Puziwan Gold Deposit in Shanxi, China: A Special Linear Cryptoexplosive Breccia Type Gold Deposit

Abstract  The Puziwan gold deposit is a special linear cryptoexplosive breccia type deposit found in northeastern Shanxi, China, in recent years. The deposit is located in a secondary metallogenic belt of the most famous Au‐Ag polymetallic metallogenic belt along the north margin of the North China platform. The secondary metallogenic belt is a synmagmatic tension‐shear fault‐fracture belt of ENE linear trend. The Indosinian cryptoexplosive breccia body, quartz monzonitic porphyry (beschtauite breccia), quartz monzonite (243.7 Ma, K‐Ar), Yanshanian granite‐porphyry (105±6 Ma, Rb‐Sr) and orebodies mostly occur as dykes or veins and short lenses along the structural fracture belt. The orebodies are emplaced in the fractured cryptoexplosive breccia body in the tectonomagmatic belt and their attitude is consistent with that of the breccia body. The orebodies have two types: one is shallow‐seated thick and big ones, which are short‐lenticular in plan and wedge‐shaped in cross section, shallow buried, large in size and high‐grade; the other is lean orebodies, which occur as parallel veins at depths. The ores are mainly of Au‐Ag polymetallic sulphide‐rich breccia type. Pyrite (limonite) is the dominant metallic mineral, with subordinate chal‐copyrite, galena, sphalerite, tenantite, native gold, electrum, native silver and argentite. The gangue minerals consist mainly of quartz and plagioclase, with subordinate carbonate minerals, alunite chalcedony and kaolin. Kaolinization is the characteristic alteration type. Sulphide minerals contain abundant trace minerals such as Cu, Pb, Ag, Sb and Hg, while in the ores Ag, Cu, Pb, Zn, As and Sb are the best indicator element assemblage of Au. The δ34S(%o) values of the ores rane from −3.2%o to 5.3%o, with average −0.102%o. The δO H2O(%o) and δ(%o) values are in the ranges from −3.1%o to 7.73%o and from −64%o to −90%o respectively. The Pb isotopic compositions of the rocks and ores in this region indicate that Pb comes from three tectonic sources—upper mantle, lower crust and orogenic belt. The inclusion homogenization temperature are in the ranges of 110 to 220°C and 230 to 310°C, which suggests that the deposit formed under meso‐epithermal conditions. The ore‐forming pressures range from 6 to 32 MPa and the depths are 230 to 1200 m. In view of the above, the Puziwan gold deposit is genetically ascribed to a high‐sulphur (alunite‐kaolin) meso‐epithermal gold deposit related to subvolcanic rocks. This gold deposit formed during the Indosinian stage (245.9±0.3 Ma) and then was influenced by a thermal event in the Yanshanian stage (142.9±0.5 Ma).