Re-Os Age of Cu-Ni Ores from the Huangshandong Cu-Ni Sulfide Deposit in the East Tianshan Mountains and Its Implication for Geodynamic Processes

An isochron age of 282±20 (95% conf. limit) Ma of the sulfide ores in the Huangshandong Cu-Ni sulfide deposit, the East Tianshan Mountains has been obtained through Re-Os isotopic measurement. The age implies that the Cu-Ni sulfide deposit and other related deposits in the same area occurred in a Permian extensional environment of post-collision instead of Devonian-Early Carboniferous ophiolite-related oceanic or island arc environments inferred before. It shares the same ages with the orogenic and epithermal gold deposit systems in the same area. An initial 187Os/188Os ratio of 0.25±0.04 (1σ) and a γos value of 99 on average display the participation of large quantities of crustal components into the rock-forming and ore-forming system during mineralization and magmatic emplacement.

Re-Os Dating of the Pulang Porphyry Copper Deposit in Zhongdian,NW Yunnan, and Its Geological Significance

The Pulang porphyry copper deposit is located in the Zhongdian island arc belt, NW Yunnan, in the central part of the Sanjiang area, SW China, belonging to the southern segment of the Yidun island arc belt on the western margin of the Yangtze Platform. In the Yidun island arc, there occur well-known 'Gacun-style' massive sulfide deposits in the northern segment and plenty of porphyry copper deposits in the southern segment, of which the Pulang porphyry copper deposit is one of the representatives. Like the Yulong porphyry copper deposit, this porphyry copper deposit is also one of the most important porphyry copper deposits in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. But it is different from other porphyry copper deposits in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (e.g. those in the Gangdise porphyry copper belt and Yulong porphyry copper belt) in that it formed in the Indosinian period, while others in the Himalayan period. Because of its particularity among the porphyry copper deposits of China, this porphyry copper deposit is of great significance for the study of the basic geology and the evaluation and prediction of mineral resources in the Zhongdian island arc belt. However, no accurate chronological data are available for determining the timing of mineralization of the porphyry copper deposit. By field observation in the study area and Re-Os dating of molybdenite and K-Ar dating of hydrothermal minerals and whole rock from the typical geological bodies, the timing of mineralization of the porphyry copper deposit has systematically been determined for the first time. The K-Ar age for the hydrothermal mineralization of biotite-quartz monzonitic porphyry that has undergone patassic silicate (biotite and K-feldspar) alteration ranges from 235.4±2.4 to 221.5±2.0 Ma and the Re-Os age for molybdenite in the quartz-molybdenite stage is ~213±3.8 Ma. These data are very close to each other, suggesting that the ore-forming processes of the Pulang porphyry copper deposit was completed in the Indosinian. But the K-feldspar K-Ar age of the main orebodies suggests that the hydrothermal activity related to porphyry copper mineralization continued till ~182.5±1.8 Ma. This indicates that the lifespan of the hydrothermal system related to porphyry copper mineralization may have lasted at least 40 Ma. This hydrothermal thermal system with such a long lifespan may be one of the necessary conditions for forming large porphyry copper deposits with a high grade. No late Yanshanian and/or Himalayan magmatism (mineralization) were superimposed in the Pulang porphyry copper deposit.

Re-Os dating of Mo-bearing black shale of the Laoyaling deposit, Tongling, Anhui Province, China

Laoyaling is a typical stratiform deposit in the Tongling district and the molybdenum orebody is hosted by black shale of the Dalong Formation of the Upper Permian system. Eight black shale samples from the Laoyaling Mo orebody were dated by Re-Os technique using ICP-MS,which give an isochron age of 234.2±7.3 Ma with an initial ^187Os/^188 Os ratio of 1.37±0.39. The apparent Re-Os age is a few million years younger than the depositional age of the Late Permian. The young isochron age may be caused by the later hydrothermal disturbance or mass fractionation during ICP-MS measurement. However, the obtained isochron age is close to the depositional age and far earlier than those of the Late Yanshanian intrusions. It suggests that the Mo ore of the Laoyaling deposit is sedimentary in origin and not related to the Late Yanshanian magmatism. Black shales of the Upper Permian are distributed widely in the Mid-Lower Yangtze region, our result is important for understanding the ore-forming processes in the region and broadens the exploration target.

Long-chain alkenones in sulfate lakes and its paleoclimatic implications

The proxy of U37 index is widely applied to K ’ reconstructing paleotemperature in the marine environment. However, the long-chain alkenones (LCAs) research is rarely reported in the liminic system. In this paper, we studied LCAs in the surface sediments (0 —10 cm) of nine sulfate lakes in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province, China. LCAs are detected in eight of the nine lakes, except a dry salt lake —Lake Lop. The result shows that LCAs might be uni- versal in the sulfate lakes. In most of the surface samples, the sequence of the abundance of the long-chain alkenones is C37>C38>C39>C40. And C37︰4 methyl ketone is a predominant compound in the C37 alkenone homologue. Based on regres- sion analysis of U37 -ratios and the average annual, seasonal K ’ (spring, summer, autumn, winter) temperatures, the linear K ’ relativity of U37 -ratios and mean annual temperatures is superior to the others, and the correlation coefficient is 0.88 (r2 = 0.88). The linear relationship of U37 and the average K ’ annual temperature in different water chemistry environ- K ’ ments suggests that the mechanisms controlling U37 index in the saline lakes might be the same as those in the ocean environment. The alkenone unsaturation could become an important paleotemperature proxy in the lacustrine envi- ronment.