The Hongqiling tin-polymetallic deposit is a typical lode-type deposit from the Dongpo ore field, which is also the largest lode-type tin deposit in Hunan Province. Both the Hongqiling tin deposit and the adjacent Congshuban and Nanfeng' ao lead-zinc-silver deposits controlled by the same NE-trending fault zone compose a lode-type Sn-W-Pb-Zn-Ag continuum ore system. In this study, high-precision Ar-Ar dating on muscovite collected from the Hongqiling deposit has been carried out, and yielded a well-defined 40Ar/39Ar plateau age of 153.3 +/- 1.0Ma, with an isochron age of 153.6 +/- 1.5Ma (MSWD = 0.55) and an inverse isochron age of 153.5 +/- 1.5Ma (MSWD = 2.1). These new geochronlogical ages are significant older than the Rb-Sr isochron age (143.1 +/- 8.7Ma) of fluid inclusions in quartz from the quartz vein-type ore and the K-feldspar 40Ar-39Ar age (144 +/- 3Ma) of the granite porphyry, but is consistent with the SHRIMP zircon U-Pb ages (155 similar to 151Ma) of the Qianlishan granites, and with the molybdenite Re-Os ages of the Shizhuyuan (151.0 +/- 3.5Ma) and the Jinchuantang (158.8 +/- 6.6Ma) skarn type ore deposits within error, indicating that the mineralizations of lode-type ore deposits in this area are also spatially and temporally related to the Qianlishan granite pluton. Combining with previous studies, we proposed that highly fractionated and high heat producing (HHP) granitic magma provided mainly ore-forming materials for super-accumulation of multi-metals to form several (super-) giant polymetallic deposits in this area, and different physicochemical properties of wallrock and geological structure conditions controlled the mineralization styles to form different ore deposit system. Skarn-greisen type W-Sn-Mo-Bi-Pb-Zn polymetallic deposits are commonly developed in the contact zone between the Qianlishan granite pluton and the Devonian carbonate country rock, associated with Pb-Zn-Ag vein deposits occurring in distal zone of skarn. While lode-type Sn-W-Pb-Zn-Ag deposits controlled by NE-trending fault zones are mainly hosted in Sinian elastic rocks, with a small amount hosted in Middle Devonian Tiaomajian Formation standstone.
