Geological and isotopic constraints on the origin of the Anle carbonate-hosted Zn-Pb deposit in northwestern Yunnan Province, SW China

The Anle Zn-Pb deposit, hosted by Upper Cambrian dolostone, is located in the southern Songpan-Ganzi Block in southwest China. In this deposit, ore bodies occur as stratiform lenses and consist of galena, sphalerite and pyrite as ore minerals, and quartz, dolomite and calcite as gangue minerals. The mineralization shows mainly vein, banded and brecciated structures. Four ore bodies have been found in the Anle deposit, with a combined 2.0 million tonnes (Mt) of sulfide ores at average grades of 1.64 wt.% Pb, 6.64 wt.% Zn and 45 g/t Ag. Brown, brownish yellow and yellow sphalerite samples have delta Zn-88 values ranging from + 0.08 to + 0.10 parts per thousand. (average + 0.09 parts per thousand, n = 3), + 0.12 to + 038 parts per thousand. (average + 0.24 parts per thousand., n = 8) and + 0.40 to + 0.50 parts per thousand (average + 0.46 parts per thousand, n = 3), respectively. We interpret the progressively heavier Zn isotopes from brown to yellow sphalerite as being led by kinetic Raleigh fractional crystallization. Calcite samples have delta C-13(PDB) and delta O-18(SMOW) values ranging from -4.8 to -0.2 parts per thousand (average -1.7 parts per thousand, n = 7) and +17.9 to + 21.4 parts per thousand (average + 19.6 parts per thousand, n = 7), respectively. Whole-rock delta C-13(PDB) and delta O-18(SMOW) values of the Cambrian ore-hosting dolostone range from + 0.1 to + 1.1 parts per thousand (average + 0.6 parts per thousand, n = 3) and + 23.2 to + 24.1 parts per thousand (average + 23.6 parts per thousand., n = 3), respectively. This suggests that carbon in the ore-forming fluids was provided by the host dolostone through carbonate dissolution. delta S-34(CDT) values of sulfide samples range between -1.3 parts per thousand and + 17.8 parts per thousand with an average value of + 6.3 parts per thousand (n = 25), lower than evaporites (such as barite + 19.8 parts per thousand) in the overlaying Lower Ordovician sedimentary strata. The data suggest that sulfur in the hydrothermal fluids were derived from evaporites by thermo-chemical sulfate reduction (TSR). Pb-206/Pb-204, Pb-207/Pb-204 and Pb-208/Pb-204 ratios for sulfide minerals range from 17.63 to 17.86, 15.58 to 15.69 and 37.62 to 37.95, respectively. The data are similar to those of the age-corrected Cambrian ore-hosting dolostone (Pb-206/Pb-204 = 17.70-17.98, Pb-207/Pb-204 = 15.58-15.65 and Pb-208/Pb-204 = 37.67-38.06), but lower than those of age-corrected Ordovician sandstone and slate (Pb-206/Pb-204 = 18.54-19.58, Pb-207/Pb-204 = 15.73-15.81 and Pb-208/Pb-204 = 38.44-39.60). This indicates that ore Pb was most likely to be derived from the Cambrian ore-hosting dolostone. Therefore, our new geological and isotopic evidence suggests that the Anle Zn-Pb deposit is best classified to be an epigenetic carbonate-hosted Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) deposit. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.