Geotectonic Settings of Large and Superlarge Mineral Deposits on the Southwestern Margin of the North China Plate

AbstractThe geotectonic setting refers to the three‐dimensional space and related events based on which a metallogenic system is formed and an ore‐forming process takes place. This paper discusses the tectonic evolution of the southwestern margin of the North China paleocontinent and related geotectonic settings in which large or superlarge deposits are formed. Emphasis is put on the geodynamic conditions of the Jinchuan nickel‐copper deposit, the Baiyin copper‐polymetallic deposit and the Hanshan gold deposit. It is significant that the three deposits occur together as a “trinity” on the same paleocontinental margin. The Jinchuan nickel‐copper deposit was formed during the early stage of rifting of the paleocontinental margin; the Baiyin copper‐polymetallic deposit was formed during the splitting stage of a continental‐margin arc. The continental‐margin arc spitting resulted in an “island arc rift” in the early stage of evolution. The Hanshan gold deposit was formed within the Altun sinistral strike‐slip fault system and its provenance is the “intraoceanic arc” volcanic rocks.