Constraints on the Formation of the Shiwu Porphyry Cu–Au Deposit in West Junggar, NW China: Insights from Tourmaline-Rich Igneous Rocks

Abstract

Tourmaline tends to occur in porphyry Cu–Au deposits as an alteration or gangue mineral. However, abundant primary tourmalines in miarolitic cavities or interstitially distributed with other silicate minerals have been found in the Shiwu porphyry Cu–Au deposit in West Junggar, NW China. These tourmalines are normally accompanied by pyrite and have a high affinity for Cu and Au mineralization. A combined study of the petrology, geochronology, isotope, and mineral geochemistry data of the tourmaline-rich igneous rocks and the wallrock of tourmaline-poor pyroxene diorite has been completed. The laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) U–Pb dating of zircons from tourmaline-poor pyroxene diorite, tourmaline-rich diorite, and tourmaline-rich andesite shows the ages of the zircons to be 317.0 ± 1.0 Ma (MSWD = 0.37, n = 18), 315.8 ± 1.0 Ma (MSWD = 0.84, n = 22), and 306.4 ± 1.6 Ma (MSWD = 1.15, n = 15), respectively. The relatively low values of Hf isotopes (εHf(t) = +6.0 to +13.6) suggest that the tourmaline-poor pyroxene diorite is sourced from a mixed melt of juvenile mantle materials with old crustal components. The tourmaline-rich diorite and the tourmaline-rich andesite that contain higher εHf(t) values (ranging from +13.3 to +17.9) are mainly derived from juvenile mantle materials. In addition, the εHf(t) values in the tourmaline-poor pyroxene diorite and the tourmaline-rich diorite (+13.3 to +16.1) and andesite (+16.3 to +17.9) are gradually rising with their age evolution, which indicates that more and more mantle-derived components are joining in their formation process. This process has also been recorded in primary tourmaline growth, e.g., the EPMA profile reveals an increase in the contents of Fe and other metals and a decrease in Al contents from the inside (core) to the outside (growth zoning). Therefore, the injection of mantle-derived magma that could supply the large amount of copper and gold was critical for the formation of the Shiwu porphyry Cu–Au deposit.