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Mineralogical Characteristics and in-situ Sulfur Isotopic Analysis of Gold-Bearing Sulfides from the Qilishan Gold Deposit in the Jiaodong Peninsula, China

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Abstract

Large-scale gold mineralization during the Early Cretaceous is identified in the Jiaodong Peninsula of China. Sources of ore-forming fluids remain debated. We study the Qilishan gold deposit in the northwestern Jiaodong Peninsula with detailed mineralogical observation and in-situ sulfur isotope analyses, in order to reveal the gold occurrence and the origin of ore-forming fluids. The Qilishan gold deposit is mainly clastic altered rock-type in mineralization, and ore minerals are visible native gold, electrum, pyrite, chalcopyrite and galena, gangue minerals as quartz, sericite and calcite. The gold occurrence includes inclusion and intergranular types, formed within pyrites and chalcopyrites and along their fissures. In-situ sulfur isotope analysis of gold-bearing sulfides suggests that the Qilishan deposit is enriched in heavy sulfur, with δ34S values mainly from +8.0‰ to +12.0‰. δ34S values increase gradually with the fluid evolution from the early to late stages, which is interpreted to be related to the loss of sulfur via sulfide precipitation. The crystallization of sulfides from hydrothermal fluids may have triggered the instability of Au(HS)2, and finally led to gold precipitation. Combined with sulfur isotope compositions of other gold deposits (n=43) and wall-rocks in the Jiaodong Peninsula, it is proposed that the ore-forming fluids were probably not directly originated from metamorphic wall-rocks (e.g., Jiaodong Group). Moreover, the relatively long time interval rules out the possibility that the gold mineralization (ca. 120 Ma) was associated with granitic magma activities (mostly 160–150 Ma). Possible ore genesis scenario is that, long-term subduction of slabs (e.g., the Paleo-Pacific) with gold-enriched pyritic materials and crustal sedimentary rocks resulted in both high Au contents and positive δ34S values of sulfur in the lithospheric mantle below the North China Craton. Subsequently, devolatilization of the metasomatized mantle produced auriferous fluids that migrated upward along translithospheric fault systems, and gold finally precipitated in favorable structural positions, generating the world-class Jiaodong deposits in the Early Cretaceous.

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Acknowledgments

We thank constructive suggestions from editors and anonymous reviewers. This research was supported by the National Key R & D Plan (No. 2018YFC0603801), the Open Research Project from the State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences (No. GPMR201816), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Public Welfare Research Institutes (Nos. KK1914, KK2013), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41911530106, 41772084), the Chinese Geological Survey Program (Nos. DD20160055, DD20190379), and Key Laboratory of Regional Geology and Mineralization, Hebei GEO University (No. HGU-RGMKF192). The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-020-1370-2.

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Xinghua Ma, Qingwen Zeng, Siyuan Tao & Zhenhua Zhou

  2. State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083, China

    Xinghua Ma, Qingwen Zeng, Siyuan Tao & Rui Cao

  3. Key Laboratory of Earth Exploration and Information Technology of Ministry of Education, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, China

    Rui Cao

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  1. Xinghua Ma
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Ma, X., Zeng, Q., Tao, S. et al. Mineralogical Characteristics and in-situ Sulfur Isotopic Analysis of Gold-Bearing Sulfides from the Qilishan Gold Deposit in the Jiaodong Peninsula, China. J. Earth Sci. 32, 116–126 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-020-1370-2

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