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Fluid inclusion, siliceous rock geochemistry of Shewushan lateritic gold deposit, Hubei Province, eastern China: Implication for the genesis of primary orebody

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Abstract

The Shewushan gold deposit is located 16 km southwest of Jiayu County, Hubei Province, eastern China, which is the largest lateritic gold deposit in Asia, consisting of a series of mineralized faults containing gold grades of 1.0–19.5 g/t set within a larger, lower-grade (0.2–1.0 g/t) zone. According to the fluid inclusions study, the homogenization temperature ranges from 70–350°C, and concentrates between 140–220°C. The laser Rama results show that the CO2 and CH4 exist in mineralized fluid. In addition, the major and trace element and REE geochemical data show that the genesis of the siliceous rocks is hydrothermal genesis, formed by mineralized fluid bearing SiO2 transmitted along faults to the surface, and replace the carbonate rocks to begin deposition. Primary gold mineralization is attributed to hydrothermal activity that followed the main period of tectonic deformation of the Indosinian orogeny, which caused the regional detachment regime in southeast Hubei. The reversed fold and the fault system formed the fluid migration channel in the Shewushan area. EPMA results show that Au exists in arsenopyrite (850×10−6–1550×10−6 Au) and pyrite (470×10−6–1340×10−6 Au). Therefore, based on the above results and combined with the field observation, we suggest that the genesis of primary orebody in Shewushan deposit is carlin type, while not weathered residual type.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Earth Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Minfang Wang & Youye Zheng

  2. State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Minfang Wang & Youye Zheng

  3. Institute of Geological Survey, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Rongke Xu

  4. Sichuan Institute of Nuclear Geology, Chengdu, 610051, China

    Yunguang Liu

  5. Nanjing Center, China Geological Survey, Nanjing, 210016, China

    Fan Xiao

  6. Shewushan Gold Mine Co. Ltd, Xianning, 437000, China

    Shanwen Cheng

  7. No. 4 Geological Party, Hubei Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Xianning, 437000, China

    Xiangmin Sun

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  1. Minfang Wang
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Correspondence to Minfang Wang.

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Wang, M., Zheng, Y., Xu, R. et al. Fluid inclusion, siliceous rock geochemistry of Shewushan lateritic gold deposit, Hubei Province, eastern China: Implication for the genesis of primary orebody. Chin. J. Geochem. 33, 65–76 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-014-0660-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-014-0660-8

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