Mineralization age, tectonic setting and ore genesis of the Wuxing Pt–Pd-rich magmatic Cu-Ni sulfide deposit, Northeast China
Graphical abstract
Introduction
Pt and Pd mineralization rarely coexists in Cu-Ni sulfide deposits in Northeast China, such as the Hongqiling, Piaohechuan, and Sandaogang deposits (Fig. 1a). In NE China, the Wuxing deposit is the only Cu-Ni deposit rich in Pt–Pd mineralization and has attracted considerable attention. Previous studies have shown that Cu-Ni and Pt–Pd mineralization in the Wuxing deposit primarily occurs in mafic–ultramafic complexes (Cui et al., 2020, Li et al., 2010, Liang, 2009, Quan, 2014, Sun et al., 2006, Sun et al., 2019, Wang et al., 2016), which are composed of pyroxenites and diopside, surrounded by gabbros and gabbro-diorites (Liang et al., 2009, Liang, 2009). The Pt–Pd enrichment of the Wuxing deposit could be attributed to platinum group element (PGE)–enrichment of the mantle source (Cui et al., 2020). Pt–Pd is often found as single minerals in rocks and ores. Platinum is mostly enriched in pyrite, followed by chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite, whereas palladium mostly enriched in chalcopyrite, followed by pyrite and pentlandite (Quan, 2014). Many studies have been conducted to determine the geological characteristics and mineral occurrences in the Wuxing deposit; however, considerable controversy exists regarding its metallogenic age. For example, several period have been proposed, including the Early Caledonian (647–629 Ma, zircon U–Pb; Li et al., 2009), Late Devonian (361 Ma, whole rock Rb–Sr method; Liu et al., 1993), Early Carboniferous (340 Ma, whole rock Rb–Sr method; Qu et al., 1997), Late Triassic (208.2 Ma, zircon U–Pb; Sun et al., 2019), and Tertiary (37.8 Ma, zircon U–Pb; Li et al., 2010).
The Wuxing Pt–Pd-rich Cu-Ni sulfide deposit is located in the Khanka Block, which is characterized by the superposition of the Paleo-Asian and Paleo-Pacific tectonic domains and has experienced a complex tectonic evolution (Jing et al., 2015, Yang, 2017, Zhang, 1997, Zhang, 2004, Zhou et al., 2012). The controversial metallogenic chronology has led to an unclear understanding of the metallogenic background and restricts potential ore-prospecting. To improve our understanding of this metallogenic complex, we selected ore-bearing mafic–ultramafic complexes, and porphyritic granite, leucogranite, post-metallogenic dike rocks for laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) zircon U–Pb dating, petrogeochemical, and Hf isotopic analyses. Moreover, some key issues are comprehensively analyzed including the diagenetic age, petrogenesis, and tectonic setting of the rocks on the basis of new data and evidence.
Section snippets
Geologic setting
Northeast China is located in the eastern part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). The region is generally considered to comprise micro-continental blocks (Yang et al., 2014), including, from west to east, the Erguna, Xing’an, Songliao, Jiamusi, and Khanka Blocks, all of which are separated from each other by different faults (Wilde et al., 2000, Wu et al., 2011, Yang et al., 2014; Fig. 1a).
The Wuxing deposit is located on the western margin of the Khanka Block, which is bounded by the
Geological characteristics of the Wuxing deposit
The Wuxing deposit is located on the western side of the Jiamusi–Khanka Block, 7 km southeast of the Dunhua-Mishan fault. The mining area is dominated by fault structures, including the E–W fault and NEE fault zone and their secondary fault, while the NWW fault represents the secondary structure. All of the faults in the study area are secondary faults related to the Dunhua-Mishan fault (Fig. 1a).
Outcropping strata in the mining area include the Late Triassic Luoquanzhan Formation (Fig. 2).
Sample description
Mafic–ultramafic complex, porphyritic granite, leucogranite, and plagiogranite porphyry samples have been collected from the surface outcrops in the Wuxing deposit, the quartz diorite porphyrite samples have been collected from the drill (Fig. 2). The main features of the various rocks are as follows:
Pyroxenite (Fig. 5a–c): samples are dark green in colour, fine– to medium–grained texture, and massive structure. They mainly composed of clinopyroxene (40–50%), diopside (25–30%), and hornblende
Mafic–ultramafic complex
Zircons from pyroxenite samples (WXHS) are colourless, and prismatic with lengths between 50 and 150 μm and length to width ratios between 1 and 3 (Fig. 6a). All of the Th/U ratios of the zircons range from 0.12 to 0.6 (Table S2), suggesting the characteristic of magmatic origin. Twenty–five spots from sample WXHS yield 206Pb/238U ages, ranging from 524.2 to 511.8 Ma. The weighted mean 206Pb/238U average age of WXHS is 516.7 ± 2.6 Ma [mean square weighted deviation (MSWD) = 0.15, n = 25; Fig. 7
Diagenetic and metallogenic time of Wuxing deposit
Isotopic dating of the Wuxing deposit began in the 1990s. Initially, traditional Rb–Sr isotope dating method was primarily applied to gabbros, yielding ages of 340 Ma (Qu et al., 1997) and 361 Ma (Liu et al., 1993). However, the most suitable samples for Rb–Sr isotope analysis are intermediate–felsic igneous rocks, because of the large amounts of Rb and Sr bearing minerals (e.g., micas or feldspars). The dating method is influenced by many factors, has large errors and the reliability of the
Conclusions
Based on the zircon U–Pb dating, petrogeochemical, and Hf isotopic analyses in this study, the following conclusions can be drawn:
- (1)
The weighted mean U–Pb ages of the zircons from the pyroxenites, gabbros, porphyritic granites, and leucogranites were 516.7 ± 2.6, 513.8 ± 2, 505.4 ± 2.3 and 499.5 ± 2.9 Ma, respectively, suggesting that these rocks were emplaced during the Early Paleozoic. The zircon U–Pb ages of the quartz diorite porphyry and plagiogranite porphyry were 206.6 ± 2.1 and
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgement
This research was funded by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant 2017YFC0601304 and 2018YFC0603804), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 41402060), Science and Technology Project of Department of Education, Jilin Province (Grant JJKH20200946KJ), the Natural Science Foundation of Jilin Province (Grant 20170101201JC), and Self-determined Foundation of Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Evaluation in Northeast Asia, Ministry of Natural Resources (Grant DBY-ZZ-19-13 and
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