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Germanium enrichment in sphalerite with acicular and euhedral textures: an example from the Zhulingou carbonate-hosted Zn(-Ge) deposit, South China

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Abstract

Carbonate-hosted Pb–Zn deposits frequently contain significant amounts of critical metals such as germanium in sphalerite. However, the textural and chemical controls leading to Ge enrichment remain poorly constrained. Based on textural observations and laser-ablation (multi-collector) inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis, we investigate the origin, textural control, and incorporation of Ge in the Zhulingou carbonate-hosted Zn(-Ge) deposit, South China, which contains > 400t Ge at 97.9 ppm. Two hydrothermal stages (I and II) and three textural types of sphalerite (Sp1, Sp2, and Sp3) are recognized in stratabound and stockwork Zn(-Ge) orebodies. Acicular colloform Sp1 formed in stage I, whereas euhedral sector-zoned Sp3 is related to stage II. In acicular-euhedral Sp2, both Sp1 and Sp3 are observed. A large variation of Ge concentrations is observed with an average Ge of 1013 ppm in Sp1, decreasing to 621 ppm in Sp2 and to 492 ppm in Sp3. In the three types of sphalerite, Ge concentrations are not correlated to monovalent cations (Cu and Ag), indicative of unusual substitution mechanisms coupled to divalent cations such as Mn, Pb, or Cd. Trace element distribution, sulfur, and lead isotopes suggest that the deeply circulating brines interacted with Ge-rich basement rocks and mixed with shallow biogenic sulfur: This mixing process was certainly the main factor controlling the Ge endowment. The precipitation of acicular sphalerite was likely controlled by a combination of specific fluid conditions (i.e., low T and pH, and rapid mineral growth rate) and fluid mixing. These conditions leading to the formation of acicular sphalerite were favorable for Ge enrichment, compared to co-existing euhedral grains generally less rich in Ge.

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Acknowledgements

We thank De-Zhi Yang and Xiu-Wen Luo for the help in fieldwork, Nigel J. Cook (University of Adelaide, Australia), and Denis Fougerouse (Curtin University, Australia) for fruitful discussions. Comments and suggestions from Georges Beaudoin (Editor-in-chief), Shao-Yong Jiang (Associate Editor), and three anonymous reviewers greatly improved the quality of the paper.

Funding

This research was financially supported by the fund from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42172082; 41872095 and U1812402) and the Talents Program Project of Yunnan Province (YNQR-QNRC-2018–104).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China

    Kai Luo & Jia-Xi Zhou

  2. Key Laboratory of Critical Minerals Metallogeny in Universities of Yunnan Province, Kunming, 650500, China

    Kai Luo & Jia-Xi Zhou

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, 1205, Switzerland

    Alexandre Cugerone

  4. State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550081, China

    Mei-Fu Zhou

  5. College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China

    Guo-Tao Sun

  6. Zijin School of Geology and Mining , Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350108, China

    Jing Xu

  7. School of Information Science and Engineering, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China

    Kang-Jian He

  8. Bureau of Geology and Mineral Exploration and Development of Guizhou Province, Duyun, 558000, China

    Mao-Da Lu

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  1. Kai Luo
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  2. Alexandre Cugerone
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Correspondence to Jia-Xi Zhou.

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Luo, K., Cugerone, A., Zhou, MF. et al. Germanium enrichment in sphalerite with acicular and euhedral textures: an example from the Zhulingou carbonate-hosted Zn(-Ge) deposit, South China. Miner Deposita 57, 1343–1365 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-022-01112-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-022-01112-4

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