Earth Science Frontiers ›› 2020, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (5): 151-170.DOI: 10.13745/j.esf.sf.2020.5.42

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Uplifting and denudation of the Chifeng-Chaoyang gold ore zone in western Liaoning Province since the Early Cretaceous and the implication

SHEN Junfeng(), LI Shengrong, XU Kexin, WANG Yehan, ZHANG Shiquan, XU Yuanquan, HE Zeyu, CHI Lei, WU Jinchao   

  1. School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences(Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
  • Received:2020-04-25 Revised:2020-05-20 Online:2020-09-25 Published:2020-09-25

Abstract:

The viewpoint that the North China Craton (NCC) in eastern China underwent Mesozoic lithospheric destruction has been widely accepted. The Chifeng-Chaoyang gold mineralization zone in western Liaoning Province is a typical ‘destruction’ zone of the north margin because the magmatism and metallogeny of the mineralization zone were a fundamental response to the NCC destruction. Based on the investigation of regional and deposit geologies we studied the two plutons—the Duimiangou intrusive (solidification in 128 Ma) and Dashitougou pluton (solidification in 128-126 Ma) from the Jinchanggouliang and Paishanlou gold mineralization districts, respectively—in terms of mineral assemblage, crystallization temperature, oxygen fugacity, and crystallization pressure. Specifically, we estimated the crystallization pressure of biotite (equal to the crystallization pressure of the pluton) and its average value to be 0.97 kbar and 1.45 kbar, respectively, by Al-in-biotite barometric measurement. We also computed the emplacement depths of the Duimiangou and Dashitougou plutons to be 3.67 km and 5.48 km, respectively, using the above crystallization pressures and a crustal density of 2.7 g/cm3. Combining with the previous data, we estimated the denudation depth in the Chifeng-Chaoyang gold mineralization zone to be 3.67-7.70 km, averaging at 5.27 km. In addition, we compiled the crustal exhumation data on the NCC for comparison. We found that since the early Cretaceous, the total crustal exhumation of the NCC ranged between 2.0-10.0 km; but it is more concentrated between 2.0-6.0 km, averaged at 5.60 km, with varying denudation depths. All above results are very important for the Mesozoic gold prospecting in the NCC.

Key words: biotite, geobarometer, crustal exhumation, western Liaoning Province, North China Craton

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