Abstract The Furong tin deposit in the central Nanling region, South China, consists of three main types of mineralization ores, i.e. skarn‐, altered granite‐ and greisen‐type ores, hosted in Carboniferous and Permian strata and Mesozoic granitic intrusions. Calcite is the dominant gangue mineral intergrown with ore bodies in the orefield. We have carried out REE, Mn, Fe, and Mg geochemical and C, and O isotopic studies on calcites to constrain the source and evolution of the ore‐forming fluids. The calcites from the Furong deposit exhibit middle negative Eu anomaly (Eu/Eu*= 0.311–0.921), except for one which has an Eu/Eu* of 1.10, with the total REE content of 5.49–133 ppm. The results show that the calcites are characterized by two types of REE distribution patterns: a LREE‐enriched pattern and a flat REE pattern. The LREE‐enriched pattern of calcites accompanying greisen‐type ore and skarn‐type ore are similar to those of Qitianling granite. The REE, Mn, Fe, and Mg abundances of calcites exhibit a decreasing tendency from granite rock mass to wall rock, i.e. these abundances of calcites associated with altered granite‐type and greisen‐type ores are higher than those associated with skarn‐type ores. The calcites from primary ores in the Furong deposit show large variation in carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions. The δ 13 C and δ 18 O of calcites are −0.4 to −12.7‰ and 2.8 to 16.4‰, respectively, and mainly fall within the range between mantle or magmatic carbon and marine carbonate. The calcites from greisen and altered granite ores in the Furong deposit display a negative correlation in the diagram of δ 13 C versus δ 18 O, probably owing to the CO 2 ‐degassing of the ore‐forming fluids. From the intrusion to wall‐rock, the calcites display an increasing tendency with respect to δ 13 C values. This implies that the carbon isotopic compositions of the ore‐bearing fluids have progressively changed from domination by magmatic carbon to sedimentary carbonate carbon. In combination with other geological and geochemical data, we suggest that the ore‐forming fluids represent magmatic origin. We believe that the fluids exsolved from fractionation of the granitic magma, accompanying magmatism of the Qitianling granite complex, were involved in the mineralization of the Furong tin polymetallic deposit.
The Shidi Pb-Zn deposit is located in Xiushan County, southern Chongqing, and its orebodies were hosted in marine carbonates of the Cambrian Pingjing Formation. The authors selected sulfide minerals from the deposit for the analysis of sulfur and lead isotopic compositions. Theδ 34 S values of sulfide minerals vary from 10.8 to 15.6, with an average value of 13.52, indicating these sulfide materials were mainly derived from marine sulfate reduction. The 206 Pb/ 204 Pb, 207 Pb/ 204 Pb and 208 Pb/ 204 Pb ratios for sulfide minerals vary within the ranges of 18.319~18.422, 15.740~15.784 and 38.355~38.511, respectively. In the diagrams of Zartman, the Pb isotopic compositions of sulfide minerals fall into the regional upper crust lead zone. According to the characteristics of sulfur and lead isotopic compositions of the Shidi Pb-Zn deposit, the ore-forming materials might have come from the black shales of the Lower Cmabrian Niutitang Formation.
Recently, the mineral potential of the area surrounding the granitic batholiths in the Nanling Range was highlighted by the discovery of a series of tungsten and tin deposits or occurrences hosted in or near the Penggongmiao and Guidong batholiths in southern Hunan Province, South China. However, the lack of high precision geochronological data from these deposits has hampered the understanding of their ore genesis and further W-Sn exploration progress. Based on detailed geological investigations, we obtained precise Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS) zircon U-Pb and muscovite Ar-Ar ages from the greisen-dominated Liuyuan tin deposit and Zhuyuanli tungsten deposit, which are located on the western margin of the Guidong batholith. The results show that the Ar-40/Ar-39 plateau age of muscovite (153.10 +/- 0.96 Ma) from the Liuyuan tin deposit is consistent with the Ar-40/Ar-39 plateau age of muscovite (151.64 +/- 0.96 Ma) from the Zhuyuanli tungsten deposit within analytical error. These data indicate that the W-Sn mineralization in the region occurred during the Late Jurassic, which is significantly later than the emplacement of the Caledonian (Early Paleozoic) ore-hosting Guidong granite batholith, as evidenced by the SIMS zircon U-Pb age data from the Liuyuan greisen (438.1 +/- 2.6 Ma) and the Zhuyuanli greisenized granite (433.8 +/- 3.1 Ma). The remarkable differences in age between the Guidong batholith emplacement and formation of these two W-Sn ore deposits indicate that the regional tungsten and tin mineralization is temporally and genetically associated with possibly concealed Late Jurassic granite at depth rather than with the surrounding Caledonian granite batholith. The uniform W-Sn mineralization age (153-151 Ma) of the Liuyuan and Zhuyuanli deposits suggests that significant Late Jurassic W-Sn ore-forming potential exists along the western margin of the Guidong batholith.
In order to investigate the accumulation and transfer of heavy metals in agricultural soils and crops in an area with a high geochemical background of cadmium, soil and crop samples from a black shale outcropped area in Chongqing were collected and analyzed, and the results were then compared with those from other representative black shale outcropped areas. The results showed that some soil samples had a very low pH, and the metals Cd, Cr, Ni, and Zn were enriched. Cadmium concentrations in soil samples exceeded the safety limit, followed by Cr and Ni. Overall, 91.3% of soil samples were heavily to extremely polluted by Cd. The residual fractions accounted for more than 80% of the total metals, except for Cd and Pb. The weak acid soluble fraction of Cd accounted for 27.0%±6.4% of the total Cd, followed by Zn and Ni. The results demonstrate that weathering of black shales can result in elevated heavy metals in soils, and Cd is the primary contaminant in local soils. The high bioavailability of Cd and the high acidity of soils induced the enrichment of Cd in local crops. Cadmium has a higher transfer factor than other metals, and the crops were seriously polluted by Cd, particularly the leaf vegetables, which presented a high concentration of 11.5 mg·kg-1 based on dry weight, and thus, these vegetables are not suitable for cultivating as food stuff. In addition, the risks from Cr should be of concern as well. Therefore, it is recommended that countermeasures be carried out to address the pollution situation, for example, by classifying the pollution levels of agricultural soils and adjusting the planting structures accordingly to reduce the health risks to local inhabitants.