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Geoscience ›› 2025, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (04): 981-994.DOI: 10.19657/j.geoscience.1000-8527.2024.060

• Ore Deposit and Petrology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Relationship between Gold Enrichment and Trace Element Migration in the Tectonic-Alteration Zone of the Xiadian Gold Deposit, Jiaodong Area

LI Jinhui(), ZHANG Haidong*(), LEI Wanshan   

  1. School of Earth Science and Resources, Chang’an University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710064, China
  • Online:2025-08-10 Published:2025-08-27
  • Contact: ZHANG Haidong

Abstract:

Jiaodong is the largest gold ore concentration area in China, characterized by massive and instantaneous mineralization, with intense fluid metasomatism. Alteration-type gold deposits are the most important type of gold deposits here, featuring large mineralization scale (accounting for approximately 2/3 of Jiaodong’s gold reserves), orebodies mainly occurring in the footwall of the Zhaoping fault zone, and gold mineralization closely related to beresitization and rock fragmentation degree. However, the relationship between gold enrichment and element migration during mineralization and alteration remains poorly understood. This study focuses on the super-large Xiadian gold deposit (approximately 140 t, average grade 4.23 g/t) in the Zhaoping fault zone, conducting petrographic observation of the tectonic-alteration zone and mass balance calculation of trace elements. The results show that the tectonic-alteration zone can be divided into six lithological zones: fault gouge, beresitic cataclasite zone, weakly fragmented mylonite zone, fragmented beresitic granite zone, fragmented granite zone (with pyrite-bearing quartz veins), and syenogranitic cataclasite zone. Gold enrichment is closely related to altered minerals such as secondary quartz and pyrite, followed by sericite. The pyrite-sericite-quartz cataclastic rock zone is a gold-enriched zone. The migration rates of strongly active elements (Au, Ag, W), active elements (Cs, Ba, Rb), and weakly active elements (Pb, Sr) increase in the altered zone, with migration being particularly evident in the pyrite-sericite-quartz cataclastic rock zone. Transitional elements (Cr, Ni) show migration out of the zone. The migration-out rate of pyrite-sericite-quartz cataclastic rocks near the tectonically altered zones on both sides decreases significantly, with local migration-in characteristics.The migration rate of LREE near the fault gouge end shows minor changes (-1.2%~-3.7%). High field strength elements (HREE) show almost no significant changes within the alteration zone. The protolith of the beresitic cataclasite zone is plagiogranite; thus, ore-forming fluids underwent intense metasomatism along the main fault zone (F1) in plagiogranite, accompanied by element migration (both into and out of the zone) and gold enrichment. This indicates that ore-forming fluids strongly altered the surrounding rocks, which may be the main reason for large-scale mineralization in the Jiaodong area.

Key words: Xiadian gold deposit, tectonic-alteration zone, element migration rate, Au precipitation, Jiaodong area

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