Metallogenic ages and sulfur sources of the giant Dahutang W–Cu–Mo ore field, South China: Constraints from muscovite 40Ar/39Ar dating and in situ sulfur isotope analyses

Abstract The giant Dahutang W–Cu–Mo ore field is one of the largest tungsten ore fields worldwide. Three main types of mineralization are developed at Dahutang, comprising veinlet-disseminated, hydrothermal breccia, and coarse quartz vein-type mineralization. In this study, precise muscovite 40Ar/39Ar ages and systematic in situ sulfur isotope compositions of sulfides from the Shimensi and Shiweidong deposits were presented to determine the ore-forming ages and mineralizing intrusions of the hydrothermal breccia type and coarse quartz vein-type mineralization, sources of sulfur in the mineralization, and tectonic setting of the Dahutang ore field. The precise muscovite 40Ar/39Ar dating suggested that the hydrothermal breccia in the Shimensi deposit formed at 142.0 ± 0.6 Ma and was triggered by the biotite granite porphyry (BGP), while the coarse quartz vein-type mineralization in the Shiweidong deposit formed at 136.1 ± 0.5 Ma and was caused by an early episode of coarse-grained porphyritic two-mica granite (CPTG; 144.2–137.5 Ma) and destroyed by the late episode of CPTG (130–128 Ma). The in situ sulfur isotope compositions of sulfides showed that the hydrothermal breccia type and the coarse quartz vein-type mineralization had a narrow range of sulfur isotope compositions (−3.38–+0.39‰), implying a magmatic origin for sulfur. The increased sulfur isotopes in the sulfides from early to late stages were probably caused by a reduction in the oxygen fugacity of ore-forming fluids in the hydrothermal breccia mineral system. The main W–Cu–Mo mineralization event at Dahutang occurred in the 146–136 Ma interval and was only associated with the early episode of magmatism (149–138 Ma), which coincided well with the Cu–Au–Mo–Fe mineral system in the neighboring Middle–Lower Yangtze River Metallogenic Belt (148–135 Ma). The late episode of magmatism (138–128 Ma), however, was commonly emplaced after the tungsten polymetallic mineralization and even destroyed early formed orebodies as ore-barren intrusions. Combined with the regional tectonic evolution, we proposed that the W–Cu–Mo mineralization and ore-related granites in the Dahutang ore field formed in a transitional setting from a compressional regime to an extensional regime.