1. Skarn Zn-Pb metallogeny in the Tianshan: Spatiotemporal distribution, geological characteristics and genetical model.
- Author
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Dai, Junfeng, Xue, Chunji, Zhao, Xiaobo, Gao, Rongzhen, Xing, Hao, Guan, Baowen, and Zhang, Jian
- Subjects
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SKARN , *METALLOGENY , *MINES & mineral resources , *FLUID inclusions , *GEOCHEMISTRY , *GENETIC models , *SUBDUCTION - Abstract
[Display omitted] • Skarn Zn-Pb metallogeny in the Tianshan is related to the Late Paleozoic subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. • The ore-forming materials were mainly derived from magmatic source, and partly from country rocks. • A genetic model of skarn Zn-Pb metallogenesis related to the Paleozoic oceanic slab subduction in the Tianshan is established. The Tianshan orogenesis was initiated as a dynamic response to the subduction of several branches of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (PAO) and formed a significant polymetallic metallogenic belt in the western Central Asia. Skarn-related Zn-Pb deposits occupies an essential position in Zn-Pb mineral resources of the Tianshan, but its genesis remains ambiguous, and its economic importance is substantially undervalued. Here, we present a comprehensive overview of the spatiotemporal distribution, geological characteristics, geochemical characteristics of causative intrusions, fluid inclusion geochemistry, H-O-C-S-Pb isotopic systematics to constrain the tectonic setting, source and metallogenic mechanism of skarn Zn-Pb deposits in the Tianshan. Our study suggests that the 380–320 Ma and 350–300 Ma skarn type Zn-Pb mineralization occurred in the Tianshan is temporally and genetically related to the Late Paleozoic subduction of the PAO. The skarn type Zn-Pb resources are primarily hosted by distal skarns, with causative intrusions characterized by calc-alkaline to high-K calc-alkaline, peraluminous, and oxidized rock series that originated from partial melting of depleted mantle wedge and metasomatized by subducted sediment or sediment-derived melts. The hydrothermal fluids that enriched with ore-forming elements were mainly released from the causative intrusions and channeled along interlayer fracture structures within the host rocks, where Zn-Pb mineralization took place due to fluid-rock interaction and fluid mixing. Finally, the mineralization model established in this study may be used to evaluate similar skarn Zn-Pb mineralization systems elsewhere in the Tianshan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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