Origin of the Maoduan Pb–Zn–Mo deposit, eastern Cathaysia Block, China: geological, geochronological, geochemical, and Sr–Nd–Pb–S isotopic constraints

The Maoduan Pb–Zn–Mo deposit is in hydrothermal veins with a pyrrhotite stage followed by a molybdenite and base metal stage. The Re–Os model ages of five molybdenite samples range from 138.6 ± 2.0 to 140.0 ± 1.9 Ma. Their isochron age is 137.7 ± 2.7 Ma. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) zircon U–Pb dating of the nearby exposed Linggen granite porphyry gave a 206Pb/238U age of 152.2 ± 2.2 Ma and the hidden Maoduan monzogranite yielded a mean of 140.0 ± 1.6 Ma. These results suggest that the intrusion of the Maoduan monzogranite and Pb–Zn–Mo mineralization are contemporaneous. δ34S values of sulfide minerals range from 3.4‰ to 4.8‰, similar to magmatic sulfur. Four sulfide samples have 206Pb/204Pb = 18.252–18.432, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.609–15.779, and 208Pb/204Pb = 38.640–39.431, similar to the age-corrected data of the Maoduan monzogranite. These isotope data support a genetic relationship between the Pb–Zn–Mo mineralization and the Maoduan monzogranite and probably indicate a common deep source. The Maoduan monzogranite has geochemical features similar to highly fractionated I-type granites, such as high SiO2 (73.7–75.2 wt.%) and alkalis (K2O + Na2O = 7.8–8.9 wt.%) and low FeOt (0.8–1.3 wt.%), MgO (~0.3 wt.%), P2O5 (~0.03 wt.%), and TiO2 (~0.2 wt.%). The granitic rocks are enriched in Rb, Th, and U but depleted in Ba, Sr, Nb, Ta, P, and Ti. REE patterns are characterized by marked negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.2–0.4). The Maoduan monzogranite, having (87Sr/86Sr)t = 0.7169 to 0.7170 and εNd(t) = −13.8 to −13.7, was probably derived from mixing of partial melts from enriched mantle and the Paleoproterozoic Badu group in an extensional tectonic setting.