Iron isotope fractionation during skarn-type alteration: Implications for metal source in the Han-Xing iron skarn deposit

• Heavy Fe isotopes were preferentially leached from diorites during skarn-type alteration;
• A clear sequence among metallic minerals of δ56FePy > δ56FePo > δ56FeMgt has been obtained;
• The main Fe budget of the Han-Xing Fe skarn deposit is not derived from the leaching iron but from the magmatic fluid.

The Han-Xing iron mineralization in the central North China Craton is a typical Fe skarn deposit associated with altered diorites. Here we report the Fe isotopic compositions of whole rocks and mineral separates from this deposit with a view to evaluate the Fe isotope fractionation during the formation of Fe skarn deposit, and to constrain the metal source. The Fe isotopes show a large variation both in whole rocks and mineral separates. Altered diorites show a wide range in δ56Fe values (− 0.07‰ to + 0.21‰ relative to the Fe isotope standard IRMM-014) which positively correlate with their TFe2O3/TiO2 ratios (Fe2O3 and FeO calculated as TFe2O3). The positive correlation indicates that heavy Fe isotopes were preferentially leached from diorites during the skarn-type alteration. Among the metallic minerals, pyrite and pyrrhotite are isotopically heavier (+ 0.12‰ to + 0.48‰) than the magnetite (+ 0.07‰ to + 0.21‰). Fe isotope fractionation between mineral pairs demonstrates that magnetite did not attain Fe isotopic equilibrium with pyrite and pyrrhotite, whereas pyrite and pyrrhotite might have attained isotopic equilibrium. Petrological observations and major element data also suggest that iron was leached from the diorites during the skarn-type alteration. If the leached iron provides the main Fe budget of the Han-Xing Fe skarn deposit, magnetite in ores would be isotopically heavier than the unaltered diorite. However, our results are in contrast with the magnetite being isotopically lighter than the unaltered diorite. This suggests that the major Fe source of the Han-Xing Fe skarn deposit is not from the leaching of diorites, and might be from magmatic fluid which is isotopically lighter than the silicate melt. Our data demonstrate that Fe isotopes can be used as important tracers in deciphering the metal source of Fe skarn deposits.

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