Lin Yang

China University of Geosciences (Beijing) · Department of Geology

The mechanisms responsible for invisible gold enrichment driven by coupled dissolution-reprecipitation reaction (CDR) are debated. Here we report the micro- to nano-scale textures of arsenian pyrite in a high-grade (>10 g/t) gold ore from the Chang’an deposit to trace the gold enrichment process. Our study records a CDR-driven evolution of mineral...

The Ailaoshan Orogen, situated between the Yangtze and Simao Blocks, underwent a complex structural, magmatic, and metamorphic evolution resulting in different tectonic subzones with varying structural lineaments and elemental concentrations. These can conceal or reduce anomalies due to the mutual effect between different anomaly areas. This study...

Investigation of Hg isotope ratios of gold-related sulfides and penecontemporaneous mafic dikes from four orogenic gold provinces on the margins of the North China Craton and Yangtze Craton identifies three orogenic gold deposit (OGD) groups from different tectonic regimes. Ore-related sulfides of group 1 OGDs and mafic dikes from the craton margin...

The genesis of giant gold provinces is an international scientific frontier, in which the source of a huge amount of gold and the drive for mineralization are key challenges. The mineralization intensity of the Jiaodong gold province in eastern China is a rare occasion in the world, because it owns gold reserves of ∼5500 tons within an area of less...

The Guangxi gold ore province contains more than 370 gold deposits with total resources of > 260 t Au. Factor analysis (FA) of geochemical data, and calculation of lineament density within 10 km, 20 km, and 30 km circular search grids across a geological map, were applied in Guangxi to highlight geological complexity and to analyze its relationship...

In situ U–Pb dating of carbonate minerals and Rb–Sr dating of illite was carried out on the Yata sediment-hosted disseminated-type gold deposit in the Youjiang basin, South China. The new study determines the timing of gold mineralization and clarifies the geological conditions required for the successful application of in situ U–Pb dating of alter...

The Cenozoic Daping orogenic gold deposit, on the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, China, contains four lode types that contain a total of 55 t gold. Pyrite-chalcopyrite–dominated (VA) and galena-dominated polymetallic sulfide veins (VB) hosted by Neoproterozoic diorite are associated with quartz-sericite-chlorite ± epidote (± barite in...

The diverse types of Mesozoic intracontinental gold mineralization in the South China Block (SCB) are genetically linked to prolonged oceanic plate subduction. These gold deposits, with estimated resources greater than 2000 tonnes, comprise four gold provinces: Hainan Island, Wuyi-Yunkai Belt, Jiangnan Orogen, and Youjiang Basin. In these provinces...

Gold deposits in Jiaodong, termed Jiaodong‐type, are tectonically located in the southeastern margin of the North China Craton. Their major features are reviewed in this paper to highlight the differences between Jiaodong deposits and other genetic types of gold deposits. The mineralization was synchronized with asthenosphere upwelling indicated by...

This study, via combined analysis of geophysical and geochemical data, reveals a lithospheric architecture characterized by crust-mantle decoupling and vertical heat-flow conduits that control orogenic gold mineralization in the Ailaoshan gold belt on the southeastern margin of Tibet. The mantle seismic tomography indicates that the crust-mantle de...

This paper reviews the spatial-temporal distribution, geological and geochemical features, and geophysical context of diverse types of Cenozoic ore deposits formed during India-Eurasia continental collision in Tibet, in order to shed new light on their genesis and their control by mantle lithosphere. The parental magmas for porphyry-skarn Cu (± Mo...

The extreme fluctuations in pressure during earthquakes are widely regarded as responsible for gold mineralization in quartz-vein-hosted gold deposits. However, it is barely noticed that base metal sulfides can precipitate together with gold during these processes. Here we present the phenomenon and unravel the mechanism of the co-precipitation of...

Hydrothermal alteration and mineralization types of orogenic gold deposits display many variations depending on formation depths, types of host rock, compositions of ore fluids, spatial positions, fluid/rock ratios, and repetitive modifications during multiple fluid infiltrations in the complicated processes of fluid-rock interaction. Therefore, es...

To understand the controls of basin paleogeographic evolution on sediment-hosted gold metallogenesis, a study was undertaken of pyrite texture and geochemistry of the Jinya, Nakuang, and Gaolong gold deposits in the Youjiang Basin, SW China. Syn-sedimentary/diagenetic pyrite and three generations of hydrothermal pyrite (As-Au-poor core, anomalously...

Anomaly patterns of magmatic–hydrothermal polymetallic and structurally controlled orogenic gold deposits in the Qinling Orogen were evaluated by an integrated approach of tectonic division, factor analysis, and concentration–area (C–A) modeling. In order to limit the unique effects within different tectonic terranes on rocks and mineralization thr...

Although the term orogenic gold has become widely accepted over the past 20 years for disseminated- to lode-style gold deposits that formed in a variety of tectonic environments within convergent margins, models for orogenic gold systems have remained controversial. The main debates include interpretation of stable isotope and fluid inclusion data...

Mining of “invisible gold” associated with sulfides in gold ores represents a significant proportion of gold production worldwide. Gold hosted in sulfide minerals has been proposed to be structurally bound in the crystal lattice as a sulfide-gold alloy and/or to occur as discrete metallic nanoparticles. Using a combination of microstructural quanti...

The Daping and Chang’an orogenic gold deposits in the extruded Jinping terrane of the Cenozoic Ailaoshan collisional orogen, on the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, provide an opportunity to study relationships between the geodynamic evolution of a collisional orogen and orogenic gold mineralization. The Daping gold deposit comprises NW−...

The source of fluids and their mechanism of metal precipitation in sediment-hosted, disseminated orogenic gold deposits are ambiguous. Pyrite texture, trace element, S, Pb, and He-Ar isotope compositions of sulfides and C-O isotope data of calcite from Chang'an orogenic gold deposit in the Ailaoshan orogenic belt, southwest (SW) China, were studied...

The Erdaogou orogenic gold deposit, in the deepest gold mine in China, is situated within a dilational jog in the curvilinear Jiapigou shear zone, which broadly follows the margin of a Neoarchean granite intrusion within Neoarchean high-grade metamorphic basement on the northeastern margin of the North China Craton. Uranium-Pb dating of hydrotherma...

The source of ore-forming fluids for orogenic gold deposits is still disputed with models ranging from derivation from metamorphism of continental crust to derivation from metasomatized mantle lithosphere. This dispute is addressed by this study of the Ailaoshan orogenic gold belt, southeastern Tibet, whose evolution involved intense metamorphism o...

The Youjiang Basin in the western part of the South China Block (SCB), preserves the records of the tectonic history from Tethyan, through Paleo-Pacific to Tibetan domains, with coeval formation of diverse types of giant metallic deposits. The prolonged tectonic evolution and its control on the genesis and spatio-temporal distribution of giant meta...

The orogenic gold deposits along the NNW-trending Ailaoshan shear zone are formed during Miocene continental collision, after a complex history of Neoproterozoic subduction, Late Triassic amalgamation between the Indochina and South China blocks after closure of the Paleo-Tethyan Ocean, and Oligocene-Eocene continental-scale shearing related to the...

The gold deposits in the Youjiang basin, totaling > 25 Moz gold, have traditionally been thought to be of Carlin-type, particularly those with extensional structural geometries in the northern basin dominated by platform sedimentary sequences. However, the structural geometries, mineralization styles and alteration types for the Jinya, Gaolong and...

Orogenic gold deposits commonly have large variation of stable isotopic values of ore minerals induced by complicated ore fluids evolution, which was considered to provide equivocal evidence for ore sources. In contrast, this study has revealed relatively narrow range of S and C-O isotopes of pyrites and carbonate minerals in the Zhenyuan gold depo...

The Ailaoshan tectonic belt, western margin of Yangtze Craton, is an important orogenic gold belt with ore source derived from mantle. The Paleogene lamprophyre dykes are temporally and spatially associated with gold ore bodies in this belt. Here we research the geochemical features of lamprophyres aiming to better understand the features of mantle...

The ~ 120 Ma Jiaodong province in the North China Craton, composed of abundant Mesozoic granites that intrude Precambrian metamorphic basement, is bordered by the Sulu orogenic belt, which formed through the collision between the North China and Yangtze cratons in the Triassic. Insights on the geodynamic setting and source of gold and fluids in the...

The Ailaoshan shear zone developed plenty of Cenozoic granitic plutons, located between the Yangtze block in the east and the Simao block in the west. Although a mass of previous studies have enriched the understanding of petrogenesis of these plutons, there are few reports on the plutons within the Mojiang-Lvchun terrane, a suspect domain between...

Orogenic disseminated and Carlin gold deposits share much similarity in alteration and mineralization. The disseminated orogenic Zhenyuan Au deposit along the Ailaoshan shear zone, southeastern Tibet, was selected to clarify their difference. The alteration and mineralization from the different lithologies, including meta-quartz sandstone, carbonac...

The Zhenyuan orogenic gold deposit (>100 t Au), located in the northern part of the Ailaoshan shear zone (ASSZ) in South China, is characterized by extensive alteration and mineralization in a variety of host rocks. In the deposit, abundant Eocene lamprophyres have been infiltrated by ore fluids to produce carbonate veins with zones of disseminated...

The Simao block, northern extension of Indochina block, was located along the Proto-Tethyan subduction zone in Early Paleozoic and subducted by the Paleo-Tethyan Ailaoshan ocean along its eastern margin in Permo-Triassic. The location of Simao block in the Proto-Tethyan paleogeography and the Permo-Triassic consumption process of the Ailaoshan ocea...

The structures and fluid-rock reaction in the Xinli gold deposit, Jiaodong Peninsula, were investigated to further understand their combined controls on the development of permeability associated with ore-forming fluid migration. Orebodies in this deposit are hosted by the moderately SE-to S-dipping Sanshandao–Cangshang fault (SCF). Variations in b...

The giant Beiya gold deposit is considered to be a typical porphyry-skarn deposit in the Himalayan period, which is located in the Sanjiang Tethys metallogenic domain. In long-term studies, scholars worldwide have conducted exhaustive research on various aspects of the deposit and have achieved remarkable results. However, it is not yet clear wheth...

Most bauxite in China is located upon the karst surface, yet the relation between karstification process and bauxite formation is barely known. Here we discuss how the relation affects the karst and bauxite evolution through analyzing distributions of orebody parameters from 9,007 exploration wells (434 orebodies) in western Guangxi, South China bl...

There are two orogenic gold belts: Yarlung Zangbo suture zone and Ailaoshan orogenic belt, formed in Tibetan collisional orogenic setting. Orogenic gold deposits formed on the Yarlung Zangbo suture zone include Mayum, Nianzha, Bangbu and Zhemulang gold deposit, etc. This gold belt formed in compression structural setting in which the crust of Lhasa...

The southern Sanjiang region, southwestern China, comprises various continental blocks, tectonic sutures and arcs. This complex structural area is a proper place for the recognition of geochemical patterns and understanding of regional metallogenesis. Considering each individual tectonic unit (i.e., western South China block, Ailaoshan suture, Sima...

The Jiaodong Peninsula, the most productive gold province in China, is dominated by Jiaojia-type gold deposits that formed at ca. 120 Ma. The deposits are characterized by widespread alteration and mineralization resulted from fluid-rock reactions in the footwall of regional faults. It is known that the interrupted appearance of continuous minerali...

The Mesozoic gold deposits in the Jiaodong Peninsula, eastern North China Craton, are economically significant. The mineralization and alteration are strictly controlled by the NE-trending faults. For instance, the Xinli gold deposit, located at northwestern margin of the Jiaodong Peninsula, is controlled by the regional Sansh¬andao-Cangshang fault...