The role of mineralizing fluids in the formation of the Erentaolegai Ag deposit, Great Hinggan Range, Northeast China: Insights from geology, fluid inclusions, and C–H–O isotope systematics
摘要
The Erentaolegai deposit is a large epithermal Ag deposit located in the Great Hinggan Range, Northeast China. The Ag ore bodies are primarily hosted within the intermediate-basic volcanic rocks of the Tamulangou Formation. This study integrates geological observations, fluid inclusion analysis, laser Raman spectroscopy and C–H–O isotope geochemistry to constrain the origin and evolution of mineralizing fluids. Fluid inclusion analysis reveals that the various stages of mineralization in the Erentaolegai Ag deposit are primarily dominated by two-phase (liquid–vapor), aqueous fluid inclusions. As the temperature of mineralizing fluid decreases, fluid salinity remains relatively stable. The mineralizing fluid temperature for sulfide mineralization ranges from 285 to 352 °C, with peak temperatures between 320 and 340 °C. The salinity ranges from to 2.1 to 12.6% NaCl equivalent (equiv), with peak values between 2.2 and 5.9% NaClequiv. The mineralizing fluid temperature for silver-manganese ore ranges from 171 to 243 °C, with peak temperatures between 220 to 240 °C. The salinity ranges from 1.9 to 15.0% NaClequiv, with a peak mineralization at 2.1 to 4.8% NaClequiv. These findings suggest that the deposit exhibits characteristics of a medium- to low-temperature, low salinity system, making it a typical epithermal Ag deposit. C–H–O isotope geochemistry studies indicate that the mineralizing fluids originated from magmatic water, with contributions from meteoric water during the ore-forming processes. The key factors controlling Ag precipitation included the decrease in mineralizing fluid temperature and the influx of meteoric water.