Geochemistry Insights on the Genesis of the Subduction-Related Heishan Magmatic Ni-Cu-(PGE) Deposit, Gansu, Northwestern China, at the Southern Margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt

Abstract

Research Article| September 01, 2014 Geochemistry Insights on the Genesis of the Subduction-Related Heishan Magmatic Ni-Cu-(PGE) Deposit, Gansu, Northwestern China, at the Southern Margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt* Wei Xie; Wei Xie 1State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46th Guanshui Road, Guiyang, 550002, P. R. China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Xie-Yan Song; Xie-Yan Song † 1State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46th Guanshui Road, Guiyang, 550002, P. R. China †Corresponding author: e-mail, songxieyan@vip.gyig.ac.cn Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Lie-Meng Chen; Lie-Meng Chen 1State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46th Guanshui Road, Guiyang, 550002, P. R. China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Yu-Feng Deng; Yu-Feng Deng 1State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46th Guanshui Road, Guiyang, 550002, P. R. China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Wen-Qin Zheng; Wen-Qin Zheng 1State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46th Guanshui Road, Guiyang, 550002, P. R. China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Yu-Shan Wang; Yu-Shan Wang 2Jinchuan Group Ltd, Jinchang, Gansu, 737100, P. R. China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Duo-Heng Ba; Duo-Heng Ba 2Jinchuan Group Ltd, Jinchang, Gansu, 737100, P. R. China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Mao-Hong Yin; Mao-Hong Yin 2Jinchuan Group Ltd, Jinchang, Gansu, 737100, P. R. China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Yan Luan Yan Luan 1State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46th Guanshui Road, Guiyang, 550002, P. R. China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Wei Xie 1State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46th Guanshui Road, Guiyang, 550002, P. R. China Xie-Yan Song † 1State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46th Guanshui Road, Guiyang, 550002, P. R. China Lie-Meng Chen 1State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46th Guanshui Road, Guiyang, 550002, P. R. China Yu-Feng Deng 1State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46th Guanshui Road, Guiyang, 550002, P. R. China Wen-Qin Zheng 1State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46th Guanshui Road, Guiyang, 550002, P. R. China Yu-Shan Wang 2Jinchuan Group Ltd, Jinchang, Gansu, 737100, P. R. China Duo-Heng Ba 2Jinchuan Group Ltd, Jinchang, Gansu, 737100, P. R. China Mao-Hong Yin 2Jinchuan Group Ltd, Jinchang, Gansu, 737100, P. R. China Yan Luan 1State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46th Guanshui Road, Guiyang, 550002, P. R. China †Corresponding author: e-mail, songxieyan@vip.gyig.ac.cn Publisher: Society of Economic Geologists Received: 02 Mar 2013 Received: 24 Nov 2013 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1554-0774 Print ISSN: 0361-0128 © 2014 Society of Economic Geologists. Economic Geology (2014) 109 (6): 1563–1583. https://doi.org/10.2113/econgeo.109.6.1563 Article history Received: 02 Mar 2013 Received: 24 Nov 2013 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Wei Xie, Xie-Yan Song, Lie-Meng Chen, Yu-Feng Deng, Wen-Qin Zheng, Yu-Shan Wang, Duo-Heng Ba, Mao-Hong Yin, Yan Luan; Geochemistry Insights on the Genesis of the Subduction-Related Heishan Magmatic Ni-Cu-(PGE) Deposit, Gansu, Northwestern China, at the Southern Margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Economic Geology 2014;; 109 (6): 1563–1583. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/econgeo.109.6.1563 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyEconomic Geology Search Advanced Search Abstract The Devonian subduction-related Heishan mafic-ultramafic intrusion hosting a magmatic Ni-Cu-(PGE) deposit is situated at the southern margin of the Central Asian orogenic belt. The outcrop of the intrusion is ~800 m long and ~470 m wide and dips to the southwest to depths up to 1,300 m. The Heishan intrusion is emplaced in Neoproterozoic dolomitic marble and siliceous slate and dominantly comprises of harzburgite and lherzolite. The stratigraphic reversals of Fo and Ni contents of olivine within the lerzolite and harzburgite indicate injections of several pulses of magmas. The two orebodies (Nos. 1 and 4) within the harzburgite and lherzolite at the lower part of the intrusion host ~35 million metric tons (Mt) of disseminated sulfide mineralization with average grades of 0.6 wt % Ni and 0.3 wt % Cu. The sulfides of the No. 4 orebody are lower in PGE contents on the basis of 100% sulfide (580–1,860 ppb Pt, 720–1,450 ppb Pd, 50–120 ppb Ir) and higher in Cu/Pd ratios (48,000–75,000) relative to the sulfides of the No. 1 orebody and mineralized harzburgites, which have 2,350 to 4,110 ppb Pt, 3,460 to 5,840 ppb Pd, 130 to 160 ppb Ir and Cu/Pd ratios of 16,000 to 26,000. Additionally, the olivines in the No. 1 orebody and mineralized harzburgites have higher forsterite (Fo) and Ni contents than those in the No. 4 orebody. We propose that the sulfide segregation of the No. 4 orebody was associated with extensive introduction of crustal sulfur, which is indicated by high δ34S values (1.9–6.1‰) and low Se/S ratios (230–390 × 10−6). Reworking of early fractionated massive or net-textured sulfides by the new wave of magma containing unfractionated sulfide droplets resulted in the positive correlation between Pd/Ir and Ni/Ir for the disseminated sulfides of the No. 4 orebody. In contrast, low δ34S values (0.43–1.01‰) and restricted range of Pd/Ir ratios indicate that the high PGE contents of the sulfides in the No. 1 orebody and mineralized harzburgites resulted from reaction between the sulfides and new pulses of S-undersaturated magmas. The low PGE grades of the Heishan sulfides indicate that the sulfides were segregated from PGE-depleted parental magmas. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.