Tracing fluid evolution forming multistage wolframite mineralization in vein-type tungsten (-tin) deposit: new insight from LA-ICP-MS analysis of fluid inclusion
摘要
Wolframite and quartz are the main ore and gangue minerals in vein-type tungsten deposits. Wolframite precipitation typically occurs earlier than quartz, as indicated by its typical occurrence as euhedral crystals attached to the vein wall. However, wolframite mineralization may not be a monotonous process, especially in some deposits in the Nanling region like Taoxikeng, where later-stage wolframite + quartz occur in reopened veins. To explore fluid processes controlling the multistage wolframite mineralization, microthermometry and LA-ICP-MS analysis of fluid inclusions were carried out on a two-stage vein in the Taoxikeng deposit. Microthermometric data from five successive generations of fluid inclusions in topaz, wolframite, and quartz indicate progressive mixing between magmatic fluids and meteoric water. Two stages of wolframites were formed by two episodic fluid pulses with different salinity and temperature but consistent element ratios (X/Na), indicating a common magmatic fluid source. At both W mineralization stages, quartz-hosted fluid inclusions consistently exhibit lower salinity and minor element concentration ratios compared to wolframite-hosted fluid inclusions, attributed to muscovite precipitation and fluid mixing. Decreasing proportion of W from topaz- to earlier quartz-hosted inclusion fluids demonstrates wolframite precipitation. The major step of wolframite mineralization at the earlier stage was probably dominated by fluid-rock interaction, whereas fluid mixing appears to have controlled minor wolframite mineralization at the later stage. However, the W/Na ratios in inclusion fluids at the latest stage increases again, indicating that the W solubility in meteoric water is elevated, consistent with textural evidence of local wolframite re-dissolution.