Geochronological Study of the Jiashengpan Zn–Pb Deposit in Northern China: Implications for Base Metal Mineralization in Collisional Orogens

Abstract

The Jiashengpan Zn–Pb deposit is located in the Langshan-Zhaertai region of the North China Craton. Zinc-lead mineralization at the Jiashengpan shows characteristics of shear-zone controlled syn-metamorphic mineralization. The 39Ar/40Ar ages of syn-ore hydrothermal muscovite averages at ~380 Ma, suggesting that the Zn–Pb mineralization took place in the Devonian. These results agree with zircon U–Pb ages of post-ore granite, which constrain the ore formation to be older than 277 ± 2 Ma. Ore formation was coeval with the emplacement of regional orogenic belts that formed as result of subduction associated with the closure of the eastern Paleo-Asian Ocean (~400 Ma). The Jiashengpan deposit provides evidence for base metal mineralization associated with metamorphogenic and shear-zone controlled characteristics during continental-continental collision, stressing the significance of orogenic activities for enrichment of base metals.