Fluid Evolution of Fuzishan Skarn Cu-Mo Deposit from the Edong District in the Middle-Lower Yangtze River Metallogenic Belt of China: Evidence from Petrography, Mineral Assemblages, and Fluid Inclusions

Abstract

The Fuzishan Cu-Mo deposit is located in the Edong district of the Middle-Lower Yangtze River Metallogenic Belt, China. The orebodies mainly occurred as lenticular and bedded shapes in the skarn zone between the Lower Permian Qixia Formation carbonate rocks and the quartz diorite. Four paragenetic stages have been recognized based on petrographic observations: (1) prograde skarn stage, (2) retrograde skarn stage, (3) quartz-sulfide stage, and (4) carbonate stage. Six fluid inclusion types were recognized: S1 (vapor + liquid + halite ± other daughter minerals), S2 (vapor + liquid + daughter minerals except halite), LV (rich liquid + vapor), VL (rich vapor + liquid), V (vapor), and L (liquid) types. Fluid inclusion studies show distinct variations in composition, final homogenization temperature, and salinity in four stages. Daughter minerals of the primary fluid inclusions include chalcopyrite, molybdenite, hematite, anhydrite, calcite, and halite in the prograde skarn stage and hematite, calcite, and sulfide (?) in the retrograde skarn stage. No daughter minerals occurred in the quartz-sulfide and carbonate stages. Final homogenization temperatures recorded in these stages are from 405 to >550°C, from 212 to 498°C, from 150 to 485°C, and from 89 to 223°C, respectively, while salinities are from 3.7 to 42.5, from 2.6 to 18.5, from 2.2 to 17.9, and from 0.2 to 11.5 wt.% NaCl equivalent, respectively. The coexisting VL and S1 type fluid inclusions show similar homogenization temperature of 550 to about 650°C in the prograde skarn stage, indicating that immiscibility occurred at lithostatic pressure of 700 bars to perhaps 1000 bars, corresponding to a depth of 2.6 km to about 3.7 km. The coeval VL and LV types fluid inclusions with homogenization temperature of 350 to 400°C in the late retrograde skarn and quartz-sulfide stages suggest that boiling occurred under hydrostatic pressure of 150 to 280 bars, equivalent to a depth of 1.5 to 2.8 km. Mo mineralization in the retrograde stage predated Cu mineralization which mainly occurred in the quartz-sulfide stage. Fluid compositions indicate that ore-forming fluid has high fO2 and rich Cu and Mo concentration in the early stage, while relatively lower fO2 and poor Cu and Mo concentration in the middle to late stages. Microthermometric data show a decreasing trend in temperature and salinity in the fluid evolution process. Decreasing temperature and boiling event may be the main factors that control the ore precipitation.