Studies suggest that at least four stages of regional-scale tectonic and magmatic events have taken place in the South China block,namely,geodynamic processes of Neoproterozoic and Late Mesozoic active continental margins,Early Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic intracontinental orogenies.The Cathaysia block was a pre-Nanhua basement consisting mainly of Neoproterozoic rocks instead of a stable old land.It experienced a complex evolution from assembly through break-up to re-assembly.The intracontinental shortening during Silurian led to the stabilization of the united South China continent.The entire South China Block was under a shore-shallow sea-slope setting,with no translithospheric fault,no regional-scale volcanism and mantle-derived magmatism in the period from Sinian to Jurassic,during which polyphase tectonic and magmatic events occurred in the united South China lithosphere.It evolved into a part of the Late Mesozoic Western Pacific active continental margin after the Early-Middle Jurassic transformation from Tethysian to Pacific tectonic regimes.The South China lithosphere experienced polyphase continental growth due to the dominant lateral accretion of block assembly accompanied by vertical growth of magma up-swarming.During the Cretaceous,the South China basin and range tectonics occurred in the western shore of the Pacific Ocean due to strong intracontinental extension caused by the northwestward subduction of the Pacific Ocean.Long-term intraplate tectonism and polystage granitic magmatism provided South China with a favorable condition of metallization,forming various large-size ore deposits and resources.Neoproterozoic Nanhua Period and Early Cretaceous were two dominant stages of metallization,with various types of ore deposits being chiefly formed in the Early Cretaceous period.

An analysis of principal features of tectonic evolution in South China Block

Multi-stage tectonics and metallogeny associated with Phanerozoic evolution of the South China Block: A holistic perspective from the Youjiang Basin

The Zhuxi W (Cu) skarn deposit is the largest W deposit in the Jiangnan porphyry–skarn tungsten belt in South China, and is also among the largest deposit of this type in the world. Titanite is a common mineral in the Zhuxi deposit, and occurs in three textural settings: titanite I associated with retrograde-altered exoskarn with weak mineralization; titanite II in retrograde-altered endoskarn with disseminated Cu ore; and titanite III from altered granite with disseminated W ore. Here, we present LA-ICP-MS U–Pb data on the three types of titanite which show 207Pb-corrected weighted mean 206Pb/238U ages of 148.1 ± 7.4 Ma (n = 25, MSWD = 0.22), 148.9 ± 1.5 Ma (n = 28, MSWD = 0.37), and 149.9 ± 1.3 Ma (n = 31, MSWD = 0.28), respectively. These ages are consistent with the previously reported ages of the ore-related granite. The coeval nature of the W and Cu ores suggests that the W and Cu ores formed synchronously, and are associated with the granitoids. The Ce and Eu anomalies in the three types of titanite record redox fluctuation during the mineralization process, and suggest variable contamination of the magmatic-hydrothermal system by reduced carbonate wall-rock that contains abundant carbonaceous matter. Our study demonstrates that hydrothermal titanite commonly occurring in reduced-type W skarn deposits has potential for isotopic dating and in constraining the redox conditions for the mineralization process.

In situ LA-ICP-MS U-Pb geochronology and trace element analysis of hydrothermal titanite from the giant Zhuxi W (Cu) skarn deposit, South China

Tungsten and tin deposits in South China: temporal and spatial distribution, metallogenic models and prospecting directions

Abstract Skarn deposits are one of the most common deposit types in China. The 386 skarns summarized in this review contain ~8.9 million tonnes (Mt) Sn (87% of China’s Sn resources), 6.6 Mt W (71%), 42 Mt Cu (32%), 81 Mt Zn-Pb (25%), 5.4 Mt Mo (17%), 1,871 tonnes (t) Au (11%), 42,212 t Ag (10%), and ~8,500 Mt Fe ore (~9%; major source of high-grade Fe ore). Some of the largest Sn, W, Mo, and Zn-Pb skarns are world-class. The abundance of skarns in China is related to a unique tectonic evolution that resulted in extensive hydrous magmas and widespread belts of carbonate country rocks. The landmass of China is composed of multiple blocks, some with Archean basements, and oceanic terranes that have amalgamated and rifted apart several times. Subduction and collisional events generated abundant hydrous fertile magmas. The events include subduction along the Rodinian margins, closures of the Proto-Tethys, Paleo-Asian, Paleo-Tethys, and Neo-Tethys Oceans, and subduction of the Paleo-Pacific plate. Extensive carbonate platforms developed on the passive margins of the cratonic blocks during multiple periods from Neoarchean to Holocene also facilitated skarn formation. There are 231 Ca skarns replacing limestone, 15 Ca skarns replacing igneous rocks, siliciclastic sedimentary rocks, or metamorphic silicate rocks, 113 Ca-Mg skarns replacing dolomitic limestone or interlayered dolomite and limestone, and 28 Mg skarns replacing dolomite in China. The Ca and Ca-Mg skarns host all types of metals, as do Mg skarns, except for major Cu and W mineralization. Boron mineralization only occurs in Mg skarns. The skarns typically include a high-temperature prograde stage, iron oxide-rich higher-temperature retrograde stage, sulfide-rich lower-temperature retrograde stage, and a latest barren carbonate stage. The zoning of garnet/pyroxene ratios depends on the redox state of both the causative magma and the wall rocks. In an oxidized magma-reduced wall-rock skarn system, such as is typical of Cu skarns in China, the garnet/pyroxene ratio decreases, and garnet color becomes lighter away from the intrusion. In a reduced intrusion-reduced wall-rock skarn system, such as a cassiterite- and sulfide-rich Sn skarn, the skarn is dominated by pyroxene with minor to no garnet. Manganese-rich skarn minerals may be abundant in distal skarns. Metal associations and endowment are largely controlled by the magma redox state and degree of fractionation and, in general, can be grouped into four categories. Within each category there is spatial zonation. The first category of deposits is associated with reduced and highly fractionated magma. They comprise (1) greisen with Sn ± W in intrusions, grading outward to (2) Sn ± Cu ± Fe at the contact zone, and farther out to (3) Sn (distal) and Zn-Pb (more distal) in veins, mantos, and chimneys. The second category is associated with oxidized and poorly to moderately fractionated magma. Ores include minor porphyry-style Mo and/or porphyry-style Cu mineralization ± Cu skarns replacing xenoliths or roof pendants inside intrusions, zoned outward to major zones of Cu and/or Fe ± Au ± Mo mineralization at the contact with and in adjacent country rocks, and farther out to local Cu (distal) + Zn-Pb (more distal) in veins, mantos, and chimneys. Oxidized and highly fractionated magma is associated with porphyry Mo or greisen W inside an intrusion, outward to Mo and/or W ± Fe ± Cu skarns at the contact zone, and farther to Mo or W ± Cu in distal veins, mantos, and chimneys. The final category is associated with reduced and poorly to moderately fractionated magma. No major skarns of this type have been recognized in China, but outside China there are many examples of such intrusions related to Au-only skarns at the contact zone. Reduced Zn-Au skarns in China are inferred to be distal parts of such systems. Tungsten and Sn do not occur together as commonly as was previously thought. The distal part of a skarn ore system may transition to carbonate replacement deposits. Distal stratabound mantos and crosscutting veins/chimneys may contain not only Zn-Pb but also major Sn, W, Cu, Mo, and Au mineralization. The Zn-Pb mineralization may be part of either an oxidized system (e.g., Cu, Mo, Fe) or a reduced system (e.g., Sn). In China, distal Zn-Pb is more commonly related to reduced magmas. Gold and W may also be related to both oxidized and reduced magmas, although in China they are more typically related to oxidized magma. There are numerous examples of distal mantos/chimneys that continuously transition to proximal skarns at intrusion-wall-rock contact zones, and this relationship strongly supports the magmatic affiliation of such deposits and suggests that distal skarns/carbonate replacement deposits systems should be explored to find more proximal mineralization. Carbonate xenoliths or roof pendants may host the majority of mineralization in some deposits. In contact zones, skarns are better developed where the intrusion shape is complicated. The above two skarn positions imply that there may be multiple skarn bodies below drill interceptions of intrusive rocks. Many of the largest skarns for all commodities in China are related to small or subsurface intrusions (except for Sn skarns), have multiple mineralization centers, are young (&amp;lt;~160 Ma), and have the full system from causative intrusion(s) to distal skarns or carbonate replacement extensions discovered. Chinese skarn deposits fall in several age groups: ~830, ~480 to 420, ~383 to 371, ~324 to 314, ~263 to 210, ~200 to 83, ~80 to 72, and ~65 to 15 Ma. They are typically associated with convergent plate boundaries, mostly in subduction settings but also in collisional settings. Seven major skarn metallogenic belts are recognized based on skarn geographic location and geodynamic background. In subduction settings, skarns may form in a belt up to 4,000 km long and 1,000 km inland, with skarns continuously forming for up to 120 m.y., e.g., the eastern China belt. In most other belts, skarns form in 5- to 20-m.y. episodes similar to the situation in South America. In collisional settings, skarns may form up to 50 m.y. after an ocean closure, and the distance to the collisional/accretionary boundary may extend to ~150 km inland. The size of collision-related skarns may be as large as the largest skarns related to oceanic crust subduction. Older suture zones may be favorable sites for younger mineralization, for example, the Triassic Paleo-Tethys suture between the North and South China blocks for the younger and largest skarn cluster of the Middle-Lower Yangtze belt in the eastern China belt, and the Triassic sutures in southwestern China for Cretaceous to Tertiary mineralization. 

Chapter 6 Skarn Deposits of China

The Caojiaba tungsten deposit (1903 Mt@ 037 wt% WO3) is hosted by skarn along the contact between clastic and carbonate rocks in the Xiangzhong Metallogenic Province of southern China The deposit is characterized by an early prograde skarn containing low andraditic garnet (Ad07–219) and hedenbergitic pyroxene (Hd529–773) overprinted by a retrograde biotite–chlorite assemblage and then by quartz–scheelite veins, similar to well-studied reduced tungsten skarns worldwide Scheelite has low MoO3 (001–016 wt%), and ore commonly contains up to 15 ppm Au and up to 033 wt% Sb Sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U–Pb analyses of hydrothermal titanite coexisting with scheelite in three skarn ore samples provide ages between 206 ± 5 Ma and 196 ± 3 Ma (2σ) Our new ages demonstrate that the tungsten mineralization took place at Caojiaba between 206 and 196 Ma, overlapping the 228–201 Ma emplacement age of granitic rocks in the Xiangzhong Metallogenic Province Mineralogical and geochronological evidence collectively indicates that Caojiaba is a distal reduced W skarn deposit The 226–196 Ma granite-related W mineralization recognized throughout the province has a possible link with the widespread Sb–Au mineralization in the region

Mineralogy and titanite geochronology of the Caojiaba W deposit, Xiangzhong metallogenic province, southern China: implications for a distal reduced skarn W formation

\n Yuhengtang is a representative slate-hosted Au deposit in the Jiangnan orogenic belt, South China, with a reserve of ~55 t Au and an average grade of ~3.9 g/t. Gold mineralization is characterized by veinlet and disseminated ores comprising native gold, auriferous pyrite, and arsenopyrite. Paragenesis of the Yuhengtang deposit can be divided into three stages. Pre-ore stage 1 is composed of bedding-parallel layers of pyrite in slate of the Neoproterozoic Banxi Group. Main ore stage 2 represents the Au mineralization stage, and two distinct types of mineralization can be distinguished: visible Au-arsenopyrite-pyrite in quartz veinlets and auriferous arsenopyrite-pyrite disseminated within altered slate. Post-ore stage 3 consists of quartz-pyrite-calcite-ankerite veins. In this study, we integrate electron microprobe, laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) analyses to document textural, isotopic, and compositional variation among texturally complex pyrite and arsenopyrite assemblages in veinlet and disseminated ores. Additionally, LA-ICP-MS sulfur isotope mapping of pyrite highlights the covariation behavior between trace elements and sulfur isotopes at the grain scale, thus allowing the factors controlling sulfur isotope fractionation in hydrothermal Au deposits to be constrained.\n Pyrite, of sedimentary origin (stage 1), hosts negligible Au (<1.6 ppm) but is enriched in δ34S (15.6–25.8‰). Pyrite and arsenopyrite from stage 2 veinlet mineralization both display porous and dissolution-reprecipitation textures, have low Au concentrations (<4 and <78 ppm, respectively), and show a large variation in δ34S (–2.7 to 14.7‰ and –10.3 to 12.1‰, respectively). Pyrite and arsenopyrite from disseminated mineralization are, in contrast, characterized by oscillatory zoning textures and homogeneous appearance in backscattered electron (BSE) images, respectively, and are obvious by their relatively high contents of invisible Au (up to 90 and 263 ppm, respectively) and restricted range of δ34S values (0–5.3‰). These data suggest that magmatic-hydrothermal fluids contribute most of the Au and S budget in the Yuhengtang Au deposit. The major differences between veinlet and disseminated mineralization in terms of texture, trace element concentrations, and δ34S signatures of pyrite and arsenopyrite reflect contrasting mechanisms of Au precipitation and an evolution of physicochemical parameters of the ore-forming processes, particularly fO2 and the intensity of fluid-rock interaction. Pyrite from stage 3 appears homogeneous in BSE images yet displays a wide variation in δ34S values (1.2–31.4‰), further highlighting the controlling role played by physicochemical condition (i.e., pressure) on the δ34S signature of sulfides. Results of the coupled LA-ICP-MS sulfur and trace element mapping reveal that some zoned pyrite grains from stage 2 formed via overgrowth of Au-rich, light δ34S (2.4‰) hydrothermal rims onto Au-poor, heavy δ34S (18.1–18.5‰) sedimentary cores.\n All results support that multiple depositional mechanisms within a dynamic mineral system were responsible for Au concentration and define the specific textural, compositional, and sulfur isotope signatures of sulfides in coexisting vein/veinlet and disseminated mineralization. The new data highlight the ore-forming processes-based interpretation for ore genesis and underpin the importance of performing complementary in situ mineralogical analyses to elucidate the source and evolution of ore-forming fluids and enable correct interpretation of the architecture of the hydrothermal Au system.

Complementary Textural, Trace Element, and Isotopic Analyses of Sulfides Constrain Ore-Forming Processes for the Slate-Hosted Yuhengtang Au Deposit, South China

Mineralisation associated with the fractionated Cretaceous Baoshan Monzogranite: Tectonic implications for South China

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Mineralogy and titanite geochronology of the Caojiaba W deposit, Xiangzhong metallogenic province, southern China: implications for a distal reduced skarn W formation

Complementary Textural, Trace Element, and Isotopic Analyses of Sulfides Constrain Ore-Forming Processes for the Slate-Hosted Yuhengtang Au Deposit, South China

Mineralisation associated with the fractionated Cretaceous Baoshan Monzogranite: Tectonic implications for South China