Study on the origin of the Hongshan brecciated copper deposit in Huichang County, Jiangxi Province, China

The Hongshan copper deposit is a typical cryptoexplosive breccia-type deposit, which occurs in a metamorphic rock series of the Mesoproterozoic Taoxiyuan Formation. Orebodies are distributed inside and outside porphyry-cryptoexplosive breccia pipes. The isotope geochemistry of the deposit is consistent with the origin of porphyry breccia: the δ18OH2O values ranging from 1.2‰ to 6.1‰ and the δ34S values varying from 0 to 2.5‰. 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb ratios of pyrite, which coexists with ore minerals, indicate it was derived from the orogenic belt. Thermodynamic analysis indicates that the main metals were deposited largely as a result of the decreasing of proton concentrations associated with H2S and CO2 exsolution during explosion and temperature dropping. Based on K-Ar dating of quartz coexisting with ore minerals, the age of mineralization was estimated to be 97.1–98.8 Ma, which suggests that mineralization occurred between the Early and Late Cretaceous. According to the relevant information obtained, a diagenetic and metallogenic pattern in the area has been presented in this paper.