Daping gold deposit, situated in the south section of the Ailaoshan orogenic belt, once considered to be an orogenic gold deposit, displays many distinct geological characteristics which are inconsistent with the classical orogenic gold deposits around the world, but accord with the epithermal gold deposits. The vein type gold, copper, lead, silver deposits commonly develop in close association with intermediate-acidic intrusive and intermediate-basic volcanic rocks regionally. Daping gold deposit was formed in the Neozoic tectonic-magmatic activity, which is 800Ma later than the emplacement of Taojiazhai diorite which is the main host rocks, besides the gold metallogenesis is closely related to the regional structural framework and the transition of tectonic regime. The host faults of main ore-forming period are generally believed as a transtensional normal faults, and ore veins within are abundant (55), thin (0.2 similar to 0.8m), long (200 similar to 1500 m), steep (56 degrees similar to 85 degrees), deeply extensive (700m) and developed in parallel, besides ore bodies in association with Pb, Cu and Ag display high-grade Au (above 10 x 10(-6)), low Au/Ag ratio (0. 1 similar to 0.5). Textures and structures of filling type as well as mineral assemblages indicate that ore veins formed at a low-temperature and shallow-depth environment, what' more, mineralization-alteration types and the growth of opal and oxidized ores restrict an open and oxidizing environment. The distinguished geological characteristics of Daping gold deposit may be closely related to the complicated tectonic regime and metallogenic evolution, though the deposit is distinguished by its feature of orogenic gold deposits, epithermal gold, copper, lead, silver mineralization is overlapped in the shallow during the late stage of mineralization. The metallogenic characteristics, combined with documented geological information, indicate Daping gold deposit is distinguished by its orogenic in the deep and epithermal in the shallow, besides the metallogenic system is well preserved. Considering all the ores proven now are in the shallow, Daping gold deposit is of great prospecting potentiality in the deep.
