The Cihai iron-cobalt deposit is located in the southern part of the eastern Tianshan iron- polymetallic metallogenic belt. Anomalous native gold and bismuth have been newly identified in Cinan mining section of the C...The Cihai iron-cobalt deposit is located in the southern part of the eastern Tianshan iron- polymetallic metallogenic belt. Anomalous native gold and bismuth have been newly identified in Cinan mining section of the Cihai deposit. Ore formation in the deposit can be divided into three stages based on geological and petrographical observations： （I） skarn, with the main mineral assemblage being garnet-pyroxene-magnetite; （II） retrograde alteration, forming the main iron ores and including massive magnetite, native gold, native bismuth, and cobalt-bearing minerals, with the main mineral assemblage being ilvaite-magnetite-native gold-native bismuth; and （III） quartz-calcite- sulfide assemblage that contains quartz, calcite, pyrrhotite, cobaltite, and safflorite. Native gold mainly coexists with native bismuth, and they are paragenetically related. The temperature of initial skarn formation was higher than 340~C, and then subsequently decreased to -312~C and ~266~C. The temperature of the hydrothermal fluid during the iron ore depositional event was higher than the melting point of native bismuth （271~C）, and native bismuth melt scavenged gold in the hydrothermal fluid, forming a Bi-Au melt. As the temperature decreased, the Bi-Au melt was decomposed into native gold and native bismuth. The native gold and native bismuth identified during this study can provide a scientific basis for prospecting and exploration for both gold- and bismuth-bearing deposits in the Cihai mining area. The gold mineralization in Cihai is a part of the Early Permian Cu-Ni-Au-Fe polymetallic ore-forming event, and its discovery has implications for the resource potential of other iron skarn deposits in the eastern Tianshan.展开更多
The Tuolugou cobalt deposit is the first independent large-scale Co- and Au-bearing deposit discovered in northwestern China. It is located in the eastern Kunlun orogenic belt in Qinghai Province, and occurs conformab...The Tuolugou cobalt deposit is the first independent large-scale Co- and Au-bearing deposit discovered in northwestern China. It is located in the eastern Kunlun orogenic belt in Qinghai Province, and occurs conformably in low-grade metamorphic volcano-sedimentary rock series with well-developed Na-rich hydrothermal sedimentary rocks and typical hydrothermal sedimentary ore fabrics. Fluid inclusions and isotopic geochemistry studies suggest that cobalt mineralizing fluid is dominated by NaCI-H20 system, accompanied by NaCI-CO2-H20-N2 system responsible for gold mineralization. Massive, banded and disseminated pyrite ores have similar compositions of He and Ar isotopes from the mineralizing fluid, with 3He/4He range between 0.10 to 0.31Ra （averaging 0.21Ra）, and 4~Ar/36Ar between 302 and 569 （averaging 373）, which reflects that Co mineralizing fluids derived dominantly from meteoric water deeply circulating. ~34S values of pyrite approaches to zero （~34S ranging from -4.5%o to ＋1.5%o, centering around -1.8%o to -0.2%o）, reflecting its deep source. Ore lead is characterized by distinctly high radiogenesis, with 2~6pb/2~4pb〉19.279, 2~7pb/2~4pb〉15.691 and 2~spb/2~4pb〉39.627, and its values show an increase trend from country rocks, regional Paleozoic volcanic rocks to ores. This may have suggested that high radiogentic ore Pb derived mainly from country rocks by leaching meteoric water-dominated hydrothermal fluid during its circulation at depth. Cobalt occurs mainly in sulfide phase （such as pyrite）, but cobalt enrichment, and presence and increasing contents of Co-bearing minerals have a positive correlation with metamorphic degree. The Tuolugou deposit and other typical strata-bound Co-Cu-Au deposits have striking similarities in the geological features and metallogenic pattern of primary cobalt. All of them are syngenetic hydrothermal exhalative sedimentation in origin.展开更多
基金jointly supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (grant No.2012CB416803)the Ministry of Land and Resources Public Welfare Industry Special Funds for Scientific Research Project (grant No.201211073)NSFC (grant No.41372062)
文摘The Cihai iron-cobalt deposit is located in the southern part of the eastern Tianshan iron- polymetallic metallogenic belt. Anomalous native gold and bismuth have been newly identified in Cinan mining section of the Cihai deposit. Ore formation in the deposit can be divided into three stages based on geological and petrographical observations： （I） skarn, with the main mineral assemblage being garnet-pyroxene-magnetite; （II） retrograde alteration, forming the main iron ores and including massive magnetite, native gold, native bismuth, and cobalt-bearing minerals, with the main mineral assemblage being ilvaite-magnetite-native gold-native bismuth; and （III） quartz-calcite- sulfide assemblage that contains quartz, calcite, pyrrhotite, cobaltite, and safflorite. Native gold mainly coexists with native bismuth, and they are paragenetically related. The temperature of initial skarn formation was higher than 340~C, and then subsequently decreased to -312~C and ~266~C. The temperature of the hydrothermal fluid during the iron ore depositional event was higher than the melting point of native bismuth （271~C）, and native bismuth melt scavenged gold in the hydrothermal fluid, forming a Bi-Au melt. As the temperature decreased, the Bi-Au melt was decomposed into native gold and native bismuth. The native gold and native bismuth identified during this study can provide a scientific basis for prospecting and exploration for both gold- and bismuth-bearing deposits in the Cihai mining area. The gold mineralization in Cihai is a part of the Early Permian Cu-Ni-Au-Fe polymetallic ore-forming event, and its discovery has implications for the resource potential of other iron skarn deposits in the eastern Tianshan.
基金supported by grant no K090 1 from the Scientific Research Fund of the China Central Non-Commercial Institutethe Program of Excellent Young Scientists from the Ministry of Land and Resources(200809)+1 种基金grant No40302019 from the National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaGeological Survey Program Grant 1212011085528 from the China Geological Survey
文摘The Tuolugou cobalt deposit is the first independent large-scale Co- and Au-bearing deposit discovered in northwestern China. It is located in the eastern Kunlun orogenic belt in Qinghai Province, and occurs conformably in low-grade metamorphic volcano-sedimentary rock series with well-developed Na-rich hydrothermal sedimentary rocks and typical hydrothermal sedimentary ore fabrics. Fluid inclusions and isotopic geochemistry studies suggest that cobalt mineralizing fluid is dominated by NaCI-H20 system, accompanied by NaCI-CO2-H20-N2 system responsible for gold mineralization. Massive, banded and disseminated pyrite ores have similar compositions of He and Ar isotopes from the mineralizing fluid, with 3He/4He range between 0.10 to 0.31Ra （averaging 0.21Ra）, and 4~Ar/36Ar between 302 and 569 （averaging 373）, which reflects that Co mineralizing fluids derived dominantly from meteoric water deeply circulating. ~34S values of pyrite approaches to zero （~34S ranging from -4.5%o to ＋1.5%o, centering around -1.8%o to -0.2%o）, reflecting its deep source. Ore lead is characterized by distinctly high radiogenesis, with 2~6pb/2~4pb〉19.279, 2~7pb/2~4pb〉15.691 and 2~spb/2~4pb〉39.627, and its values show an increase trend from country rocks, regional Paleozoic volcanic rocks to ores. This may have suggested that high radiogentic ore Pb derived mainly from country rocks by leaching meteoric water-dominated hydrothermal fluid during its circulation at depth. Cobalt occurs mainly in sulfide phase （such as pyrite）, but cobalt enrichment, and presence and increasing contents of Co-bearing minerals have a positive correlation with metamorphic degree. The Tuolugou deposit and other typical strata-bound Co-Cu-Au deposits have striking similarities in the geological features and metallogenic pattern of primary cobalt. All of them are syngenetic hydrothermal exhalative sedimentation in origin.
