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Sequence of magma emplacement and sulfide saturation in the Gaojiacun–Lengshuiqing intrusive complex (SW China)

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Abstract

The Lengshuiqing area contains several small intrusions made up of peridotite ± quartz diorite ± granite spatially associated with the Gaojiacun pluton (gabbroids + peridotite + diorite). Ni–Cu sulfide ore occur at Lengshuiqing, hosted in peridotite. SHRIMP U–Pb zircon dating produced the ages of 803 ± 4.2 Ma (peridotite), 807 ± 2.6 Ma (oikocrystic hornblende gabbro), 809 ± 4.3 Ma (hornblende gabbronorites) for the Gaojiacun pluton and 807 ± 3.8 Ma (diorite, intrusion I), 817 ± 6.3 Ma (quartz diorite, intrusion II) and 817 ± 5 Ma (peridotite, intrusion 101) for Lengshuiqing. These ages suggest the emplacement of the Gaojiacun pluton later than the intrusions from Lengshuiqing. The olivine from Lengshuiqing does not contain sulfide inclusions and is relatively Ni-rich (1,150–1,550 ppm Ni), suggesting its crystallisation before the sulfide saturation that generated the Ni–Cu deposits. The olivine of the gabbros in the Gaojiacun pluton is Ni-poor (250–800 ppm), which indicates crystallisation from a severely metal-depleted magma after a sulfide saturation event. The olivine in the peridotites from the Gaojiacun pluton has 800–1,150 ppm Ni and contains sulfide inclusions. Moreover, geological evidence suggests the genesis of the peridotites from Gaojiacun in conduits that were ascending through the gabbroids. A sequence of at least three stages of magma emplacement is proposed: (1) Lengshuiqing; (2) gabbroids from Gaojiacun; (3) peridotites from Gaojiacun. Given the age differences, the intrusions at Lengshuiqing and the Gaojiacun pluton might have been produced by different magmatic events.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is based on research funded by Anglo Platinum and by a THRIP grant from the South African Government under the auspices of the National Research Foundation (NRF). Dr. Willie Oldewage and Dr. Christian Reinke, from the University of Johannesburg, are thanked for the assistance during the measurement of olivine compositions. We are grateful to Dr. Allen Kennedy (Curtin University of Technology, Perth) for SHRIMP dating. Ms. Du Jinhua is thanked for the translation of the Chinese articles. The article benefited from the comments made by Christina YanWang, Bernd Lehmann and two anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits 2050, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Marian Munteanu, Allan H. Wilson, Yong Yao & Gordon Chunnett

  2. Geological Institute of Romania, 1 Caransebes St., Bucharest, Romania

    Marian Munteanu

  3. Sichuan Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, No. 25, Section 1, Renminbei Road, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

    Yaonan Luo

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  1. Marian Munteanu
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  2. Allan H. Wilson
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Correspondence to Marian Munteanu.

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Editorial handling: C.Y. Wang

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ESM 1

SHRIMP zircon dating results for rocks of the Gaojiacun–Lengshuiqing intrusive assemblage. Common Pb corrected using measured 204Pb. err corr error of correlation. The results in italics were excepted from the calculation of the mean ages (DOC 296 kb)

ESM 2

Contents of the chalcophile elements in the barren rocks from Lengshuiqing. The location of the country rock samples is indicated by the name of the closest intrusion (DOC 88 kb)

ESM 3

Contents of the chalcophile elements in ore samples from Lengshuiqing (DOC 90 kb)

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Munteanu, M., Wilson, A.H., Yao, Y. et al. Sequence of magma emplacement and sulfide saturation in the Gaojiacun–Lengshuiqing intrusive complex (SW China). Miner Deposita 45, 517–529 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-010-0289-4

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