He-Ar-S-Pb Isotopic Compositions of Pyrite: Constraints on the Source of Ore-forming Materials of the Chengchao Skarn Iron Deposit, SE Hubei Province, Eastern China

摘要

The Chengchao iron deposit,the largest high-grade skarn iron deposit in southeastern Hubei Province,contains considerable amounts of magnetite and by-product anhydrite.To obtain better understanding of the ore-formation process,this study carried out He-Ar-S-Pb multi-isotopic analyses on the pyrites formed during two stages of mineralization.The results indicate that the δ^(34)S values(ranging from 14.0‰ to 17.6‰) of pyrites formed from the two stages have no obvious differences,suggesting that they were not derived from a single magmatic sulfur source.The δ^(34)S values of anhydrite mostly range from 21.9‰ to 28.4‰,similar to that of the Middle Triassic sedimentary anhydrite in the Middle-Lower Yangtze River metallogenic belt(MLYRB).The Pb isotopic compositions of the pyrites of both stages are homogeneous,with values of ^(208)Pb/^(204)Pb,^(207)Pb/^(204)Pb,and^(206)Pb/^(204)Pb being 38.006-38.257,15.523-15.556,and 17.806-18.052,respectively,indicating a mixed crust-mantle source.The He-Ar results exhibit different compositions of the two stages:the ~3He/~4He(R/Ra) and ^(40)Ar/^(36)Ar values for the early-stage pyrite are 0.46-0.63 and 311-322,respectively,whereas the values for late-stage pyrite are 0.23-0.34 and 305-361,respectively.Both stages of pyrites indicate the multiple sources of the ore-forming fluids,with decreasing amount of magmatic water and increasing amount of modified meteoric water(MASW) during fluid evolution.The Triassic evaporites played an important role in the mineralization process.