ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Geochemistry and geochronology of Late Jurassic and EarlyCretaceous intrusions related to some Au (Sb) deposits in southernAnhui: a case study and review

Qing Hu1 • Huangling Gu1 • Xiaoyong Yang1 • Yisu Ren1 • Ergen Gao2 •

Zhangxing Nie3

Received: 18 December 2017 / Revised: 1 March 2018 / Accepted: 4 April 2018

� Science Press, Institute of Geochemistry, CAS and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018

Abstract Some Au deposits in southern Anhui Province

have recently been found to be closely associated with Late

Mesozoic intrusions. Typical examples include the Hua-

shan Au (Sb) deposit and Au deposits at Zhaojialing, Wuxi,

and Liaojia. In order to understand the mechanisms that led

the formation of these Au deposits, we make detailed

reviews on the geological characteristics of these Au

deposits. Specifically, we present new LA-ICP-MS zircon

U–Pb dating, along with elemental and Hf isotopic data

from the Huashan Au (Sb) deposit. Our data suggests that

the Huashan ore-related intrusions were emplaced during

the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous periods

(144–148 Ma). They are characterized by arc-magma fea-

tures and high oxygen fugacity and are rich in inherited

zircons. Zircon U–Pb ages and Lu–Hf isotopes from

intrusions suggest that Proterozoic juvenile lithosphere is

the main source of these intrusions. The regional geological

history implies that lithosphere beneath southern Anhui

was produced during a Proterozoic subduction and was

fertilized with Au (Cu) in the process. Integrated with the

results of previous studies, we inferred that Late Mesozoic

intrusions formed by the remelting of the lithosphere could

provide the metal endowment for the Au-rich deposits in

southern Anhui.

Keywords Yanshannian magmatism � Subduction-modified lithosphere � Au (Sb) deposits � Southern Anhui �South China

1 Introduction

The Jiangnan Orogenic Belt (JOB) is a Neoproterozoic

collisional zone that is situated between the Yangtze Block

and the Cathaysia Block (Zhao 2015). It spans several

provinces, including the provinces of Guangxi, Guizhou,

Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Zhejiang. The total reserve of

more than 970 t of Au makes it one of the most important

gold producers in southern China (Gu et al. 2012; Ni et al.

2015; Wang et al. 2015; Liu et al. 2016; Wen et al. 2016;

Deng and Wang 2016; Xu et al. 2017; Deng et al. 2017).

Southern Anhui is located at the northeastern part of the

JOB. It has not been extensively studied because the Au

deposits (or occurrences) found there have been small

(reserve lower than 1 t). Despite the lack of large Au

deposits, southern Anhui is known to have widespread Au

mineralization, indicating a bright Au metallogenic pro-

spect (Wang et al. 2013a, b). Recent studies have revealed

that some of this mineralization is closely associated with

and is considered genetically related to the Late Mesozoic

intrusions (Duan et al. 2011; Li et al. 2014; Nie et al.

2017). Examples include the Huashan Au (Sb) deposit

(Yang et al. 1993a, b; Nie et al. 2016, 2017; Xiao et al.

2017) and the Zhaojialing (Yang et al. 2015b), Tianjing-

shan (Duan et al. 2011), Wuxi (Li et al. 2014, 2015) and

Electronic supplementary material The online version of thisarticle (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-018-0270-y) contains supple-mentary material, which is available to authorized users.

& Xiaoyong Yang

xyyang@ustc.edu.cn

1 CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and

Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences,

University of Science and Technology of China,

Hefei 230026, China

2 College of Civil Engineering, Anhui Jianzhu University,

Hefei 230601, China

3 No. 311 Geological Team, Anhui Bureau of Geology and

Mineral Resources Exploration, Anqing 246000, China

123

Acta Geochim

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-018-0270-y

Liaojia (Qian et al. 2008; Cheng et al. 2013) Au depos-

its (Table 1). However, the tectonic and genetic constraints

relating these Mesozoic intrusions to the Au deposits are

still unclear.

In this paper, we summarize new findings of Au and Au-

polymetallic mineralization, and we discuss the relation-

ship between the Au mineralization and the magmatism

presented in southern Anhui. New data from the Huashan

Au (Sb) deposit were supplemented by data from previous

studies to discuss the genesis of the Au-related intrusions.

Finally, we propose a model for the genesis of the mag-

matism related Au deposits in southern Anhui, in order to

guide future mineral exploration.

2 Geological setting

Southern China consists of two tectonic blocks, the

Yangtze Block and the Cathaysia Block (Fig. 1a). The

Jiangshan-Shaoxing Fault separates the Yangtze Block and

the Cathaysia Block (Zhang et al. 2005). It is considered to

have the Archean-Paleoproterozoic crystalline basement

(e.g., Kongling and Dongling complexes) surrounded by

Mesoproterozoic to Early Neoproterozoic low-grade

metamorphic fold belts, which are unconformably overlain

by Neoproterozoic Sinian cover (Zhao and Cawood 2012;

Zhao 2015). Two Neoproterozoic igneous rock assem-

blages that formed under arc systems are exposed in the

periphery margins of the block, in the western-northern

Panxi-Hannan arc and southeastern Jiangnan arc (Zhou

et al. 2002; Zhao and Cawood 2012; Zhao 2015) (Fig. 1a).

The Jiangnan arc developed on the southeastern margin of

Yangtze Block and subsequently incorporated onto the

Jiangnan Orogenic Belt (JOB) as a result of the Proterozoic

collision between the Yangtze and Cathaysia Blocks (Zhou

et al. 2002).

The Jiangnan Orogenic Belt (JOB) is located on south-

eastern margin of the Yangtze Block. It formed during the

collision of the Yangtze and the Cathaysia blocks (Zhao

2015; Xu et al. 2017). The JOB consists of Early Neo-

proterozoic (970–825 Ma) greenschist facies metamor-

phosed volcanic-sedimentary strata, which are intruded by

Middle Neoproterozoic (825–815 Ma) peraluminous

granites, Middle Neoproterozoic (815–750 Ma) weakly

metamorphosed strata, and Late Neoproterozoic

(\ 750 Ma) unmetamorphosed Sinian cover (Fig. 1a)

(Wang and Mo 1995; Li et al. 2003; Wang and Li 2003;

Wang et al. 2011; Zhao and Cawood 2012; Yao et al. 2014;

Zhao 2015). Two ophiolite belts outcrop in the Neopro-

terozoic stratums along the southeastern margin of the belt

(Zhao 2015). The JOB contains more than 250 Au deposits

or occurrences, such as the Jinshan Au deposit and the

world-class Dexing porphyry Cu-Mo-Au deposit at Jiangxi

Province, and the Huangjindong, Mobin, Woxi and Wangu

Au–Sb-(W) deposits at Hunan Province (Fig. 1a).

The southern Anhui Province is located at the northeast

JOB (Fig. 1), adjacent to the Lower Yangtze River Belt

(LYRB). The basement rocks are the low-grade meta-

morphic volcanic-sedimentary strata, which can be classi-

fied into the Mesoproterozoic Shangxi Group and the

Neoproterozoic Likou Group. The upper cover consists of

Nanhua system, Sinian, Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian

strata. The Neoproterozoic magmatic rocks distribute in the

southern part of southern Anhui and can be divided into

earlier marine volcanic rocks and later granites. The Early

Cretaceous magmatic rocks form the large granitic bath-

olith, with the intrusive ages at ca. 140 Ma and ca. 120 Ma.

The Au deposits in the region are located near the southern

Tianjingshan (Duan et al. 2011), Liaojia (Qian et al. 2008;

Cheng et al. 2013), the northern Zhaojialing (Yang et al.

2015), and Huashan-Zhaceqiao (Nie et al. 2016) (Fig. 1b).

Some Au deposits show close spatial and temporal asso-

ciation with the ca. 140 Ma intrusive rocks (Duan et al.

2011; Cheng et al. 2013; Shen et al. 2016; Nie et al. 2017).

3 Geological characteristics of regional Au(-polymetallic) mineralization

3.1 Huashan Au (Sb) deposit (case study in this

paper)

The Huashan Au (Sb) deposit is located on the eastern side

of the Dongzhi Fault (Fig. 1b). From south to north, the

Nanhua system-Lower Silurian strata distributed from old

to young, including till conglomerate, black shale, black

silicalite, argillaceous-striated limestone, and carbonate

rocks (Fig. 2a). The regional EW-trending tectonic struc-

tures control the distributions of the magmatism in the

Huashan area. The magmatic rocks are dominated by

granodiorite porphyries, with minor granodiorite, quartz

diorite and mafic dikes. Phenocrysts of granodiorite por-

phyries are composed of plagioclase (20 vol.%–40 vol.%),

quartz (5 vol.%–10 vol.%), biotite (3 vol.%–5 vol.%) and

amphibole (5 vol.%). Matrix consists of quartz (15 vol.%–

20 vol.%) and feldspar (20 vol.%–35 vol.%). Accessory

minerals (3 vol.%–5 vol.%) are zircon, apatite and pyrite.

The granodiorite porphyries have undergone strong alter-

ations which in turn caused the transformations of biotite

and plagioclase phenocrysts into kaolinite or sericite

pseudomorphs and the existence of melting corrosion

structures in some quartz phenocrysts (Fig. 3).

Two regional EW-trending fault zones with high–angle

dipping cross the ore district (Fig. 2b). One is a normal

fault and the other is a thrust fault. The normal fault con-

trols the ore bodies. The ore bodies were mainly hosted by

Acta Geochim

123

Table

1Summaryofthefundam

entalcharacteristicsoftherepresentativegold

(-polymetallic)

deposits

inJTZ,northeast

JOB,Southeast

China

Deposit

Tectonic

setting

Mineralizaion

type

Host

Rock

Associated

magmatic

rocks

Ore

minerals

Gangue

minerlas

Majoralternation

Description

References

Huashan

JTZ

Low temperature

hydrothermal

Au-Sb

Precambrian

shale,

silicalite,

argillaceous-

striated

limestoneand

alternated

granodiorite-

porphyries

Havinggenetic

link

withCretaceous

granodiorite

porphries(145Ma)

Pyrite,

arsenopyrite

andantimony

Quartz,

sericite

and

carbonate

andclays

Decarbonation,

sericitization,

silicification,

dolomitizationand

sulfidation.

Faultcontrolled

hydrothermal

deposit.Theore

bodiesmainly

destributein

fracture

zone,

orin

the

carbonate.

Thefine

dissenminated

gold

deposit

Zhaceqiao

JTZ

Low temperature

hydrothermal

Au

Precambrian

to

Silurian

stratums

Havinggenetic

link

withCretaceous

granodiorite

porphyries(142-

148Ma)

Pyrite,

arsenopyrite

andantimony

Quartz,

sericite,

carbonate

andclays

Decarbonation,

sericitization,

silicification,

dolomitizationand

sulfidation

Contain

several

small

gold

spots.

Includinglateritic

andfine

dissenminated

gold

deposit

1

Zhaojialing

JTZ

Low temperature

hydrothermal

Au

Precambrian

siltstone

(fracture

zone)

Smallgranodiorite

porphyries

distributedaround

theore

district

Hem

atite,

magnetitie,

pyrite,

arsenopyrite

andgold

Quartz,

sericite,

carbonate

andclays

Silicificaiton,

sericitizationand

pyritization

Faultcontrolled

hydrothermal

deposit.Contain

two

differenttypes

of

ore

body:theearlier

auriferousquartz

veinandthelater

finedissenminated

gold

ore

body

2

Chaishan

JTZ

Skarn,Low

temperature

hydrothermal

Au-W

Precambrian

siltstone,

granodiorite

Havinggenetic

link

withyanshannian

granodiorite

intrusionsanddikes

Tungstitie,

molybdenite,

pyrite

Quartz,

sericite

and

carbonate

Pyritization,

silicification,

ferritization,

sericitizationand

skarnization

Ore

bodiesarehosted

inthegranodiorite

andthecontact

zone

between

granodiorite

and

stratum

Dahaoshan

JTZ

Low temperature

hydrothermal

Au

Precambrian

siltstone,

dyke

Smallgranodiorite

porphyries

distributedaround

theore

district

Pyrite,

chalcopyrite,

gelena,

gold

Quartz,

sericite,

carbonate

Silicification,

chloritization

Faultcontrolled

hydrothermal

deposit.Twotypes

ofmineralization:

fracture

zone

alternationrock

type

andauriferous

quartz

veintype

3

Acta Geochim

123

Table

1continued

Deposit

Tectonic

setting

Mineralizaion

type

Host

Rock

Associated

magmatic

rocks

Ore

minerals

Gangue

minerlas

Majoralternation

Description

References

Luochong-

Songchong

JTZ

Low temperature

hydrothermal

Sb

Precambrian

argillaceous-

striated

limestone

Smallgranodiorite

porphyries

distributedaround

theminingdistrict

Antimony,

pyrite

and

sphalerite

Quartz,

carbonate

Carbonation,

silicification

Ore

bodiesmainly

occurin

the

huangboling

anticlinal

axis

and

NEtrendingfracture

zone

4

Paodaoling

LYRB

Porphyry

Au

Daciteporphyry

Havinggenetic

link

withCretaceous

daciteporphyry

Pyrite,

arsenopyrite,

hem

atitie,

sphalerite

Silicificaiton,

sericitizationand

pyritization

Ore

bodiesmainly

hosted

bythedacite

porphyry

5

Liaojia

Northeastern

JOB

(Anhui)

Middle-Low

temperature

Au

Mesoproterozoic

phyllite

Haveclose

spatial

associationwith

basic-acid

magmatic

rocks

occringaroundthe

deposit,especially

forthelate

Jurassic

granodiorite

Pyrite,

arsenopyrite

withtrace

chalcopyrite,

sphaleriteand

gold

Quartz,

sericite

Silicification,

chloritization,

kaolinization,

sericitizationand

pyritization

Faultcontrolled

hydrothermal

deposit.The

auriferousquartz

veinsoccurin

the

facture

zoneand

shearzones

6

Wuxi

Northeastern

JOB

(Anhui)

Porphyry

Au–

Ag

Granodiorite

and

Silurian

siltstone

Havinggenetic

link

withCretaceous

granodiorite

porphyries(138Ma)

Pyrite,

marcasite,

arsenopyrite,

galena,

sphalerite,

chalcopyrite

Quartz,

siderite

and

sericite

Silicification,

pyritization,

chalcopyritization

andsericitization

Faultcontrolled

magmatic-

hydrothermal

deposit.Ore

body

destributesalongthe

NE-trendingfault

zones

andin

the

granodiorites

7

Tianjingshan

Northeastern

JOB

(Anhui)

Middle-Low

temperature

Au

Neoproterozoic

siltstone

Haveclose

spatial

associationwith

Neoproterozoic

granites

and

Jurassic-Cretaceous

magmatic

rocks

Pyrite,

chalcopyrite,

arsenopyrite,

gelena,

sphaleriteand

gold

Quartz,

sericite,

carbonate

andbarite

Silicification,

pyritization,

sericitization,

kaolinization

Ore

bodiesoccurred

in

theNW

contact

zonebetween

Lingshan

intrusion

andstratum.Two

mineralizationstyle:

auriferousquartz

veinstypeandshear

zonetype

8

Acta Geochim

123

a fault fracture zone that cuts the Cambrian strata (e.g.,

black shales and silicalite, argillaceous-striated limestone)

and alternated granodiorite porphyries. The ore bodies are

tabular or strata-bounded in shape, with breccia, and they

have a disseminated or massive structure. The ore minerals

are antimony, pyrite, and arsenopyrite. Gangue minerals

are quartz, sericite, carbonate, and clays.

3.2 Zhaojialing Au deposit

The Zhaojialing Au deposit is located on the eastern side of

the Dongzhi fault. It consists of the Changling, Zhaojialing

and Yangjiashan Au ore sections (Fig. 4). The ore bodies

are mainly occurred in the EW trending faults and their

secondary fault zones, and they are hosted by Xiuning and

Dengjia Group sandstone. Ore minerals are hematite,

magnetite, pyrite, arsenopyrite and nature gold, which are

characterized by medium-coarse grained texture, frag-

mental porphyritic texture, and disseminated structure.

Two different types of mineralization can be identified.

First, high sulphidation type deposits in earlier shear zone

and extensional fracture zone are present, where gold is

hosted in auriferous quartz vein. It is characterized by

strong silicification and sericitization, and nature gold

granule can be observed. Second, low sulphidation type

deposits controlled by lithology and alteration are also

present, where no obvious fracture zone can be observed. It

is characterized by alterations like carbonatization, serici-

tization and pyritization.

3.3 Wuxi Au deposit

The Wuxi Au (polymetallic) porphyry deposit is located

in Jingxian County. It was formed during Cretaceous and

is hosted by Silurian siltstone. This deposit contains seven

Au mineralized belts, one Ag mineralized belt and one Au

metallogenic prospective area. Numerous granite por-

phyries are exposed in the mining area, which show a

close spatial relationship with the mineralization. The

tectonic structures are controlled by the regional stress

field which caused the formation of many band-like fault

zones (Fig. 5). The magmatic hydrothermal fluids can

emplace along these faults and deposit to form ore bodies.

Typical porphyry type alteration can be observed, from

the central part to outside, and they are silicification,

potassic alteration, phyllic alteration and propylitization.

Ore minerals are pyrite, marcasite, arsenopyrite, which

have breccia texture and banding and a porphyritic and

disseminated structure. The 138 Ma Langqiao granodior-

ite with NE trending is located at the northern part of

mine district, in which numerous granite porphyry veins

can be identified.

Table

1continued

Deposit

Tectonic

setting

Mineralizaion

type

Host

Rock

Associated

magmatic

rocks

Ore

minerals

Gangue

minerlas

Majoralternation

Description

References

Jinshan

Northeastern

JOB

(Jiangxi)

Middle-Low

temperature

Au–Cu–Pb–

Zn

Mesoproterozoic

phyllite,

siltstone

Smallgranodiorite

porphyries

distributedaround

theminingdistrict

Pyrite,

magnetitie,

hem

atitie,

sphalerite,

galena,

chalocopyrite

andgold

Quartz,

sericite,

albite,

ankertite

and

chlorite

Silicification,

pyritization,

sericitization,

carbonationand

chloritizaion

Ore

bodieshave

stratiform

and

lenticularshape.

Twomineralization

style:auriferous

quartz

veinstype

andshearzonetype

9

1-N

ieet

al.(2013),Nie

etal.(2016),Shen

etal.(2016);2-Y

anget

al.(2015);3-Sunet

al.(2014);4-Zhang(1999);5-D

uan

etal.(2012);6-Q

ianet

al.(2008),Chenget

al.(2013);7-Li

etal.(2014);8-D

uan

etal.(2011);9-Liet

al.(2010a,

b)

JTZJiangnan

TransitionZone,

JOBJiangnan

Orogenic

Belt,LYRBLower

YangtzeRiver

Belt

Acta Geochim

123

Acta Geochim

123

3.4 Liaojia Au deposit

The Liaojia Au deposit, a middle-low temperature

hydrothermal deposit, is located in northwest Shitang

County and Liaojia County (Fig. 6) (Qian et al. 2008;

Cheng et al. 2013). The regional compressional tectonic

stress field caused the formation of inverted fold belts and a

series of schistosity zones, which provided ideal ore-con-

taining zones. Magmatism in the mine area are mainly

gabbro diorite, granodiorite, and diorite porphyry, dis-

tributed along NE and EW trending faults. The ore bodies

are hosted in Huansha Group phyllite and are mainly

controlled by the NNE-trending Dabeiling fault. Cheng

et al. (2013) suggest that the regionally widespread gran-

odiorites belong to I-type granite and have a close rela-

tionship with Au mineralization.

4 Analytical methods

4.1 Whole-rock major and trace element analysis

Six granodiorite porphyry samples of Huashan (15HS2-1,

15HS2-2, 15HS2-3, 15HS2-4, 15HS2-5, 15HS2-6,) were

selected and analyzed at Guangzhou ALS Geochemistry

Laboratory. The samples were powdered to\ 200 mesh

size using an agate mill. X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

(XRF) was used to determine the major elements, with the

standard deviations within 5%. Determination of loss of

ignition (LOI) was conducted after igniting the sample

powders at 1000 �C for 1 h. An ignite or calcined sample

(0.9 g) was added to 0.9 g of Li2B4O7-LiBO2 between

1050 and 1100 �C, mixed well, and fused in an auto fluxer.

From the resulting melt, a flat molten glass disk was pre-

pared. An AXIOS Mineral spectrometer was used to ana-

lyze the disk by wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence

spectrometry (XRF).

Trace elements and REE were determined on an Elan

DRC-II instrument (Element, Finnigan MAT) by induc-

tively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) anal-

ysis of solutions, which were digested in a closed beaker

for two-days in Teflon screw-cap bombs using a mixture of

HF and HNO3 acids. The detection limit, which is defined

as 3 s of procedural blank, for some elements is as follows

(ppm): Th (0.05), Nb (0.2), Hf (0.2), Zr (2), La (0.5) and Ce

(0.5). On the basis of replicate analyses of international

standard reference material (SRM) and analytical results,

the precision and accuracy of the data are better than 5%

and 10% for major and trace elements, respectively.

4.2 Zircon U–Pb dating and trace elements

Zircons were selected from three granodiorite porphyry

samples (15HS2, 15HS3, 15HS4,) using standard density

bFig. 1 a Geological map showing the distribution of Precambrian

rocks in the Yangtze Block (modified from Zhao 2015); b Map of

distribution of magmatic rocks and some of the Au deposit in

Southern Anhui Province

Fig. 2 a Structure map of the Huashan-Zhaceqiao deposit (Modified from Nie et al. 2016). b Cross-section of the Huashan Au (Sb) deposit

Acta Geochim

123

and magnetic separation techniques. The zircon grains

were hand-picked for a representative one under a binoc-

ular microscope, which was then mounted in epoxy resin

and polished to half sections. Cathodoluminescence (CL)

image technique was utilized to exam the internal structure

of zircons at the CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle

Materials and Environments at the University of Science

and Technology of China, Hefei.

In-situ U–Pb dating and trace element analyses of zir-

cons proceeded simultaneously with LA-ICP-MS at the

School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, at

the Hefei University of Technology. A 4.51 mj/cm-2

power energy of pulsed 193 nm ArF Excimer (COMPex

PRO) at a repetition rate of 8 Hz, and a spot diameter of

45 lm, coupled to a Agilent 7500 s quadrupole ICP-MS

was used for ablation. Helium was used as the carrier gas to

enhance the efficiency of the transportation of ablated

aerosol.

For isotope analysis, all measurements were conducted

with the external standard of zircon 91500, which recom-

mended a 206Pb/238U age of 1065.4 ± 0.6 Ma (Wieden-

beck et al. 1995). For trace element analysis, all

quantitative results were calibrated to relative element

sensitivities by using the NIST-610 as the external standard

and zircon SiO2 as the internal standard. The standards

were analyzed for every 10 analysis. The precision of

simultaneous NIST-610 analyses for REE, Sr, Nb, Ta, Th

and U are at the ppm level, and for Mn, P, Ti are better than

5%. The detection limit for REEs varies from 0.02 to

0.09 ppm. The detailed analytical procedure was described

by Zong et al. (2010). Off-line selection, integration of

analysis signals, background time-drift correction, trace

element analyses, and U–Pb dating quantitative calibration

was all performed with ICPMSDataCal (Liu et al.

2008, 2010b). Isoplot/Ex_ver3 (Ludwig 2003) was utilized

to make concordia diagrams and weighted mean

calculations.

Fig. 3 Microphotographs of Huashan granodiorite porphyries, a and b under plane-polarized light, c and d under cross-polarized light. Biotite

and plagioclase underwent strong alterations like argillzation and sericitization. (Qtz-quartz, Pl-plagioclase, Bt-biotite, Mus-muscovite)

Acta Geochim

123

4.3 Zircon Lu–Hf isotopes

The in situ Lu–Hf isotopes analyses were conducted at the

laboratory of the Tianjin Institute of Geology and Mineral

Resource, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences. The

Lu–Hf isotopes were measured by a NEPTUNE multiple-

collector inductively couple plasma mass spectator, quip-

ped with NEW WAVE 193 nm laser-ablation system. A

10–11 mj/cm2 power energy repetition rate of 8–10 Hz and

a spot diameter of 55 lm was used for ablation. The

ablated materials were transferred into MC-ICP-MS by

purified He gas. Detailed introduction of the analyses

method and isotope fractionation correction are described

by Geng et al. (2011). Off-line date processing was con-

ducted by ICPMSDataCal (Liu et al. 2010b).

To calculate eHf(t), parameters like k = 1.865 9 10-11

year-1, (176Hf/177Hf)CHUR.0 = 0.282772 and

(176Lu/177Hf)CHUR = 0.0332 are adopted (Blichert-Toft and

Albarede 1997). (176Hf/177Hf)DM = 0.28325 and

(176Lu/177Hf)DM = 0.0384 are used as the parameters to

calculate Hf model age (Vervoort and Blichert-Toft 1999).

4.4 Apatite composition

Zircons were selected from three relatively fresh granodi-

orite porphyry samples (15HS2, 15HS3, 15HS4,). The

methods used to separate and purify apatite are similar to

that used with zircons. The selected apatite were mounted

in epoxy resin and polished into half sections, then pictured

under transmitted and reflected light. Major and trace

elements of apatite were determined by Shimadzu EPMA

1600 electron microprobe and LA-ICP-MS respectively, at

the CAS Key Laboratory of Crust and Mantle Materials

and Environments at the University of Science and Tech-

nology of China.

For major elements, the EPMA analyses were conducted

under an accelerating voltage of 15 kV, a low beam current

(15 nA), and a defocused beam (5 lm). A suite of mineral

standards and oxide standards from the American Standard

Committee were used as calibration. For trace elements,

the spot size of the laser beam was 30 lm. Two silicate

glass reference materials (NIST SRM610, NIST SRM612)

were used as calibration, and Ca was used as the internal

standard (Danyushevsky et al. 2003; Pearce et al. 2010).

The details of the procedure were described by Danyu-

shevsky et al. (2003), Zhang et al. (2011), Flem and Bedard

(2010).

5 Results

The chemical compositions of the magmatic rocks from the

Huashan area are listed in Supplement Table 1.

5.1 Whole rock major and trace element analysis

5.1.1 Major elements

The Huashan granodiorite porphyries have a relatively high

content of SiO2 (69.4 wt%–70.6 wt%) and LOI

Fig. 4 Sketch map of the Zhaojialing Au deposit (Modified from Yang et al. 2015)

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123

(6.14 wt%–6.59 wt%), which implies that the magmas

underwent strong alterations. Relatively low content of

Na2O (0.05 wt%), CaO (2.09 wt%–2.36 wt%), MgO

(1.54 wt%–1.78 wt%) and K2O (4.33 wt%–4.58 wt %)

can be identified. The magmatic rocks are classified into

quartz-monzonite and quartz-rich granitoid on the QAF

diagram (Fig. 7a) and belong to the calc-alkaline and high-

K calc-alkaline series on the SiO2–K2O diagram (Fig. 7b).

Relatively high content of SiO2 could be caused by the

strong alteration. In the granite discrimination diagram, the

magmatic rocks are characterized as I-type granite affini-

ties, corresponding with previous studies (Fig. 7c, d). In

Harker diagrams (Fig. 8), the contents of Al2O3, TFe2O3,

P2O5, and TiO2 have negative correlations with those of

SiO2 (Fig. 8), supporting the existence of a fractional

crystallization process involving the separation of plagio-

clase, biotite and accessory minerals.

5.1.2 Trace elements

The Huashan granodiorite porphyries have relatively low

contents of REEs (RREE is about 101.7–127.4 ppm). The

patterns of REE (Fig. 9a) exhibit moderate enrichment of

LREEs relative to HREEs, and (La/Yb)N is high

(14.4–18.2), in which slightly negative Eu anomalies can

be observed (dEu = 0.72–0.86). The REE patterns are

similar with other synchronous granites nearby (Song et al.

2014; Shen et al. 2016).

The patterns of trace elements of Huashan igneous are

similar with those of other synchronous magmas in

southern Anhui (Fig. 9b), except for the strong depletion of

Sr. Previous studies show a slightly positive anomaly of Sr

(Song et al. 2014; Shen et al. 2016), which implies that the

depletion of Sr in Huashan magmatic rocks could be the

result of strong alteration. The enrichments in LREEs

(U) and depletions in HFSEs (Nb, P, Ti, Y) can be

Fig. 5 Sketch map of the Wuxi

Au deposit (Modified from Li

et al. 2015)

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123

interpreted by the involvement of continental crust mate-

rials (Condie 1982). The partial melting process is sup-

ported by the Ta–Ta/Sm diagram (Fig. 10a).

5.2 Zircon U–Pb dating and trace elements

Three samples of Huashan granodiorite porphyries

(15HS02, 15HS03 and 15HS04) are used to select zircons

for experiments. These zircons are generally euhedral,

prismatic, transparent, and colorless. Cathodoluminescence

(CL) images show clear micro-scale oscillatory zones of

zircons (Fig. 11), indicating a magmatic origin. Few

inherent cores can be identified, and some of these cores

have oscillatory zones (Fig. 11).

The zircon LA-ICP-MS U–Pb analysis results of the

Huashan magmas are listed in Supplement Table 2 (only

the data with concordant degree above 90% were used).

Zircons from 15HS02 showing high concordance yield

weighted average age of 145.9 ± 2.0 Ma (Fig. 12b).

However, most zircons from 15HS03 and 15HS04 show

low concordant degree, and few data can be used (Fig. 12c

and d). The average age of 15HS03 and 15HS04 are

148.3 ± 9.5 Ma and 144 ± 11 Ma, respectively. The206Pb/238U age of inherited cores in all samples ranges

from 790 to 900 Ma, with an average of about

803 ± 29 Ma (Fig. 12a). The cores with planer and

oscillatory zonal structure have Th/U ratios of about

0.5–0.6, while the cores without zonal structures have Th/U

ratios of about 0.3, suggesting a magmatic origin and a

metamorphic process, respectively. Furthermore, the age of

the Neoproterozoic magmas in the northeast JOB are

similar with those of the inherent zircons in the Huashan

area (Wu et al. 2006; Zheng et al. 2003, 2008), implying

the assimilation of the Neoproterozoic magmatic basement

during the generation or migration processes of Huashan

magma.

The trace elements of zircons of Huashan magmas are

shown in Supplement Table 3. The zircons have relatively

high contents of REE (RREE of young and inherent cores

are 3088–5051 ppm and 4909–9571 ppm, respectively),

with enrichment of HREE and depletion of LREE. The

young zircons (144–148 Ma) have relatively strong posi-

tive anomaly of Ce and slightly negative anomaly of Eu

(dEu = 0.52–0.70), suggesting a high oxidized state of

Huashan granodiorite porphyries (Fig. 13).

5.3 Zircon Lu–Hf isotopes

The Lu–Hf isotopic data of Huashan granodiorite por-

phyries are listed in Supplement Table 4. The 176Lu/177Hf

ratios of most zircons are lower than 0.002, indicating the

low radiogenic Hf accumulation after formation of zircons.

Thus, the 176Hf/177Hf ratios can represent the origin Hf

composition of the studied zircons (Amelin et al. 1999; Wu

et al. 2007).

Fig. 6 Sketch map of the Liaojia Au deposit (Modified from Cheng et al. 2013)

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123

The eHf(t) values of the 144–148 Ma aged zircons and

inherited zircon cores range from - 11.48 to 1.08 and 5.51

to 12.69, respectively. The two stage Hf model age (tDM2)

of Mesozoic zircons and inherited zircon cores are

1130–1928 Ma and 903–1360 Ma, respectively (Fig. 14).

5.4 Apatite composition

The major and trace elements of apatite from Huashan

granodiorite porphyries are shown in Supplement Table 5.

These apatites have 54.67%–56.84% CaO and 42.12%–

43% P2O5. The apatites have high contents of F (2.17%–

4.05%), which vary between those of sedimentary apatite

(* 2.21%) and volcanic apatite (* 4.06%) (Wang, 1987),

but they have low contents of Cl (0.08%–0.54%). The

RREE and dEu values range from 1311 to 3992 ppm and

0.48 to 0.78, respectively (Fig. 15).

6 Discussion

6.1 Constraints on the origin of the Au-related

magmatism

As the Au-related magmatic rocks are altered more or less,

their mobile element contents such as K, Na, Rb, and Sr

could actually be affected by the hydrothermal alteration

(Hastie et al. 2007). In diagrams (Fig. 16), there are some

correlations between LOI and mobile element contents for

the Au-related magmatic rocks. The K2O (Fig. 16a) con-

tents show negative correlation to the LOI contents while

Na2O (Fig. 16b) contents show positive correlation to the

LOI contents, implying different degrees of alternation,

such as albitization. For the magmatic rock from the certain

area, the K2O (Fig. 16a) contents of these rocks do not vary

much, suggesting that the K2O-SiO2 can be used here.

However, the total alkali contents of these rocks show

Fig. 7 Classification diagram of ore-related magmatic rocks in southern Anhui. a QAP diagram of ore-related magmatic rocks in southern

Anhui. After Streckeisen (1976); b K2O–SiO2 diagram of ore-related magmatic rocks in southern Anhui. Solid line is from Peccerillo and Taylor

(1976), dashed line is from Middlemost (1985). c FeO/(FeO ? MgO) versus SiO2 plot, after Frost et al.(2001); d P2O5 versus SiO2 plot, after

Chappell et al. (1999). Data sources: Shen et al. (2016), Li et al. (2015), Song et al. (2014), Yang et al. (2015)

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strong negative correlation with LOI, and the variation is

large (Fig. 16c). Therefore, the TAS diagram is not suit-

able to be used here, so we used the QAP diagram (Fig. 7a)

instead. The CaO (Fig. 16d) contents show positive cor-

relation with LOI, indicating the effect of carbonatization.

Besides, the correlations between mobile trace elements

and the LOI are also obvious (Fig. 16e and f), implying

that these elements are not reliable enough to be used to

discuss the formation of Au-related magmatic rocks. Thus,

Fig. 8 Harker diagram of Au-related magmatic rocks in southern Anhui

Fig. 9 a Rare earth element patterns (normalized by chondrite); b Trace element spider diagrams (normalized by N-MORB). Data sources: Li

et al. (2015), Shen et al. (2016), Song et al. (2014)

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123

we mainly use the immobile elements to discuss the gen-

esis of the magmatism.

In eastern China, the strong association between the

Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous magmatism and mineral-

ization has been reported by numerous studies (Chen et al.

2005; Sun et al. 2003; Mao et al. 2003, 2005; Li et al.

2010a, b; Xie et al. 2015, 2016, 2017a, b; Xu et al.

2012, 2014a; Yang et al. 2017; Wu et al. 2017; Fan et al.

2017; Hu et al. 2017; Gu et al. 2017a). However, the

forming mechanism of the ore-related magmatism is still

controversial. Subduction-related and intracontinental

models were proposed, including partial melting of thick-

ened or delaminated lower continental crust by basaltic

underplating (Wang et al. 2004, 2006, 2007), fractional

crystallization from mantle-derived basaltic magmas (Li

et al. 2009a, b, 2013), partial melting of subducted paleo-

Pacific Plate (Ling et al. 2009; Liu et al. 2010a, b; Sun et al.

2010; Gu et al. 2017b), mixing of mantle- and crustal-

derived magmas (Wang et al. 2003; Xie et al. 2009; Chen

et al. 2016), partial melting of Neoproterozoic crustal rocks

(Yang and Zhang 2012; Song et al. 2014), and remelting of

Neoproterozoic subduction-modified lithosphere mantle

(Wang et al. 2015).

The Au-related magmatic rocks in southern Anhui

mainly formed during 138–148 Ma (Fig. 17). However, no

synchronous basaltic rock has been found here. The

basaltic igneous rocks consisting of gabbros and alkali

volcanic rocks from the nearby LYRB were formed at

131–125 Ma (Zhou et al. 2008), which are younger than

the Au-related magmatic rocks in southern Anhui. Fur-

thermore, the relatively low contents of MgO (approxi-

mately 1 wt.%) suggest that the magmas are not mantle-

derived. Therefore, the fractional crystallization from

mantle-derived basaltic magma model and the remelting of

Neoproterozoic subduction-modified lithosphere mantle

model can be excluded.

The partial melting of the oceanic plate model is diffi-

cult to apply here since the adakitic signature (high Sr/Y

and La/Yb ratios) is not shown on the magmas (Defant and

Drummond 1990). Although the existence of garnet has

been supported by the (La/Yb)N and (Gd/Yb)N diagram

(Fig. 10b) (Blundy and Wood 1994; Klein et al. 2000;

Perterman et al. 2013; He et al. 2011), the anomaly of Eu of

whole rock (dEu = 0.72–0.86) and accessory minerals like

zircon (dEu = 0.52–0.70) and apatite (dEu = 0.48–0.78),

and the relatively low Sr/Y (3–5) support that the plagio-

clase is also stable in source, which does not correspond to

a deep melting and the existence of dense eclogitic lower

continental crust. Thus, the magmas are not derived from

the thickened or delaminated lower continental crust.

Therefore, the partial melting of Neoproterozoic crustal

rocks model and the mixing of mantle- and crustal-derived

magmas model are supported. Here, we prefer the latter

since it has been widely supported that the crust-mantle

interaction played an important role during the formation

of Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous ore-bearing magma-

tism in eastern China (Zhou et al. 2008; Xie et al.

2009, 2011b, c, 2012; Wang et al. 2015). The mantle

Fig. 10 a Ta–Ta/Sm diagram. b (La/Yb)N-(Gd/Yb)N diagram. Data

sources: Shen et al. (2016), Li et al. (2015), Song et al. (2014), Yang

et al. (2015)

Fig. 11 Representative zircon CL images with U–Pb age and

eHf(t) values for Huashan granodiorite porphyries

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123

derived high-Mg magmatic rocks with Late Mesozoic age

are reported in both Jiangnan Orogen and the northern

adjacent Lower Yangtze River Belt (Liu et al. 2010a, b;

Wang et al. 2015).

The zircons of Huashan granodiorite porphyries have

eHf(t) values ranging from - 11.48 to 1.08, first stage

model ages (tDM1) ranging from 765 to 1638 Ma (with

centralized values from 800 to 1000 Ma), and second stage

model ages (tDM2) ranging from 1130 to 1928 Ma. The

790–900 Ma inherited zircon cores show an oscillatory

zone (Fig. 11) and have eHf(t) and tDM2 values ranging

from 5.51 to 12.69 and 903 to 1360 Ma, respectively,

which indicate a Neoproterozoic magmatic origin. Besides,

the existence of quantitative inherited magmatic zircons

with Neoproterozoic age in southern Anhui is also reported

by other research (Yang and Zhang 2012; Xu et al. 2014b),

which indicates that the Neoproterozoic magmatic rocks

could contribute to the magmas, either as source material

or through contamination (Yang and Zhang 2012; Song

et al. 2014). The zircon Lu–Hf isotopic characteristics of

Huashan and those of Wuxi are comparable (Fig. 14a). The

zircons from Huashan and Wuxi intrusions plot in the

evolution direction of Neoproterozoic magmatic rocks in

the northeast JOB (Fig. 14a). Based on the Sr–Nd–Pb

isotopic data, the * 140 Ma magmas in southern Anhui

are proposed to derived from lithosphere mantle (He 2013)

or lower Yangtze crust (Song et al. 2014), and are con-

taminated with upper crust materials (e.g., Shangxi Group,

Likou Group volcanic rocks in southern Anhui and vol-

canic rocks in northwest Zhejiang Province (Wu et al.

2006; Wang et al. 2012; Xu 1994). These results indicate

that the intrusion have a relatively young source, which is

different from the Archean-Paleoproterozoic crystalline

basement in the central part of the Yangtze Block.

During the Jurassic-Cretaceous period, the subduction of

the Paleo-Pacific Plate affected tectonic stress field in

eastern China (Xie et al. 2007, 2008, 2011a; Zhou et al.

2008; Li et al. 2015). It reactivated the pre-existing faults

(e.g., Jiangnan Deep Fault) (He et al. 2010; Zhou et al.

2006) and caused the upwelling and decompression

Fig. 12 Concordia diagrams of zircons from Huashan granodiorite porphyries (inherited zircons, 15HS02, 15HS04 and 15HS03)

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melting of mantle, forming the basaltic melts. The basaltic

mantle-derived melts typically stall at the base of the lower

crust due to density contrasts (Hildreth and Moorbath

1988). In a MASH (melting, assimilating, storage, and

homogenization) process (Hildreth and Moorbath 1988),

heat released from the basaltic melts can cause partial

melting of crustal rocks. The mixing and differentiation of

these melts form hybrid, intermediate-composition mag-

mas with low enough density that they can ascend through

upper crust (Richards 2009). In our study, the Au-related

magmatism probably formed through this process.

6.2 The arc-magma feature and oxidized magma

source

According to the tectonic discrimination diagram proposed

by Pearce et al. (1984), the Au-related magmatic rocks in

the study area plot in the areas of VAG and syn-COLG

(Fig. 18a, b and c). In the YbN-(La/Yb)N diagram, the

magmatic rocks plot in the area of normal arc island rock

(Fig. 18d). Furthermore, the relatively high contents of Th,

U, and REE but the low content of Nb, Ta, and Ti suggest

that the magmatic rocks have typical geochemical affinities

of arc magma.

It is suggested that the Jiangnan arc had developed on

the southeastern margin of the Yangtze Block and subse-

quently incorporated onto the Jiangnan Orogenic Belt

(JOB) as a result of the Proterozoic collision between

Yangtze and Cathaysia Blocks (Zhou et al. 2002). The

existence of Neoproterozoic magmatic arc at the south-

eastern margin of the Yangtze Block has been supported by

much evidence, such as Neoproterozoic ophiolitic assem-

blages, the arc-geochemical featured Shuangxiwu group

(Li et al. 2009a, b), and the arc-related metamorphosed

volcanic-sedimentary strata at the southeastern margin of

the Yangtze Block (Zhao et al. 2015). Meanwhile, from

late Jurassic to Cretaceous, eastern China was closely

associated with the subduction of the Pacific plate (Mar-

uyama et al. 1997; Sun et al. 2007) and became an active

continent margin before the Jurassic (Maruyama et al.

1997; Zhou and Li 2000; Sun et al. 2007, 2010; Liu et al.

2010a, b; Deng et al. 2016; Ling et al. 2009). Therefore, we

cannot rule out the possibility that the Au-related magmatic

rocks in southern Anhui derive arc-magma feature from the

Pacific subduction.

Thus, we suppose that the arc-like characteristics of

magmas are both likely inherited from the juvenile litho-

sphere formed by the Neoproterozoic subduction between

the Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks (Wang et al. 2015) and

caused by the subduction of Pacific plate.

It has been widely accepted that the fluids/melts with

high oxygen fugacity are beneficial to the Cu-Au miner-

alization (Mungall 2002; Audeta et al. 2004; Oyarzun et al.

2001; Ballard et al. 2002; Mungall 2002; Kelley and Cot-

trell 2009; Lee et al. 2012; Sun et al.

2011, 2013b, 2015, 2017). Because the chalcophile ele-

ments (Cu and Au) are highly compatible in magmatic

sulfide phases while incompatible in silicate and oxide

minerals (Ballard et al. 2002). Thus, the removal of chal-

cophile elements from the mantle can only happen in

oxidized conditions where the sulfate phases are dominant

(Ballard et al. 2002; Mungall 2002). The redox state

(represented by oxygen fugacity) of a magmatic rock can

be measured by the contents of multiple valence trace

elements in the refractory accessory minerals like zircon

and apatite (Trail et al. 2012; Ballard et al. 2002; Miles

et al. 2014). Here, we use the zircon Ce4?/Ce3? and EuN/

EuN* values to evaluate the mineralization potential of the

Au ore-related magmas in the study area (Supplement

Table 4). The Ce4?/Ce3? and EuN/EuN* ratio of Huashan

and Wuxi granodiorite porphyries are projected in the area

Fig. 13 Diagrams of rare earth elements in zircons. a REE patterns

of zircons; b Ce4?/Ce3? ratios versus Eu/Eu* oxygen fugacity

discrimination diagram. The data of ore bearing and barren rocks in

Chile are referred from Ballard et al. (2002); The Dexing ore bearing

rocks data referred from Zhang et al. (2013); Wuxi data from Li et al.

(2014, 2015)

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123

defined by ore-related oxidized magmas in Chile and

Dexing (Fig. 13b), indicating an oxidized feature of the

granodiorite porphyries. In REE patterns of apatites

(Fig. 15), a slightly Eu negative anomaly (dEu ranging

from 0.48 to 0.78) also suggests a relatively high oxygen

fugacity of the magmas.

6.3 Implication for Au mineralization

The ages of Huashan granodiorite porphyries (zircon U–Pb

ages of 144–148 Ma) are corresponding to the mineral-

ization age (39Ar/40Ar ore-stage sericite ages of ca.

142 Ma) (Nie et al. 2017), indicating that both porphyry

emplacement and Au mineralization occurred simultane-

ously. In addition, the H–O isotopic data of fluid inclusions

in quartz indicates that magmatic water has been involved

in the mineralization process (Nie et al. 2017; Ji 1991).

Furthermore, the existence of hidden intrusions in the

Huashan area is supported by the annular magnetic

anomaly (Nie et al. 2013). Therefore, the granodiorite

porphyries have a close relationship with the Au

mineralization.

The lower crustal cumulates residual formed during

ancient subduction can contain small amounts of chal-

cophile and siderophile element-rich sulfides and act as a

metal source for Au-rich magmas during later remelting

(Richards 2009; Lee et al. 2012). The link between the

ancient subduction and the post-subduction ore deposits

have already been identified in the world, such as in the

southwestern Pacific area near North America (Solomon

1990; Core et al. 2006; Shafiei et al. 2009; Pettke et al.

2010), and in the north China Craton (Sun et al.

2007, 2013a; Zhu et al. 2015).

As mentioned before, during Proterozoic era, the exis-

tence of oceanic subduction between the Yangtze and

Cathaysia blocks has been widely accepted (Li et al.

2009a, b; Zhou et al. 2009; Zhao 2015). The volcanogenic

massive sulfide (VMS) type Pingshui Cu deposit and VMS

type Tieshajie Cu deposit (Wang et al. 2015) in the

southeast margin of the Yangtze Block support the Cu (Au)

enrichment during the Neoproterozoic subduction (Li et al.

2009a, b; Zhang et al. 2009). In the latest study, the finding

of Au (Cu)-rich lower continental xenoliths proves that the

lithosphere beneath the southwestern margin of the

Yangtze Block is Au (Cu) fertilized (Hou et al. 2017). In

southern Anhui, in the southeastern margin of the Yangtze

Block, the same scenario could also exist, suggesting that

the fertilized lithosphere could be the potential metal

source for the Au deposits.

Liang (1992) systematically analyzed the compositions

of the Proterozoic-Cambrian stratums in Southern Anhui

Fig. 14 Zircon Lu–Hf isotopic compositions. a The eHf(t) versus age diagram. b Histogram of Hf two stage model age. Data sources: Li et al.

(2015), Song et al. (2014), Yang et al.(2012), Wu et al. (2006), Zheng et al. (2008)

Fig. 15 Rare Earth Element patterns of apatite. The Wuxi apatite

data referred from Li et al. (2015)

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123

and suggested that the Shangxi, JingTan, Xiuning, Lei-

gongwu and Lantian groups have relatively high contents

of Au. Zhang (1999) posited that the Precambrian strata in

Huashan area have elevated contents of Sb. In particular,

the Sb contents in the Cambrian Huangboling Group are

ninety times higher than the Clark value. Yang (1993a)

studied the syn-sedimentary exogenic pyrites of Mesopro-

terozoic strata in southern Anhui and revealed that the

pyrite has high contents of Au, Sb, and As in the core while

low contents of those in the edge. The hydrothermal

metasomatism could be the potential reason for the

heterogeneous distributions of the elements in the pyrites,

which could bring the elements out of the pyrite and enrich

them to form the Au (-polymetallic) deposits. Therefore,

we can speculate that, in addition to Late Jurassic-Early

Cretaceous magmatism, the Au- and Sb-bearing strata are

the other possible providers of ore-forming metals for the

deposits in the study area.

Finally, we propose a multiple-stage genetic model that

explains the intrusion-related Au and Au-polymetallic

deposits in southern Anhui (Fig. 19):

Stage 1 During the Proterozoic oceanic subduction

between Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks, the lithosphere

beneath southern Anhui was produced and fertilized with

Au and other economically important elements. These

elements are preserved in the lithosphere (Fig. 19a).

Stage 2 In the Mesozoic era, the subduction of the paleo-

Pacific Plate beneath eastern China caused the partial

Fig. 16 Correlations between contents of mobile elements (K2O, Na2O, Na2O ? K2O, CaO, Sr and Rb) and LOI

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123

melting of the Au-rich lithosphere in southern Anhui,

forming the primary magma. The primary magmas then

underwent fractional crystallization and crustal assimila-

tion. Finally, the Au-related magmatic rocks that we have

observed in southern Anhui were formed.

Stage 3 The hydrothermal fluids derived from the

magmas have relatively high contents of Au. The emplaced

magma acted as a heat engine to drive the circulation of

hydrothermal fluids, which further extracted elements of

economic interest from the surrounding successions. The

fluids ascended along passageways such as fault zones and

formed deposits where conditions were favorable

(Fig. 19b).

Fig. 17 Chronological histogram of U–Pb ages obtained in this study

and from the literature

Fig. 18 Tectonic discrimination diagrams of Au-related magmatic rocks in southern Anhui. a Y-Nb discrimination diagram; b Y-Ta

discrimination diagram; c Hf–Ta*3-Rb/30 discrimination diagram; d YbN-(La/Yb)N discrimination diagram. WPG within plate granites, VAG

volcanic arc granites, ORG ocean ridge granites, syn-COLG syn-collision granites (after Pearce et al. (1984) and Defant and Drummond. (1990)).

Data sources: Li et al. (2015), Song et al. (2014)

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7 Conclusions

Based on geochemical and geochronological data from the

Huashan Au (Sb) deposits, as well as a database from

previous studies, this study draws three primary

conclusions:

(1) Au-related magmas in southern Anhui were

emplaced during the Late Jurassic and Early Creta-

ceous periods (138–148 Ma).

(2) Au-related magmas are characterized by arc-magma

features and high oxygen fugacity and are rich in

inherited zircons.

(3) Zircon U–Pb ages and zircon Lu–Hf isotopes suggest

that Proterozoic juvenile lithosphere was the main

source of Au-related magmas in southern Anhui.

Acknowledgements This study is supported by the National Key

R&D Program of China (No. 2016YFC0600404), the National Nat-

ural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41372087, 41673040,

41174043), and the Project of Geological Science and Technology of

Anhui Province (2014-K-04, 2016-K-1). We wish to thank Dr.

Fangyue Wang for his assistance during the zircon U–Pb dating

analyses and Dr. Lei Liu for his help on the zircon Lu–Hf analyses.

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