Earth Science Frontiers ›› 2020, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (5): 99-115.DOI: 10.13745/j.esf.sf.2020.5.37

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Genesis of the Keluo Au deposit in the Nenjiang-Heihe tectonic melange belt, Heilongjiang Province: evidence from chemical composition and pyrite He-Ar, S, Pb isotopes

LI Chenglu1(), LI Shengrong2, YUAN Maowen2, DU Bingying3, LI Wenlong1, Masroor ALAM4, LIU Dongyuan2, LIU Hao2   

  1. 1. Heilongjiang Institute of Natural Resources, Harbin 150036, China
    2. China University of Geosciences(Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
    3. Heilongjiang Institute of Geological Sciences, Harbin 150080, China
  • Received:2020-03-05 Revised:2020-04-21 Online:2020-09-25 Published:2020-09-25

Abstract:

The mid-sized Keluo gold deposit is located in the Heihe-Nenjiang tectonic melange belt, Heilongjiang Province, China. The ore bodies in the deposit occur as both ductile deformed and disseminated-massive types. The deposit has been significantly mined but the genesis of the deposit is elusive. Here we report typomorphic characteristics and He-Ar, S, Pb isotopes of pyrite, intending to establish the ore genesis mechanisms of the Keluo gold deposit. Pyrite from ductile deformed ore body showed lower S/Fe ratios (mean 1.99) and As content (mean 382×10-6), and higher Au (mean 383×10-6), Ag (152×10-6) and Co (1249×10-6) contents than pyrite from disseminated-massive ores (mean S/Fe, As, Au, Ag, and Co values of 2.01, 503×10-6, 234×10-6, 96×10-6, 845×10-6, respectively). Trace elements of the two types of pyrite showed similar REE features, i.e. enriched LREE, depleted HREE, and inclined REE patterns. The total REE content of pyrite ranged from 17.00×10-6 to 66.95×10-6 with deformed pyrite showing lower REE concentrations, and LREE/HREE ratios ranged from 5.25 to 12.50. The large variations in Y/Ho, Zr/Hf and Nb/Ta ratios indicate an unstable ore-forming environment. Moreover, the 3He and 4He values of pyrite were (2.405-10.811)×10-13 and (3.35-4.99)×10-7, respectively. The 3He vs. 4He and R/Ra vs. 40Ar/36Ar discrimination diagrams indicated a dominated mantle source with minor contribution from continental crust, further implying that the meteoric water played a vital role during gold mineralization. The δ 34S values of pyrite ranged from +2.3‰ to +7.6‰ showing lower δ34S values for deformed pyrite than disseminated-massive pyrite, with mean values of +2.65‰ and +5.07‰, respectively. The Pb isotopic study of pyrite showed that the ratios206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb ranged in 18.157-18.211, 15.542-15.594 and 38.032-38.218, respectively, and all these values indicate great affinity with ore genesis. Pb isotopic compositions further show that deformed pyrite has relatively low mean values of 206Pb/204Pb (18.171), 207Pb/204Pb (15.542), and 208Pb/204Pb (38.054), as compared with those of disseminated-massive pyrite (18.200, 15.581 and 38.172, respectively). The Co/Ni ratios and Co vs. Ni discrimination diagram indicate that the Keluo deposit belongs to the hydrothermal type, whereas the w(Fe+S) vs. w(As) and Co-Ni-As diagrams indicate that the main mineralization stage exhibits epithermal characteristic. Combined with previous regional deformation events, deposit features, geochronological and fluid inclusion studies, we conclude that there are two stages of mineralization in the Keluo deposit, including the Triassic orogenic and the later Cretaceous epithermal type. Based on this study, we propose that more attention should be paid to orogenic Au during ore prospecting in the Heihe-Nenjiang tectonic melange belt.

Key words: typomorphic characteristics, He-Ar,S,Pb isotopes, pyrite, Keluo gold deposit, Nenjiang-Heihe, Heilongjiang Province

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