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Comparison of the native antimony-bearing Paiting gold deposit, Guizhou Province, China, with Carlin-type gold deposits, Nevada, USA

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Abstract

The Paiting gold deposit, Guizhou Province, China, has been regarded as a Carlin-type gold deposit by several researchers. Alteration and ore-related minerals from the Paiting deposit were examined, and results were compared with the Cortez Hills Carlin-type gold deposit, Nevada, USA. Similarities include the structural and stratigraphic controls on the orebodies in both deposits and the occurrence of invisible gold ionically bound in arsenian pyrite. Significant differences include the following: (1) The gold-bearing mineral in Nevada is arsenian pyrite. However, gold-bearing minerals in the Paiting deposit include arsenopyrite, arsenian pyrite, and trace pyrrhotite. Also, euhedral or subhedral gold-bearing arsenian pyrite at Paiting contains significantly less As, Cu, and Hg than gold-bearing pyrite from Nevada. (2) Alteration in the Paiting deposit displays significantly less decarbonatization. Instead, dolomite precipitation, which has not been described in Nevada deposits, is associated with deposition of gold-bearing sulfide minerals. (3) Stibnite and minor native antimony typify Paiting late-ore-stage minerals, whereas in Nevada, realgar, orpiment, and calcite are common late-ore-stage minerals. Precipitation of native antimony in the Paiting deposit reflects the evolution of a late-ore fluid with unusually low sulfur and oxygen fugacities. Some characteristics of the Paiting gold deposit, including formation of ore-stage dolomite and precipitation from CO2-rich ore fluids at temperatures in excess of 250 °C, are more typical of orogenic deposits than Nevada Carlin deposits. The presence of similarities in the Paiting deposit to both Carlin type and orogenic deposits is consistent with formation conditions intermediate to those typical of Carlin type and orogenic systems.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the No. 1 Corps of Non-ferrous Geological Exploration of Guizhou Province and Barrick Gold Corporation for access to samples from the Paiting deposit, Guizhou Province, China, and the Cortez Hills deposit, Nevada, USA. Shijun Xia is thanked for geologic guidance during the fieldwork at the Paiting deposit. Minghua Ren, Michael Strange, Wenqing Jiang, and Shaohua Dong are thanked for assistance with SEM and electron microprobe analyses. We are also indebted to Bernd Lehmann, Karen Kelley, Sheng-Rong Li, John Muntean, and Thomas Wagner for comments and suggestions that have improved this paper. This work was supported by the 973 Program (2014CB440905), National Science Foundation of China (41230316), CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams (Intraplate Mineralization Research Team: KZZD-EW-TZ-20), 12th five-year project of State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry (SKLODG-ZY125-01), China Scholarship Council, and Scholarship from Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550002, China

    Zhuo-Jun Xie, Yong Xia & Dong-Tian Wei

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, China

    Zhuo-Jun Xie & Dong-Tian Wei

  3. University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, 454010, USA

    Zhuo-Jun Xie & Jean S. Cline

  4. Zijin Mining Group Northwest Co., LTD. Mining Geology Survey Institute, Urumqi, 830026, China

    Bao-Wen Yan

  5. No. 105 Geological Party, Guizhou Bureau of Geology and Mineral Exploration and Development, Guiyang, 550018, China

    Ze-Peng Wang

  6. Institute of Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Langfang, 102849, China

    Qin-Ping Tan

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  1. Zhuo-Jun Xie
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Correspondence to Yong Xia.

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Editorial handling: K. Kelley

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Xie, ZJ., Xia, Y., Cline, J.S. et al. Comparison of the native antimony-bearing Paiting gold deposit, Guizhou Province, China, with Carlin-type gold deposits, Nevada, USA. Miner Deposita 52, 69–84 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-016-0647-y

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