Silver minerals and paragenesis in the Kangjiawan Pb-Zn-Ag-Au deposit of the Shuikoushan mineral district, Hunan Province, China

The Kangjiawan deposit, in the Shuikoushan district, Hunan Province, China, is a representative hydrothermal Pb-Zn-Ag-Au deposit in this region. The orebodies consist mainly of pyritic Pb-Zn ores. Silver minerals are associated with Pb-Zn mineralization. Ag-bearing Pb-Zn ores in the deposit are characterized by Ag > Cu > Sb content. Silver occurs mainly as silver minerals, such as minor argentian tetrahedrite, freibergite and abundant polybasite-arsenpolybasite, pearceite and pyrargyrite-proustite, and all are hosted in galena. The assemblages of silver minerals found in the major orebodies change from the southern to the northern part, from argentian tetrahedrite + freibergite + pearceite + arsenpolybasite + pyrargyrite-proustite in the south to polybasite-arsenpolybasite + pyrargyrite, and to pyrargyrite in the north.