Zonation in primary halos and geochemical prospecting pattern for the Guilaizhuang gold deposit, eastern China

Abstract

The Guilaizhuang gold deposit, with an average grade of 8.10 g/t Au and reserves of over 30 mt, is a subvolcanic epithermal deposit. The deposit is hosted in Paleozoic carbonate rocks in the western Shandong metallogenic terrane of the littorine Pacific metallogenic domain, eastern China, and is associated spatially with an early Mesozoic subvolcanic alkalic intrusive complex (188–190 Ma). The orebody was discovered at the end of the 1980s based on anomalies of Au in stream sediment samples at a map scale of 1∶200,000. The ore is rich in Au, Ag, Te, V, F, As, Sb, Tl, W, and Mo but poor in Cu, Pb, and Zn. The ore is similar in its trace elements to Carlin-type Au deposits. The transverse element association zonation of the deposit is as follows: (on the hanging wall) F⟸ W−Mo−As−Tl⟸Se−Sb−Bi⟸Au−Ag−Te (orebody) ⟹ Se−Sb−Bi (on the foot wall). The axial zonation is as follows: Au⟹Ag⟹Sb⟹V⟹Zn ⟹W⟹F⟹Mo⟹Tl⟹As. Indexes such as (Au+Sb) _d / (As+Tl) _d and (Au+ Ag) _d /(As+Tl) _d decrease with depth but dramatically increase at the level where the orebody pinches out, which indicates another orebody might exist at depth. Multivariate statistical analysis suggests that the ore (halo)-forming process can be divided into two stages: alteration and mineralization. The former includes: potash feldsparization, albitization, silicification, and fluoritization. The latter includes the following substages: arsenopyritization and scheelitization; pyritization, chalcopyritization, and sphaleritization; and native gold, electrum, and calaveritization. The last substage is considered to be the main ore-forming stage in the formation of the deposit.