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Controls on variations of platinum-group element concentrations in the sulfide ores of the Jinchuan Ni-Cu deposit, western China

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Abstract

Ongoing underground exploration in the giant Jinchuan Ni-Cu sulfide deposit in western China is beginning to emphasize the potential for Cu-, Pt-, and Pd-rich sulfide ores that may have formed by sulfide liquid fractionation. The success of such an effort relies on whether or not fractional crystallization of sulfide occurred in the Jinchuan system. In this paper, we used available PGE data to evaluate such a process. We found that about two thirds of the 126 samples analyzed to date exhibit significant decoupling not only between Pt and Pd but also between Ru, Rh, and Ir. The best explanation for the decoupling is postmagmatic hydrothermal alteration, which affected not only silicates but also sulfides. The effects of postmagmatic alteration must be considered when using metal and isotopic ratios to evaluate primary mineralization. PGE variations in the remaining one third of the samples with Ir/(Ir + Ru) = 0.3–0.7, Ir/(Ir + Rh) = 0.4–0.8, and Pt/(Pt + Pd) = 0.3–0.7 indicate variable R-factors within individual ore bodies as well as the entire deposit, consistent with the interpretation that multiple sulfide-bearing magmas from depth were involved in the formation of the Jinchuan deposit. The mantle-normalized PGE patterns of the least-altered samples from the Jinchuan deposit are similar to the picrite-related Pechenga Ni-Cu sulfide deposit in Russia. PGE variations that can be related to sulfide liquid fractionation are observed in orebody-1 and orebody-24 but not in orebody-2 at Jinchuan. Exploration for Cu-, Pt-, and Pd-rich sulfide ores that may have been expelled into fractures in the footwalls of orebody-1 and orebody-24 appears to be justified.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the Jinchuan Nickel Company for permission of underground sampling, and to Yulong Tian, Jianpu Jiang, and Yushan Wang of the Company for field assistance. Critical comments from Associate Editor Dr. Peter Lightfoot, reviewer Dr. Steve Barnes, and an anonymous reviewer greatly improved the manuscript. This research was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (grants 40472051 and 40534020) and Project-111 from the Ministry of Education of China (B07011).

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Shangguo Su

  2. Department of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Chusi Li & Edward M. Ripley

  3. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Mei-Fu Zhou & Liang Qi

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  1. Shangguo Su
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  2. Chusi Li
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  3. Mei-Fu Zhou
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  4. Edward M. Ripley
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  5. Liang Qi
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Correspondence to Chusi Li.

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Editorial handling: P. Lightfoot

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Su, S., Li, C., Zhou, MF. et al. Controls on variations of platinum-group element concentrations in the sulfide ores of the Jinchuan Ni-Cu deposit, western China. Miner Deposita 43, 609–622 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-008-0186-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-008-0186-2

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