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Ore prospecting model and targets for the Dashuigou tellurium deposit, Sichuan Province, China

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Abstract

The Dashuigou tellurium (Te) deposit in Shimian city, Sichuan Province is the only known independent Te ore deposit in China. Samples were collected by 1/50,000 stream sediment survey and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, emission spectrometry, and atomic absorption spectroscopy. An ore prospecting model for the Dashuigou Te deposit was then established. In the Dashuigou area, bismuth (Bi), Te, and gold (Au) concentrations in stream sediment samples displayed weak-positive anomalies, while silver (Ag) displayed a weak-negative anomaly. Bi, Te, Ag, and Au anomalies are regarded as indicators of Te deposits; the greater the ratio of Te + Bi/Au + Ag, the larger the possibility of an independent tellurobismuthite deposit. The ratio calculated from our samples is 7.288. Five locations were identified for prospecting for Te minerals by this model, including the northern part of the Dashuigou Te deposit, Majiagou, Tizigou, southeastern Miaoping, and northern Baishuihe. These five regions are within the Dashuigou dome anticline, the exposed strata of which are controlled by tracing the tensile shear fracture; the metallogenic geological conditions and geochemical characteristics are the same as those of the known Dashuigou Te deposit. Already, Te–Bi veins have been found in some of these areas.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (03JY029-027-1) and Sichuan Geological Survey (12120113051400). The authors would like to thank the State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences for its open program funding and the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Geological Geochemical Exploration for providing necessary data. Wei Xu and Jun Bai are thanked for insightful and constructive comments on this paper. We are also grateful to Mingyou He and Yingping Liu for proofreading and commenting on the manuscript.

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  1. College of Earth Sciences, Chengdu University of Technology, 610059, No. 1 Dongsan Road, Erxianqiao, Chenghua District, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China

    Quanjiang Zhang, Mingyou He, Jun Bai & Cong Zhao

  2. Sichuan Geological Survey, No. 25 North Renmin Road, Jinniu District, 610081, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China

    Yingping Liu

  3. Chengdu Center of Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology Sichuan Bureau of Geology and Mineral Exploration and Development, 2nd Section of North Yihuan Road 3, Jinniu District, 610081, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China

    Wei Xu

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  1. Quanjiang Zhang
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Zhang, Q., Liu, Y., He, M. et al. Ore prospecting model and targets for the Dashuigou tellurium deposit, Sichuan Province, China. Acta Geochim 37, 578–591 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-018-0271-x

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