LA-ICP-MS in situ analyses of the pyrites in Dongyang gold deposit, Southeast China: Implications to the gold mineralization

Abstract

The Dongyang gold deposit is a newly discovered epithermal deposit in Fujian Province, Southeast China, along the Circum-Pacific metallogenic belt. Herewith, the authors present mineralogical, scanning electron microscope, and laser ablation inductively coupled clasma mass spectrometry analysis to reveal the relations between Au and Te, As, S, Fe, etc., and discuss the gold precipitation process. The pyrites in this deposit are Fe-deficient, and are enriched in Te and As. The authors infer that As was mainly in form of As-complexes, and Te-Au-Ag inclusions/solid solution also exsits in the Py I. Along with the depletion of Te and As, they were less active chemically in the Py II, and Au may be incorporated into As-rich and Fe-deficient surface sites by chemisorption onto As-rich growth surfaces. Because of the incorporation of new fluid, Te and As became the most active chemically in the Py III, which was the main elements precipitation stage, and As dominantly substituted for S in the lattice of pyrite, due to the more reducing condition. The authors propose Au was in form of invisible gold, and the incorporation of gold can be considered as post-pyrite event, while the Au-bearing minerals were result of post incorporation of gold in arsenian pyrite.