Thermodynamic study of the association and separation of copper and gold in the Shizishan ore field, Tongling, Anhui Province, China

The Shizishan ore field is the largest gold–copper ore field in the Tongling ore district of Anhui Province, China. Copper and gold deposits in the district are present as one-commodity deposits or as deposits with both commodities. Copper and gold mineralization are either cogenetic or are temporally and spatially distinct. We present the results of systematic geochemical analysis of fluid inclusions from typical Au–Cu deposits in the Shizishan ore field; these data are used to determine the solubility of Cu and Au in the ore-forming fluids and to ascertain the mechanisms and factors that controlled variations in the association and separation of copper and gold mineralization. Our results indicate that copper in the ore-forming fluids was transported as CuCl2− and CuCl0 complexes and that the solubility of copper was controlled by variations in Cl− concentration. In addition, the precipitation of copper was controlled by changes in temperature, pH, fO2, and fO2. In comparison, gold in the ore-forming fluids was transported as Au(HS)2− and Au2S(HS)22− complexes, and the solubility of gold was controlled by variations in total sulfur concentration; the precipitation of gold was controlled by temperature, pH, fO2, and fO2. These differences between the two elements meant that copper and gold in the ore-forming fluids responded in different ways to changes in physicochemical conditions. Copper precipitated under relatively acidic conditions at high temperatures, while gold precipitated under weakly alkaline conditions at relatively low temperatures; this dissociation resulted in the temporal and spatial separation and zonation of copper and gold mineralization in the Shizishan ore field.