Deep gold mineralization features of Jiaojia metallogenic belt, Jiaodong gold Province: Based on the breakthrough of 3000 m exploration drilling

Recently, continuous breakthroughs have been made about deep gold prospecting in the Jiaodong gold province area of China. Approximately 5000 t of cumulative gold resources have been explored in Jiaodong, which has thus become an internationally noteworthy gold ore cluster. The gold exploration depth has been increased to about 2000 m from the previous <1000 m. To further explore the mineralization potential of the Jiaodong area at a depth of about 3000 m, the Shandong Institute of Geological Sciences has drilled an exploratory drillhole named “Deep drillhole ZK01” to a depth of 3266 m. Hence, as reported herein, the mineralization characteristics of the Jiaojia metallogenic belt have been successfully documented. ZK01 is, to date, the deepest borehole with an gold intersect in China, and constitutes a significant advance in deep gold prospecting in China. The findings of this study further indicate that the depth interval of 2000 m to 4000 m below the ground surface in the Wuyi Village area incorporates 912 t of inferred gold resources, while the depth interval of 2000 m to 4000 m below the surface across the Jiaodong area possesses about 4000 t of inferred gold resources. The Jiaojia Fault Belt tends to gently dip downward, having dip angles of about 25° and about 20° at vertical depths of 2000 m and 2850 m, respectively. The deep part of the Jiaojia metallogenic belt differs from the shallow and moderately deep parts about fracturing, alteration, mineralization, and tectonic type. The deep zones can generally be categorized from inside outward as cataclastic granite, granitic cataclasite, weakly beresitized granitic cataclasite, beresitized cataclasite, and gouge. These zones exhibit a gradual transitional relation or occur alternately and repeatedly. The mineralization degree of the pyritized cataclastic granite-type ore in the deep part of the Jiaojia metallogenic belt is closely related to the degree of pyrite vein development; that is, the higher the pyrite content, the wider the veins and the higher the gold grade. Compared to the shallow gold ores, the deep-seated gold ores have higher fineness and contain joseite, tetradymite, and native bismuth, suggesting that the deep gold mineralization temperature is higher and that mantle-sourced material may have contributed to this mineralization. ZK01 has also revealed that the deep-seated ore bodies in the Jiaojia metallogenic belt are principally situated above the main fracture plane (gouge) and hosted within the Linglong Granite, contradicting previous findings indicating that the moderately shallow gold ore bodies are usually hosted in the contact zone between the Linglong Granite and Jiaodong Group or meta-gabbro. These new discoveries are particularly significant because they can help correct mineralization prospecting models, determine favorable positions for deep prospecting, and improve metallogenic prediction and resource potential evaluation.