ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Petrology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feart.2025.1604873
This article is part of the Research TopicGenetic Mineralogy in Magmatic Hydrothermal Deposits: Methodology and ApplicationView all 5 articles
Uranium-polymetallic mineralization relationship and comprehensive mineralization model in the Xiangshan ore field, South China: Constraints from H-O-S-Pb-Sr Multi-Isotope Data
Provisionally accepted
- Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology, Beijing, China
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Abstract：The Xiangshan ore field, recognized as China's premier volcanic-hosted uranium deposit cluster, has recently revealed significant exploration breakthroughs through the discovery of vertically zoned Pb-Zn-Ag-Cu polymetallic mineralization beneath shallow uranium systems, establishing a characteristic "upper uranium-lower polymetallic" vertical zoning configuration. This distinctive metallogenic architecture has propelled investigations into the genetic connections and superimposed mineralization mechanisms between deep polymetallic systems and surficial uranium enrichment, representing a pivotal frontier for advancing comprehensive evaluation strategies of uranium-polymetallic resources in volcanic terrains. Through systematic comparative analysis of H-O-S-Pb-Sr isotopic signatures across both mineralization types, this study elucidates: (1) Uranium mineralization exhibits significantly higher meteoric water contributions (δ 18 OH2O: 0.95‰ to 4.95‰) and crustal material inputs ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr: 0.71447 to 0.72072; δ 34 S: 6.2‰ to 19.55‰) compared to polymetallic counterparts; (2) 206 Pb/ 204 Pb, 207 Pb/ 204 Pb, and 208 Pb/ 204 Pb ratios for sulfide minerals of polymetallic mineralization ranging from 17.599 to 18.262, 15.558 to 15.725, and 37.934 to 38.875 and sample points exhibit a linear distribution pattern imply unique sulfur enrichment processes potentially associated with uranium-rich hydrothermal systems; (3) Multivariate isotopic evidence confirms that uranium and polymetallic mineralization represent products of two discrete metallogenic events under the extensional tectonic regime of South China.
Keywords: Xiangshan ore field, Uranium mineralization, Polymetallic mineralization, Multi-isotope data, Metallogenic model
Received: 02 Apr 2025; Accepted: 28 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Guo, Li, Nie, He, Junxian and Khan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jian Guo, Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology, Beijing, China
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