province of volcanogenic minerals, which are mainly derived from local basaltic seamounts and small-scale volcanoes that are probably erupting, with some influences from the island-arc volcanic region around the South China Sea; and （ Ⅲ） a mixed mineral province whose material source includes biogenic minerals, volcanogenic minerals and terrigenous minerals; the last province can be subdivided into a mixed mineral sub-province of the northeastern part of the study area, in which terrigenous minerals are mainly derived from China＇ s Mainland and do not exceed 17°N, and a mixed mineral subprovince of the southeastern part of the study area, in which terrigenous minerals are derived from Kalimantan and Indochina Peninsula and might be further transported into the deep sea basin through submarine canyons.

Mineral provinces and matter provenance of the surficial sediments in the western Philippine Sea:implication for modern sedimentation in West Pacific marginal basin

The characteristics and distribution patterns of detrital minerals （0. 063 -0. 125 mm） in marine sediments provide a significant indicator for the identification of the origin of sediment. The detrital mineral composition of 219 surface sediment samples was ana- lysed to identify the distribution of sediments within the western Philippine Sea. The area can be divided into three mineral provinces ： （Ⅰ） province east of the Philippine Trench, the detrital minerals in this province are mainly composed of calcareous or siliceous organisms, with the addition of volcanogenic minerals from an adjacent island arc; （Ⅱ） middle mineral province, clastic minerals including feldspar, quartz and colorless volcanic glass, sourced from seamounts with intermediate-acid volcanic rock, or erupting intermediate-acid volcano; （Ⅲ） province west of the Palau--Kyushu Ridge, the matter provenance within this province is complex; the small quantity of feldspar and quartz may be sourced from seamounts or erupting volcano with intermediate - acid composition, with a component of volcanic scoria sourced from a volcano erupting on the Palau--Kyushu Ridge. it is suggested that, （ 1 ） Biogenic debris of the study area is closely related to water depth, with the amount of biogenic debris controlled by carbonate lysocline. （2） Volcaniclastic matter derived from the adjacent island arc can be entrained by oceanic currents and transported towards the abyssal basin over a short distance. The weathering products of volcanic rocks of the submarine plateau （e. g. , Benham Plateau） and adjacent ridges provide an important source of detrital sedimentation, and the influence scope of them is constrained by the intensity of submarine weathering. （3） Terrigenous sediments from the continent of Asia and the adjacent Philippine island arc have little influence on the sedimentation of this study area, and the felsic mineral component is probably sourced from volcanic seamounts of intermediate-acid composition.

The Emeishan large igneous province:A synthesis

The late Permian Emeishan large igneous province （EL1P） covers -0.3× 10-6 kmL of the western margin of the Yangtze Block and Tibetan Plateau with displaced, correlative units in northern Vietnam （Song Da zone）. The ELIP is of particular interest because it contains numerous world-class base metal deposits and is contemporaneous with the late Capitanian （-260 Ma） mass extinction. The flood basalts are the signature feature of the ELIP but there are also ultramafic and silicic volcanic rocks and layered mafic- ultramafic and silicic plutonic rocks exposed. The EL1P is divided into three nearly concentric zones （i.e. inner, middle and outer） which correspond to progressively thicker crust from the inner to the outer zone. The eruptive age of the ELIP is constrained by geological, paleomagnetic and geochronological evidence to an interval of 〈3 Ma. The presence of picritic rocks and thick piles of flood basalts testifies to high temperature thermal regime however there is uncertainty as to whether these magmas were derived from the subcontinental lithospheric mantle or sub-lithospheric mantle （i.e. asthenosphere or mantle plume） sources or both. The range of Sr （Isr ≈ 0.7040-0.7132）, Nd （ENd（t） ≈ -14 tO ＋8）, Pb （206-pb/204-pb1 ≈ 17.9-20.6） and Os （Yos ≈ -5 to ＋11） isotope values of the ultramafic and mafic rocks does not permit a conclusive answer to ultimate source origin of the primitive rocks but it is clear that some rocks were affected by crustal contamination and the presence of near-depleted isotope compo- sitions suggests that there is a sub-lithospheric mantle component in the system. The silicic rocks are derived by basaltic magmas/rocks through fractional crystallization or partial melting, crustal melting or by interactions between mafic and crustal melts. The formation of the Fe-Ti-V oxide-ore deposits is probably due to a combination of fractional crystallization of Ti-rich basalt and fluxing of C02-rich fluids whereas the Ni-Cu-（PGE） deposits are related to crystallization and crustal contamination of mafic or ultramafic magmas with subsequent segregation of a sulphide-rich portion. The ELIP is considered to be a mantle plume-derived LIP however the primary evidence for such a model is less convincing （e.g. uplift and geochemistry） and is far more complicated than previously suggested but is likely to be derived from a relatively short-lived, plume-like upwelling of mantle-derived magmas. The emplacement of the ELIP may have adversely affected the short-term environmental conditions and contributed to the decline in biota durin~ the late Caoitanian.

Research Progress of the Mineralization of Carbonate-Hosted Pb-Zn Deposits in the Sichuan-Yunnan-Guizhou Pb-Zn Metallogenic Province, Southwest China

The Sichuan-Yunnan-Guizhou （SYG） Pb-Zn metallogenic province in the western Yangtze Block, is a key component of the low-temperature metallogenic domain in South China. In this area, more than 400 Pb-Zn deposits have been discovered, and the total proven reserves are up to 260 million tons with lead and zinc grade reaching 10%, even up to 30%.

Geochemical Characteristics and Uranium Mineralization Potential of The Yanshanian Granite in The West of Yunnan Province

1 Introduction The Sanjiang metallogenic belt is one of the important nonferrous metal metallogenic belts in China,the potential resources of copper,lead,zinc,silver,gold and tin are huge(Zhengqian et al.,1993).In the west of Yunnan province has a lot of Yanshanian granite,according to 1:20 million test data,development of granite belt rich in radioactive minerals in the west of Yunnan

Sources of the Laoxiongdong carbonate-hosted Pb–Zn deposit in Southwest China:constraints from S–Pb–Zn isotopic compositions

The Sichuan-Yunnan-Guizhou(SYG)Pb-Zn mineral province,which has significant Pb-Zn repositories in China,is situated in the western Yangtze Block.Despite decades of research,the Pb-Zn source of deposits is still disputed between the basement rocks,sedimentary wall rocks,or the Emeishan flood basalts.The newly-discovered Laoxiongdong Pb-Zn deposit is hosted by the Late Ediacaran Dengying Formation in the SYG province.Moreover,the Laoxiongdong orebodies lie between regional deep faults and close to the Proterozoic basement and Emeishan basalts.Hence,this deposit represents a good case study on the ore-forming material source for the regional Pb-Zn mineralization.The Laoxiongdong Pb-Zn ores are massive,vein,or disseminated and have mainly sphalerite,galena,pyrite,quartz,and calcite.In this paper,we present new sulfide S-Pb-Zn isotope data of the deposit.The sulfideδ34SCDT values(+11.8 to+16.5‰)suggest that the reduced sulfur was mainly sourced from evaporites in the Late Ediacaran-Cambrian sequences.Pb isotopic ratios(206Pb/204Pb=18.004-18.107,207Pb/204Pb=15.652-15.667,and 208Pb/204Pb=38.037-38.248)suggest that the lead metal was primarily originated from the basement rocks.The sphaleriteδ66Zn values(+0.16 to+0.37‰)are also highly similar(within error)to those of basement rocks(+0.10 to+0.34‰),suggesting a basement-rocks zinc source with minor contributions from the carbonate host rocks and Emeishan flood basalts.The narrow sphalerite Zn isotopic range(0.21‰)also indicates that the Zn isotopic fractionation between the sphalerite and initial fluid was limited during the sphalerite ore precipitation.Therefore,we propose that both the Late Ediacaran Dengying Formation rocks and Proterozoic basement rocks were important ore-forming material source for the Laoxiongdong deposit,whereas the Emeishan flood basalts represent only a minor ore-material source.