A New Method to Quantify Morphology of Pyrite, and Application to Magmatic-Hydrothermal Gold Deposits in Jiaodong Peninsula, China

Abstract

Morphology of pyrite has been an important indicator of conditions in the ore-forming environment. This study establishes a new pyrite morphology quantification method to characterize different types of magmatic-hydrothermal gold deposits, applying this method to the Linglong, Sanshandao and Xiadian magmatic-hydrothermal gold deposits in Jiaodong peninsula, China. We used K curve and coefficient Y to characterize the Linglong type and Jiaojia type gold deposits. It showed that Linglong type and Jiaojia type gold deposits had different K curves and coefficient Y characteristics. The results showed that this method was proper in magmatic-hydrothermal gold deposits. It is concluded that the K curve and the coefficient Y are important parameters to characterize pyrite morphology in magmatic-hydrothermal gold deposits. This quantification method was called “K curve method”.