The Lower Changjiang (Yangzi/Yangtze River) metallogenic belt, east central China: intrusion- and wall rock-hosted Cu–Fe–Au, Mo, Zn, Pb, Ag deposits

Structural Controls on Copper Mineralization in the Tongling Ore District, Eastern China: Evidence from Spatial Analysis

“…Two sedimentary sequences developed in this period, including the Lower Silurian to Upper Devonian regressive bathyal to littoral clastic rocks and overlying Upper Carboniferous to Middle Triassic littoral to neritic carbonates interbedded with bathyal and alternative marine-continental clastic rocks [45]. The sedimentary strata were folded during the Indosinian movement which is initiated at the end of Middle Triassic due to the collision between the Yangtze craton and North China craton [35]. From Jurassic to Cretaceous, this region experienced an event that has long been interpreted as an intracontinental deformation stage with abundant magmatism [35,38,45], and developed thick terrestrial sedimentary and volcanic sequences which unconformably overlie the Silurian to Triassic strata.…”

“…The sedimentary strata were folded during the Indosinian movement which is initiated at the end of Middle Triassic due to the collision between the Yangtze craton and North China craton [35]. From Jurassic to Cretaceous, this region experienced an event that has long been interpreted as an intracontinental deformation stage with abundant magmatism [35,38,45], and developed thick terrestrial sedimentary and volcanic sequences which unconformably overlie the Silurian to Triassic strata. The detailed lithological description and contact relationship of sedimentary strata in the TOD are listed in Table 1.…”

“…The vertical movement induced by the opening-closing effect related to soft collision was dominated in this stage, resulting in some disconformities (Table 1). Thirdly, the convergence of the Yangtze craton and North China craton (referred to as the Indosinian orogeny) commenced at the end of Triassic, which induced the formation of a series of significant structural features including angular unconformity between the Triassic and Jurassic strata (Table 1), folds and faults [35,60]. It is considered that the Indosinian movement has produced the present structural framework in the TOD, and even in the South China [39].…”

“…At a magmatic-hydrothermal activities in the superimposed ore-forming processes [38,39]. In the magmatic-related genetic model, the stratiform orebodies were formed as a result of progressive fluid-rock interaction along the bedding-parallel structurally controlled conduits and were integral but distal parts of a large hydrothermal system that produced the proximal skarn orebodies at the contact zones and porphyry orebodies in the Yanshanian intrusions [35]. Such hydrothermal system and stratabound deposits are similar to their counterparts elsewhere [35], among which the porphyry-skarn polymetallic deposits in the Ertsberg district of Indonesia and manto-type copper deposits in Chile are two representative examples.…”

“…In the magmatic-related genetic model, the stratiform orebodies were formed as a result of progressive fluid-rock interaction along the bedding-parallel structurally controlled conduits and were integral but distal parts of a large hydrothermal system that produced the proximal skarn orebodies at the contact zones and porphyry orebodies in the Yanshanian intrusions [35]. Such hydrothermal system and stratabound deposits are similar to their counterparts elsewhere [35], among which the porphyry-skarn polymetallic deposits in the Ertsberg district of Indonesia and manto-type copper deposits in Chile are two representative examples. In the Ertsberg district, the Ertsberg East skarn orebody, one of the largest orebodies, is hosted by a bedding-parallel fault-bounded zone between the limestone of the Faumai Formation and dolomitic carbonate of the Waripi Formation [40].…”