Genesis of the Shiyaogou porphyry Mo deposit at East Qinling, China: Evidence from geochronological, fluid inclusion, geochemical whole-rock and isotope studies

Abstract The Shiyaogou deposit in Luanchuan County, China, is a large concealed porphyry Mo deposit within the East Qinling metallogenic belt (EQMB). Major and trace element analyses reveal that the host granite is defined by high silica (SiO2 = 71.56 to 75.25%) and alkali (Na2O + K2O = 6.91 to 7.88%) contents and has typical I-type characteristics. Zircons derived from the pluton yield U–Pb ages of 133.2 ± 1.1 Ma, indicating an early Cretaceous magmatic event in the EQMB. The eHf (t) values and TDM2 ages range from − 15.1 to − 11.2 and from 2.1 to 1.9 Ga, respectively, suggesting that the granite mainly originated from the lower crust melting with the involvement of mantle components. The mineralization process can be divided into three stages: (1) quartz + K-feldspar + pyrite + molybdenite; (2) quartz + pyrite + molybdenite; and (3) quartz + calcite veins. Three different types of fluid inclusions (FIs) are present in quartz veins: NaCl–H2O (W-type), CO2–H2O (C-type), and daughter mineral-bearing (S-type). Hematite is recognized as a daughter mineral in S-type inclusions of stage 1, whereas the daughter sulfide and reducing CH4 gases can be observed in the stage 2 quartz, suggesting that the ore-forming fluids were initially oxidizing and then evolved to more reducing conditions. The FIs in stages 1 mainly display Th above 428 °C with salinities up to 57.62 wt% NaCl eqv; in stage 2, the FIs display Th of 132–423 °C and salinities of 3.23–50.03 wt% NaCl eqv; in stage 3, the FIs homogenized in the range of 117–247 °C with low salinities of 2.74–8.95 wt% NaCl eqv. The coexisting W-, S- and/or C-type inclusions homogenized at similar temperatures, but contain different salinities during stages 1 and 2, suggesting that the fluids boiled during both stages. Our study reveals that the ore-forming fluids are magmatic in origin. These high-temperature magmatic fluids gradually evolved from high salinities and high CO2 contents to a mixture of magmatic and meteoric water with lower temperature, lower salinity, and lower CO2 content. The precipitation of Mo mainly resulted from the decreasing temperature and salinity. Additionally, the changes in pH and CO2 content due to boiling and the water–rock reaction could have contributed toward the precipitation of Mo.