Dating of the Giant Huize Zn‐Pb Ore Field of Yunnan Province, Southwest China: Constraints from the Sm‐Nd System in Hydrothermal Calcite

Abstract The Huize ore field, which is the most famous high‐grade Mississippi Valley‐type Zn‐Pb ore field in China, consists of the Kuangshanchang and Qilinchang deposits. The Sm‐Nd isotopic compositions of gangue calcite were analyzed to constrain the timing of mineralization. Eight calcite samples from the No. 6 orebody in the Qilinchang deposit have Sm and Nd concentrations of 1.82–25.93 and 15.25–79.02 ppm, respectively, and yielded an age of 225 ± 9.9 Ma with epsilon Nd =−10.6 and MSWD = 0.13. Five calcites from the No. 1 orebody in the Kuangshanchang deposit contain 2.37–2.90 ppm Sm and 8.18–16.85 ppm Nd, and yielded an age of 228 ± 16 Ma, with epsilon Nd =−10.6 and MSWD = 0.28. These two ages are close to the age of the Emeishan flood basalt, which is ca 255 Ma, and agree with the reported40Ar/39Ar plateau and isochron ages of the native copper mineralization related to the Emeishan flood basalt in this region, which are 226–228 Ma. Moreover, previous study shows that the magnitude of uplift resulting from the Emeishan flood basalts is >1000 m. It indicates that the Kuangshanchang and the Qilinchang deposit formed during the same geological event and originated by fluid migration during uplift resulting from the Emeishan flood basalt.