Shihua Zhong
Reimar Seltmann
Jingjing Zhu
Sean McClenaghan- 1Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Key Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques, MOE, College of Marine Geosciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
- 2Laboratory for Marine Mineral Resources, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
- 3Center for Russian and Central EurAsian Mineral Studies, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
- 4State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, China
- 5Raw Materials Characterization Laboratory, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Editorial on the Research Topic
Accessory mineral geochemistry and its application in mineral exploration
Accessory minerals are common in igneous rocks of intermediate to felsic composition. Their ability to incorporate a wide range of geochemically important trace elements, as well as their physical-chemical durability and resistance to alteration, makes these ideal minerals for fingerprinting granitoid fertility and tracing magma evolution (Zhong et al., 2019; Zhong et al., 2021; Zhu et al., 2022). In contrast, some studies show that those ‘robust’ accessory mineral compositions sometimes exhibit signatures that are counter-indicative to their igneous host, particularly regarding regional fertility of granitoids (Rezeau et al., 2019). In this regard, it is of great importance and necessity to address the systematics of accessory mineral geochemistry in the field of granitic petrogenesis and its application in mineral exploration.
This Research Topic aims to underscore 1) advances in the understanding of isotopic and trace element signatures in accessory minerals, as they pertain to magmatic evolution in fertile and barren terranes; and 2) textural and petrological factors affecting accessory mineral compositions that may lead to indeterminate classification of plutonic suites and incorrect assessment of magmatic fertility. The Research Topic will provide useful guides on how to successfully apply accessory mineral geochemistry in assessing intrusion-centered magmatic-hydrothermal systems as well as develop some novel geochemical classifiers/tools.
The Kalmakyr deposit in Uzbekistan is one of the world’s largest gold-rich porphyry Cu deposits, and is characterized by multiple intrusive phases. It is suggested that porphyry Cu mineralization is associated with the latest granodiorite porphyry, but it is still unclear which features of these ore-bearing intrusions are crucial for the enormous metal enrichment and how they correlate with magmatic fertility. Liu et al. address these questions by comparing the petrological and in situ major and trace element geochemistry of apatite for the ore-bearing and ore-barren intrusions. By comparing their new data with the published dataset from porphyry Cu–Mo and Mo-only deposits in the world, they suggest that the high Cl content and low F/Cl ratio in magmatic apatite might be an important indicator to prospect for gold-rich porphyry Cu deposits.
Liu et al. analyze the in situ major and trace elements and Nd isotope content of apatite from a Cu mineralized pluton (Hongshan) and three non-mineralized plutons (Cilincuo, Rongyicuo, and Hagela) in the Yidun Terrane, SW China. They aim to provide new insights into the identification of the magmatic features of Cu-mineralized plutons. Based on apatite δCe values and halogen compositions, they find that the parental magma of the Cu mineralized pluton was more oxidized and contained more Cl than those of the non-mineralized plutons. They also suggest that the four plutons were the products of partial melting of ancient lower crust mixed with mantle-derived melts, and that the Cu-mineralzied Hongshan pluton was derived from a deep magma source. They finally propose an index system consisting of apatite δCe, Sr/Y, and F/Cl values, which can be used to distinguish the Cu-mineralized and non-mineralized plutons.
In contrast, Tan et al. study hydrothermal apatite from the Huayuan orefield, SW Yangtze Block (SW China), which is a world-class Pb-Zn orefield with over 20 million tonnes (Mt) metal reserve. They aim to reveal the Pb-Zn ore fluid source and evolution in the Huayuan orefield. Based on the compositions of hydrothermal apatite, they suggest that the apatite was formed in an environment with decreasing oxygen fugacity, and that the ore-forming fluid is relatively F-rich, Cl-poor, and REE-poor. They also proposed that mixing of fluids with different origins might trigger significant metal ore deposition in the Huayuan orefield.
Finally, Hao et al. examine the petrogenesis and geodynamic settings of the Xinchenggou area, Xingmeng orogenic belt, NE China based on detailed whole-rock major and trace element compositions. They suggest that syenogranite and monzogranite from the Xinchenggou area are I-type granite and emplaced in a continental arc setting, which was related to the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate during the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic.
The guest editors would like to thank all the authors and reviewers for their work and devotion to the Research Topic and hope that it can inspire further research about how to guide mineral exploration using accessory minerals.
Author contributions
SZ has provided an initial draft of this Editorial which was revised and approved by all the authors. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
Funding
This study was supported by the Science and Technology Innovation Project of Laoshan Laboratory (LSKJ202204400), the National Natural Science Foundation (42203066); and the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2020QD027).
Acknowledgments
JZ thanks 100 Talent Plan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. We deeply thank all the authors for their submissions to this Research Topic and all the reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions, and the Frontiers Editorial Office for their strong support in all phases of the realization of this Research Topic.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note
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References
Rezeau, H., Moritz, R., Wotzlaw, J.-F., Hovakimyan, S., and Tayan, R. (2019). Zircon petrochronology of the meghri-ordubad pluton, lesser caucasus: Fingerprinting igneous processes and implications for the exploration of porphyry Cu-Mo deposits. Econ. Geol. 114 (7), 1365–1388. doi:10.5382/econgeo.4671
Zhong, S., Feng, C., Liu, Y., Santosh, M., He, S., et al. (2021). Porphyry copper and skarn fertility of the northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau collisional granitoids. Earth-Science Rev. 214, 103524. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103524
Zhong, S., Seltmann, R., Qu, H., and Song, Y. (2019). Characterization of the zircon Ce anomaly for estimation of oxidation state of magmas: A revised Ce/Ce* method. Mineralogy Petrology 113 (6), 755–763. doi:10.1007/s00710-019-00682-y
Keywords: apatite, zircon, accessory minerals, granite, porphyry deposits
Citation: Zhong S, Seltmann R, Zhu J and McClenaghan S (2023) Editorial: Accessory mineral geochemistry and its application in mineral exploration. Front. Earth Sci. 11:1230816. doi: 10.3389/feart.2023.1230816
Received: 29 May 2023; Accepted: 09 June 2023;
Published: 14 June 2023.
Edited and reviewed by:
Martyn Tranter, Aarhus University, DenmarkCopyright © 2023 Zhong, Seltmann, Zhu and McClenaghan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Shihua Zhong, zhongshihua@ouc.edu.cn