Late Carboniferous-Early Permian Mafic-Ultramafic Complexes in Beishan,Southwestern Central Asian Orogenic Belt and Their Significance

Numeral Permian mafic-ultramafic complexes occur in the Beishan terrane atthe northeastern margin of the Tarim craton,southwestern Central Asian Orogenic Belt,including the Pobei,Cantoushan,Bijiashan,Hongshishan,Xuanwoling,Zhongposhan and Luodong etc.,intrusions(Qin et al.,2011;Zhang et al.,2017;Xue et al.,2018).These Beishan mafic-ultramafic complexes are composed of peridotite,pyroxenite.

The Main Types of the Urals Mafic-Ultramafic Complexes

The mafic-ultramafic complexes and associated formationsare wide spread within the Ural folded belt,which is located on the boundary of the East European plate and West Siberian sedimentary basin.Two main

Mafic-ultramafic magma activity and copper-nickel sulfide metallogeny during Paleozoic in the Eastern Kunlun Orogenic Belt,Qinghai Province,China

The Eastern Kunlun Orogenic Belt(EKOB)has a complex geological structure and diverse magmatic activities,which are closely related to the Qaidam Basin and the Tethys tectonic evolution.There are at least 3 stages mafic-ultramafic rocks occurred in the Early Paleozoic in EKOB.The first stage is the Later-Silurian to Early Devonian,represented by the giant Xiarihamu super large magmatic Cu-Ni deposit,containing about 1.18 million metric tons(Mt)of nickel with average grades of 0.65%Ni,and its age of ore-forming pyroxene peridotite is 411 Ma;The second stage is the Early Carboniferous,represented by the large Shitoukengde magmatic Cu-Ni sulfide deposit,and its ore-forming age of the olivine websterite is 334 Ma;The third stage of mafic-ultramafic rocks occurred mainly during the Middle-Late Triassic,represented by Xiaojianshan,Lalinggaoli,and Kaimuqi complexes,and no economical ore bodies have been found in this period.The authors summarized the difference between the ore-bearing and the nonmineralized mafic-ultramafic rocks in the EKOB.The olivine of the ore-bearing complexes contains higher MgO and SiO2 content but lower FeO and CaO contents,and the clinopyroxene of ore-bearing complexes contains lower FeO and CaO contents.Crustal sulfur contamination is key to the formation of the giant Xiarihamu Ni deposit,and crustal sulfur contamination degree of the giant magmatic Ni deposit is higher than that of large Ni deposit.The above indicators could guide the exploration and evaluation of similar deposits in the EKOB.

Geochemical characteristics and tectonic setting of the Tuerkubantao mafic-ultramafic intrusion in West Junggar,Xinjiang,China

Mineral chemistry, whole-rock major oxide, and trace element compositions have been determined for the Tuerkubantao mafic-ultramafic intrusion, in order to understand the early Paleozoic tectonic evolution of the West Junggar orogenic belt at the southern margin of the Central Asian orogenic belt. The Tuerkubantao mafic-ultramafic intrusion is a well-differentiated complex comprising peridotite, olivine pyroxenite, gabbro, and diorite. The ultramafic rocks are mostly seen in the central part of the intrusion and surrounded by mafic rocks. The Tuerkubantao intrusive rocks are characterized by enrichment of large ion lithophile elements and depleted high field strength elements relative to N-MORB. In addition, the Tuerkubantao intrusion displays relatively low Th/U and Nb/U （1.13-2.98 and 2.53-7.02, respectively） and high La/Nb and Ba/Nb （1.15 4.19 and 37.7-79.82, respectively）. These features indicate that the primary magma of the intrusion was derived from partial melting of a previously metasomatized mantle source in a subduction setting. The trace element patterns of peridotites, gabbros, and diorite in the Tuerkubantao intrusion have sub-parallel trends, suggesting that the different rock types are related to each other by differentiation of the same primary magma. The intrusive contact between peridotite and gabbro clearly suggest that the Tuerkubantao is not a fragment of an ophiolite. However, the Tuerkubantao intrusion displays many similarities with Alaskan-type mafic-ultramafic intrusions along major sutures of Phanerozoic orogenic belts. Common features include their geodynamic setting, internal lithological zoning, and geochemistry. The striking similarities indicate that the middle Devonian Tuerkubantao intrusion likely formed in a subduction-related setting similar to that of the Alaskan-type intrusions. In combination with the Devonian magmatism and porphyry mineralization, we propose that subduction of the oceanic slab has widely existed in the expansive oceans during the Devonian around the Junggar block.

Olivine Compositional Mapping of Mafic-Ultramafic Complexes in Eastern Xinjiang(NW China):Implications for Cu-Ni Mineralization and Tectonic Dynamics

Early Permian mafic-ultramafic complexes in eastern Xinjiang （新疆） are mainly distributed in the Beishan （北山） area, Mid-Tianshan （天山） massif and Jueluotage （觉罗塔塔） belt. Systematic compositional mapping of olivines from these Early Permian mafic-ultramafic complexes demonstrates that an apparently spatial distribution and heterogeneous partial melting in the mantle source exists from the Beishan area, across the Mid-Tianshan massif, to the Jueluotage belt from the south to the north. This is probably consistent with the spatial evolutional differences and tectonic features of these three belts. The decreasing degree of partial melting, as revealed by decreasing Fo contents of olivines, from south to north and from east to west reflects the southward subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean and the south location of the indistinct mantle plume in the Permian. Simultan ously, NiO and Fo-mapping in olivine also indicates that sulfide segregation before olivine crystallization played an important role in Ni-Cu mineralization in the mafic-ultramafic complexes. Olivines with the compositional range of Fo （77-86） and NiO （less than 0.22 wt.%） are more favorable for Ni-Cu sulfide mineralization.

Lithological Discrimination of the Mafic-Ultramafic Complex, Huitongshan, Beishan, China: Using ASTER Data

The Beishan area has more than seventy mafic-ultramafic complexes sparsely distributed in the area and is of a big potential in mineral resources related to mafic-ultramafic intrusions. Many mafic-ultramafic intrusions which are mostly in small sizes have been omitted by previous works. This research takes Huitongshan as the study area, which is a major district for mafic-ultramafic occurrences in Beishan. Advanced spaceborne thermal emission and reflection radiometer（ASTER） data have been processed and interpreted for mapping the mafic-ultramafic complex. ASTER data were processed by different techniques that were selected based on image reflectance and laboratory emissivity spectra. The visible near-infrared（VNIR） and short wave infrared（SWIR） data were transformed using band ratios and minimum noise fraction（MNF）, while the thermal infrared（TIR） data were processed using mafic index（MI） and principal components analysis（PCA）. ASTER band ratios（6/8, 5/4, 2/1） in RGB image and MNF（1, 2, 4） in RGB image were powerful in distinguishing the subtle differences between the various rock units. PCA applied to all five bands of ASTER TIR imagery highlighted marked differences among the mafic rock units and was more effective than the MI in differentiating mafic-ultramafic rocks. Our results were consistent with information derived from local geological maps. Based on the remote sensing results and field inspection, eleven gabbroic intrusions and a pyroxenite occurrence were recognized for the first time. A new geologic map of the Huitongshan area was created by integrating the results of remote sensing, previous geological maps and field inspection. It is concluded that the workflow of ASTER image processing, interpretation and ground inspection has great potential for mafic-ultramafic rocks identifying and relevant mineral targeting in the sparsely vegetated arid region of northwestern China.

Geophysical prospecting of copper-nickel deposits in Beishan rift zone, Xinjiang

The Beishan rift zone in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was formed due to strong activities of faults on the basement of the Tarim continental crust.Despite the fact that many geological research results of the rift zone have been achieved,only a few studies have been conducted on its regional geophysical characteristics.In this paper,the gravity and magnetic anomalies of the rift zone were highlighted through specific data processing of 1∶50000 high-precision aeromagnetic data and gravity data with a grid spacing of 2 km×2 km.Based on this,the geophysical evidence for the scope and internal structures of the Beishan rift zone was obtained for the first time.The distinct characteristics of magnetic and gravity fields in the areas to the north and south of the Beishan rift zone reveal that deep faults exist between the Beishan rift zone and the geological units on the southern and northern sides.Furthermore,the faults on the two areas contain the bidirectional thrusts and have flower-shaped structures according to the characteristics of the magnetic and gravity fields.The Beishan rift zone can be divided into two tectonomagmatic zones,namely the Zhongposhan-Bijiashan-Cihai-Baishanliang zone(the northern zone)and the Bayiquan-Qixin-Baishan zone(the southern zone).The northern zone can be further subdivided into three comet-shaped anomaly groups(tectonomagmatic areas),while the southern zone can be further subdivided into two tectonomagmatic areas.According to the characteristics of aeromagnetic anomalies and gravity field,19 mafic-ultramafic complexes were delineated.The known Pobei,Hongshishan,and Qixin complexes are all located within the inferred complexes,with estimates of total explored resources of Ni,Cu,and Au of 3×10^(6) t,10×10^(3) t and 10 t,respectively.The prospecting of high-grade copper-nickel deposits should focus on the periphery and deep parts of the known and inferred mafic-ultramafic complexes.Among them,the peripheral strata of the complexes specifically have great prospecting potential of large-scale high-grade copper-nickel deposits of magma injection type.Finally,this paper analyzed the application effects of the rapid airborne-ground-drilling synergetic exploration method in the prospecting of copper-nickel deposits in Qixin,Beishan,Xinjiang,which will provide references for further exploration of copper-nickel deposits in Beishan area,Xinjiang.

新疆图拉尔根镁铁-超镁铁质杂岩体镍铜钴成矿岩浆作用过程:流体化学与碳同位素组成制约

东天山造山带的图拉尔根镁铁-超镁铁杂岩体为一个早古生代长期活动的幔源岩浆通道,大型铜镍钴硫化物矿体赋存于Ⅰ号超镁铁质岩体的顶部,不同类型岩石中辉石矿物的流体挥发份化学组成以H2O为主(平均91%,5400.4mm3/g),其次为H2(2.0%)、H2S(2.3%)和CO2(2.1%);赋矿角闪橄榄岩中CO2和H2S含量最高,辉长岩中流体挥发份含量低于辉石橄榄岩和橄榄辉石岩等岩浆早期结晶的岩石。CO2和CH4的δ13C值位于地壳与甲烷氧化的范围内,甲烷同系物的碳同位素组成具有正序分布模式,部分样品(TLG512)释出的CH4和C2H6具有较重的δ13C值和反序分布特征。表明I号岩体不同类型岩石可能是不同期次岩浆活动的产物,成矿岩浆具有富H2O和H2S的特征,可能起源于被流体交代的亏损地幔源区,混染壳源组分可能为俯冲板片来源蚀变沉积有机质组分。