Vol. 46 No.

3 SCIENCE IN CHINA (Series D) March 2003

Nitrogen isotope and content record of Mesozoic orogenic

gold deposits surrounding the North China craton
MAO Jingwen (毛景文)1,2, ZHANG Zuoheng (张作衡)2, WANG Yitian (王义天)2,
JIA Yefei (贾叶飞)3 & Robert Kerrich3
1. Faculty of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China;
2. Institute of Mineral Deposits, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China;
3. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E2, Canada
Correspondence should be addressed to Mao Jingwen (email: jingwenmao@263.net)

Received April 4, 2002

Abstract As an effective tracer, nitrogen isotopes have been used to determine the source of ore
materials in recent years. In this study, the nitrogen isotopes and contents were measured on K-
feldspar and sericite of gold deposits and some related granitic intrusions in Jiaodong, Xiao-
qinling-Xiong’ershan, west Qinling, the west part of North Qilian and the Zhangjiakou-Xuanhua
district around the North China craton (NCC). Although the gold deposits around the NCC are
hosted in Precambrian metamorphic rocks, Phanerozoic sedimentary rocks, mafic volcanic rocks
or granite, comparison of which with the nitrogen contents and isotope data of previous studies on
mantle-derived rocks, granites, metamorphic rocks and gold deposits indicates that those deposits
are closely related to granitic rocks. In addition, mantle-derived materials may have been involved
in the ore-forming processes to a certain degree. This conclusion is consistent with the result of
previous hydrogen, oxygen and carbon isotopic studies of those gold deposits.
Keywords: nitrogen isotope, nitrogen content, gold deposit, margins of the North China craton.

NH4+ is the most common form of nitrogen found in rocks and may substitute for K in potas-
sic minerals such as biotite, muscovite, and K-feldspar[1,2]. N2 has been observed in fluid inclu-
sions, and thermodynamic calculations suggest that N2 is the most common form of N in crustal
fluids[3, 4]. It has been demonstrated that the N-isotope systematics for the sources of mantle and
crustal fluids is an effective tracer of metamorphic devolatilization and fluid-rock interac-
tions[3, 5
—10]
. Nitrogen contents and N-isotope compositions have been used to determine most of
the common rock types, such as igneous and metamorphic rocks[6
—9, 11—14]
, diamonds[15
—19]
, and
[20 —22]
sedimentary rocks as well as organic materials in sedimentary rocks .
However, there have been few studies of N-isotopes in mineralizing processes. Jia and Ker-
rich obtained δ 15N values of 10－24 per mil in hydrothermal K-silicates from Archean mesother-
mal orogenic gold deposits[8, 9, 23]. The results were interpreted in terms of mineralization geneti-
cally related to the devolatilization of a sub-accreted greenstone sequence during subduction-
accretion metamorphism. As a corollary, fluids of mantle, granitic, or meteoritic sources should be
ruled out. There exists a clear genetic relationship between mineralization and high- grade meta-
morphism since their research was based on the gold deposits in the Archean shield. In this study,
 232 SCIENCE IN CHINA (Series D) Vol. 46

we take the orogenic gold deposits surrounding the North Chian craton (NCC) as examples to read
the record of N isotopic compositions and N contents of the K-feldspar, sericite, and albite in the
ores and related granitic rocks.
Gold districts distributed around the NCC constitute the most important gold metallogenic
provinces in China, including Jiaodong, Xiaoqinling-Xiong’ershan, Zhangjiakou-Xuanhua, West
Qinling, and the west part of North Qilian (fig. 1). The first three are hosted in late Archean am-
phibolite-granulite facies metamorphic rocks or Proterozoic metabasalt but their metallogenic ep-
och is Mesozoic[26]. Both the West Qinling and the western part of North Qilian adjoining the
NCC were newly discovered gold districts, with further prospecting potential. The type of gold
mineralization is similar to the first three structurally controlled orogenic lode gold districts, and
the two gold districts are also possibly of Mesozoic age. After more than 20 years of researches on
the deposits of these districts, including field, ore mineralogy, fluid inclusion, and stable isotope
(mainly O, H and C) studies, as well as a few times of radiometric dating, the issue of their origin
remains controversial. The principal hypotheses for their genesis are as follows: (i) deposition
from fluids generated by metamorphic devolatilization of crustal rocks[27
—29]
; (ii) deposition from
granitic magmatic fluids[26, 30
—32]
; (iii) deposition from the convecting meteoric water heated by
[28, 32, 33]
buried granite plutons ; (iv) deposition from mantle-derived fluids ascending through the
[34, 35]
Tan-Lu Fault system ; and (v) being related to lamprophyre [36]. Although many analyses have
been conducted, none of them are unambiguous. Accordingly, a powerful, less ambiguous ap-
proach is required to distinguish among these hypotheses.

Fig. 1. Tectonics and distribution of gold districts around the NCC (after ref. [24], and the original map simpli-
fied from ref. [25]).
 No. 3 N ISOTOPE OF GOLD DEPOSITS IN NORTH CHINA CRATON 233

In this study, we attempt to explore the origin of the orogenic gold deposits surrounding the
NCC with N isotope data combined with previous fluid inclusion and other stable isotope studies,
and construct a model consistent with all of the observations and data.

1 Geological setting

The North China craton contains the oldest Archean terranes in China, dated at 3.8－3.5 Ga
by SHRIMP[37]. The craton was stabilized after the Wutai (ca. 2.5 Ga) and Lüliang (ca. 1.8 Ga)
orogenies, and was first uplifted during the Caledonian orogeny[26]. Most of Archean metamorphic
rocks are distributed on the craton margins: the Mesoarchean Sanggan and Neoarchean Wutai
groups on the northern margin, hosting the Zhangjiakou-Xuanhua gold district in northwest Hebei;
the Jiaodong Group of the eastern margin, hosting the Jiaodong gold district; the Taihua Group on
the southern margin, hosting the Xiaoqinling gold district; and the Dunhuang Group on the
northwestern margin, hosting some gold deposits in the western part of North Qilian orogen (fig.
1). The Archean metamorphic rocks consist of granulite, gneiss, and amphibolite, biotite (±mus-
covite) schists, with intrusive tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite suites (TTG) dated at 2.9－2.6
Ga (zircon U-Pb age)[38
—40]
.
Jiaodong is a large gold district whose reserves and production both rank the first in China.
The deposits are characterized by shear zone-controlled auriferous quartz vein swarms, hosted in
Mesozoic granitoid plutons dated by the SHRIMP U-Pb method at 125－165 Ma [24], and in some
case occurring along the boundary of the granitoids and Archean metamorphic rocks. The NE-
striking shear zones are splays of the NNE-trending Tan-Lu Fault system. The types of hydrother-
mal alteration bounding the veins include pervasive sericitization, pyritization and silicification,
with domains of less intensive carbonatization, chloritization, albitization and K-feldspathiza-
tion[41]. The mineralization ages of this district range from 118 Ma to 123 Ma[42, 43] (table 1).
Gold mineralization in the Xiaoqinling-Xiong’ershan gold district is similar to that in the
Jiaodong gold district, characterized by structurally controlled auriferous quartz veins; they are
hosted in amphibolite, biotite-plagioclase gneiss, quartzite, and marble of the late Archean to early
Proterozoic Taihua Group determined with Rb-Sr isochron ages of 25.5－18.6 Ga[58] and in meta-
basalt-metadacite of the Paleoproterozoic Xiong’ershan Group with Rb-Sr isochron and single-
zircon U-Pb of 1.8－1.4 Ga[59]. However, almost all the ore veins are distributed 0 to 5 km away
from the contact of granitoid intrusions. Wall rock alteration zones vary from 1 to 10 m in width,
with broader zones surrounding thicker quartz veins, comprising K-feldspar, sericite, chlorite,
carbonate, and pyrite zones[44]. There are also several cryptoexplosive breccia type gold deposits
represented by the Qiyugou deposit, in which a number of gold-bearing breccia pipes are devel-
oped above or within Mesozoic quartz porphyries. The breccias mainly derived from wallrock of
Archean Taihua Group metamorphic rock and Proterozoic volcanic rock. The mineralization ages
of the Xiaoqinling and Qiyugou gold deposits determined by the 40Ar-39Ar method range
 Table 1 Main characteristics of the five gold districts on the margins of the North China craton

Name of gold Age of related

NCC margin Gold district Host rock Mineralizing age Alteration type Related intrusion Source
deposit intrusion

Mesozoic granite, Quartz-sericite, K-feldspar- [24, 26,

East margin Jiaodong Jiaojia 118—123 Ma Mesozoic granite 165－125 Ma
Archean strata carbonate-sulfide 42, 43]

Xiaoqinling- Archean gneiss and Quartz-K-feldspar-chlorite- [28, 32,

South margin Qiyugou 114－128 Ma Mesozoic granite Mesozoic
Xiong’ershan amphibolite carbonate-sericite-sulfide 44, 45]

Proterozoic metabasalt,
Xiaoqinling- Quartz-K-feldspar-chlorite-
South margin Linghu dacite and quartz Mesozoic Mesozoic granite Mesozoic [32, 44]
Xiong’ershan carbonate-sericite-sulfide
porphyry
Quartz-albite-K-feldspar-
Devonian argillite,
South margin west Qinling Baguamiao 214－168 Ma dolomite- sericite-carbonate- Mesozoic granite 214－168 Ma [46-50]
turbidite and slate
sulfide

Ordovician meta-
Northwest west part of Quartz-sericite-chlorite- Late Paleozoic
Hanshan sedimentary basaltic, 224—213 Ma 462－460 Ma [51, 52]
margin North Qilian carbonate-sulfide granodiorite
andensitic rock

Zhangjiakou- syenite, monzonite, Quartz-K-feldspar-sulfide Late Paleozoic alkaline com-

North margin Dongping 103 ± 8 Ma 410 or 275 Ma [31, 53—56]
Xuanhua gneiss, granulite (carbonate) plex, Mesozoic granodiorite

Zhangjiakou- Zhongshan- syenite, monzonite, Quartz-K-feldspar-sulfide Late Paleozoic alkaline com-

North margin Mesozoic 410 or 275 Ma [31, 53—56]
Xuanhua gou gneiss, granulite (carbonate) plex, Mesozoic granodiorite

Zhangjiakou- Xiaoying- syenite, monzonite, Quartz-K-feldspar-sulfide Late Paleozoic alkaline com-

North margin 165 Ma 410 or 275 Ma [31, 53—57]
Xuanhua pan gneiss, granulite (carbonate) plex, Mesozoic granodiorite
 No. 3 N ISOTOPE OF GOLD DEPOSITS IN NORTH CHINA CRATON 235

from 114 Ma to128 Ma by Wang et al.[45,60] (table 1).

The west Qinling gold district includes orogenic type deposits in the north and Carlin type
deposits in the south separated by the Lixian-Shanyang fault zone[46]. Orogenic gold deposits are
sited along brittle-ductile shear zones and tensile fault zones throughout the central Qinling zone,
within Devonian highly deformed greenschist-facies turbidites. The exception is the Shuangwang
in which ore bodies controlled by a 12-km long WNW-trending breccia zone, with ankerite and
auriferous sulfides occurring as cements in the interstices of the angular albitization slate frag-
ments. Alteration types are predominantly albite, sericite, and carbonate. Gold mineralization is
closely related in space and time to granite plutons, but in specific cases the deposits may be lo-
cated near or several kilometers away from granite plutons. Shi et al.[47], Fan and Jin[48], Shao et
al.[49], and Wei et al.[50] dated the gold mineralization and granites ages as 214－168 Ma (table 1).
The Hanshan and Yingzuishan deposits and several other gold occurrences have recently
been discovered, and further prospecting is underway in the west part of the North Qilian Caledo-
nian orogenic belt[51,61]. Gold mineralization is controlled by brittle-ductile shear zones, accompa-
nied by strong sericite, quartz, and carbonate alteration. Ordovician basalt and andesitic basalt are
host rocks of gold mineralization in the Hanshan and other deposits. Silurian phyllite and Caledo-
nian ultramafic rocks are the host rocks of gold mineralization in the Yinzuishan deposit. A granite
pluton is located 1 to 10 km away from the gold deposits, but the granite and related tungsten de-
posits were determined with single zircon U-Pb and Re-Os isochron methods to be 460 Ma and
462 Ma, respectively, whereas gold mineralization has K-Ar ages of 224－213 Ma[52,62] (table 1).
A group of gold deposits in the Zhangjiakou-Xuanhua gold district are distributed in, or
proximal to the Shuiquangou alkaline complex[30], dated at 390 Ma by the single zircon U-Pb
method[56] or at 275 Ma by the 39Ar-40Ar method[57]. The Dongping and Zhongshangou gold de-
posits developed in the complex with gold mineralization is dated at (103 ± 8) Ma [55], whereas the
Xiaoyingpan deposit is several kilometers away from the south contact and the mineralization age
is 165 Ma[57]. The former two deposits contain auriferous quartz veins and K-feldspar quartz veins,
along NW- and WNW-trending fractures. The most intense K-feldspar alteration occurs as a 1 to 2
meters wide halo around the auriferous quartz veins, with the subordinate alteration of quartz,
sericite, and carbonate. Hercynian syenite and Mesozoic monzonite are host rocks of the gold
veins[30, 31]. The Xiaoyingpan gold deposit is composed of large EW-trending auriferous quartz
veins and the wall rock alterations include intense K-feldspar, quartz, and carbonate alterations.
Host rocks are granulite, plagioclase amphibolite, and gneiss of the Archean Sanggan Group[54]
(table 1).

2 Sampling and analytical procedures

In this study samples from eight representative gold deposits of five gold districts surround-
ing the North China craton were analyzed. These samples include hydrothermal K-feldspar sepa-
 236 SCIENCE IN CHINA (Series D) Vol. 46

rates from the Jiaojia, Linghu, Qiyugou, Baguamiao, Dongping, Zhongshangou, and Xiaoyingpan
deposits and sericite samples from the Hanshan deposit. The principal characteristics of each gold
deposit have been listed in table 1. For comparison, we also analyzed 14 biotites and whole-rock
samples from granitoids in the vicinity of each gold district.
A high-precision continuous flow-isotope ratio mass spectrometer (CF-IRMS) was used for
N isotope analysis on K-feldspar and sericite separates and granitic rocks at the Soil Science
Laboratory, University of Saskatchewan, Canada. The details of this analytical method have been
reported by Jia and Kerrich[8, 9]. Analytical precision for micas is ca. 0.30 per mil (generally
≤0.30‰ for n≥3) for δ 15N. Reproducibilities for international standard materials: IAEA-N1,

0.54 ± 0.07‰ (n = 15; accepted value, 0.53‰); IAEA-N2, 20.34‰ ± 0.08‰ (n = 10, accepted
value, 20.41‰); laboratory standard materials: BLN.SOIL, 5.15‰ ± 0.21‰ (n = 20; accepted
value, 5.15‰); and ten replicate analyses of a muscovite mineral separate sample containing 200
×10−6 N yielded a mean δ 15N value of 19.4‰ ± 0.09‰ (1σ ). Three of the same mica samples
analyzed using dissolution and distillation techniques [12] yielded a mean value of 19.6‰ ± 0.20‰
(1σ ). Nitrogen concentrations were obtained from each sample based on system calibration using
standards. The error of the duplicate analyses is within 0.3‰ to 0.6‰ at N contents of < 40 ×
10−6 (table 2). Stable isotope ratios of nitrogen are reported using the standard δ -notation, where
δ 15N = (15N/14Nsmpl)/(15N/14Nstd. –1) × 1000, and the isotopic standard for N is atmospheric N2[63].
3 Results

The N contents and N isotopic composition of mineral separates from gold deposits are
shown in table 2. The N contents of K-feldspars from deposits in the Zhangjiakou-Xuanhua dis-
trict are low, being ≤ 66×10−6, and the δ 15N in the three deposits ranges from 1.7‰ to 10.1‰.
The N contents and δ 15N of the two deposits in the Xiaoqinling-Xiong’ershan district and the
Jiaojia gold deposit in Jiaodong are comparable to the above, being 27×10−6－53×10−6 and 33×
10−6－40×10−6 and 4.7‰－6.6‰ and 2.5‰－5.7‰, respectively. In the Baguamiao deposit of
the west Qinling district, the N contents of K-feldspars are relatively high, ranging between 87×
10−6 and 104×10−6, but the δ 15N range of 3.8‰—4.3‰ of K-feldspars is similar to those of its
counterparts. Sericite from the Hanshan deposit in the west part of North Qilian has much higher
N contents (650×10−6 to 2500×10−6), but also has a range of δ 15N (1.7‰ to 5.6‰) similar to
that of the Xiaoyingpan K-feldspars (table 2).
For comparison, the N concentrations and δ 15N values have also been determined for whole-
rock samples and biotite separates from the granitoids spatially associated with gold deposits.
They all have low N contents of 29×10−6 to 64×10−6 and the δ 15N values range between 2.4‰
No. 3 N ISOTOPE OF GOLD DEPOSITS IN NORTH CHINA CRATON 237

Table 2 N contents and δ 15N values of K-feldspar and sericite of gold deposits around the NCC
Gold district Deposit Sample numbera) Mineral δ 15N（‰） CN (×10−6)
Jiaodong Jiaojia JJ-1 K-feldspar 4.6 40
JJ-2 K-feldspar 2.5 40
JJ-3 K-feldspar 2.3 42
JJ-4 K-feldspar 5.7 33
Zhangjiakou- Dongping DP-70-2 K-feldspar 7.0 24
Xuanhua DP-70-2* K-feldspar 7.0 25
DP-70-3 K-feldspar 6.6 32
DP-70-4 K-feldspar 6.1 32
DP-70-8 K-feldspar 5.5 30
DP-70-8* K-feldspar 5.7 45
Zhongshangou ZSG-3 K-feldspar 6.9 26
ZSG-3-1 K-feldspar 7.9 33
ZSG-4 K-feldspar 9.8 44
ZSG-4* K-feldspar 10.1 34
ZSG-5 K-feldspar 7.7 24
ZSG-5* K-feldspar 7.1 22
ZSG-6 K-feldspar 6.3 33
ZSG-6-1 K-feldspar 6.1 41
Xiaoyingpan XYB-3 K-feldspar 4.8 20
XYB-3(1) K-feldspar 4.8 19
XYB-3-6 K-feldspar 1.8 66
XYB-3-6* K-feldspar 1.7 64
XYB-4-6 K-feldspar 3.2 25
XYB-4-6(1) K-feldspar 3.4 20
XYB-4-7 K-feldspar 6.5 46
XYB-4-7* K-feldspar 6.3 34
West Qinling Baguamiao BGM-I-1 K-feldspar 4.2 102
BGM-I-2 K-feldspar 3.9 104
BGM-II-1 K-feldspar 4.3 95
BGM-II-2 K-feldspar 3.8 87
West part of Hanshan HS-1 sericite 5.4 2452
North Qilian HS-1(1) sericite 5.6 2509
HS-2 sericite 1.7 869
HS-2(1) sericite 1.7 880
HS-3 sericite 2.6 1017
HS-3(1) sericite 3.1 1042
HS-9-1 sericite 4.0 707
HS-9-1* sericite 4.3 651
Xiaoqinling- Linghu LH-1 K-feldspar 6.6 27
Xiong’ershan
LH-2 K-feldspar 5.5 33
LH-3 K-feldspar 5.3 53
Qiyugou QYG-1 K-feldspar 5.1 28
QYG-2 K-feldspar 4.7 32
QYG-3 K-feldspar 6.1 41
a) * stands for samples in duplicate.
 238 SCIENCE IN CHINA (Series D) Vol. 46

and 8.9‰ (table 3). For granitoids in the Zhangjiakou-Xuanhua district, the N contents range be-
tween 30×10−6 and 64×10−6 and the δ 15N values are in the range of 4.9‰—8.9‰. Granitoids in
Jiaodong have a N content of 34×10−6, with a δ 15N value of 8.1‰. Four granite bodies in the
west Qinling district and two granite bodies in the Xiaoqinling-Xiong’ershan district all have
similar N contents of 29×10−6 to 61×10−6 to the above, but give δ 15N values ranging from 2.4‰
to 8.7‰ for both biotite and whole rocks (table 3). For the same samples, the N content of biotite
is 7×10−6 to 19×10−6 higher than that of the whole-rock sample; however, they have a very
similar value of δ 15N.
Table 3 N contents and δ 15N values of related granitoids in ore districts or adjacent deposits around the NCC
Sample Measured rocks or
Gold district Related intrusion δ 15N (‰) CN (×10−6)
number minerals
Jiaodong Wang’ershan WS-5 whole-rock 8.07 34
Xiaoqinling-
Wenyu HY-1 biotite 2.92 55
Xiong’ershan
HY-16 whole-rock 2.94 43
Niangniangshan ZZ-2 biotite 7.28 53
NN-3 whole-rock 7.14 29
West Qinling Xianggou XG5-1 whole-rock 5.42 37
Santaishan STS-1 biotite 2.86 61
STS-1 whole-rock 2.38 40
Zhongchuan ZC-1 biotite 8.43 40
ZC-2 whole-rock 8.67 33
Xiba XB-1 whole-rock 2.36 31
Zhangjiakou-
Dongping DP-1 whole-rock 5.97 30
Xuanhua
DP-6 whole-rock 8.91 43
DP-9 whole-rock 4.88 64

4 Discussion and conclusions

A histogram of the nitrogen isotopic composition of the gold deposits around the NCC was
constructed, which is compared with that constructed according to previous studies of man-
tle-derived rocks, granitoids, metamorphic rocks and gold deposits (fig. 2), and a corresponding
diagram of nitrogen content versus δ 15N was also constructed (fig. 3). Fig. 2 shows that although
the δ 15N values of mantle-derived rock vary broadly, most of which fall in the range of −5‰ —
+5‰ with a peak of −2‰ — 0‰. This reflects that the nitrogen isotopes of mantle-derived rocks
are relatively homogeneous. The δ 15N values of metamorphic rock range from +1‰ to +17.5‰.
Haendal et al.[12] and Bebout et al.[6,7] pointed out that the nitrogen content decreases and the δ 15N
increases with increasing metamorphic grade. This may be due to the high nitrogen content of
sedimentary rocks, especially those rich in organic materials. However, 14N is easier to enter fluid
than 15N during the metamorphism, and the latter is mostly preserved within metamorphic rocks.
 No. 3 N ISOTOPE OF GOLD DEPOSITS IN NORTH CHINA CRATON 239

Fig. 2. The histogram of δ 15N of gold deposits around the NCC (compared with previously reported data on
mantle-derived rocks, granite, metamorphic rocks and gold ore; data sources: ore from refs. [9, 23], granite from
refs. [7, 9], metamorphic rocks from refs. [6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13] and mantle-derived rocks from refs. [11,14]).

Because of the diversity of sources for granite, the δ 15N value of granite exhibits a wider range
than that of other rocks. Generally, the δ 15N values of crust-derived granite are higher than those
of mantle-derived and crust-mantle anatexed granite. Consequently, the nitrogen isotope analysis
of related granitoids is necessary when the nitrogen isotopes are used to discuss the relationship
between ore and adjacent granite. Fig. 2 shows that the limited nitrogen isotope data of gold de-
posits display two peaks of +3‰—+5‰ and +13‰—+24‰[8,9]. The former is from North
 240 SCIENCE IN CHINA (Series D) Vol. 46

Fig. 3. The diagram of N versus δ 15N of the gold deposits around the NCC (compared with previously reported
data on mantle-derived rocks, granite, metamorphic rocks and gold ore, the sources of the data are the same as in
fig. 2).

American Cordillera orogenic gold deposits, whose mineralization is related to the granitic rock
belt formed during the subduction of the Pacific plate. The latter is from Archean greenstone type
gold deposits of the North American and West Australian cratons, in which the gold mineralization
is closely related to the strong metamorphic fluid. The δ 15N values of the gold deposits around the
NCC, although the deposits are hosted in metamorphic rocks and granites or sedimentary rocks
and volcanic rocks, are similar, mostly exhibiting a narrow range of +1.7‰—+7.9‰ (fig. 2), ex-
cept only for two samples, whose δ 15N are relatively high, being +9.8‰ and +10.1‰, respec-
tively (table 2). Those data are consistent with those of related granitoids which range from
+1.7‰ to +7.9‰ (table 3). To a certain degree, this result reveals that, although part of the gold
deposits are hosted in amphibole facies metamorphic rocks, the nitrogen isotope characteristics of
these gold ores reflect that the gold mineralization is closely related to Mesozoic granite. In this
study, no nitrogen isotope analysis was performed on Precambrian metamorphic rocks of the
NCC; however, the δ 15N values of the Abitibi greenstone of the North American craton range
from +11.8‰ to +15.5‰[9].
In the diagram of N content versus δ 15N (fig. 3), the mantle-derived rock is characterized by
low nitrogen content and low δ 15N, which is very different from other types of rocks. Most of the
 No. 3 N ISOTOPE OF GOLD DEPOSITS IN NORTH CHINA CRATON 241

metamorphic rocks and granites are overlapped in the diagram. In general, the N content of granite
varies from 20×10−6 to 130×10−6, but the δ 15N values show a very broad range; both the N con-
tent and δ 15N of metamorphic rocks vary widely. The ore shows two fields: one is located on the
upper right part of the metamorphic rock field and the mineralization is considered to be related to
metamorphism[8,9], and the other is located on the left of the metamorphic rocks and overlapped
with their upper part, which represents the gold mineralization in the orogen, and the ore-forming
fluids may have been derived from anatexis or high-grade metamorphism[23]. The data of N con-
tent and δ 15N values of gold deposits around the NCC are also plotted in fig. 3. The results indi-
cate that, except the Hanshan gold deposit, all of the other gold deposits are overlapped with the
granite field. Although they are also located in the metamorphic rock field, the data points of gold
deposits alternate with those of related granite, which may imply their intimate relationship. In
addition, generally, the data points of gold ore and related granite are located in the lower part of
the granite field, which suggests that some mantle-derived materials were involved in the ore-
forming processes. This is consistent with the fact that the ore-forming fluids are rich in CO2 and
the mantle-derived carbon isotope[32, 64]. The Hanshan gold deposit is similar to North American
Cordillera orogenic gold deposits with a very high N content (651×10−6 to 2509×10−6). This
speciality probably reflects the characteristics of gold deposits formed during the orogenic period,
i.e. abundant sedimentary rocks discharged N-rich fluids during metamorphism or anatexis which
moved up and involved in ore-forming processes.
In order to further discuss the genesis of gold deposits around the NCC, we have collected
the O, H and C isotope data from the Jiaojia gold deposit in Jiaodong[65, 66], Xiaoqinling[58, 67] and
Qiyugou[28, 59] gold deposits in the Xiaoqinling-Xiong’ershan district, Dongping [30, 68] and Xiao-
yingpan[69] gold deposits and the Shuiquangou intrusion[31] in the Zhangjiakou-Xuanhua district,
Baguamiao[70], Shuangwang[47] and Liba[70] gold deposits in the West Qinling district, and the Han-
shan gold deposit[51] in the west part of North Qilian (table 4).
The data of the three stable isotopes show that the ore-forming fluids of these gold deposits
are located in the field of magmatic water determined by Sheppard[71] and Ohmoto[72], i.e. δ D
ranges from －40‰ to −80‰ and δ 18Owater from +5.5‰ to +9.5‰. The trend of decrease of
δ 18O values displayed by some samples from the Qiyugou, Dongping, and Xiaoqinling gold
deposits suggests that a certain amount of meteoric water may have been mixed into the ore-
forming fluids during the mineralization. The trend of increase of δ D values at the Dongping,
Jiaojia and Xiaoyingpan gold deposits also indicates that a small amount of meteoric water was
mixed into ore-forming fluids. Like most orogenic gold deposits, the carbon isotopes are generally
mantle-derived and characterized by depletion of δ 13C. The assemblage of carbonate minerals
represented by calcite, quartz-calcite, and ankerite veins usually formed in the late stage of miner-
alization. This reveals that mantle-derived volatiles produced in the late mineralization stage in-
jected into the ore-forming system.
 242 SCIENCE IN CHINA (Series D) Vol. 46

Table 4 C, H and O isotopic compositions of some gold deposits (intrusions) around the NCC (‰)
Gold district Name of gold deposit δ 18O water (SMOW) δ D water (SMOW) δ 13C carbonate (PDB) Source
Jiaodong Jiaojia 10.4 −68 — −96 [63, 64]
Xiaoqinling-
Xiaoqinling 3.9—9.6 −34 — −84 −1.9— −7.6 [58, 65]
Xiong’ershan
Qiyugou 3.2—5.8 −52 — −74 −4.2— −5.8 [28, 59]
Zhangjiakou
Dongping 3.6—8.2 −74 — −101 −3.4— −6.5 [30, 66]
-Xuanhua
Xiaoyingpan 11.7—13.5 −80 — −115 [67]
West Qinling Baguamiao 5.6 −79 [68]
Shuangwang 8.3—8.7 −62 — −77 −4.5 — −6.3 [47]
Liba 5.2—7.3 −63 — −92 [68]
West part of
Hanshan 4.5—8.3 −1.0 — −2.3 [51]
North Qilian

Both the N content and N isotope analyses as well as the O, H and C isotope data indicate
that the gold mineralization around the NCC is intimately related to large-scale Mesozoic magma-
tism. The ore-forming fluids are composed dominantly of magma fluids mixed with a certain
amount of meteoric water. In the late mineralization stage, mantle-derived carbon and even fluids
were involved in the ore-forming system.
Acknowledgements The authors thank Dr. Xie Qianli for his help in the analysis of the nitrogen content and isotopes in
Canada and Dr. Lü Guxian for providing samples from the Jiaojia gold deposit. This work was supported by the Ministry of
Science and Technology of China (Grant No. G1999043211).

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