Contrasting Geochemistry of Apatite from Peridotites and Sulfide Ores of the Jinchuan Ni-Cu Sulfide Deposit, NW China

Apatite is present within both the hosting lherzolite and sulfide ore at the Jinchuan magmatic Ni-Cu sulfide deposit of northwest China. Apatite grains within the lherzolite are generally large and hexagonal (>200 μm) and are associated with interstitial phlogopite and amphibole. These apatite grains contain ~0.9 wt % F, ~1 wt % Cl, 6,800 to 14,500 ppm rare earth elements (REE) and have in situ δ18OV-SMOW values of 5.10 to 6.38‰, all of which are indicative of crystallization from an evolved silicate magma. In comparison, the massive and disseminated sulfide ores contain fine-grained apatite ( The apatite within the lherzolite and sulfide ore crystallized from two conjugate immiscible silicate and sulfide melts, respectively. Rare earth elements and F were preferentially partitioning into silicate melts, whereas most volatile components were mainly partitioned into the sulfide melts. The silicate magmas from which apatite crystallized were rich in light REE (LREE) relative to heavy REE (HREE). Volatile components in the sulfide melts changed the physicochemical conditions to enable such high-density melts to migrate upward and finally settle in the shallow chamber with silicate rocks.