Abstract: | The fault-controlled Nibao Carlin-type gold deposit,together with the strata-bound Shuiyindong deposit,comprise a significant amount of the disseminated gold deposits in southwestern Guizhou Province,China.Five main types and two sub-types of pyrite at the Nibao deposit(Py1a/Py1b,Py2,Py3,Py4,Py5)were distinguished based on detailed mineralogical work.Py1,Py2and Py3 are Au-poor,whereas Py4 and Py5 are Au-rich,corresponding to a sedimentary and hydrothermal origin,respectively.Through systematic in situ analyses of NanoSIMS sulfur isotopes,the framboid pyrite Py1a with negative δ34S values(-53.3 to-14.9%)from the Nibao deposit were found to originate from bacterial sulfate reduction(BSR)processes in an open and sulfate-sufficient condition while the superheavy pyrite Py1b(73.7–114.8%)is probably due to the potential influence of closed-system Rayleigh fractionation or the lack of preservation of deepsea sediments.Data of Py2 and Py3 plot within the area of S isotope compositions from biogenic and abiogenic sulfate reduction.In view of few coeval magmatic rocks in the mining district,the near zero δ34S values of the Au-rich pyrites(Py4 and Py5)may discount the potential involvement of magmatic but metamorphic or sedimentary origin.LA-ICP-MS and TEM work show that Au in ore-related pyrite is present as both nanoparticles and structurally bound.LA-ICP-MS analyses show that the Au-rich pyrite also contains higher As,Cu,Sb,Tl and S than other types of pyrite,which inferred a distal manifestation of deep hydrothermal mineralization systems. |