| Abstract: | The Pingchuan iron deposit, located in the Yanyuan region of Sichuan Province, SW China, has an ore reserve of 40 Mt with ~60 wt% Fe. Its genesis is still poorly understood. The Pingchuan iron deposit has a paragenetic sequence of an early Fe-oxide–Pyrite stage(Ⅰ) and a late Fe-oxide–pyrrhotite stage(Ⅱ). Stage Ⅰ magnetite grains are generally fragmented, euhedral–subhedral, largesized crystals accompanying with slightly postdated pyrite.Stage Ⅱ magnetite grains are mostly unfragmented, anhedral, relatively small-sized grains that co-exist with pyrrhotite. Combined with micro-textural features and previously-obtained geochronological data, we consider that these two stages of iron mineralization in the Pingchuan deposit correspond to the Permian ELIP magmatism and Cenozoic fault activity event. Both the Stage Ⅰ and Ⅱ magnetites are characterized with overall lower contents of trace elements(including Cr, Ti, V, and Ni) than the ELIP magmatic magnetite, which suggests a hydrothermal origin for them. ‘‘Skarn-like' enrichment in Sn, Mn, and Zn in the Stage Ⅰ magnetite grains indicate significant material contributions from carbonate wall-rocks due to water–rock interaction in ore-forming processes. Stage Ⅱ magnetite grains contain higher Mn concentrations than Stage Ⅰ magnetite grains, which possibly implies more contribution from carbonate rocks. In multiple-element diagrams, the Stage Ⅰ magnetite shows systematic similarities to Kiruna-type magnetite rather than those from other types of deposits. Combined with geological features and previous studies on oxygen isotopes, we conclude that hydrothermal fluids have played a key role in the generation of the Pingchuan low-Ti iron deposit. |
