Discovery and prospecting significance of the gold deposit in the western margin of Dayangshu volcanic basin in Greater Khingan Mountains

The Mesozoic volcanic basin of Greater Khingan Mountains is a favorable area for epithermal volcanic hydrothermal gold deposits. Based on previous delineation of 2 gold prospect areas, Zhangdian and Zhaluomei, during 1:50 000 mineral survey carried out in the western margin of Dayangshu volcanic basin, the authors of this paper conducted verification and inspection of geophysical and chemical exploration anomalies through exploratory trench. A stable extended gold-bearing quartz vein was found in Zhangdian mining area, with a length of about 0.95 km, an apparent thickness of 5~15 m, and its highest gold grade of 88.25×10^-6. Two gold ore bodies, one gold mineralized body and one silver ore body, were discovered in Zhaluomei mining area. No.I and No.II gold ore bodies were inferred to be the same gold ore body, with a length more than 600 m, an apparent thickness of 2~3 m, and their highest gold grade of 5.83×10^-6. No.IV silver ore body has an apparent thickness of 4.0 m, and its highest grade is (50.90~310.00)×10^-6. The authors analyzed the characteristics of soil geochemical anomaly and apparent polarization anomaly of the induced polarization ladder measurement in these two mining areas, and compared these conditions with the metallogenic geological conditions of Sandaowanzi and other gold deposits. The gold deposits in Zhangdian and Zhaluomei mining areas were identified to have medium to large metallogenic resource potential. The discovery of gold deposit in the margin of Dayangshu volcanic basin could provide some reference for the exploration and deployment of gold deposits in the volcanic belt of Greater Khingan Mountains, and promote the improvement of the exploration and research, which could further contribute to the prospecting breakthrough.