Trace Element Compositions of Pyrite from the Shuangwang Gold Breccias, Western Qinling Orogen, China: Implications for Deep Ore Prediction

The Shuangwang gold deposit, located in the Fengxian-Taibai fore-arc basin in the western Qinling Orogen of Central China, has yielded over 70 tons of gold. It is an orogenic gold deposit occurring in an NW-trending breccia belt. Most of the ores are hydrothermal breccia type containing fragments of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of earth science (Wuhan, China) China), 2018-06, Vol.29 (3), p.564-572
Main Authors: Wang, Jianping, Liu, Zhenjiang, Liu, Jiajun, Zeng, Xiangtao, Wang, Kexin, Liu, Bizheng, Wang, Huan, Liu, Chonghao, Zhang, Fangfang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antimony
Arc deposition
Biogeosciences
Bismuth
Breccia
Cementing
Copper
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Exploration
Geochemistry
Geology
Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences
Gold
Gold markets
Halos
Lead
Mineral Deposits
Minerals
Ores
Orogeny
Pyrite
Trace elements
Zinc
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The Shuangwang gold deposit, located in the Fengxian-Taibai fore-arc basin in the western Qinling Orogen of Central China, has yielded over 70 tons of gold. It is an orogenic gold deposit occurring in an NW-trending breccia belt. Most of the ores are hydrothermal breccia type containing fragments of adjacent strata cemented by ankerite and pyrite. Pyrite is the most abundant metallic mineral and the major gold-bearing mineral in the ores. A total of 58 pyrite samples from main ore bodies of the Shuangwang gold deposit have been analysed for 44 trace elements by HR-ICP-MS. Sb, Ba, Cu, Pb, Zn, Bi, Mo, Co are selected as indicator elements to investigate the potential usefulness of trace elements in pyrite as an indicator in gold exploration. The results show that the supra-ore halo elements Sb and Ba, which may have been more active than other near-ore halo elements and sub-ore halo elements, are best to characterize the shape of ore bodies. Five target areas are pointed out for deep ore exploration based on a comprehensive study of supra-ore, near-ore and sub-ore halos. This study provides evidence that trace elements in pyrite can be used to depict the deep extension of ore bodies and to vector towards undiscovered ore bodies.
ISSN:1674-487X
1867-111X
DOI:10.1007/s12583-017-0751-7