Intracontinental and arc-related hydrothermal systems display distinct δ202Hg and Δ199Hg features: Implication for large-scale mercury recycling and isotopic fractionation in different tectonic settings

Mercury isotopes display both mass-dependent and mass-independent fractionation and allow the tracing of pathways and storage of surface-derived Hg in the lithosphere. While the subduction-related orogenic recycling of Hg from marine reservoirs into hydrothermal systems in continental arc settings has been documented recently, the source of Hg in intracontinental hydrothermal systems remains unclear. We measured Hg isotopes in two intracontinental anorogenic/postorogenic Late Mesozoic hydrothermal gold deposits in the South China craton and the Central Asian orogenic belt of northern China, respectively. The ore and sulfide samples from the studied systems have positive delta Hg-202 (0.70 +/- 0.39 parts per thousand, 1SD, n = 49) and negative Delta Hg-199 values (-0.12 +/- 0.05 parts per thousand, 1SD, n = 49). These values are different from their country rocks and regional geological environment (volcanic arc granites, marine sedimentary rocks) which have positive Delta Hg-199 values, but similar to that of their Precambrian supracrustal basement rocks of largely non-marine continental materials. We conclude that Hg in the intracontinental hydrothermal systems was leached from basement rocks by upper crustal basinal fluid circulation driven by regional heat flow, likely due to lithospheric thinning and upwelling of the asthenosphere in the Late Mesozoic. The intracontinental hydrothermal systems and their continental sources with positive delta Hg-202 and negative Delta Hg-199 values are complementary to volcanic-arc and marine sedimentary rocks with opposite delta Hg-202 -Delta Hg-199 compositions. The distinct Hg isotopic features of hydrothermal systems in different tectonic settings, in particular the indelible Delta Hg-199 signature, allow the tracing of large-scale material cycling in the Earth. (C) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Mercury isotopes can trace the pathways and storage of surface-derived mercury in the lithosphere. This study measured mercury isotopes in two intracontinental hydrothermal gold deposits in China and found that their isotopic characteristics differ from their geological environment and country rocks, indicating a different source of mercury. The results provide important insights for studying large-scale material cycling in the Earth.