logy & eo G G e f o o p l h a y n s r i c u s o J Journal of Geology & Geosciences Han et al., J Geol Geosci 2014, 3:3 ISSN: 2381-8719 DOI: 10.4172/2329-6755.1000158 Research Article Open Access Major Types and Characteristics of the Late Paleozoic Ore Deposits in the East Tianshan Orogenic Belt, Central Asia Chunming Han1*, Wenjiao Xiao1, Benxun Su1,2, Patrick Asamoah Sakyi3, Guochun Zhao1 Songjian Ao1, Bo Wan1, Jien Zhang1 and Zhiyong Zhang1 1State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China 2Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China 3Department of Earth Science, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 58, Legon-Accra, Ghana Abstract One of the most largest known and important metallogenic provinces in China is East Tianshan, where seven major types of Late Paleozoic metal deposits have been recognized: (1) porphyry-type Cu-Mo-(Au) ore deposit, (2) volcanic Fe-Cu deposit, (3) orogenic lode gold deposit, (4) magmatic Cu-Ni sulfide deposit, (5) epithermal gold deposit, (6) volcanic hydrothermal Cu deposit, and (7) skarn Cu-Ag deposit. Tectonically, the development of these Late Paleozoic metal mineral deposits was closely associated with the subduction and closure of the ancient Tianshan Ocean intervening between the Tarim craton and the Junggar-Kazakhstan block. In the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous, the northern margin of the Tarim craton existed as a passive-type continental margin, whereas the ancient Tianshan ocean was subducted beneath the southern margin of the Junggar-Kazakhstan block, resulting in the formation of the Dananhu-Tousuquan magmatic arc and associated porphyry-type Cu-Mo-(Au) deposits. In the Middle Carboniferous, the ancient Tianshan ocean began to subduct beneath the northern margin of the Tarim craton, leading to the formation of the Aqishan-Yamansu magmatic arc and associated volcanic Fe-Cu deposits. In the Late Carboniferous, the ancient Tianshan ocean was closed, and a continent-arc collision occurred, leading to the formation of the Tianshan orogen. Following the collision was an extensional event, which was associated with the emplacement of large amounts of ultramafic-mafic complexes and the formation of a number of large- to medium-scale magmatic copper-nickel ore deposits along the Kangger suture zone. In the Early Permian, East Tianshan entered into a post-collosion stage, associated with the widespread emplacement of granitoid bodies and eruption of within-plate volcanism, which led to the formation of volcanic hydrothermal copper deposits, skarn-type Cu-Ag deposits, post-orogenic gold deposits, and epithermal gold deposits in East Tianshan. Keywords: Paleozoic; Deposits; Orogenic; Ore craton also consists of two blocks, named the Eastern and Western blocks, which developed independently during the Archean and Introduction collided along the Paleoproterozoic Trans-North China orogen during The Tianshan Mountains (Mts) are one of the largest mountain a global collisional event at ~1.85 Ga [19-23]. The Tarim craton has a chains in Asia, extending west-east up to 3,000 km long, with its eastern late Archean to Paleoproterozoic basement similar in lithology and age segment being located in the middle part of Xinjiang, China and the to that of the Western Block of the North China craton, and has no clear west segment extending another 1,000 km to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekstan suture zone with the latter [24]. This led some geologists to propose that and Kazakhstan. Conventionally, the Chinese part of the Tianshan Mts the two cratons have existed as a rigid block since the Archean [25]. has been divided into three sections, called the West Tianshan Mts, East Surrounding and separating the three cratonic blocks are young Tianshan Mts and Beishan Mts. Since 1980’s, the Bureau of Geology orogenic belts, of which the Tianshan orogen occurs along the northern and Mineral Resources (BGMR) and Bureau of Geology and Nonmetal margin of the Tarim craton (Figure 1) [6], and represents an important (BGNM) Resources of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonmous District have carried out extensive investigations on the geological background metallogenic enrichment zone in the western part of China, extending of the East Tianshan Mts and related mineral deposits, which have east up to hundreds of kilometers into the Beishan orogenic belt, Gansu led to discoveries of many Paleozoic Cu, Au, Ni, Fe and Ag deposits. Province [26]. The regional geology of the Tianshan orogen has been These discoveries have made East Tianshan become a world-class investigated and reported by many research units of which the BGMR metallogenic ore province [1,2]. However, most data and documents of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region has given the most details on these Paleozoic metal mineral deposits were reported in Chinese as shown in Figure 1. The following is a brief summary of structures, literature [3-15], and thus international geological communities know stratigraphic sequences and magmatic associations of the East Tianshan little about these ore deposits [16,17]. This paper undertakes the first orogen. major review on the general geological characteristics of Paleozoic metal mineral deposits in East Tianshan, especially on their alteration, mineralization, geochemistry, metallogenetic timing and associated *Corresponding author: Chunming Han, State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric lithologies. Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029 China, Tel: +86 10 6200 7917; Fax: +86 10 6201 0846; E-mail: Regional Geology [email protected] Received February 28, 2014; Accepted April 11, 2014; Published April 15, 2014 The South China, North China and Tarim cratons compose the tectonic framework of China. The South China craton consists of Citation: Han C, Xiao W, Su B, Sakyi PA, Songjian Ao GZ, et al. (2014) Major Types and Characteristics of the Late Paleozoic Ore Deposits in the East Tianshan two major blocks: the Yangtze block to the northwest, which has a Orogenic Belt, Central Asia. J Geol Geosci 3: 158. doi: 10.4172/2329-6755.1000158 Late Archean–Paleoproterozoic (>1.7 Ga) nucleus, and the Cathaysia block to the southeast, which has a Paleoproterozoic nucleus and Copyright: © 2014 Han C, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted amalgamated with the Yangtze block along the Jiangshan–Shaoxing use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and fault during the Jinning (~0.85 Ga) orogeny [18,19]. The North China source are credited. J Geol Geosci Volume 3 • Issue 3 • 1000158 ISSN: 2329-6755 JGG, an open access journal Citation: Han C, Xiao W, Su B, Sakyi PA, Songjian Ao GZ, et al. (2014) Major Types and Characteristics of the Late Paleozoic Ore Deposits in the East Tianshan Orogenic Belt, Central Asia. J Geol Geosci 3: 158. doi: 10.4172/2329-6755.1000158 Page 2 of 13 87° 88° 89° 90° 91° 92° 93° 94° 95° 96° 43° 43° Turpan Shanshan Hami 8 5 Turpan-Hami Basin 36 6 44 39 7 42° 42° 34 33 4 48 13 1 3 28 43 30 2 19 31 38 35 49 32 12 9 29 15 11 14 17 25 10 47 22 18 24 42 45 21 46 16 23 50 26 40 41 Kuluketage 27 41° 20 41° Beishan 30km Tarim Basin Dunhuang 87° 88° 89° 90° 91° 92° 93° 94° 95° 96° Dananhu-Tousuquan Kangguer forearc Yamansu Central Tianshan Beishan terrane island arc forearc-arc island arc Sourthern Tianshan Kuluketage and Cu deposit Au deposit Ni-Cu deposit arc Dunuang block Iron deposit Mo deposi Pb-Zn deposit W deposit Figure 1: Tectonic setting and distribution of the studied intrusions showing the locations of significant mines in the eastern TianshanOrogenic Belt. The deposits numbered 1–50 are listed in Table 1. Tuwu 0 400m Tuwu East Quaternary The 5th member of the carboniferous Qi’eshan Group: basalt Middle Triassic Xishanyao Formation The 6th member of the Carboniferous The 1st member of the Carboniferous Qi’eshan Group: composite conglomerate Qi’eshan Group: lithic sandstone Carboniferous plagiogranite porphyry The 2nd member of the Carboniferous Dioritic porphyrite Qi’eshan Group: volcanic breccia The 3rd member of the Carboniferous Copper orebody Qi’eshan Group: basalt The 4th member of the Carboniferous Qi’eshan Group: lithic sandstone Exploration line Figure 2: Geological map of the Tuwu Cu-Mo district [after Han and Zhao, 2003]. For location see No. 1 in Figure 1. Structures The main structures of East Tianshan is characterized by a series of approximately east-west-trending faults, including the regional-scale The tectonic history of the Tianshan orogen is considered to have Kalamaili-Maiqinwula, Kanggguer, Yanmansu, Aqikekudouke and been associated with the evolution of an ancient Tianshan ocean Middle Tianshan faults, and many small-scale faults (Figure 2) [6,31]. between the Tarim craton and the Junggar-Kazakhstan block [27-34]. Of these faults, the Kangguer fault is the most prominent one which The orogen is separated from the Tarim craton to the south by the consists of mylonite, tectono-clastic rocks, tectonic lenses, and breccia, Kanggguer ductile suture zone, and extends west to Gansu Province. and which not only forms the boundary between the Kazakhsta- J Geol Geosci Volume 3 • Issue 3 • 1000158 ISSN: 2329-6755 JGG, an open access journal Citation: Han C, Xiao W, Su B, Sakyi PA, Songjian Ao GZ, et al. (2014) Major Types and Characteristics of the Late Paleozoic Ore Deposits in the East Tianshan Orogenic Belt, Central Asia. J Geol Geosci 3: 158. doi: 10.4172/2329-6755.1000158 Page 3 of 13 Ore Long./ Genetic Main economic Grade[g/t], reserve/ Host rocks Ore minerals Alteration Reference deposits lat.