Title: Geology, fluid inclusions, and geochemistry of the Zhazixi Sb–W deposit, Hunan, South China
Abstract: The Zhazixi Sb–W deposit in the Xuefeng uplift, South China, exhibits a unique metal association of W and Sb, where the W orebodies are hosted by interlayer fractures and the Sb orebodies are contained within NW-trending faults. This study proposes that the W and Sb mineralization took place in two separate periods. The mineral paragenesis of the W mineralization reveals a mass of quartz, scheelite and minor calcite. The mineral assemblage of the Sb mineralization developed after W mineralization and consists of predominantly quartz and stibnite, and small amounts of native Sb, berthierite, chalcostibnite, pyrite, and chalcopyrite. Fluid inclusions in quartz and coexisting scheelite are dominated by two-phase, liquid-rich, aqueous inclusions at room temperature. Microthermometric studies suggest that ore-forming fluids for W mineralization are characterized by moderate temperatures (170–270 °C), low salinity (3–7 wt% NaCl equiv.), low density (0.75–0.95 g/cm3), and moderate to high pressure (57.2–99.7 MPa) and these fluids experienced a cooling and dilution evolution during W mineralization. Ore-forming fluids for Sb mineralization are epithermal types with low temperatures (150–230 °C), low salinity (4–6 wt% NaCl equiv.), moderate density (0.82–0.94 g/cm3), and high pressure (42.2–122.5 MPa) and these fluids display an evident decline in homogenization temperature during Sb mineralization. Laser Raman analyses of the vapor phase indicate that the ore-forming fluids for both W and Sb mineralization contain a small amount of CO2. The ore-forming fluids for Sb mineralization are identified as predominantly originating from the continental crust, as suggested by the low 3He values (0.009 × 10−12 cc.STP/g) and 3He/4He ratios (0.002–0.056 Ra) as well as high 36Ar values (1.93 × 10−9 cc.STP/g) and 40Ar/36Ar ratios (909.5–2279.7). The source of S is identified to be the Neoproterozoic Wuqiangxi Formation, as traced by the δ34SV-CDT values of stibnite (3.1–9.4‰). The 208Pb/204Pb (37.643–40.222), 207Pb/204Pb (15.456–15.681), and 206Pb/204Pb (17.093–20.042) ratios suggest a mixture of lower crustal and supracrustal Pb sources. It is thus concluded that the ore genesis of the Zhazixi Sb–W deposit is related to the intracontinental orogeny during the early Mesozoic. Fluid mixing is considered to be the critical mechanism involved in W mineralization, whereas a fluid cooling process is responsible for Sb mineralization. Furthermore, the absence of Au is attributed to the low Σas content in Sb-mineralizing fluids.
Publication Year: 2017
Publication Date: 2017-12-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 15
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