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Porphyry Cu deposits linked to episodic growth of an underlying parental magma chamber

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Abstract

Saindak is one of the typical porphyry Cu deposits (PCDs) in the Chagai magmatic arc in Pakistan. Ore-forming porphyries at Saindak PCD are mainly composed of tonalite. Here, we use geochemistry of apatite enclosed in plagioclase phenocrysts from the ore-forming tonalite to constrain the releasing and recharging processes of S and Cl in the underlying parental magma chamber during PCD mineralization. Although apatite inclusions have homogeneous intra-grain S and Cl compositions, there is significant inter-grain S and Cl variations in apatite inclusions located from core to rim in the hosting plagioclase. Such inter-grain S and Cl variation in apatites are coupled with the core-to-rim trends of An, FeO and Mg contents of the hosting plagioclase phenocryst. It indicates that the Saindak PCD likely formed by episodic injection of primitive magmas during the growth of an underlying magma chamber, rather than by one major injection or by addition of mafic melt derived from different source region. Each primitive melt injection introduced essential ore-forming materials such as S and Cl, which were rapidly and effectively released to the coexisting fluids, causing mineralization. Once primitive melt injection stops, signaling the end of growth of underlying magma chamber, mineralization will cease quickly although the hydrothermal system can still survive for a long time. However, the later released fluids are relatively depleted in ore-forming materials, and thus have lower capability to generate mineralization. Accordingly, predominant porphyry-type mineralizations occurred during the growth rather than waning stage of a magmatic system.

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Acknowledgements

This is contribution PGC-2015048 from China University of Geosciences, Beijing, petro-geochemistry. This is contribution 1485 from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems (http://www.CCFS.mq.edu.au) and 1380 in the GEMOC Key Centre (http://www.gemoc.mq.edu.au). Yongjun LU publishes with permission of the Executive Director, Geological Survey of Western Australia. This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFC0600310), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41872083 and 41702091), the Program of the China Geological Survey (Grant No. DD20160024-07), the China Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 2652018133), and the 111 Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology (Grant No. BP0719021).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, and School of Earth Science and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083, China

    Yuanchuan Zheng, Lu Wang & Bo Xu

  2. ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems (CCFS)-GEMOC, Macquarie University, Macquarie, New South Wales, 2109, Australia

    Yuanchuan Zheng, Bo Xu & William L. Griffin

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650093, China

    Chuandong Xue & Abdul Ghaffar

  4. Institute of Mineral Resources, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, 100037, China

    Zhusen Yang

  5. Geological Survey of Western Australia, East Perth, 6004, Australia

    Yongjun Lu

  6. Centre for Exploration Targeting and Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems (CCFS), School of Earth Sciences, the University of Western Australia, Crawley, 6009, Australia

    Yongjun Lu

  7. National Research Centre for Geoanalysis, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, 100037, China

    Limin Zhou

  8. Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, 100037, China

    Zengqian Hou

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  1. Yuanchuan Zheng
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Correspondence to Yuanchuan Zheng.

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Appendix

Table S1

In-situ major element analysis by EPMA of the hosted apatite and the hosting plagioclase, and in-situ trace element and Sr isotopic data for the hosting plagioclase in the ore-forming tonalite as shown in Figure 5d-5n from the Saindak PCD, Pakistan

Table S2

In-situ major element analysis by EPMA of the plagioclase as shown in Figures 4b-4c, 5a-5c in the ore-forming tonalite from the Saindak PCD, Pakistan

Table S3

Trace element contents analysis by LA-ICP-MS of the zircon from the ore-forming tonalite from the Saindak PCD, Pakistan

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Zheng, Y., Wang, L., Xue, C. et al. Porphyry Cu deposits linked to episodic growth of an underlying parental magma chamber. Sci. China Earth Sci. 63, 1807–1816 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-020-9634-2

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