Earth Science Frontiers ›› 2021, Vol. 28 ›› Issue (2): 305-319.DOI: 10.13745/j.esf.sf.2020.6.27

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Characteristics and prospecting significance of thermoluminescence patterns and cell parameters of quartz from the undersea gold deposit off northern Sanshandao, Jiaodong Peninsula

SONG Yingxin1(), LI Shengrong2,*(), SHEN Junfeng2, ZHANG Long3, LI Wentao4, ZENG Yongjie5   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Gold Mineralization Processes and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Natural Resources; Shandong Key Laboratory of Mineralization Geological Processes and Resources Utilization in Metallic Minerals; Shandong Institute of Geological Sciences, Jinan 250013, China
    2. State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources; School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences(Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
    3. Mudanjiang Natural Resources Survey Center, China Geological Survey, Mudanjiang 157000, China
    4. Yunnan Provincial Seismological Bureau, Kunming 650225, China
    5. Geological Exploration Technology Institute of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing 210049, China
  • Received:2019-01-01 Revised:2020-02-16 Online:2021-03-25 Published:2021-04-03
  • Contact: LI Shengrong

Abstract:

The Jiaodong Peninsula is one of the most important bases of gold resources in China. In recent years, great breakthroughs have been made in deep prospecting of gold deposits, especially a super large undersea gold deposit off northern Sanshandao has been discovered. Presently only limited research has been done on this deposit. Based on the genetic and mineral prospecting theory, we systematically studied the temporospatial distribution patterns of thermoluminescence and cell parameters of connective mineral quartz from the deposit. We found the following typomorphic characteristics of quartz very important for gold prospecting: (1) The quartz thermoluminescence curves showed characteristic singlet and shoulder-like peaks at the mid range temperatures in the early and late mineralization stages, and an asymmetric doublet peak with the strongest emission intensity over the mid-to-high temperature range in the main mineralization stage. (2) The peak temperatures and emission intensities on the thermoluminescence curves showed vertical fluctuations in volatility correlating with gold mineralization. (3) Quartz (Δa0/a0)/(Δc0/c0) values ranged between 1.92 and 3.30, indicating gap filling was the major way of incorporating trace elements into quartz. (4) Spatiotemporal variation of quartz cell parameters followed a clear pattern of increasing a0 and V0, decreasing c0/a0 from the early to late mineralization stages, indicating temperature and elemental impurity had an influence on quartz cell parameters. (5) In the depth of the ore body, the quartz thermoluminescence curves showed higher peak temperature, larger emission intensity fluctuation, singlet and shoulder-like peaks, and large a0 and V0 values, suggesting a good downward mineralization prospect.

Key words: thermoluminescence of quartz, cell parameters, distribution characteristics in time and space, prospecting sign, Sanshandao undersea gold deposit

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