Geochemical characteristics of pyrite in Duolanasayi gold deposit, Xinjiang

The Duolanasayi gold deposit, 60 km NW of Habahe County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is a mid-large-scale gold deposit controlled by brittle-ductile shearing, and superimposed by albitite veins and late-stage magma hydrothermal solutions. There are four types of pyrite, which are contained in the light metamorphosed rocks (limestone, siltstone), altered-mineralized rocks (chlorite-schist, altered albite-granite, mineralized phyllite), quartz veins and carbonatite veinlets. The pyrite is the most common ore mineral. The Au-barren pyrite is present mainly in a simple form and gold-bearing pyrite is present mainly in a composite form. From the top downwards, the pyrite varies in crystal form from {100} and {210}+{100} to {210}+{100}+{111} to {100}+{111}. Geochemical studies indicate that the molecular contents of pyrite range from Fe1.057S2 to Fe0.941S2. Gold positively correlates with Mn, Sr, Zn, Te, Pb, Ba and Ag. There are four groups of trace elements: Fe-Cu-Sr-Ag, Au-Te-Co, As-Pb-Zn and Mn-V-Ti-Ba-Ni-Cr in pyrite. The REE characteristics show that the total amount of REE (ΣREE) ranges from 32.35×10 -6 to 132.18×10 -6; LREE/HREE, 4.466-9.142; (La/Yb)N, 3.719-11.133; (Eu/Sm)N, 0.553-1.656; (Sm/Nd)N, 0.602-0.717; La/Yb, 6.26-18.75; δEu, 0.628-2.309; δCe, 0.308-0.816. Sulfur isotopic compositions (δ 34S=-2.46‰--7.02‰) suggest that the sulfur associated with gold mineralization was derived from the upper mantle or lower crust.