Geochemical contrasts between Late Triassic ore-bearing and barren intrusions in the Weibao Cu–Pb–Zn deposit, East Kunlun Mountains, NW China: constraints from accessory minerals (zircon and apatite)

The Weibao copper–lead–zinc skarn deposit is located in the northern East Kunlun terrane, NW China. Igneous intrusions in this deposit consist of barren diorite porphyry (U–Pb zircon age of 232.0 ± 2.0 Ma) and ore-bearing quartz diorite and pyroxene diorite (U–Pb zircon ages of 223.3 ± 1.5 and 224.6...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mineralium deposita 2018-08, Vol.53 (6), p.855-870
Main Authors: Zhong, Shihua, Feng, Chengyou, Seltmann, Reimar, Li, Daxin, Dai, Zhihui
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Apatite
Bearing
Cerium
Composition
Copper
Diorite
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Exploration
Geochemistry
Geology
Igneous intrusions
Intrusion
Lead
Magma
Manganese
Mineral exploration
Mineral Resources
Mineralization
Mineralogy
Mountains
Oxidation
Porphyry copper
Pyroxenes
Quartz
Ratios
Trace elements
Triassic
Valence
Zinc
Zircon
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Summary:The Weibao copper–lead–zinc skarn deposit is located in the northern East Kunlun terrane, NW China. Igneous intrusions in this deposit consist of barren diorite porphyry (U–Pb zircon age of 232.0 ± 2.0 Ma) and ore-bearing quartz diorite and pyroxene diorite (U–Pb zircon ages of 223.3 ± 1.5 and 224.6 ± 2.9 Ma, respectively). Whole-rock major and trace element and accessory mineral (zircon and apatite) composition from these intrusions are studied to examine the different geochemical characteristics of ore-bearing and barren intrusions. Compared to the barren diorite porphyry, the ore-bearing intrusions have higher Ce 4+ /Ce 3+ ratios of zircon and lower Mn contents of apatite, indicating higher oxidation state. Besides, apatite from the ore-bearing intrusions shows higher Cl contents and lower F/Cl ratios. These characteristics collectively suggest the higher productivity of ore-bearing quartz diorite and pyroxene diorite. When compared with ore-bearing intrusions from global porphyry Cu deposits, those from Cu–Pb–Zn skarn deposits display lower Ce 4+ /Ce 3+ and Eu N /Eu N * ratios of zircon and lower Cl and higher F/Cl ratios of apatite. We conclude that these differences reflect a general geochemical feature, and that zircon and apatite composition is a sensitive tool to infer economic potential of magmas and the resulting mineralization types in intrusion-related exploration targets.
ISSN:0026-4598
1432-1866
DOI:10.1007/s00126-017-0787-8