Gold mineralization and metallogenesis associated with mantle dynamics
in East China
Abstract
East China can be divided into two parts: the North China Block (or
North China Craton) (NCC) and the South China Block (SCB). The mechanism
for the destruction of the NCC and the large-scale magmatic activity in
the SCB during the Mesozoic is a major focus in the geosciences;
however, related scientific issues, such as gold mineralization in the
NCC and the metallogenesis in the SCB, remain enigmatic. Recently,
receiver function analysis and tomography have been used to define the
vestiges of an upwelling mantle plume beneath the NCC and large-scale
mantle upwelling beneath the SCB in the Mesozoic. In this study, the
dynamic processes of the mantle plume and upwelling mantle are analysed,
and the relationships between the mantle plume and gold mineralization
as well as between mantle upwelling and metallogenesis are discussed.
Finally, it is suggested that gold mineralization in the NCC might be
linked to a Mesozoic mantle plume while metallogenesis in the SCB might
be related to Mesozoic mantle upwelling.