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Geology and geochronology of the Xilamulun molybdenum metallogenic belt in eastern Inner Mongolia, China

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Abstract

The Xilamulun molybdenum metallogenic belt, located in eastern Inner Mongolia, China, has great economic potential as a major producer of molybdenum. Four major types of Mo deposits have been recognized in the Xilamulun molybdenum metallogenic belt: porphyry, quartz vein, volcanic-hosted, and greisen. These Mesozoic Mo deposits are closely related to Si- and K-rich intrusives and are usually hosted by granite plutons or located at the endo- or exo-contact zones of the granite porphyry. SHRIMP zircon U–Pb dating gives the emplacement ages of the intrusions related to Mo mineralization as 245.1 ± 4.4, 152.4 ± 1.6, and 139.1 ± 2.3 Ma. Re–Os analysis of five molybdenite samples from the Chehugou porphyry Mo deposit yields an isochron age of 245 ± 5 Ma (2σ), indicating that the mineralization age of the porphyry Mo deposit is about 245 Ma. Re–Os analyses of six molybdenite samples from the Nianzigou quartz-vein-type Mo deposit yield an isochron age of 154.3 ± 3.6 Ma (2σ), constraining the mineralization age of the quartz-vein Mo deposit to 154 Ma. Our results suggest that the Mo mineralization in the Xilamulun belt formed during at least three stages, i.e., the Triassic, Late Jurassic, and Early Cretaceous, and is coeval with the granitic magmatism. The corresponding geodynamic background covers the syncollision between the North China and Siberian plates during the Early to Middle Triassic, a compression setting related to the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific plate during the Jurassic and lithospheric thinning during the Early Cretaceous in eastern China.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40972065), the Synthesis Research Program of the National Crisis Mine of China (No. 20089931), and the Major State Basic Research Program of China (No. 2006CB403507). We thank Prof. Franco Pirajno and Prof. Yaning Chen for their constructive ideas for revision. We thank the Chifeng Bureau of Land and Resources, the 243th Team, China Nuclear Geology, Xiaodonggou Mo Mine, Jiguanshan Mo Mine, Nianzigou Mo Mine, Chehugou Mo Mine, Gangzi Mo Mine, and Liutiaogou Mo Mine for their help in the field. We also thank Dr. Qu Wenjun of the National Research Center of Geoanalysis, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, for Re–Os isotope analyses.

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  1. Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Qingdong Zeng, Jianming Liu, Zuolun Zhang, Weijun Chen & Weiqing Zhang

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Zeng, Q., Liu, J., Zhang, Z. et al. Geology and geochronology of the Xilamulun molybdenum metallogenic belt in eastern Inner Mongolia, China. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 100, 1791–1809 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-010-0617-z

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