Earth Science Frontiers ›› 2022, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (1): 124-142.DOI: 10.13745/j.esf.sf.2021.8.14

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Extreme enrichment and ore-forming mechanism of main mafic magma-related platinum group element deposits in western China

ZHANG Mingjie1(), ZHANG Hongfu2, LIANG Kaikang1, ZHANG Xiaoqi2, LI Si’ao1, ZHANG Junwei3, BAN Shuyue1, WANG Ronghua1, FAN Yuxin1   

  1. 1. Gansu Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources in Western China, School of Earth Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
    2. State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China
    3. Electron Microscopy Center, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
  • Received:2021-06-07 Revised:2021-07-02 Online:2022-01-25 Published:2022-02-22

Abstract:

Neoproterozoic mafic magmatism in western China produced a number of platinum group element (PGE) deposits in different geological time and tectonic geodynamic settings, including the Neoproterozoic Jinchuan Ni-Cu-PGE sulfide deposit located in southwestern margin of the North China Craton, and the Jinbaoshan PGE deposit, a member of the Permian Emeishan large igneous province (LIP) in southwestern China. PGEs as siderophiles are more enriched in the Earth’s core than in the mantle and crust. Therefore, they can be transported into the crust by mantle-derived magma as elemental nanoclusters, alloy or immiscible sulfide melt, and their concentration in the magma tends to increase with the depth and degree of partial melting in the mantle source. PGE-bearing sulfide and other minerals in the magma can be concentrated gradually in the magma chambers and associated conduits through a multi-stage process, and form economically valuable multi-type PGE deposits. The subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) beneath the North and South China Cratons has higher PGE contents than the primitive mantle. The concentration of PGEs in the SCLM of the North China Craton may also decrease from the Palaeozoic to Cenozoic, indicating some PGE extraction magmatisms. Neoproterozoic mafic magmatism in western China is a plausible mechanism of PGE mineralization, as inferred from PGE-rich mantle (plume) source, high PGE content in mantle-derived magma, long-lived magmatic activity as well as multi-stage PGE extreme enrichment by magma-sulfide interaction. A better understanding of the geodynamic settings and mineralization processes in PGE deposits is important for assessing PGE mineralization potential in the region and finding more PGE resources in China.

Key words: ore-forming dynamics, extreme enrichment, mafic magma, platinum group elements, western China

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