The Late Mesozoic granodiorite and polymetallic mineralization in southern Anhui Province, China: A perspective from apatite geochemistry

The region of southern Anhui Province (SAP) is one of Late Mesozoic magmatic belts and copper-molybdenum-gold-tungsten polymetallic ore districts in China, but the relationship of polymetallic mineralization and related granodiorite remains unclear. Previous studies indicate that apatite can be an indicator for magmatic evolution and mineral exploration. In this study, apatites from the SAP ore-bearing granodiorites were investigated using observations from the electron microscope, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), laser-ablation inductively-coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The studied apatite samples identified as fluorapatite, show high F (2.69–4.13 wt.%) and low Cl contents (mainly