LA-ICP-MS Zircon U-Pb Geochronology of Quartz Porphyry from the Niutougou Gold Deposit in Songxian County, Henan Province

The Niutougou gold deposit, located in the center of the Xiong'ershan gold district, western Henan Province, is a large gold deposit with many quartz porphyries found in the area. Based on the field geological investigation of quartz porphyry of Niutougou gold deposit and by using the cathodoluminescence (CL) images analysis and in situ LA-ICP-MS U-Pb isotope dating method of zircons, the inner structure, trace element compositions and U-Pb age of the zircons separated from quartz porphyry were analyzed and determined. Cathodoluminescence (CL) images of zircons show clear magmatic zonations. Trace element analyses of zircons reveal that all zircons show high concentrations of Th, U, and HREE, and the REE patterns of depletion in LREE, with a positive Ce anomaly. Zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating results show that the quartz porphyry in the Niutougou gold deposit was formed at 159.71 +/- 0.99 Ma (about 160 Ma), belonging to the product of magmatic activity in late Middle Jurassic. Combined with the geological characteristics of the Niutougou gold deposit, the formation age of the quartz porphyry and the analysis of the formation age of the granite body exposed in the Niutougou gold deposit, the study suggests that the metallogenic epoch of the Niutougou gold deposit may be Yanshanian in age.