The Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks, mainly consisting of basalt, trachyte, trachy-andesite, andesite and rhyolite, widely distributed in the southwestern Tianshan Mountains, have been proven to be formed during Late Devonian to Late Carboniferous time (>361–313 Ma) based on zircon sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe dating. The geochemistry demonstrates that the studied volcanic rocks represent a continental arc formed during the subduction of the Palaeo-southern Tianshan Ocean. The ε _Hf(T) values of zircons in these volcanic rocks vary from +1.4 to +15.6 with weighted average values of +9.5 (Late Devonian), +8.9 (Early Carboniferous) and +10.3 (Late Carboniferous), suggesting a depleted mantle origin. However, the Late Devonian basaltic samples have negative ε _Nd(T) values (from −5.16 to −3.07) and high initial ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr ratios (0.7073–0.7098), whereas the Early Carboniferous volcanic rocks mostly have positive ε _Nd(T) values (from −0.18 to +3.07) with low initial ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr ratios (0.7044–0.7067), and the Late Carboniferous volcanic rocks are characterized by high ε _Nd(T) values (+2.79 to +5.89) and low initial ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr ratios (0.7032–0.7054). The assimilation–fractional crystallization (AFC) model is used to explain the isotope characteristics of the Late Devonian volcanic rocks in the southwestern Tianshan Mountains. Calculation shows that the Late Devonian samples could be formed by the AFC process between depleted mantle and continental crust. The Carboniferous basaltic rocks originated by partial melting of the mantle wedge. Supplementary material: Data are available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18378 .

Mineral assemblages formed during hydrothermal alteration reflect the geochemical composition of ore-forming fluids. Gold is mainly transported in solution as Au–Cl and Au–S complexes. The change of physicochemical conditions such as temperature, pressure, oxygen fugacity, and sulfur fugacity are effective mechanisms for gold precipitation. Gold tends to be concentrated in the vapor phase of fluids at high temperatures and pressures. Au–As and Au–Sb associations are common in gold deposit. Native antimony and/or arsenic – native gold assemblages may precipitate from hydrothermal fluids with low sulfur fugacity. Hydrothermal fluids forming epithermal gold deposits are Au-saturated in most cases, whereas fluids of Carlin-type are Au-undersaturated. Quasi-steady As-bearing pyrite extracts solid solution Au from hydrothermal fluids through absorption. The capability of As-bearing pyrite to absorb Au from under-saturated fluid is the key to the formation of large-scale Carlin-type deposits. With increasing new data, studies on the geochemistry of gold deposits can be used to trace the origin of ore-forming fluids, the source of gold, and the transporting form of Au and other ore-forming elements, such as Si, S, F, Cl, As and Ag

We report two newly identified Ordovician ophiolite belts in west Junggar, NW China: Tajin–Tarbahatai–Kujibai–Honguleleng (TTKH) and Tangbale–Baijiantan–Baikouquan (TBB) ophiolitic belts. These two ophiolitic belts provide constraints for the Palaeozoic reconstruction of Central Asia and the geological evolution of this region. The TTKH and TBB ophiolitic belts are dismembered parts of different ophiolitic belts which represent relics of Ordovician oceanic floor; they subducted to the north under the Chingiz–Tarbahatai arc and to the south under the Junggar plate, respectively. The Baijiantan–Baikouquan ophiolite mélanges comprise the major part of the TBB. Flat rare Earth element (REE) patterns with positive Eu anomalies and insignificant depletion of high-field-strength elements (HFSE) relative to melts of primitive mantle suggest a mid-ocean-ridge basalt (MORB) origin for the metagabbro. Lherzolite samples define a Sm–Nd isotopic isochron with age of 474 Ma andɛ_Nd(t)of +8.9. Lherzolite samples with positiveɛ_Nd(t)values of +8.8 to +9.1 and initial⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of 0.7037–0.7040 are rather homogeneous in Sr–Nd isotopic composition, whereas metagabbro samples show wider Sr–Nd isotopic compositional ranges withɛ_Nd(t)of +5.9 to +11.0. The Sm–Nd isotopic isochron age (c.380 Ma) for garnet amphibolite samples, consistent with a zircon U–Pb age (c.385 Ma) for metagabbro, represents a magmatic event prior to subduction. Thermodynamic calculations for garnet amphibolite yield a clockwise pressure–temperature path with peak metamorphic condition ofc.15 kbar and 520–560°C at 342 Ma, indicating a subduction-channel setting. The Rb–Sr isochron ages (335 Ma, 333 Ma) for metagabbro represent a metamorphic event during exhumation.