Work

Fluid Inclusion Constraints on Ore-Forming Fluid Evolution and Cassiterite Precipitation in the Xianglin Sn Polymetallic Deposit, Eastern Himalaya

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The Xianglin Sn polymetallic deposit, located on the northwestern margin of the Cuonadong dome in the eastern Tethyan Himalaya, represents an important Sn-W-Be polymetallic system recently recognized in southern Tibet. This study investigates the nature and evolution of the ore-forming fluids and the mechanisms of cassiterite precipitation. Fluid inclusion petrography, microthermometry, and laser Raman spectroscopy were applied to inclusions from the cassiterite–sulfide, proximal cassiterite–quartz vein, distal cassiterite–quartz vein, and late fluorite–quartz vein stages. The fluid inclusions mainly comprise liquid-rich, vapor-rich, H2O-CO2 three-phase, and minor daughter-mineral-bearing inclusions. The cassiterite–sulfide stage contains the most complex inclusion assemblage, with homogenization temperatures of 326–399 °C and salinities of 2.4–10.5 wt.% NaCl equiv. The proximal cassiterite–quartz vein stage yields homogenization temperatures of 280–361 °C and salinities of 2.4–9.6 wt.% NaCl equiv., whereas the distal cassiterite–quartz vein stage records lower temperatures of 195–295 °C. The fluorite–quartz vein stage is characterized by low-temperature and low-salinity fluids. Raman spectra identify CO2, N2, CH4, H2S, and CaCO3 daughter minerals, indicating a volatile-rich, relatively reduced H2O-CO2-NaCl hydrothermal system. These features suggest that the principal ore-forming fluids were dominantly magmatic–hydrothermal fluids exsolved from highly fractionated Miocene leucogranites. During upward and outward migration from the main detachment zone to peripheral fractures, the fluids experienced boiling, cooling, mixing, and multistage hydrothermal overprinting. Cassiterite precipitation during the cassiterite–sulfide stage was mainly triggered by boiling or phase separation, whereas the proximal cassiterite–quartz veins were controlled by progressive cooling and local phase separation. In contrast, distal cassiterite precipitation was more strongly influenced by fluid mixing and cooling. These results indicate that the Xianglin deposit records a structurally controlled proximal-to-distal magmatic–hydrothermal Sn mineralizing system related to the Cuonadong dome.

Source: Minerals

DOI: 10.3390/min16090933