|
Zijinshan, Zhongliao, Bitian, Wuzichilong, Longjiangting |
|
|
Fujian, China |
| Main commodities:
Au Cu
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
Super Porphyry Cu and Au
|
IOCG Deposits - 70 papers
|
All papers now Open Access.
Available as Full Text for direct download or on request. |
|
|
The Zijinshan mining district is located 17 km north of Shanghang and 190 km WNW of Xiamen in Fujian Province, south-eastern China (#Location: 25° 11' 12"N, 116° 24' 27"E).
The Zijinshan district contains five significant deposits that fall into different but related classes, as follows:
• Epithermal gold - Zijinshan and Bitian
• Porphyry copper - Zhongliao
• Transitional Porphyry-Epithermal - Wuzichilong and Longjiangting.
The oldest rocks in the district are Neoproterozoic phyllites and metsandstones, unconformably overlain by Devonian to Carboniferous shallow marine sediments with minor limestone containing Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn and Cu mineralisation on limestone sandstone contacts. Following Triassic tectonism these were intruded by Jurassic granites and composite stocks, and related volcanics. These rocks were in turn followed by an extensive Cretaceous volcanic suite controlled by a major NE trending deep fault zone and formed a 150 km long volcanic belt, including the Shimaoshan subaerial dacitic to rhyolitic volcanics which unconformably overlie the Jurassic granites. These were then overlain by Cretaceous red beds.
Copper-gold mineralisation in the Zijinshan district is developed within the 125 ±4 Ma Shimaoshan volcanics and related intrusives in a small fault bounded volcanic basin where the dacitic volcanic dome complex was formed. Dacitic porphyry occurs in a pipe like intrusion in the centre of the basin, surrounded by dacitic volcanic breccia, tuff and lava. A system of circular and radial faults and fissures developed around the dacite porphyry pipe are typically filled by hydrothermal breccias and veins.
High sulphidation, epithermal Au-Cu mineralisation at Zijinshan, the most important of the deposits, is found mainly within those hydrothermal breccias and veins which have filled a system of NW striking fissures, preferentially developed on the NW of the volcanic dome complex. The breccias contain wallrock and ore clasts which are generally <5 mm across, set in a very fine grained mineralised matrix composed mainly of quartz and alunite with minor sulphides (pyrite, covellite, enargite and digenite).
The hydrothermal breccias are mainly within the upper part of the Zijinshan deposit. At about 800 m below the surface drilling has encountered the 105 ±10 Ma Luoboling granodiorite porphyry which contains porphyry copper mineralisation beneath the dacite porphyry.
Alteration comprises:
• Early, widespread silicification in the Jurassic granites only, with associated tin,
• Phyllic alteration within the Jurassic and Cretaceous granites, volcanics and dacite porphyry, grading into potassic alteration at depth in the porphyry copper zone.
• Dickite zone peripheral to the phyllic alteration, forming narrow (<200 m) elongated bodies above the main dickite zone at depth. Dickite overprints the phyllic minerals, but is in trun overprinted by the alunite phase.
• The alunite zone composed of 5 to 60% alunite, 35 to 90% quartz and <5% pyrite, is spatially associated with high sulphidation copper and characteristically occurs in the NW part of the Zijinshan deposit, and changes gradually to dickite at depth.
• Surficial late silicification in the central part of the Zijinshan deposit, which grades with depth into the funnel shaped alunite zone. This zone corresponds to the hydrothermal breccia development and the economic gold ores.
The high sulphidation Au-Cu mineralisation formed around the dacite porphyry pipe in the centre of the dacite volcanic dome complex, with ore in the NW striking hydrothermal breccias. The dacite porphyry grades down into a granodiorite porphyry which contains potassic alteration and porphyry Cu-Au style mineralisation.
The Zijinshan deposit comprises a separate upper gold, overlying and grading into the lower copper orebodies.
The copper orebodies total 1.45 Mt of contained Cu @ a grade of 0.63% Cu in 230 Mt of ore,
The gold orebodies contain up to 250 t of gold (depending on cut-off, Zijin Mining, 2004), as follows:
356 Mt @ 0.72 g/t Au for 254.5 t Au at 0.3 g/t Au cut-off
276 Mt @ 0.82 g/t Au for 227.1 t Au at 0.4 g/t Au cut-off
214 Mt @ 0.93 g/t Au for 199.5 t Au at 0.5 g/t Au cut-off
166 Mt @ 1.04 g/t Au for 174.0 t Au at 0.6 g/t Au cut-off
131 Mt @ 1.15 g/t Au for 150.7 t Au at 0.7 g/t Au cut-off
Production from Zijinshan in 2003 totalled 9.5 t Au from ore with a head grade of 0.82 g/t Au (Zijin Mining, 2004).
The most recent source geological information used to prepare this decription was dated: 2004.
This description is a summary from published sources, the chief of which are listed below.
© Copyright Porter GeoConsultancy Pty Ltd. Unauthorised copying, reproduction, storage or dissemination prohibited.
Zijinshan
|
|
|
|
Chen, J., Cooke, D.R., Piquer, J., Selley, D., Zhang, L. and White, N.C., 2019 - Hydrothermal Alteration, Mineralization, and Structural Geology of the Zijinshan High-Sulfidation Au-Cu Deposit, Fujian Province, Southeast China: in Econ. Geol. v.114, pp. 639-666.
|
Duan, R.-C., Chen, H., Hollings, P., Qi, J., Xu, C., Zhang, S., Xiao, B., Liu, G. and Liu, J., 2017 - The Mesozoic magmatic sources and tectonic setting of the Zijinshan mineral field, South China: Constraints from geochronology and geochemistry of igneous rocks in the Southeastern Ore Segment: in Ore Geology Reviews v.80, pp. 800-827.
|
Huang, W., Liang, H., Wu, L., Wu, J. and Bao, Z., 2018 - Asynchronous formation of the adjacent epithermal Au-Cu and porphyry Cu-Mo deposits in the Zijinshan orefield, southeast China: in Ore Geology Reviews v.102, pp. 351-367.
|
Jiang, S.-H., Bagas, L. and Liang, Q.-L., 2017 - Pyrite Re-Os isotope systematics at the Zijinshan deposit of SW Fujian, China: Constraints on the timing and source of Cu-Au mineralization: in Ore Geology Reviews v.80, pp. 612-622.
|
Jiang, S.-H., Bagas, L. and Liang, Q.-L., 2015 - New insights into the petrogenesis of volcanic rocks in the Shanghang Basin in the Fujian Province, China: in J. of Asian Earth Sciences v.105, pp. 48-67.
|
Jiang, S.-H., Liang, Q.-L., Bagas, L., Wang, S.-H., Nie, F.-J. and Liu, Y.-F., 2013 - Geodynamic setting of the Zijinshan porphyry-epithermal Cu-Au-Mo-Ag ore system, SW Fujian Province, China: Constrains from the geochronology and geochemistry of the igneous rocks: in Ore Geology Reviews v.53, pp. 287-305.
|
Li, B. and Jiang, S.-Y., 2014 - Geochronology and geochemistry of Cretaceous Nanshanping alkaline rocks from the Zijinshan district in Fujian Province, South China: Implications for crust–mantle interaction and lithospheric extension: in J. of Asian Earth Sciences v.93, pp. 253-274.
|
Li., B. and Jiang, S.-Y., 2017 - Genesis of the giant Zijinshan epithermal Cu-Au and Luoboling porphyry Cu-Mo deposits in the Zijinshan ore district, Fujian Province, SE China: A multi-isotope and trace element investigation: in Ore Geology Reviews v.88, pp. 753-767.
|
Liu, P., Mao, J., Yao, W., Wang, X., Jia, L. and Yang, H., 2017 - Petrogenesis of the mafic microgranular enclaves (MMEs) and their host granodiorites from the Zijinshan intrusion along the Middle-Lower Yangtze River Valley: Implications for geodynamic setting and mineralization: in Lithos v.288-289, pp. 1-19.
|
Mao, J., Cheng, Y., Chen, M. and Pirajno, F., 2013 - Major types and time-space distribution of Mesozoic ore deposits in South China and their geodynamic settings: in Mineralium Deposita v.48, pp. 267-294.
|
Pan, J.-Y., Ni, P., Chi, Z., Wang, W.-B., Zeng, W.-C. and Xue, K., 2019 - Alunite 40Ar/39Ar and Zircon U-Pb Constraints on the Magmatic-Hydrothermal History of the Zijinshan High-Sulfidation Epithermal Cu-Au Deposit and the Adjacent Luoboling Porphyry Cu-Mo Deposit, South China: Implications for Their Genetic Association: in Econ. Geol. v.114, pp. 667-695.
|
Piquer, J., Cooke, D.R.,Chen, J. and Zhang, L., 2017 - Synextensional Emplacement of Porphyry Cu-Mo and Epithermal Mineralization: The Zijinshan District, Southeastern China: in Econ. Geol. v.112 pp. 1055-1074.
|
So, C.-S., Zhang, D.-Q., Yun, S.-T. and Li, D.-Z., 1998 - Alteration-mineralization zoning and fluid inclusions of the high Sulfidation epithermal Cu-Au mineralisation at Zijinshan, Fujian Province, China: in Econ. Geol. v93 pp 961-980
|
Wu, L.-Y., Hu, R.-Z., Li, X.-F., Liu, S.-A., Tang, Y.-W. and Tang, Y.-Y., 2017 - Copper isotopic compositions of the Zijinshan high-sulfidation epithermal Cu-Au deposit, South China: Implications for deposit origin: in Ore Geology Reviews v.83, pp. 191-199.
|
Wu,, L.-Y., Hu, R.-Z., Li, X.-F., Stuart, F.M., Jiang, G.-H., Qi, Y.-Q. and Zhu, J.-J., 2018 - Mantle volatiles and heat contributions in high sulfidation epithermal T deposit from the Zijinshan Cu-Au-Mo-Ag orefield, Fujian Province, China: Evidence from He and Ar isotopes: in Chemical Geology v.480, pp. 58-65.
|
Zhong, J., Chen, Y.-J., Chen, J., Qi, J.-P. and Dai, M.-C., 2018 - Geology and fluid inclusion geochemistry of the Zijinshan high-sulfidation epithermal Cu-Au deposit, Fujian Province, SE China: Implication for deep exploration targeting: in J. of Geochemical Exploration v.184, pp. 49-65.
|
Zhong, J., Chen, Y.-J., Pirajno, F., Chen, J., Li, J., Qi, J.-P., and Li, N., 2014 - Geology, geochronology, fluid inclusion and H-O isotope geochemistry of the Luoboling Porphyry Cu-Mo deposit, Zijinshan Orefield, Fujian Province, China: in Ore Geology Reviews v.57, pp. 61-77.
|
Zhong, J., Chen, Y.-J., Qi, J.-P., Chen, J., Dai, M.C. and Li, J., 2017 - Geology, fluid inclusion and stable isotope study of the Yueyang Ag-Au-Cu deposit, Zijinshan orefield, Fujian Province, China: in Ore Geology Reviews v.86, pp. 254-270.
|
|
Porter GeoConsultancy Pty Ltd (PorterGeo) provides access to this database at no charge. It is largely based on scientific papers and reports in the public domain, and was current when the sources consulted were published. While PorterGeo endeavour to ensure the information was accurate at the time of compilation and subsequent updating, PorterGeo, its employees and servants: i). do not warrant, or make any representation regarding the use, or results of the use of the information contained herein as to its correctness, accuracy, currency, or otherwise; and ii). expressly disclaim all liability or responsibility to any person using the information or conclusions contained herein.
|
Top | Search Again | PGC Home | Terms & Conditions
|
|
