The Ashele ore concentration area is an important area for polymetallic ore concentration in Xinjiang, China. Scholars have made progress in understanding the ore-controlling structures, ore-bearing horizons, and metallogenic age of this area. However, there are still uncertainties about the 3D distributions of plutons, fault structures, and ore-bearing strata, which restrict the development of deep and peripheral ore prospecting and the discovery of new ore bodies in the area. This study proposes a geological–geophysical modeling method based on irregular sections and uses this method to establish a 3D geological–geophysical model based on physical property data, boreholes, surface geological maps, and geophysical data. The model shows that the study area has many hidden rock masses with various depths and shapes and fracture structures with complex shapes. The fault structure in the area is complex, and the ore bodies are controlled by the faults. The ore-bearing geological units (Ashele Formation) exhibit an obvious east–west-trending W-shaped fold structure. The deep part of the northern Ashele Formation extends northward slightly, and the southern Ashele Formation has thick strata, with depths generally greater than 2 km. Based on the information on deep structures provided by the model, three metallogenic prospective areas are predicted, which points out the direction for further prospecting work in the ore concentration area and shows that the adopted modeling method and process have good applicability for constructing 3D models of ore concentration areas with sparse data, large area, and complex geological structures. The proposed modeling method provides technical support for ore prospecting, particularly in the overburden area or ore concentration area with sparse data.

The No. VI ore block of the Galinge skarn system in the Qimantagh metallogenic belt, East Kunlun, contains proximal Fe-oxide mineralization and distal Pb–Zn sulfide mineralization that are spatially zoned and locally overprinted along faults and interlayer fracture zones. To constrain the controls on Fe–Pb–Zn zonation and overprinting within this ore block, we integrated LA–ICP–MS zircon U–Pb dating, zircon Lu–Hf isotopes, whole-rock major and trace elements, and in situ trace elements of magnetite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, and arsenopyrite. Zircon U–Pb ages indicate two Indosinian intrusive pulses: an early granodiorite at 235.1 ± 0.51 Ma and a younger granodiorite–quartz diorite at 229.52 ± 0.46 Ma. Excluding the hydrothermally altered sample ZK26804-805, the intrusive rocks are metaluminous, medium- to high-K calc-alkaline I-type granitoids mainly derived from remelting of ancient crustal material, with a greater juvenile crustal or mantle contribution in the younger phase. Magnetite is generally Zn-rich and Pb-poor, whereas late pyrite and chalcopyrite are enriched in Pb, Ag, Cd, and Bi; local Sb–As anomalies in magnetite and arsenopyrite indicate late hydrothermal overprinting. The Fe and Pb–Zn mineralization is best interpreted as staged products of one multipulse magmatic–hydrothermal system controlled not only by intrusive pulses but also by inherited structural pathways, host-rock reactivity, and evolving redox-sulfidation conditions. The interpretation of Sb–As enrichment in magnetite is therefore used cautiously because these elements may occur as lattice substitutions and/or micro- to nano-inclusions introduced or modified during retrograde alteration.

The Galinge deposit in East Kunlun, China is a large Fe-polymetallic skarn system with a significant by-product, Co, but the respective roles of magmatism, skarn evolution, and wall rock interaction in Co enrichment remain incompletely understood. We integrate zircon and garnet U–Pb geochronology, zircon Lu–Hf isotopes and trace elements, whole-rock geochemistry, and SEM-EDS and EPMA mineral chemistry. Granodiorite and diorite porphyry yield zircon U–Pb ages of 230.09 ± 0.91 Ma and 229.4 ± 1.3 Ma, respectively, whereas skarn garnet yields 224.4 ± 9.3 Ma, placing intrusion and skarn formation within a Late Triassic magmatic–hydrothermal system. Both suites are metaluminous, LREE-enriched, and Nb–Ta–Ti-depleted; zircon ε_Hf(t) values of −9.4 to −1.8 indicate the predominant reworking of older crustal material with variable input from a more radiogenic component. Strictly screened Ti-in-zircon temperatures and lattice strain Ce anomalies yield median apparent ΔFMQ values of +3.36 for granodiorite and +3.04 for diorite porphyry, indicating comparably oxidized magmatic conditions. The analyzed intrusions contain 2.12–13.4 ppm Co, whereas cobaltite and Co-bearing arsenopyrite contain 32.83–34.14 wt% and 0.38–4.53 wt% Co, respectively. Spatial and paragenetic relations place Co enrichment after magnetite deposition, during an early sulfide-stage hydrothermal sulfarsenide event within the skarn system. We infer that Late Triassic intrusions supplied heat, fluids, and ligands, whereas structural focusing and cooling, coupled with carbonate wall rock reactions and a reduction in carbonaceous or Fe²⁺-bearing domains, promoted As–S-rich Co precipitation; the leaching of intermediate–mafic wall rocks may have supplemented the Co inventory.