Multi-stage magma emplacement in the western end of the Jinchuan NiCu sulfide deposit, NW China, and mineral exploration strategy based on exploration data

The western intrusion of the world-class Jinchuan NiCu sulfide deposit consists of fine-grained and coarse-grained binary lithofacies units. However, recent exploration has revealed two layers of net-textured sulfides in the fine-grained unit at the western end of the Jinchuan intrusion, adding complexity to the genesis of sulfide mineralization. We measured chalcophile elements and collected exploration data on Cu and Ni content to investigate their genesis and prospecting potential. The lower fine-grained subunits, comprising a layer of disseminated sulfides (DS-1) in the bottom and overlain by massive sulfide (MS) and olivine-sulfide cumulates (NTS-1), were overlain by the upper fine-grained subunits disseminated sulfides (DS-2) with a core of net-textured sulfides (NTS-2). The coarse-grained lherzolite with disseminated sulfides (DS-3) sharply cut through the upper subunit. All disseminated samples have Cu/Pd ratios (11,414–128,626) that exceed the mantle range. Additionally, the Pd/Ru ratios of DS-1 (1.26–13.2) are the lowest, followed by DS-2 (3.69–13.5), and highest in DS-3 (2.80–33.6). The exploration data indicate that the Ni and Cu contents and Cu/(Cu + Ni) ratios are significantly higher in DS-3 than in DS-2, while DS-1 shows more dispersed. The NTS-1 exhibits significant Ir and Ru depletion, with Cu/(Cu + Ni) decreasing with depth, eventually encountering Ir and Ru-riched MS. In addition, NTS-2 shows partially Ir depletion but Ru non-depletion, and Cu/(Cu + Ni) increases with depth. These signatures suggest that the lower and upper subunits, along with the coarse-grained unit, formed from platinum-group elements (PGE) in increasingly depleted magma, likely resulting from prior sulfide segregation before emplacement. Furthermore, the differences in Ir and Ru depletion and the variation in the Cu/(Cu + Ni) trend with depth between NTS-1 and NTS-2 were explained by the migration direction of fractional sulfide liquid during sulfide fractionation. We propose that the western end of the Jinchuan intrusion was formed by multi-stage magma emplacement. The strong correlation between exploration data (Ni, Cu, and Cu/(Cu + Ni)) and various sulfide mineralization layers suggests that delineating the spatial range of each sulfide mineralization could provide valuable information for deep mineral prospectivity mapping.