MESOZOIC LARGE SCALE MINERALIZATION AND MULTIPLE LITHOSPHERIC EXTENSION IN SOUTH CHINA

Abstract

South China is one of the most important metallogenic provinces in China, which comprises plenty of W, Sn, Bi, Cu, Ag, Hg, Sb, REE, Au and Zn-Pb polymetallic ore deposits. In the present paper, we preliminarily describe the basic characteristics of large scale mineralization in South China. According to the available high precision geochronological data, it is proposed that there are three pulses of mineralization in south China, i.e. 170～150 Ma, 140～125 Ma and 110～80 Ma, respectively. The first one is mainly characterized by porphyry copper system and hydrothermal vein Pb-Zn system genetically associated with diorite and granodiorite, and leucogranite-related quartz wolframite vein system and skarn-greisen system W-Sn-Mo-Bi-Be ore deposits, while the third one mainly formed Sn-Au-Ag-U ore deposits. The polymetallic tin deposits are also related to leucogranite whereas uranium deposits hosted in the granitic intrusions or stocks in various ages from Proterozoic to Cretaceous and gold deposits of various types comprising Carlin, shear zone and epithermal systems were formed by convective heated hydrothermal solution which leached the ore substances from the host rocks. The pulse of 140～125 Ma which is weaker than the other two, and is likely a transitional event from the first mineralization pulse to the third, is mainly recorded by leucogranite-related both W and Sn ore deposits. The three pulses of large scale mineralization are related to the multistaged lithospheric extension of the back arc of the southeastern margin of Eurasian continent caused by the tectonics of post-collision between Yangtze China craton and North China craton, and the Pacific plate subduction .

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