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Cu-sulfide mineralogy, texture, and geochemistry in the Tiegelongnan porphyry-epithermal copper system, Tibet, China

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Abstract

The Tiegelongnan porphyry-epithermal deposit (2089 Mt @ 0.53% Cu, 0.08 g/t Au) is host to a large variety of Cu-sulfide minerals, mainly chalcopyrite, bornite, covellite, digenite, enargite, and tennantite. We used LA-ICP-MS to investigate the trace element geochemistry of the Tiegelongnan Cu-sulfides, as well as pyrite, to understand the correlation between sulfides and trace elements, gold in particular, in the porphyry and epithermal systems. Porphyry mineralization consists of stage 1 chalcopyrite-pyrite ± molybdenite, stage 2 chalcopyrite-bornite, and stage 3 covellite. Epithermal sulfides form stage 4 pyrite-alunite, stage 5 digenite-bornite-chalcopyrite, and stage 6 enargite-tennantite ± tetrahedrite. Stage 2 chalcopyrite (S2 Ccp, median = 9.7 ppm Au) is the primary porphyry Au host, and stage 6 tennantite in alunite veins (S6 Tnt-s, median = 98.0 ppm Au) is the major epithermal Au host. These Au-rich sulfides formed under higher oxidation conditions, suggesting that a high oxidation state favors the incorporation of Au in Cu-sulfides. Gold contents in coeval chalcopyrite and bornite are positively correlated to temperature, and Au is enriched in chalcopyrite over bornite at low temperatures (< 350 ℃). Positive correlations between Au and As and Te in covellite and chalcopyrite result from the reaction of As3+  + (Au+/Ag+) + Te2− ↔ 4Cu+  + S2−. Epithermal chalcopyrite and bornite contain more As and Pd than that in porphyry stages, and high contents of As, Sn, Cd, Zn, Sb, Te, Au, and Bi in epithermal enargite and tennantite are likely the result of partitioning of these elements in sulfides at low epithermal temperatures. Epithermal overprinting likely leached Cu from earlier porphyry stage sulfides to precipitate high Cu-grade epithermal mineralization. The Cu-sulfides and related trace elements show a spatial distribution, potentially useful for the exploration of overprinted porphyry-epithermal systems.

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Acknowledgements

Marc Choquette and Suzie Cote (Université Laval) are thanked for their help with EMPA and SEM analysis. Dany Savard and Audrey Lavoie (UQAC) are thanked for their assistance with LA-ICP-MS analyses and data reduction. We thank Jinlong Mining Co., Ltd. for the support of the fieldwork. The Editor-in-Chief Bernd Lehmann, Associate Editor Peter Hollings, Robert G. Lee, and an anonymous reviewer are acknowledged for their insightful comments, which significantly improved the paper.

Funding

This work is supported by the National Key R&D Program of China, Deep Resources Exploration and Mining project (2018YFC0604101), National Natural Science Foundation of China (41902097), the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the CAS Hundred Talents Program (Y9CJ034000) to XW Huang. The first author’s study in Canada is supported by China Scholarship Council (CSC) and NSERC Discovery grant to G. Beaudoin.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Earth Science, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, China

    Chao Yang

  2. Département de Géologie et de Génie Géologique, Université Laval, G1V 0A6, Québec, Canada

    Chao Yang & Georges Beaudoin

  3. Centre de Recherche sur la Géologie et l’ingénierie des Ressources Minérales (E4m), Québec, Canada

    Chao Yang & Georges Beaudoin

  4. MLR Key Laboratory of Metallogeny and Mineral Assessment, Institute of Mineral Resources, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, 100037, China

    Ju-Xing Tang, Yang Song & Li-Qiang Wang

  5. State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550081, China

    Xiao-Wen Huang

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  1. Chao Yang
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  2. Georges Beaudoin
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  3. Ju-Xing Tang
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  4. Yang Song
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  5. Li-Qiang Wang
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  6. Xiao-Wen Huang
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Correspondence to Chao Yang.

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Yang, C., Beaudoin, G., Tang, JX. et al. Cu-sulfide mineralogy, texture, and geochemistry in the Tiegelongnan porphyry-epithermal copper system, Tibet, China. Miner Deposita 57, 759–779 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-021-01075-y

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