Magmatic Conduit Metallogenic System - A New Model for the Origin of Ore-deposits

Origin and emplacement processes of ore-deposits connected with intrusions remains poorly understood. Here we propose a new model 'Magmatic Conduit Metallogenic System' to explain the origin of ore-deposits. Magmatic flow (or Melt-fluid flow) bearing metals will finally settle in the conduits at later stage of magma evolved in magma metallogenic system. Magmatic flow (or Melt-fluid flow) bearing metals include many types, such as sulfide melts and iron melts bearing fluids. Conduits will form along the zones of structural weakness, such as fault zone and interface of two different types of rocks. These conduits are usually very complicated in the magmatic system, exemplified by two typical ore-deposits, detailed as follows. The Jinchuan sulfide deposit, located in Gansu Province, China, is the third largest magmatic Cu-Ni Platinum Group Elements (PGE) in the world. There are mainly four orebodies (orebody 58, 24, 1, and 2) from west to east, with Ni/Cu value at 1.24, 1.56, 1.83 and 2.06 respectively; the content of Pt+Pd ranges from 0.4 to 10.3 ppm, with the highest value occurs in the west. This suggests that the direction of the melt flow bearing sulfide is from west to east and the front of the conduit system is in the east part of the deposit. Sulfide segregation in the magmatic chamber or in the conduits might have caused ore content to change in different part of the conduit systems. Another typical example is the Xishimen iron deposit, which is located in the South of Hebei Province, China. It has been considered as a skarn-type iron deposit conventionally. However, many geological evidence suggests that Xishimen iron deposit is a magmatic iron deposit instead. Such evidence includes: 1. The boundaries between iron orebodies and country rocks are obvious, no transitional relationship; 2. Iron ore body injected into the country rocks (including genesis, diorite, and marble); 3. There are some vesicular in the iron ores; 4. Magnetite as an interstitial mineral occurs among the pyroxenes/amphiboles. The content of titanium in the iron ores changes from 0.14% to 0.20 wt. % gradually from southeast to northwest (NW), suggesting the direction of melt-fluid flow bearing iron is from SE to NW. These characteristics in the Xishimen iron deposit indicate that melt-fluid flow bearing iron controls the distribution of iron orebodies. Several key points in 'Magmatic Conduit Metallogenic System' are concluded here: 1. All melt or melt-fluid bearing metals formed in the staging chamber are finally settled in the conduits based on their differences in density; 2. We can determine the direction of the melt or melt-fluid flow according to the content and textures of ores in the conduits. We propose that 'Magmatic Conduit Metallogenic System' could serve as a new exploring model for the ore-deposits connected with intrusions.