The Ashele Deposit: A Recently Discovered Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Cu-Zn Deposit in Xinjiang, China

Abstract: The Ashele Cu-Zn deposit is a recently discovered volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit in Xinjiang, Northwestern China. It is the largest Cu-Zn deposit in this type of deposits in China, which were formed in the early period of later Palaeozoic Era. This deposit is hosted within a suit of bimodal submarine volcanic rocks of the Ashele Formation of Lower-Middle Devonian System formed in an environment of paleocontinental margin rift setting. Lensoid orebodies occur between spilitic rocks developed at footwall and quartz-keratophyric tuff at hanging wall. Zonation of metal elements in the Ashele mine is one of typical volcanic-related exhalative Cu-Zn sulfide deposits in the world. Black ores enriched in Pb, Zn and Ag occurs on the top of the No. 1 orebody in the Ashele deposit, yellow ores enriched in Cu in the middle part, and the chalcopyritization stringer below the massive sulfide ores. Zonation of ore-structure in the No. 1 orebody is also apparent and corresponds to the zoning of elements, i. e. lamellar and/or banded sulfide-sulfate ores on the top, massive sulfide ores in the middle, and stockwork veinlets associated with altered breccia pipe on the bottom. Four epochs of mineralization in the Ashele deposit has been recognized. The first period of syngenetic-exhalative deposition of sulfides is the main epoch of mineralization, and the ores deposited subsequently subjected to thermo-metamorphism at the second epoch, superimposed by hydrothermal mineralization at the third epoch, and weathered or oxidized at the fourth epoch.
More than 100 categories of minerals have been recognized in the Ashele mine, but only pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, tetrahedrite, galena, barite, quartz, chlorite, sericite, and calcite are dominant, making up various types of ores, and alteration pipes or horizons. Studies of ore petrology suggest that the massive ores were volcanogenic and deposited by exhalative process.